Will RSS simplify your life?
“Blog as business tool has arrived,” according to WSJ
In case you had any doubt. The WSJ’s Riva Richmond contends that blogs may be most useful for small companies. She writes: “Blogs offer little-known small businesses name recognition, and the chance to boost traffic well beyond what they’d get if they were simply offering goods and services for…
read more2005 Newsletter Archives
Are you an exec who can’t tolerate risk? Don’t blog.
Thanks to Steve Rubel for a pointer to this article by Lucy Kellaway writing in the FT: Why executives should steer clear of the blogosphere. Bottom line… most CEOs and top-level execs can’t tolerate risk.
read more5 easy tips to create landing pages that convert
Get them here in my review of MarketingSherpa’s terrific new Landing Page Handbook. 1. Acknowledge the bail factor 2. Make your landing page headline match the copy in your ad 3. Keep your “hero” shot (product image) on the left side…
Top 7 ways to encourage interaction with your blog
From About.com. These range from the obvious (enable your Comments and Trackback functions and offer an email link) to the intriguing: include a link to a discussion board and to IM (instant messaging). Also check out Top 10 tips to promote your blog.
read moreQuick definition of podcasting
I’ve just published this week’s issue of WordBiz Report. In it I include a woefully overdue note on podcasting, including a quick definition. The truth is I’ve been waiting till I had something intelligent to say about podcasting… before blogging about it. But I can’t wait any longer.…
read moreMore tips on how to write a blog
Great tips from B.L. Ochman. My favorites:
“Write like it counts.
read more
“No matter what your audience size, you ought to write as if your readership consisted of paid subscribers whose subscriptions were perpetually about to expire. There’s no need to pander. Compel them to re-subscribe.” said Dennis Mahoney…
Leave a PayPal donation before you click away…
With this post I add a new category, “Blogging Business Models.” As much to ponder their viability as to note those that have sprung up. Well-known blogger Jason Kottke quit his day job this week (according to Wired and Red Herring) to work full time on his blog,…
read morePeggy Noonan’s cogent essay on blogs vs. the MSM (mainstream media)
I read it in the WSJ and have also read comments about the column in several other blogs. Thanks to London-based Adriana Cronin-Lukas for one pointer. Peggy Noonan’s cogent essay on MSM (mainstream media) vs. the blogosphere (Feb. 17, 2005 Wall Street Journal) should be required reading.…
read moreAre you writing for the Web when you blog?
Surprisingly, the answer is yes. I’ve been thinking about this recently as I write this blog and also post to www.debbieweil.com. Writing for the Web means writing for scanners. Best practices are to use:
- sub-heads
- bullets
- short paragraphs
- a graphic if appropriate
Chunk your content
In short, chunking and…
Redux: Why blog and what makes a blog successful?
At some point in the near future I’ve gotta get a grip on the reality of publishing two blogs… is it possible for a small company (i.e. me) with limited resources (i.e. time)? I don’t have a definitive answer. For now, I’m putting everything related to writing a blog into…
read moreWhy blog and what makes a blog successful?
Steven Streight is writing a book, Secrets of the Blogging Pros, that includes input from well-known bloggers. As he put it in his original email to me, he wants to include pointers from “innovators, CEOs, VPs, marketing gurus, political pundits, tech geniuses, manufacturers, writers, artists, computer gamers, PR firms,…
read moreMeasuring the ROI of blogging
Good summary by Elizabeth Albrycht writing for the CEO Bloggers’ Club. She includes the following metrics:
– how do you measure the time spent reading and/or writing blogs? (billable hours? percentage of salary?)
– are employees blogging on their own time…or company time?
– is it a group blog…
read more
Q & A on Corporate Blogging
Thanks to the those who submitted questions a while back about corporate blogging. And sorry for the delay in publishing answers. Here’s a Q & A on corporate blogging:
Leanne of 30 Minute Coach writes:
Q: “Which is more effective? Adding a blog to your current business Web site…
read more
Tom Peters has nailed the value of FREE
Tom Peters has nailed it when it comes to selling his value/expertise with FREE stuff. Poke around his Web site (it’s built on blog software) and you’ll be amazed at how much content is free. It’s awfully clever if you think about it. Peters is making the big bucks…
read moreGreat list of blogging resources
Thanks to John Jantsch for hosting a lively audio conference with me last week on blogging. Apparently 200-some folks tuned in. John has cleverly posted a page of basic blogging resources on his DuctTapeMarketing site.
read moreFree download: Marketing and Blogs: What Works
Surprisingly not-out-of-date is James Horton‘s 9-page PDF, “Marketing and Blogs: What Works” (apparently written in 2003). Download it free here. Among his key points… There are three ways to approach blogs as a marketing strategy: “Write a blog yourself, market through bloggers or advertise on blogs.”
read moreAccessibility & transparency: should Carly have blogged?
Yesterday’s abrupt news that Carly Fiorina was ousted as CEO of H-P got me to thinking… should Carly have had a blog? BTW, the link on Carly’s name goes to the bio page on H-P’s site where the copy has…
Accessibility & transparency: should Carly have blogged?
Yesterday’s abrupt news that Carly Fiorina was ousted as CEO of H-P got me to thinking… should Carly have had a blog? BTW, the link on Carly’s name goes to the bio page…