2. Why Should You Read This?
You have little or no experience with
writing blogs.
You want to understand what blogging
about your business expertise entails.
You want to know the fundamentals of
good blog writing.
You want tips for writing a basic blog post.
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3. Topics
1. Overview . . . . 4
2. Planning Your Blog . . . . 18
3. Writing Your Blog Posts . . . . 23
4. Publicizing Your Blog . . . . 37
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4. 1. Overview
Why Blog?
Types of Blogs
Blog Web Hosts
Question: How Hard Can It Be?
Answer: Reality of the Blogosphere
Blog Visitors and Tweet Followers
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5. Why Blog?
Build brand name and brand recognition
Gain exposure for your ideas
Demonstrate your thought leadership
Connect with others in your field
Fulfill a job requirement
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7. Blogs (or Weblogs)
A frequent, chronological publication of
personal thoughts and Web links
(marketingterms.com)
Length not important, within reason
Provides a way for web pages to be
interactive
Author controls content
Copying content of others is not good
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8. Tweets (or Microblogs)
Twitter status updates (twitter.com)
Limited to 140 characters, including spaces
This text is 140 characters long, just like Twitter
posts. Cryptic!! Microblogging is a good solution for
people who aren’t strong writers.
Bridges the gap between email and instant
messenger
Others control content
Retweets are good
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9. Blog Web Hosts
Some free hosts
• blogger.com
• blogspot.com
• wordpress.com
• Your employer
Information on hosts that charge
• webhostingreport.com
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10. Question: How Hard Can It Be?
Blog about what you know well.
Talk about your topic until you become an
expert acknowledged by others, especially
compared to other blogs on the issue.
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11. Answer: Reality of the Blogosphere
At any given time 7 to 10 million active
blogs are on the Internet, but …
“… between 50,000 and 100,000 blogs that
are generating most of the page views ....
There's a joke within the blogging
community that most blogs have an
audience of one."
-- Richard Jalichandra, Technorati chief executive,
quoted in San Jose Mercury News, 07-20-09
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12. Blog Visitors and Tweet Followers
Find blogs by searching for keywords
Ask “What's in this for me?” first
Scan instead of reading
Have short attention spans
Can ignore you
Come from all cultures and languages
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13. 2. Planning Your Blog
Research Existing Blogs
Choose Your Subject Matter
Set Your Policies
Develop Your Persona
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14. Research Existing Blogs
Analyze the top 20 most read sites.
• What makes them popular?
• How do they present content (text, video,
graphics)?
Analyze blogs that address your area.
• How do they differ from what you want to offer?
• What type of reader involvement do they enjoy?
Collect ideas that might work for your blog.
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15. Choose Your Subject Matter
Identify your blog’s main goal.
List keywords that support your goal.
Define your focus.
• What you are passionate about
• What you are expert at
Define your target audience.
• General age
• Experience level
• Position on the food chain
• Interests
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16. Set Your Policies
Define your policies and plan to publish
them.
• How you handle comments
• Responsibility of readers for feedback that they
post
• What information you provide about yourself
• What links you offer
• Other
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17. Develop Your Persona
Your expertise is key.
Avoid being self-absorbed.
Find your authentic self.
Show your personality, so that your readers
can get to know you.
Establish a consistent point of view, and
write posts that support your position.
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18. 3. Writing Your Blog Posts
Anatomy of Blog Posts
Develop Ideas for Posts
Plan Your Post
Write Your Content
Establish Rapport With Visitors
Use Good Mechanics
Avoid Legal Liability
Remember to Revise, Revise, Revise
If All Else Fails …
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19. Anatomy of Blog Posts (1)
Posts have a fixed structure.
• Title
• Opening paragraph
• Body
Title
• Includes keywords
• Blogger’s chance to turn a visitor into a reader
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20. Anatomy of Blog Posts (2)
Opening Paragraph
• Explains what blog post discusses
• Provides a short version of the entire post
• Must grab the reader’s interest
• Two sentences, maybe three
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21. Anatomy of Blog Posts (3)
Body
• Text or content
• Divided into sections with labels or headings
• Visuals (optional)
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22. Develop Ideas for Posts
Establish your goal.
