November 3, 2011
This week’s post is from Lorna Sixsmith of Write On Track. Lorna is an avid blogger who started out blogging for her Interiors and gifts webstore Garrendenny Lane. Write On Track is her latest venture, partnered with Marie Ennis O’Connor she offers blog coaching and ghost writing services. She’s also become quite a sought after speaker on the subject. Lorna also co-founded KLCK Bloggers Network and Bloggers International with myself and Beatrice Whelan.
What is blog coaching?
We all know that blogs are useful for businesses for many reasons – from working as an effective search engine optimisation tool to personalising your brand to engaging with customers. There are so many businesses losing out on traffic to their website and resulting sales because they don’t have a business blog.
- B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than those who do not. Source: Hubspot, State of Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Report, 2010
- 69% of B2B marketers are shifting their budgets toward social media. Source: MarketingSherpa, October 2010
- 41% of B2B companies are acquiring customers through Facebook. Source: Hubspot, State of Inbound Marketing Report, 2011
Why don’t some business have a blog? The reasons seem to be a mixture of fear, reluctance, writers block, scepticism, not enough time, worried about their writing style …….
Many people are nervous of writing and that includes business people. It is one thing to write a report where you are following a template but a blog requires more personality, writing that is more fluid and also requires different styles and formats.
Options include outsourcing your blog writing but businesses often prefer to write their own posts, feeling they know their products best and they want to devote the time to do it right but are still nervous to start.
Engaging a blog coach could be the answer. A blog coach will provide the mentoring to give you the reassurance and expertise you need. That’s the real beauty of it – you can utilise the coaching according to your individual needs.
What might blog coaching involve?
Well, blog coaching sessions could include any of the following – depending on your own knowledge and the needs of your own business.
A blog coach can:
- Show you examples of good blog posts in your business area
- Show you blog post formats that would suit your products or services
- Help you come up with topics and how to write good titles
- Show you how to incorporate a ‘call to action’ in an appropriate tone
- Demonstrate how to include images and links within your blog post
- Explain how to use the google keyword research tool to ensure your blog posts are well optimised
- Show you how to use the ‘SEO all in one’ plug in and how to utilise other widgets and plug ins .
- Explain how to best categorise your blog posts and how to use tags.
- Demonstrate how to ‘share’ your blog posts
- Show you how to inject some personality into your writing to encourage feedback and engagement from readers.
- Show you how to find complementary business blogs, how to comment on those blogs and build a community.
- Help you come up with a realistic blogging schedule.
- Give you tips for thinking of topics for your business blog.
- Measure your success. Your blogging coach can provide you with a blogging strategy with goals to meet. The success of your work can be analysed and measured.
Having a blog will help to position you as an expert in your field in addition to helping many more potential customers find your website. A blog coach can give you the confidence and knowledge you need to make it happen for your business.
Image: Free Digital Photos
October 13, 2011
Yesterday was the first Wednesday for a long time that I’ve failed to blog. It’s been coming for a while, the posts seem to take longer and longer and there is something… stopping me from getting it done quickly. I’m suffering from that phenomenon known as Bloggers block.
So what is the problem? Why has my usually tight blog schedule taken a dip? Maybe if I can discover why I can also discover a cure. So here’s my thoughts.
1. I’ve changed my blogging style – long time readers of my blog will remember that it used to be full of tutorials. Whilst tutorials are good, and I still do the odd one I don’t want that to be all my blog offers. I’ve found that most tutorials are better demonstrated with video. That’s not to say I’ve abandoned them completely but I love the opportunity that writing gives me to look into social media in a more in-depth way. Why is this a problem? Because I’m writing more opinion now I want to make sure I’ve researched properly and this takes time. I may have already read the articles on the issue but rifling through them for the stats or case studies I need to prove my case proves time consuming… and this brings me on to my second issue.
