BusinessBlogAngel

The Top 10 Things You Should Know Before You [Business] Blog

Was following a blog trail earlier and came across a post written back in July 2005 on www.Inc.com - absolutely aeons ago in the blogging world - or is it? Have things really changed that much?

Having established that "Weblogs are a viable way to build brand awareness and establish an individual's expertise in a particular area." [Yep, still completely relevant] Carole Matthews continues, "To help lessen the anxiety you might feel about blogging, [no change there then] we... uncover the top 10 things you should know before you blog. These tips should help better prepare you for writing and maintaining a weblog for your business."  Read the rest of the article here.

Now I don't know about you, but I reckon that every one of those 10 points is as true today as it was then. The key differences between now and then are that a) more people know about the value of business blogging now - and b) as far as I can see, small business has perhaps overtaken corporate business as far as business blogging 'take up' goes.  What do you think?  Click on the Comments link below to share your thoughts. (Email address optional.)

Blogphobias - what worries you about business blogging

Dagnabbit! Not doing to well on the posting every day thing am I? Anyway... an interesting conversation yesterday and a Trackback I received today highlighted a topic I probably don't address enough on this blog - Blogphobias or business blogging fears and concerns...

First the trackback - which came from Margaret Collins of www.TheGrowthZone.com. She was talking on her blog about customer service and mentioned the recent challenges I'd experienced.  Now, if you read Margaret's blog, you'll see she's not been blogging long, so the fact that she has mastered Trackbacks so early on is impressive. Not only that, but she configured her blog herself and it looks fantastic. Trackbacking and Commenting and designing your blog to work harder for you are all invaluable activities when it comes to business blog marketing.

No regrets?

OK, so I didn't post yesterday - primarily because I had a very early start and had to catch a train back down to London. I'm still there/here actually, 'on site' at a client's place. This is the only client I actually visit and that's because of the work I do for her (which is nothing at all to do with business blogging!). I should really give it up, but loyalty and a valued relationship keeps me coming back.

I went past my old flat on the way here. Wondered how it would feel and it felt just fine. No regrets. Not even a twinge - of sadness or regret. I do love London. BUT, having been gone for just over a month now, its shortcomings as a place to live are so pronounced - to me.

I will enjoy my visits here I am sure, but I have so done the right thing (in moving) and I cannot wait to return to my new home in Cardiff tomorrow. (A more 'on topic' post tomorrow, I promise)

Overcoming Technology and Blogging Fears

Ha! I am so proud of myself... Today I have faced my own technology fear and triumphed...
Regular visitors will know that I recently relocated from London to Cardiff.  The removal company I used are 100% trustworthy.  Nevertheless, I took my PC in the car with me - nestled in a carefully fashioned den of duvets and pillows.  If anyone was going to damage my 'life support' machine - it would be me.

When I put it all together again at this end, it worked perfectly. Then the day I got back online, it coolly announced it couldn't find the sound card... thus no skyping, no podcasting, no music etc. Historically, I would have called a techy friend to come to my rescue, but this time I decided to tackle it myself.

Business Blogging - what and when to blog

Leesa Barnes and I hosted our 3rd Buzz Marketing Workshop preview call this week. (if you missed them, you can listen to the recordings here.)  One of the things that came up this time was getting clear on who you are writing/podcasting for and therefore what to blog or podcast about.

This is a really common worry amongst newbie business bloggers; they invariably ask me, "What will I blog about?"  As they soon discover, it's rarely an issue once you get cracking and you always find things to say that will be of interest to your readers.  My personal challenge is not so much what to blog, as making the time to blog.  So, in the same way that a hairdresser often needs a haircut, or a garden designer has a jungle for a back yard, this business blogger often struggles to keep her own blog up to date!  I'm just too busy working on other people's business blogging projects. So what to do?

Business Blog Angel is back!

The sun is out, the sky is blue... and I have a phone line! Hurrah!  And a business blog angel's vital bit of kit - a broadband connection!   I don't think the phone engineer who visited earlier today has ever witnessed such delirium over the sound of a dial tone! :o)

Anyway, I just want to say a huge 'thank you' to everyone who has demonstrated so much patience, understanding and support over the last few (very trying) weeks and to give you my assurance that I will be working like a mad thing to catch up on delayed jobs and outstanding requests.  Business Blog Angel is back!

PS. If you haven't already done so, you might want to reserve your place on the Buzz Marketing Workshop I'm co-hosting with Podcasting expert Leesa Barnes in London in March. You only have a few days left to secure your place at the Early Bird price (save 200 doh! that's 400ukp) - you'll find more details and recordings of our preview calls here

Business Blog Angel Urgent Update

Dear all... I am frustrated and unreasonably embarassed to report that I am still not back in the land of the (online) living.  Despite having ordered my phone line on the 1st of December, BT have failed to install it. Actually, they have failed 5 times.  I have been given dates of 14/12, 16/12, 22/12, 5/1 and 12/1 but I now realise that when BT gives you a date it doesn't actually mean jack shit.  Do I sound annoyed?  Sorry.  But this is my livelihood we are talking about here.  They know this too.  So I'm encouraged to think that they are doing everything humanly possible to sort this fiasco out - even if it looks and feels like they don't actually give two hoots.