There are lots of different ways to engage with the blogosphere and use it for your business and this doesn’t necessarily mean jumping in with both feet and setting up a blog on day one.

Some people prefer to be passive observers and use blogs primarily for research, while others make use of their full potential and develop their own ‘community’ around their own corporate blog. For me there are 6 main types which I would describe as follows:

The Listener

The Listener (or Onlooker) isn’t actively engaging with blogs or other bloggers but does have an interest in what is going on, and so browses blogs just to look at and listen to what others are saying. Being a Listener is a key start point for anyone (or any business) intending to start a blog because it helps to find out which topics are important, and it also gives a feel for what does and doesn’t work. Using an RSS reader, it’s wonderfully easy to follow a number of blogs once you have found them.

The Researcher

Similar to the Listener, the Researcher has a specific purpose in mind when checking the content of the blogs. This may be to monitor what is being said about the organisation (akin to the “press cuttings” file of days gone by) or about the industry in which it operates. However, in many more cases, this research is a key phase in planning and launching its own corporate blog as it provides invaluable information on who the key bloggers are and what conversations are currently taking place.

The Contributor

The Contributor has taken its first steps in interacting with the blogosphere, by leaving comments on other blogs and so participating in those conversations. An excellent way to gain visibility, leaving comments is a good way to practise one’s own blogging style as well as promote the organisation’s own blog if it is to be set up.

The Builder

Having done the research, taken advice and planned the blog accordingly, the Builder is now in a position to start and build a company blog. With your own blog, you can now initiate the conversations, spread its own message and attract and communicate with people interested in the area. It also gives a place to direct people as you continue to comment on their blogs. The Builder is now in control of what is being said rather than simply reading or reacting to others’ posts, allowing them to guide the conversation and the topics to meet with the requirements of the company.

The Host

Finally, there is a full immersion in the blogosphere with an active blog and an active community around it which you engage with at all levels. Here the Host, through the blog, is facilitating not just a two way conversation with readers but a multidirectional conversation with a number of participants. Using the blog as a key central marketing and communications tool, the Host can develop the relationships it has with the blog’s readers and, in doing so, build up both its own reputation and trust.

Of course, you could just remain a Sleeper who is aware of what business blogs are but decides not to participate at all in the blogosphere, thus allowing competitors to gain the first mover advantage.

So what type are you and, more importantly, what type would you like to be? Let us know!

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“How often should I blog?” is a question which always crops up in the first conversation I have with anyone about Business Blogging and one to which I know that they are desperate for a simple answer, whether it is “once an hour”, “once a day”, “once a week” or just “once”.

However, as you might have already guessed, there are no hard and fast rules for this – Jonathan Schwartz posts on his blog at Sun once a week more or less, whereas Darren Rowse at Problogger serves up several posts on a daily basis. Both are well read, well respected and successful.

What has made each of them so successful is that they have focused in on what their readers want from their individual blogs and provided them with it. They are intrinsically very different but perfectly in tune with the reason why they are blogging, the audience they are writing for and what that readership expects.

If I were to offer some guidelines, then these are the ones that I would pass on:

• Post as often as you can without compromising the quality
  Quality beats quantity every time in my opinion. Quality will get you noticed and is more likely to encourage people to develop relationships with you. Granted, a single post in a month had better be really really good, but you get my drift.
• Post when you have something relevant/interesting/significant to say
  There is a lot of information being pumped out onto the web and much of it fails to make any sort of impact or contribution. So, when you post something, do all you can to ensure that it is worth reading and won’t just be making up the numbers.
• Post as regularly as you have told your readers you are going to
  If you have made a commitment to your readers then try to stick to it – if you need to change it then inform them and then stick to your new commitment. It’s all about communication.
• Post as regularly as your subject area / topic requires
  There are some subject areas where a constant flow of information is highly valued; other topics require fewer posts and more in depth analysis. When you write on your specialist area, judge your own rhythm of posting accordingly.

Remember that one of the main benefits of a blog is the interaction it allows you with your readers - so use it and talk to them! Actually ask for their opinion on how often you should post and be guided by them (within reason!). Let them know what you are going to be doing and, if that changes, communicate that as well. If you won’t be posting for a while (and we all need a break from time to time), then let your readers know rather than just leaving the last post hanging unceremoniously.

And don’t forget that writing does not have to mean publishing – you can write and then edit your posts over a number of days before ultimately pressing the publish button. Give yourself the time to hone and refine certain posts if you feel so inclined; alternatively, if you are feeling particularly creative, write a number of posts at one sitting and then schedule them to be published in line with your normal rhythm.

Does this lose a little bit of the spontaneity of blogging? Perhaps … but business blogging may still be about authenticity and conversations, but above all it’s about developing trust and connections.

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There are many different ways in which companies of all sizes can use business blogs to help market themselves, their products and their services as well as improve communications with customers and prospects alike. However, for small businesses the added independence and flexibility that a blog offers means that the discussion really should not be whether a blog is worthwhile or not, but rather where its focus should lie.

A blog can play a central role in the marketing activity of a Small Business but, like all forms of marketing, it needs to be planned, targeted and measured, so remember the three key . Consequently, a key phase in creating a successful Small Business blog happens ahead of its launch when you plan out how you want to use your Blog, who your target audience is and what you want to achieve with it. All three of these elements are key to its success.

If we now take a look at some of the potential types of focus that a small business Blog can take, then you will see what a powerful tool it can be.

Demonstrate and communicate your expertise
Most small businesses offer specialist knowledge and skills - it’s what differentiates them - but what they often lack is a way to demonstrate them to potential customers. A Business Blog offers the ability to do this and much more beside. By what you write in your posts and also how you write them, you can show your expertise without overtly selling to your readers – this gives you the chance to build up a positive reputation and a degree of trust with potential clients and partners alike.