2. The Wall – because it’s taking me longer to write my blog posts these days I tend to put them off. To me blogging looks like a big wall that is going to be hard to climb. So I do the little things, the small jobs or the bigger jobs that are easier to achieve first. This has resulted in me blogging late in the evening or even putting it off to the next day (as today). The strange thing is I know the cure for this one, I practice it all the time with other tasks and recommend it to clients. Break the job up into sections so it is easier to digest. So I should break down my blog perhaps into ‘research’ ‘outline structure’ ‘composition’.
3. Not knowing if I’m making sense. This is a big one for me. I often read my blog back and am completely unable to know if it makes sense. I sometimes ask friends to have a look at it for me but it’s unfair to expect them to read a post every week. I don’t’ really know the solution for this one, hire a proof reader? Find a circle of friends that will help me out so I’m only asking them once a month or every two months rather than every week?
4. Topics, in fairness there is more than enough happening in social media that I shouldn’t be short of topics to cover but somehow I still seem to be staring at a blank page every week. I’ve tried lists of topics and even mind-mapping but I don’t seem to be able to keep this up for longer than a few weeks.
So what is this post about? It’s slightly self indulgent, as someone who encourages others to blog I want you to know that sometimes I find it hard too. I’d love solutions, how do you combat bloggers block? What is stopping you blog, even writing these down has helped me move on.
All suggestions will be more than gratefully received and in the spirit of curing me I’m going to do a follow up post full of your best tips.
June 22, 2011
Many people may not think of Blogging as Social Media but I am a big believer that not only is it social it’s also the most important social media. It can become the hub of your social media campaign, feeding into your other social networks, I often tell people that if they do nothing else they must blog!
Whether your blog is part of your website, independent of your website or even if you just blog using Facebook notes blogging can have a massive impact on your entire Internet marketing.
What is a Blog?
A blog can be a website or a segment of a website that is updated by the owner on a regular basis. People who visit the website are able to comment on blog posts, making it interactive.
There are different kinds of blogs; personal blogs that can extend from an online diary to a blog written around a specific topic. Some famous personal blogs have even been turned into films, for example Julie and Julia. I also love 101 W**kers (excuse the language but that’s what it’s called) the blogger behind it has now branched out and is contributing to the Guradian bike blog. There are also political blogs, photo blogs, video blogs and of course business blogs.
Why Should A Business Blog?
Blogging has many benefits for businesses.
1. If it is part of your website it will work well for SEO (search engine optimisation). Using keywords that you want your website to be found for in your headlines and the body of your blog will push your website up the Google rankings bringing more traffic to your blog and website.
Feeding your blog to your other social networks and encouraging others to share your posts will increase the inbound links coming into your website – also good for SEO.
2. It establishes you as an expert – Blogging gives you the opportunity to showcase your passion and expertise about a topic. You can become the ‘go to’ person about your industry.
3. A resource for customers – If your customers commonly ask specific questions blogging gives you the opportunity to address them on mass. If they are asking those questions online and find the answers from you they are more likely to buy from you.
4. Spreads your message further - If you are a local business looking to expand, blogging and social media gives you the opportunity to reach beyond the local market. You can target markets further afield within Ireland or even international customers.
5. Attract press attention – more and more journalists and researchers are turning to the web to research their stories. Having an active blog about your topic of interest can mean getting more press attention and being asked to comment on specific stories within your field of expertise.
What Should You Blog About?
There are a number of topics you can blog about
1. Your business. It may seem obvious but you need to blog on topics related to your business and industry. A political blog may bring lots of traffic to your website but not the right traffic. Make posts relevant to your offering. Absolute Dental handle this really well showcasing their services with out the hard sell.
2. Your own expertise. What information do you have that you can share? – What information do you give to customers on a regular basis? Turning these into tips and hints will make great blog content.
Teamwoodcraft’s relatively new blog does this excellently.
3. Topical issues about your industry. What’s happening in the news related to your industry? Add your comment or take on relevant stories.
