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How to Find Bloggers to Write Your Business Blog

If you decide that hiring a professional blogger to write your business blog is the right choice for you and your company, then you need to put together a job posting and publish it on sites where bloggers search for job opportunities.

For example, be sure to include a list of requirements in your blogging job posting such as:

  • How often the blog should be updated.
  • If the blogger needs to monitor and respond to comments.
  • If the blogger is expected to promote the blog and drive traffic to the blog.
  • If the blogger is expected to include images in posts.
  • If the blogger is expected to research and come up with blog post topics or if topics will be provided by you.

Each of these requirements affects the amount of time it takes a blogger to write a post, which means they also affect the rates bloggers are likely to charge.  It’s also important that you ask applicants to provide samples of their blog post writing and links to their work online as well as their social Web profiles so you can learn more about their skills and experience. [Read more…] about How to Find Bloggers to Write Your Business Blog

Is the Right Person Writing Your Business Blog?

Who is writing your business blog?  If it’s not the right person, you won’t get the results you want and need from your blog.  That’s because no two people are alike on the social Web and different bloggers have a wide variety of skills, experience, and natural aptitude for conversing on the social Web, particularly via a business blog.

There are three primary options for choosing a business blogger:

  1. Write your business blog yourself.
  2. Enlist an employee to write your business blog.
  3. Hire a professional blogger to write your business blog.

Each of the options above has pros and cons.

First, there is no one who knows your business, customers, and goals better than you do, but finding time to write great content doesn’t come easily to everyone.

Second, employees can be great bloggers, particularly if they’re familiar with the social Web and are vocal advocates of your brand and business.  However, you have to monitor your employees’ conversations and behaviors online to ensure they adequately represent your business and brand and don’t disclose any proprietary information.  [Read more…] about Is the Right Person Writing Your Business Blog?

Call for Business Submissions

Does your business Web site run on WordPress or another blogging application?  I highly recommend using WordPress, not just for business blogging, but for your entire business Web site.  I use it for mine (see the image to the left), and I’d like to start a new series here on BusinessLogs that highlights businesses that use WordPress or another blogging application to create their Web sites.

I’m looking for business sites that look like Web sites, not like blogs, on the home page at least (of course, a blog can be attached to the site, and it should be).  The goal of the series is to not only show how flexible blogging applications like WordPress are, but also to show how great a business Web site can look when it’s built on WordPress (or another blogging application).

Plus, really cool submissions might even be featured in my upcoming book coming out in 2011, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to WordPress”, but the first priority is sharing the great work businesses are doing in leveraging blogging platforms to create awesome Web sites here on BusinessLogs.

To submit your business site for consideration in the series, just leave a comment on this post with your site’s URL. Chosen submissions will appear in a future blog post with screenshots of your site and links back to your site.

Note that the series won’t critique sites but rather provide an overview of the cool things site owners are doing with WordPress, etc. to build their businesses and brands.

Feel free to share this request with your own audiences via Twitter, Facebook, your business blog, etc.!  Let’s find some really great business sites built on WordPress, etc. to highlight here on BusinessLogs!

20 Business Blog Posts that Add Value

It’s important that the content on your business blog is interesting, entertaining, useful, or helpful.  In other words, your business blog posts must add value to the user-experience on your blog.

So what should you write about on your business blog?

That’s a common question that many businesses struggle to answer.  Fortunately, I compiled a list of 20 business blog posts that add value to your blog, which are listed below:

1. Industry news

What’s going on in your industry?  Write about news, changes, and so on.

2. Company news

Is there anything interesting in your company’s future?  Share an insider’s perspective of your office or store on your business blog (without revealing proprietary information).

3. Customer service issues

Are there common customer service issues that you can resolve by publishing a blog post to clear up confusion?  Your business blog is a great place to discuss misconceptions and common problems that are easily fixed. [Read more…] about 20 Business Blog Posts that Add Value

Niche or Die – Define Your Business Blog Niche for Greater Success

niche business blogNiche is a hot buzz word these days, particularly as it relates to marketing and publishing.  In simplest terms, a niche is a very specific area of focus.  You can have a niche business or a niche blog, so why not join the two and have a powerful niche business blog?  It’s brilliant, and many businesses have found great success on the social Web by defining and exploiting their niches via their business blogs.  You can do it, too!

The Web is full of clutter, but you can stand out from the noise by establishing your niche and offering authoritative, reliable, and shareworthy content and conversations related to that niche on your business blog.

The first step is to define your niche by asking yourself the following questions:

1. Who is my target audience and what do they want from me?

Define your best audience, and then find out where they spend time online.  Listen to their conversations and join those conversations to learn about what they want from a niche blog like yours.  Then, create amazing content that meets those wants and needs. [Read more…] about Niche or Die – Define Your Business Blog Niche for Greater Success