• Build awareness
• Inform
• Promote
• Help
• Educate
• Opine
Brainstorm.
• Identify six to 10 possible blog post topics.
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23. Plan Your Post (1)
Prepare original content.
• Discuss your own ideas.
• Describe your experience.
• Offer experience, advice, solutions.
• Take an opposing stance to some form of online
collective wisdom.
Share Information.
• Report on an event or a meeting.
• Explain how a news event affects your field.
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24. Plan Your Post (2)
Synthesize other information
• Aggregate content into one place.
• Summarize a complex document or idea.
For non-experts
For people who probably won’t read the original
text
• Analyze and expand on a favorite blogger's posts.
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25. Write Your Content (1)
Write the way you talk.
Write so that neophytes understand you,
and so that experts don’t think you are
talking down to them.
Avoid topics that others have already
blogged about.
• To say something about what another blogger
writes, post your ideas on that blog.
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26. Write Your Content (2)
Write a title that grabs interest.
• Question: Does Cloud Computing Have a Future?
• Provoke: Let's Get Rid of Support Centers
• Report: Green Engineering Takes Hold in Europe
• How to: How to Optimize Your Blog
• Steps: 5 Ways to Write Attention-Getting Titles
• Humor: The IT Manager Made Me Do It
• Opinion: Every Blogger Should Learn Karate
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27. Write Your Content (2)
Use your keywords.
• In the title
• In the opening paragraph
• In the headings
• In your text
Refer to original content of others. Do not
repeat it.
• Hyperlink to the original content.
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28. Write Your Content (3)
Give credit to others.
• Cite ideas, paraphrases, quotations, graphics,
structure, organization
• Anything that can be attributed to someone else
Skip citing some information.
• Common knowledge (what is widely known, or
what is historical fact)
• Your own ideas and assertions, if not already
published
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29. Write Your Content (4)
Include non-text elements, if they help you
make your point.
• Graphics
• Clip art
• Photographs
• Videos
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30. Establish Rapport with Your Visitors
Refer to common experiences.
• Corporate news
• Economy
• Famous person’s life or death
• Popular culture
Use, but don’t overuse, everyday
expressions.
• Can you believe it?
• Go figure!
• Who knew? How about that?
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31. Use Good Mechanics (1)
Keep your posts short.
• Aim for no more than 30 lines unless you are
posting a how-to article.
• Remove text that doesn’t add to your point.
• Break up one long topic into several short topics.
• Publish a long topic in parts.
Discuss one topic per sentence.
Use short sentences and paragraphs.
Keep words, phrases, illustrations simple.
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32. Use Good Mechanics (2)
Use active voice, not passive voice.
• Yes: People read your blog.
• No: Your blog is read by people.
Use headings to organize your content.
Use bullets to organize your points, or
numbered lists if sequence is key.
Spell out all but most common acronyms.
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33. Use Good Mechanics (3)
Standardize the way you present your
content.
• Text
• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Visuals
• Graphics
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34. Avoid Legal Liability
Know what liability means.
• Misrepresenting another site's content or your
association with it
• Defamation
• Trademark infringement
• False advertising
Acknowledge copyrights and trademarks.
Comply with your employer’s policies.
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36. If All Else Fails ….
Find a blog buddy to review what you write.
Hire a ghost blogger.
Invite a guest blogger.
Hire a blogging coach.
Blog with others.
Comment on other blog posts.
Send Tweets.
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38. Promote Yourself
List your blog on blog directories.
• technorati.com
• blogcatalog.com
• ping.com
• Directories that cater to your field
Tweet about your blog and individual posts.
Notify people you know.
• Professional contacts
• Online networks
Add an RSS feed to your blog.
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39. Get Others to Talk About You
Develop relationships with bloggers in your
field.
• Find blogs that are similar to yours.
• Provide links to these blogs.
Post comments on related sites.
• Add value. Don't just say, “I agree!” or “Good
points!”
• Include a link to your blog.
Respond to substantial comments from
your visitors.
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