Always providing up to date information on financial issues Red Oak Tax Refunds blog handles this well.
4. Who are your target market and what are they interested in? When I used to sell organic food I targeted people with an interest in the environment so blogged about a range of green issues, not just organic food but local food, cycling, organic gardening etc. This was information that would draw my target market into my site.
Greenside Up Veg include both recipes and gardening tips in their blog. They offer training on growing your own veg and if you’re growing it you are probably wanting to eat it too so this works perfectly.
5. Case studies and testimonials. Do you have happy customers? If so ask them to write a short piece on their experience with you and include it as part of or as a blog post. Use case studies of work you have done or customers you have helped.
This is done really well by Buyers Brokers, the photo and language of the testimonials leaves you in no doubt that they are genuine.
6. Guest bloggers. Once your blog is established find other bloggers that might have something to share with your target market. If you sell Wedding Dresses for example is there a Wedding Car company or a venue that would like to contribute a blog post.
Garrendenny Lane have a weekly guest blogging slot, all adding value to their blog and business.
More Blogging Tips
To find out more about blogging, and blogs both business and personal join us at Bloggers International, an International panel of experts will be sharing their knowledge of Blogging both technical and creative. We can help you get started or help boost your current blogging. Sponsored by Blacknight the event takes place on 29th June 2011 at 7.30pm in The Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise, Laois, Ireland and The Chequers Inn, Chipping Norton, England. We’re also streaming online live… details to follow on the Bloggers International website.
If you’re interested in coming to this free event RSVP on Facebook, Linkedin, Via The Website (on the right hand side toolbar), leave a comment below or email wave@spiderworking.com.
If you’d like to book a place on the two way video conference for the night you can book your spot for free by clicking here.
June 1, 2011
KLCK Bloggers Network was set up by Spiderworking.com and Garrnedenny Lane in 2010 to bring together Irish bloggers to share knowledge. It’s been more successful than either myself or Lorna could have anticipated in the beginning and we’re almost a year old now.
Bloggers International
This month we’re getting even bigger. KLCK Bloggers Network and The Chipping Norton Social Media Club have become the founding members of a brand new organisation Bloggers International. The plan is to take our knowledge sharing further, to share and gain blogging and social media tips across the globe.
The first meeting, linking live with the UK over an internet live stream features a panel of blogging and social media experts on both sides of the water ready to answer all your Blogging and Social Media queries. The diverse panel can answer anything from technical WordPress questions to finding inspiration, increasing readership and marketing through Social Media.
The Panel
The Irish panel features Niall Devitt, co founder of Bloggertone and advisor to Social Media Today, Amanda Webb (me!) Social Media consultant and co-founder of KLCK and Bloggers International, Beatrice Whelan from Website Extrodinaire, website developer and WordPress and SEO expert.
The British panel includes Social Media Expert Shaun Fagan from Black Dog New Media and to answer your techie questions Chris Hogan amongst others.
Ask The Panel
If you’d like to put a question to the panel you can submit them in advance by completing your details below or you can tweet them at @bloggersint2011 using the tag #BI11. Follow #BI11 on the night or join our Facebook Page for details on how to join the live stream.
The Time and Place
And of course you can attend an event in person. In the UK, Chipping Norton Social Media Club will be meeting in the Chequers Pub. In Ireland KLCK Bloggers network will meet somewhere in Laois (venue tbc).
So if you are a blogger, a wanna be blogger or are just interested in networking with other businesses around the world join in on Wednesday 29th of June at 7.30pm (BST), and give us your questions!
Ask Your Questions
May 25, 2011
If you get bloggers block Social Media can help. This week in part three of our series on Social Media and blogging we look at how it can help you find inspiration for blogging.
Be inspired by others – Blog Directories
I find I am inspired by other bloggers, some that work in social media and others that just produce well written interesting content. But how do you find blogs to inspire you?
