Some people - like
Bob Byrne of Clamnuts Comics who had never considered blogging before - take to it like a duck to water. Others, who would like to blog, aren't always so sure where to start.
I put together some thoughts, primarily using Bob as an example, to (hopefully) help some other newbies to business blogging.
Why Business Blogging?
There has been a lot of talk about business blogging, or blogging for business so I'm not going to spend too long on the whys of it, if you want the argument for why Blog from a business perspective then check out
Particletree's excellent argument for Small business Blogging.
However, taking Bob's blog as an example, I can quickly say that his blog can
- Let people get to know Bob Byrne
- Identify him as an authority in Irish Comics
- Build a regular readership
- Bring search engine traffic into the site
Building Brand
The internet is a great way to build awareness of a small business like Clamnuts Comics. As people find Bob's blog and website, the more he becomes known as one of the key personalities in Irish Comics and the more exposure Clamnuts gets. The goal would be to get to a point that when people think 'Irish Comics' they will think 'Clamnuts'. Bob's blog, ultimately, will help to build his brand.
Distinctive Voices
Bob is extremely lucky in that he has a unique and distinctive style which runs through his comics and all of his blog posts. It may not be to everybodies taste, but it is an essential part of his brand.
You don't have to be as extreme as Bob, but it certainly helps if you have a distinctive voice which reflects your brand.
Blogging Subjects
If you are blogging on a business related blog, then it will be crucial that you blog about subjects related to your business. Some will tell you you should
only blog about subjects relevant to your business, but I think that's a personal call that only you can make. Bob, for example, blogs about all kinds of things - which
includes items pertinent to his industry.
Blogging about subjects
not related to your industry from time to time help your readers build a more rounded image of you, which I believe is a good thing.
However, straying from industry specific topics may require a certain amount of common sense or strategic decision making - for example do you want to tackle a current affairs issue which may be controversial? There would be pros and cons to posting something like this, the safer bet would be to stay away... but if you are an edgy and progressive business with a very specific target client base you may be able to afford to take the risk.
Bob's post on 'Documenting US Soldiers Funerals' as a very good example of posting controversial material. However, Bob's comics themselves tend to be controversial and often political (see cover of Shiznit Issue 2) and as such these kind of posts are not likely to lose Bob any comic readers - if they are offended by this post, they will most likely be very offended by his comics. So it would be my view that he can afford to post material like this. In fact, as someone who shares the views expressed by Bob in this post, I can say it would encourage me to read his comics.
Industry Related Subjects, Targeted Traffic & Passion
Bob recently
blogged about the 'Irish Comics Expo 2005'. Searching for 'Irish Comics Expo' in Google brings Clamnuts back in the first few results. So anyone who has heard about the expo and wants to find out more by searching for it on Google will see Bob's site, and may visit it.
This brings visitors who are actively interested in comics to Bob's Clamnuts site.
Bob posted the comics expo article because he wanted to spread the word about the expo, and because he will be there himself.
From what I know of Bob, the fact that it would bring targetted traffic into his site is unlikely to have occurred to him. And that's part of the beauty of Bob's blog - it's not a cynical marketting ploy. Bob loves comics and loves writing about them.
That kind of passion will be picked up by readers too. Just as a cynical attempt to bring targetted traffic will be picked up. if readers come to your site, read your posts and realise it is all just a marketing ploy they will be gone in a flash.
In that case, why am I telling you all this about targetted traffic? Well, i believe that a healthy mix of passion about your subject and understanding of how you can build traffic is the key.
Armed with a passion for your subject and a little understanding about findability and building traffic you are really set for business blogging.
What should I blog about? Using RSS
There won't always be a comics expo, or equivalent in you industry - so what do you blog about?
Well, if you are short on inspiration from time to time here is something you could try. Use RSS.
Get yourself an RSS feed reader if you don't already have one. If you don't know what RSS is, you can read about RSS and feed readers on
my page about subscribing to RSSNow, go to some popular Blog search tools. Such as:
I'm sure there are others, but these will get you started. Next step is to search them for industry related terms. So for example, Bob could go to Google Blog Search and search for 'Comics'. When the results of the search come back, if you scroll down to the bottom of the results you will see "Subscribe: Atom (10 results - 100 results) RSS (10 results - 100 results)".
Click on the RSS '100 results' and you will be taken to a page which displays an RSS feed for your search results. You can now copy the URL of that page into your Feed Reader and 'subscribe' to it and therefore be kept up to date on what bloggers are saying about 'comics'. Repeat excercise for other relevant terms - for example 'Irish Comics' or 'Weird Comics'.
It's a good idea to then do the same with some of the other Blog searches, so you get the best of all of them. When you do a search in IceRocket you'll see a link on the right hand side saying 'RSS 2.0 Feed' and in Feedster it's an orange XML button. But other than the different way the feeds are linked to, it's the same process.
With Technorati, it's slightly different, you have to register with them. Then you do your searches and click on the green button that says "add to watchlist", you can then 'View Watchlist' (again, a green button) and when you view watchlist you'll see a little blue RSS button. This is the link to the feed.
Once you have subscribed to the searches you think will be relevant to your industry using your feed reader, you can open up your feed reader everyday and see what bloggers are saying about your industry.
This is a good way to get good leads on what is going on, what are hot topics, and what people are interested about in your industry.
Be Original
Remember, using RSS is a very valuable way to keep an eye on the scene in your industry as it exists online, but there is no substitute for originality. The danger with using the RSS trick is that you end up always following the crowd, posting links to the same items as everybody else. Use RSS to keep an eye on what's going on, what others are saying - and then 'bounce off' them, posting your own ideas about topics.
Keep an eye on yourself
When you are searching and subscribing, it's also a good idea to include your company name, your own name and other brand related terms pertaining to you. That way you also keep an eye on what people are specifically saying about you... :)
Use your titles
Once you have found something to blog about, remember that the title of your blog post is very important. Posting about something is pointless unless you enable people to
find what you have written.
Look at the simple 'Comics Expo' example. Bob writes in the post:
Yes, come meet and greet the cream of the scene. Below is Rob Curley's press release blurb (unedited or corrected, he spells 'of' as 'off' just the way a certain girlfreind of mine does). Beautiful flyer designed by some stud
If Bob had decided to title his post "The cream of the scene" would he now be in the first couple of results for a Google search of "Irish Comics Expo"?
Unlikely. So give some thought to
how you want people to find what you write. Make the title short and descriptive and include a phrase you think people will search for.
Key phrases, wording links and outward links
Once you have given some thought to how you might want people to find your post and decided on a phrase, use it in the text of your post. I don't mean spending hours deciding on a phrase either - this is something as you blog more and more you will simply become innately aware of. You will build it into your style of writing.
It is good to pepper your post with the phrase or phrases. Obviously, never force the issue - keep it as natural as you can.
Try to word links in a useful way and, where relevant, worded with your key phrase. So instead of saying "You can read more about the comics expo
here" it would be far better to say "You can
read more about the comics expo on the clamnuts site."
So the relevance of the link is included in the link itself.
And it is good to include outward links. Don't be afraid of 'losing' readers. I think this is an irrational fear which is disappearing fast (so 1990's) but rest assured that it's a good thing - as long as you are linking to reputable sites with relevant information.
Libel!
Be aware of libel laws if you intend to mention other individuals or companies in your blog. Tom R has a
very interesting post on libel which every blogger should read, and Digital Rights Ireland have some
legal information on libel which you should also read.
Th-th-th-that's all folks!
Phew. I didn't mean to write such a long post. I hope it's been helpful to somebody!
Feel free to leave comments!
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