Great Search Engine rankings
With so many people using the internet to research products and services before they buy, small businesses need to achieve a prominent position and high ranking in Search Engine Results for their chosen key phrases. Business Blogs can help immeasurably in this. The structure of a blog combined with the focused nature of the posts, regular updates and the interlinking which is part and parcel of blogs, will all push you towards to the top of the rankings. This makes a Business Blog ideal for small businesses looking for greater visibility and enquiries.

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Recently I was asked for some ideas on how to manage a routine of writing on a business blog by someone who knew that he wanted to create a blog for his company, had gone through the initial planning stages with me and yet was still hesitant because of the time commitment he felt was involved.

Anyway, I went through some of the methods that work for me in the two main areas that seem to cause most concern:

a) coming up with ideas for the posts;
b) actually getting down to writing and posting them.

Even though my own blog time management could do with some help just at the moment (!), I thought that I would share them here as well along with a couple of other methods which I’ve seen used successfully on other blogs.

Generating ideas for your posts

• Always carry a notebook with you to jot down ideas as they occur to you. Sounds simple and it is but this is probably the biggest source of ideas that I have. If you want to use your blog more fully in this process, you could also use the blog itself as a notepad, posting notes to unpublished post to then use later or perhaps doing it via your mobile using one of the voice to text services around such as SpinVox.
• Your RSS Feed Reader should be a goldmine of information, keeping you up to date with news from sources covering your areas of interest - the information comes to you, you don’t have to go looking for it everyday. Most people find that other bloggers are a great source of inspiration as well as information;
• Use Google Alerts to generate ideas and research your marketplace and industry - you’ll find some more thoughts on using google alerts as a research tool here.
• Use questions that you have been asked as the basis of a post. You might have been asked via email, at a seminar or conference or just in conversation, but if one person has asked then the likelihood is that others are wondering the same thing and so the answers in the post will be of interest to them all;
• Develop ideas which expand on one of your earlier posts or themes, or from the comments which have been left on your previous posts. They come from your readers so are likely to be relevant to them.

Writing your blog posts

• Schedule a regular time when you sit and write your posts - it could be at any time during the day but set some time aside just as you would for other marketing tasks;
• Use the (non private!) content of emails that you have written on the subject as these will often contain the core of a good information post. The same with presentations you’ve given - use small chunks of them (and of course promote your future presentations at the same time);
• Focus on what your readers want to read and this will help to focus your writing too - as Seth Godin commented recently on his own blog, “The mistake most blogs and books make: they are about the writer, not the reader”;
• Consider writing a number of posts in one go. Some people find it much easier to write when they are in the flow so if “the mood grabs you” (!) then make the most of it - you can then schedule the posts to appear over the following days;
• Plan and write a series on an important subject area for your readers - it’s much easier to keep going once you have started to write on a subject so a series is a great way to achieve that;
• Divide a longer post into smaller chunks and present them over a couple of days;
• Bring in additional authors to post alongside you, either as guest bloggers or as co-writers on an occasional or semi-permanent basis.

When you are looking to write 2 - 3 posts per week on a company blog, it can be a daunting prospect at the start so it’s important to get organised. These are some of the methods that work for me but ultimately it’s a case of using what works best for you. If you’ve got other ways you use to decide what you want to write and then actually write it, then do let us know!

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Either when thinking about setting their company blog or in the early stages of writing it, I get a lot of worried calls from people asking how they will find topics to write about. Don’t worry about it - I can guarantee that this will not be a problem! Why do I say that? Well, you know your subject inside out or else you wouldn’t be in that particular business and so what you will find you mainly do is try to select the best topics for your readers from among those you could write about.

For me, there are two main sources of ideas: you and everyone else.

Blog Post Ideas - You

You’ll find that during the day you’ll start to think “Oh, that would make a good topic for my blog” (sad but true!) and you’ll want to make sure that you capture all these ideas that come to you. Personally I use a nice and easy solution for this: I keep a notebook with me all the time. Why? So that I can note down any ideas that occur to me during the day - and, believe me, they can come at the weirdest moments.

They could be triggered by any event, by something that I see which sparks a connection or by a comment that somebody makes to me. I note down the idea and any associated thoughts that crop up at the time and then I go back, review and use these ideas as and when I need to.

Blog Post Ideas - Everyone Else

When it comes to “everyone else”, the best people to take ideas from are your customers, your prospects and your partners - these are all the sorts of people who are likely to ask the sort of questions which others would benefit from as well. Ideal to get more people interested in your blog and a great source of inspiration.

So, make a note of the main ones and make a point of talking about them on your blog. You can treat it in the same way you do when you get a question from the audience when you are making a presentation or giving a talk - that’s to say, repeat the question that has been asked so that the rest of the audience can hear and then go ahead and answer it.

Do the same in your blog. You could even wrap it in a story about how the question came about, stories are always more memorable to your readers. In this way, you’re sharing information which will answer relevant and real questions that should help your customers use your product better and help your prospects to understand its potential better.

So that you have this resource developing on an ongoing basis, I suggest that:

• you keep a folder in your email system and make a copy of both the question you receive and the response you send back - this will in itself form the basis of your business blog post;
• after meetings with clients, prospects or suppliers, note down some of the key questions that they asked and which were clearly on interest to them;
• at Conferences and Exhibitions, keep a record of the questions or the areas that visitors to your stand keep asking about and are showing most interest in.

You’ll soon find that you have topics for your posts planned out well in advance and as you write the posts, you will hopefully also start to receive comments which will start to take the discussions and questions in other directions as well.

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