There are a number of popular blog directories. Technorati, AllTop, BlogCatalog are some of the most well known. If you’re in Ireland or have an Irish interest Irish Blogs is fantastic. A quick internet search will also provide you with topic or industry specific blog directories.
Search these for blogs of interest and be inspired!
Social Bookmarking Sites
StumbleUpon, Reddit, Delicious and Digg are full of great links and information that can both help you guage what is trending in your industry and inspire you. Search for topics that interest you and they will throw up lots of interesting stuff you might not find elsewhere.
Google Alerts
Google Alerts is not only a fantastic research tool but it can also give you a snapshot of what people are talking about relating to a specific interest. Once you have discovered the current trends write a blog post with your particular insight into the topic.
Linkedin Groups
What are people talking about or looking for information on in your Linkedin groups? If specific questions are coming up write a blog post addressing these questions or topics. Ask your own questions on Linkedin Groups or within Linkedin Answers to discover what others think, aggregate the answers in a blog post or answer the question from the feedback you have received from others.
Click here for part one on research
Click here for part two on finding readers
Do you have any secrets on finding inspiration for your blog? If so I’d love to hear your comments below.
May 18, 2011
Last week in part one of this series we looked at how social media can help you research your blog posts. This week we look at how you can find new readers using social media. The key to getting more readers is relationship building, build a valuable community and you will see the return in traffic.
Twitter Search
Twitter can be a great source of traffic for your blog, finding the right people to follow, communicate with and share content with will encourage others to share your posts.
But how do you find these people? The built in Twitter search is great for quick searches, specifically the ’People’ tab in search results enables you to search profiles as well as Tweets making it easy to discover users that are interested in you, your services and industry.
Don’t forget sharing is caring, share and be generous to other people and their content and you will attract them towards what you do.
Advanced Twitter search gives you more options, including geo location and multiple key words. Even better results come with an RSS feed so it’s easy to keep tabs of what is being said. To find out how to use these RSS feeds keep an eye on our Podcast series on how to use them in conjunction with Google Reader.
Even better if you are using Hootsuite you can set up a search column to monitor mentions. This makes it easy to respond to posts in real time.
Twitter Lists
Keeping in mind my mantra ‘Sharing is Caring’ set up some Twitter lists of your favorite Tweeps, those who produce content you are most likely to share. This makes it easy to stay on top of those really important tweets in the river of your timeline.
Commenting
Commenting on other blogs relevant to your industry is a way of raising your profile. Make sure the comments are insightful, a simple ‘great post’ won’t buy you as much karma as a well thought out response. When relevant, and only when relevant it is appropriate to link to a blog post of your own on the same topic. You have to be very careful that this is part of a detailed response as it can look like spam to some bloggers.
Some commenting systems like Disqus above allow users to post their comments to Facebook and Twitter showing that you actively sharing and caring.
Linkedin Answers
We looked at Linkedin Answers last week as a tool for research. It can also be used the same way blog commenting is. Answering a question in full and linking to a relevant blog post within that detailed answer is acceptable. However apply the same rules you would to commenting on blogs, be sure that your answer won’t be interpreted as spam or pure link building.
Linkedin Groups
Posting blog posts to relevant Linkedin discussion groups and asking for feedback, provoking discussion is a fantastic way to gather new readers. Do keep your posts relevant to these groups however as spammy posts can do more damage than good and are often removed by group administrators.
Faceboook
Sharing content from others on Facebook either on your personal profile or business page is a great way to build your community.
Facebook pages now allow you to comment as a business on other business pages, this gives you the opportunity to comment on posts the same way you might comment on a blog. Remember the more insightful your comment is the more likely a user is to click through to your profile and as with all commenting only include a link if it’s relevant to your comment.
Facebook tagging gives you the opportunity to let others know when you are sharing their content and is another important way to build your community. Tagging is a compliment and has the potential to bring traffic into a Facebook page. However only tag when it is relevant. If you are sharing something from their page or their blog it’s great however randomly tagging pages could be interpreted as spam.
