BusinessBlogAngel

DIY Blogsite Teleclass Training Series

For those wanting to try 'doing it themselves'  - creating a Blogsite for Business -  this series of teleclass training calls will take you from 'absolute beginner' to a Blogsite for Business in just 5 hours.

Across the course of 5 weeks, 60 minutes per week, I will take you by the hand and lead you through the blogging back streets! I'll set you homework tasks and I will provide you with a resource centre where you can download audio recordings of the class as well as written notes.

Series Content

In Week 1, we will start by designing your blog including:

What's a Permalink?

Here's a clue - it's nothing to do with 70s Scouser hairstyles!

A permalink is the specific web address for a post on a blog.

If you look down to the bottom of this post, you will see the word Permalink as a link... that's it, right after the date this entry was posted and the 'category' it appears in. Now if you are reading this soon after it was published, or after clicking on the Blogging Basics category link, then chances  are it appears as just one of several posts on the page.

Blogs - What Good are they Anyway?

This article about blogging is by Adrian Lawrence.  Adrian is the webmaster of Article Alley a popular free content directory web site.  Clients often say to me that they worry that they won't have anything to blog about.  Sites like EZineArticles (where I found this article) and Article Alley provide thousands of articles which are free to reproduce on hundreds of topics and subjects. So if you really do get stuck, simply find an article there and post it on your blog. 

In this article, Adrian raises even more reasons why you should be blogging!

Benefits of Blogging

Came across this interesting article by Herman Drost today. What's interesting is that the 10 reasons he gives are still only the tip of the ice-berg! In my talk, "Blog Basics: The Lure of the Anorak - Why Every Business Should Be Blogging", those 10 reasons fall under just 2 of a total of 8 sections in which I explain the benefits of blogging to business people. Anyway, Herman does a great job of explaining his top ten - take a look:

10 Top Reasons to Create a Blog for Your Business by Herman Drost

If you have been putting off creating a blog to supplement your business, START NOW as you may be leaving money on the table.

Talk about blogging!

Q. What do anoraks, entrepreneurs and wannabe writers have in common?
A. They blog.

You probably know what a blog is - an online, diary-style publishing platform - but do you know about its secret mission and hidden talents?

In this informative, interactive and entertaining session Business Blog Angel, Claire Raikes will break down the power of the blog and explain why every business (or indiviudal, for that matter) should be blogging.

By the end of this talk, you will be able to:

• understand the lure of the anorak
• create your own network or community
• create a (relatively passive) second income
• build your own blogsite* - in under 15 minutes
• position yourself as a global expert in your field
• explain to others why they should be blogging too!
  
  *blog-based website

Book Claire to speak to your company or group.

Content for blogs - using quotes

So you've got yourself a blog to help boost your business or service and you know you should be blogging regularly to get the full benefits - but what to blog about?

Many clients find it hard to come up with content ideas when they start blogging, especially if they are new to writing. Besides using other people's articles, there are many other ways to find something to say in your blog. Here's a really quick and simple way:

Google "quotes about [insert relevant topic here]". So if you are a delicatessen or restaurant, you could insert the word "food". If you are a personal fitness trainer, you could insert the word "exercise". If you are a doctor, insert the word "flu" etc.

What will come up are hundreds of links to 'quotation' sites. Simply find one that you like and blog it! You might want to say a few words about why you like it. It might remind you of a story that would be of interest to your readers - so type that up too! Everyone loves a story. :o)