Make it easy to share
Adding share buttons such as the Facebook and Twitter to your blog makes it easy for others to quickly share your content on their social media channels. Think about where you want to be shared most and make sure that you include a share button for those networks on your blog. (See ours at the bottom of this post)
Do you have any other tips that bring traffic to your blog? Do you agree that relevancy and sharing and caring are key? I’d love to know your thoughts so leave a comment below.
May 11, 2011
The title of this post is a bit of a misnomer after all blogging is social media. However I was inspired to write this series of blog posts by the KLCK Bloggers network in response to a presentation I gave at the last meeting.
Researching your ideas for blogs or gauging the opinion of others can be a long process. Social media makes it easier. Asking your social media communities for opinion and suggestions is a fantastic way to get new insights on what you are doing. But what tools can you use?
Facebook Questions
The recently launched Facebook Questions tool always gets a great response. The beauty of this tool is that you can ask the question on your own page but as people respond their friends see the question and are encouraged to respond giving it a larger reach than simply your own community and freinds. There is also an option for respondents to add their own answers, suggesting answers you may not have thought of before.
Ask Twitter
Simply putting a question out on Twitter can provoke responses. My recent call out for Facebook landing page examples returned lots of suggestions, some of which made it into my Bloggertone post.
Linkedin Answers
Linkedin is a huge mine of information and the Linkedin Answers tools allows you to get suggestions and answers from Linkedin users around the world even if you are not connected to them directly or through a group. You will find Linkedin Answers by clicking ‘More’ on your Linkedin home page and selecting ‘Answers’ from the drop down menu. Answers are categorised by topic.
Linkedin Groups
Linkedin groups are a fantastic resource to ask you question or monitor trends within your industries. Again it gives you the opportunity to gather opinion from people outside your networks.
Quora
There’s been a lot of buzz around Quora this year. It’s simply a questions and answers network but it’s very well used and has become a fantastic space to find out anything about everything. Although mostly techie at the moment it is growing. It can be used both to answer your own questions
Internet forums
Whatever industry you are in there will be a forum or message board for you. Searching these out, joining them and becoming an active member can be a great resource for information.
What other social media do you use for research? Do you have any tips and tricks to share? If so let me know by leaving a comment below.
February 23, 2011
In the last eight months of the KLCK Bloggers Network I have learnt a lot. My blog posts are getting read more, I’m getting more comments, and I’m even writing better posts. This week I thought I’d share with you my personal formula for a successful blog post, it’s a very personal thing and definitely isn’t the only way to do it. In fact I’m often surprised at the success of some of the posts I’ve cobbled together whilst blogging in the middle of the night that break some, if not all of these rules.
1. Headline
When naming your blog post bear in mind this is your ‘Headline’ as with a newspaper headline it needs to peak the interest of your reader and persuade them to read on. Using phrases such as ‘How to…’ or ’10 ways to…’ or recently popular amongst the blogs I read ’10 ways not to…’ always attract more readers. When you have composed your headline look at it again and decide if you would read a blog post with that title. If the answer is no go back and try again. Try and keep it short too, the max length should be 60 characters, this is good for search engines (according to ‘All In One SEO Pack) as well as easy to share on Twitter.
2. Leading paragraph
As with the headline this should be something that reels your readers in. This is your chance to state what the post is about and why people would want to read on. Keep it short and think about what keywords you would like to add to this section. What terms would you like your blog post to be found for. For example, above I’ve mentioned blog, blogging and blogger quite a lot.
3. Body of text
Unless you are an exceptional writer I’d make this as concise as possible. Some readers when confronted with a wall of text will leave. I like to try and break down text into easily digestible chunks. Make it easy to read and your readers will get to the end and understand what you have written.
4. Call to action
Many readers may read your introduction, scan the rest of the post and then read the last line. This last line is important and should contain a call to action. A call to action could be as simple as asking for a comment, a suggestion of further reading on your website or Facebook page or even looking for a sale. I generally ask for comments (see example below).
Have I missed anything out? Do you have a formula of your own? If so leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your suggestions.
December 16, 2010
How to find inspiration for your blog posts is a common concern for bloggers of all levels. There are times where I sit here at this keyboard wondering what is it I will blog about next, what if I run out of ideas for next week? This week at KLCK we learned how mindmapping could help us with this problem. We also learnt about the power of video as part of a blog as a website.
Frank Bradley uses mind maps for all areas of his life, to manage to do lists, to ensure he has good work life balance and of course to organise his thoughts for blogging. He blogs both on Tumblr and as part of the collaborative business blog Bloggertone.
For me it was a real eye opener, I guess I had always thought of mindmaps as being a bit out there but after playing with the concept I could see how it can help effectively organise your thoughts. Franks presentation will be available on the KLCK Facebook page soon.
The first speaker of the evening was Bryan Corden from Hedgehog Productions in Carlow who talked about the power of video blogging, and how to effectively push our videos out across the Internet (presentation here). He was accompanied by a cameraman and camera and we shot a short video on the night. I’ll share this on my videocast as soon as it’s completed.
After the speakers we discussed the best way to start blogging, we talked about the differences between the different formats; Blogger, WordPress.com, WordPress.org, Tumbler and Posterous. We also talked about using Facebook to blog and anyone who checked into my blog yesterday will have seen how easy it is to do. I’m delighted to see that three of the attendees have started blogging using the Facebook ‘Notes’ application.
A big thank you to our hosts The Seven Oaks Hotel who looked after us really well. To see who was there on the night, their blogs/websites visit our Facebook page. You can also see pictures from the evening in our Flickr group. If you missed the night we’re getting better and better at tweeting, you can view the Twitter archive here.
There will be no January meetup. The next meeting will be in Laois on the 14th of February, we will post details on our Facebook page and Linkedin group when we have them. You can also join the KLCK mailing list and we will send you out details of all further meetings.
We also have a discussion group on Facebook if you want to get involved between meetups.
December 15, 2010
When we think of Blogging we tend to think of tools such as Blogger and WordPress, some even think of Tumblr and Posterous but for many small businesses who have just become comfortable with Facebook pages the ‘Notes’ application makes a user friendly and simple solution. Although it lacks many of the features associated with the traditional blogging platforms it is a great way to get to grips with the concept of blogging before taking the plunge into a full blog site.
How do you blog on your Facebook business page with ‘Notes’?
- Underneath your logo on your business page click ‘edit page’
- Choose ‘Applications’ from the right hand side menu
- Scroll down until you see ‘Notes’
- Click ‘Go to application’
- At the top of the page click ‘Write a note’
- In the small box give your post a title, like a headline from a newspaper.
- In the larger box write the main content of your post.
- You can use the formatting pallet to style some of the text (bold, italic, bullet points etc.)
- If you have mentioned another Facebook user or page in the note you can tag them (you must ‘Like’ a page or be friends with a user in order to tag them)
- To tag type the @ symbol in the Tag box. followed by the name of the page or person you are tagging. Facebook will offer you options as you type.
- Finally you can add an image to your post.
- Click ‘Add photo’ this allows you to upload an image from your computer or choose from your Page’s images.
- Once you are happy with your note click ‘Publish’ at the bottom of the page.
If you have tried blogging with Facebook notes we’d love to hear about your experiences. And if you start blogging as a result of this post share the link with us. Let us know your thoughts and post your links in the comments box below.
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01 442 9410
What is Blogging & Why Should You Blog?
Many people may not think of Blogging as Social Media but I am a big believer that not only is it social it’s also the most important social media. It can become the hub of your social media campaign, feeding into your other social networks, I often tell people that if they do nothing else they must blog!
Whether your blog is part of your website, independent of your website or even if you just blog using Facebook notes blogging can have a massive impact on your entire Internet marketing.
What is a Blog?
A blog can be a website or a segment of a website that is updated by the owner on a regular basis. People who visit the website are able to comment on blog posts, making it interactive.
There are different kinds of blogs; personal blogs that can extend from an online diary to a blog written around a specific topic. Some famous personal blogs have even been turned into films, for example Julie and Julia. I also love 101 W**kers (excuse the language but that’s what it’s called) the blogger behind it has now branched out and is contributing to the Guradian bike blog. There are also political blogs, photo blogs, video blogs and of course business blogs.
Why Should A Business Blog?
Blogging has many benefits for businesses.
1. If it is part of your website it will work well for SEO (search engine optimisation). Using keywords that you want your website to be found for in your headlines and the body of your blog will push your website up the Google rankings bringing more traffic to your blog and website.
Feeding your blog to your other social networks and encouraging others to share your posts will increase the inbound links coming into your website – also good for SEO.
2. It establishes you as an expert – Blogging gives you the opportunity to showcase your passion and expertise about a topic. You can become the ‘go to’ person about your industry.
3. A resource for customers – If your customers commonly ask specific questions blogging gives you the opportunity to address them on mass. If they are asking those questions online and find the answers from you they are more likely to buy from you.
4. Spreads your message further - If you are a local business looking to expand, blogging and social media gives you the opportunity to reach beyond the local market. You can target markets further afield within Ireland or even international customers.
5. Attract press attention – more and more journalists and researchers are turning to the web to research their stories. Having an active blog about your topic of interest can mean getting more press attention and being asked to comment on specific stories within your field of expertise.
What Should You Blog About?
There are a number of topics you can blog about
1. Your business. It may seem obvious but you need to blog on topics related to your business and industry. A political blog may bring lots of traffic to your website but not the right traffic. Make posts relevant to your offering. Absolute Dental handle this really well showcasing their services with out the hard sell.
2. Your own expertise. What information do you have that you can share? – What information do you give to customers on a regular basis? Turning these into tips and hints will make great blog content.
Teamwoodcraft’s relatively new blog does this excellently.
3. Topical issues about your industry. What’s happening in the news related to your industry? Add your comment or take on relevant stories.
Always providing up to date information on financial issues Red Oak Tax Refunds blog handles this well.
4. Who are your target market and what are they interested in? When I used to sell organic food I targeted people with an interest in the environment so blogged about a range of green issues, not just organic food but local food, cycling, organic gardening etc. This was information that would draw my target market into my site.
Greenside Up Veg include both recipes and gardening tips in their blog. They offer training on growing your own veg and if you’re growing it you are probably wanting to eat it too so this works perfectly.
5. Case studies and testimonials. Do you have happy customers? If so ask them to write a short piece on their experience with you and include it as part of or as a blog post. Use case studies of work you have done or customers you have helped.
This is done really well by Buyers Brokers, the photo and language of the testimonials leaves you in no doubt that they are genuine.
6. Guest bloggers. Once your blog is established find other bloggers that might have something to share with your target market. If you sell Wedding Dresses for example is there a Wedding Car company or a venue that would like to contribute a blog post.
Garrendenny Lane have a weekly guest blogging slot, all adding value to their blog and business.
More Blogging Tips
To find out more about blogging, and blogs both business and personal join us at Bloggers International, an International panel of experts will be sharing their knowledge of Blogging both technical and creative. We can help you get started or help boost your current blogging. Sponsored by Blacknight the event takes place on 29th June 2011 at 7.30pm in The Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise, Laois, Ireland and The Chequers Inn, Chipping Norton, England. We’re also streaming online live… details to follow on the Bloggers International website.
If you’re interested in coming to this free event RSVP on Facebook, Linkedin, Via The Website (on the right hand side toolbar), leave a comment below or email wave@spiderworking.com.
If you’d like to book a place on the two way video conference for the night you can book your spot for free by clicking here.