Best Blogging Software For

I'm a Blog Admin! Now What?!

Thursday, November 19, 2009 by Allison Bowen

As an employee for Compendium Blogware, my job every day is to help our clients with our blog software. This often means that I find myself updating calls-to-action, explaining how clients can add users and answering other various questions that our users and admins might have.

But recently, the tables have turned. I have now become a blog admin myself! Now what do I do?!

Both Amber Mohling and I are fellows with the Orr Fellowship program. The Orr Fellowship program provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate students searching for their first salaried, full-time position following graduation. It's been a great opportunity for both of us!

Well wouldn't you know it, we recently were able to set up an Orr Fellowship blog. And I'm the new blog admin! Check it out -- http://blog.orrfellowship.org. I now find myself actually performing some of the duties that we discuss with clients each day. So as a new blog admin, what have I done? Followed Compendium's blogging best practice tips, of course!

Updated our calls-to-action
Added ShareThis to our blog (visit here and send the code to help@compendium.com)
Encouraged my bloggers to blog frequently and consistently
Made sure each blogger has a sticky post set up
Monitored my Google Analytics statistics (admins should get them each Monday by e-mail)

It has definitely been an adventure, but I'm really enjoying being a blog admin. When I saw the number of click-throughs from our blog and our most recent search results, I was thrilled. Compendium really does provide the best blogging software!

Gen Y women. What influences their brand discovery?

Friday, November 13, 2009 by Chris Baggott

Can I buy stock in eMarketer?   Every day they send me this great email with relevant content to my business....and yours.

Like this report for example.   Clearly this blog is about education, and persuasion that we offer best blogging software for Business.   Our firm belief is that that Social Media helps a company serve two masters. One is the search engine, and two is the need to humanize your business.

When you see a chart like this, it really helps make the case that if you just look at the responses related to search, online profile, and the two blog mentions (blog written by someone like me and professional or subject experts), you can clearly see that Corporate blogging is the critical hub of todays marketing strategy.

Blogs drive search traffic better than almost anything else...and it's a lot easier and legitmate to simply write often about how you help customers and solve problems than a lot of other SEO tools you might be tempted with.

I also love the phrase: "someone like me".   Obviously, you have people in your organization who fit the professional/subject expert catagory.    But think about it.   Among your employees and your current customers you also have lots of people who can be classified as "someone like me".

Now either Gen X or Gen Y women represents an extremely large catagory.   If you had to make a persona around everyone who could be slotted into these groups you would struggle.   But tactics like triggered emails to existing customers are amazing ways to solicit relevant blog content and engage the long tail of this diverse yet consistant audience.

Exciting Product Release to Preview your Blog Post within Your Template

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

This morning, Compendium proudly released the ability to preview your blog post within your live blog template. Prior to today,when creating post as a user the options available were to save as a draft, submit my post to the administrator for moderation or preview the post in new window to ensure video worked properly.

Today, when a user selects preview post, they will now view their content as it would appear live on the web. A nice enhancement to our easy to use blogging software which allows users an extra reassurance that their content will represent the company well on the corporate blog.

As a member of the product support team, we are always working to request enhancements to the product that will enhance each users experience and provide the best blogging software to our clients.

If you have a suggestion, fill our the web form and we will add it to our product log for enhancements. Yes, these enhancements are prioritized by customer request, so every vote matters.

Don't Be Scared of Keywords

Monday, November 2, 2009 by Tyler Bender

I've been writing for years. I have a background in Journalism and was beat over the head with APA format writing in college. I have written websites, press releases, brochures, video scripts. I thought I'd seen the in's and out's of this "web 2.0" movement. The basic principles for writing for the web: keep it simple, put yourself in the shoes of your audience, tell them what you want them to do. Don't screw up gramatically, and don't have typos.

Got it.

Now, I've only been a part of Compendium's team for about three weeks as an internal content writer, and one of the things I have seen multiple times in some of our client keyword lists look something like this: (I'll use Compendium as my example)

Compendium Blogware
Compendium
Blogging Software
Corporate Blogs
Compendiums
Comppendium
Compendiam
Compendium Blog Ware

Notice something odd? The name of the company is misspelled. more than once.

And I'm expected to throw those keywords into my content like that? Whhhhattt? This concept takes some catching on. And for someone who has spent the greater part of his life trying to edit and perfect his writing so that it never has a typo, learning how to include typos into content on purpose is like telling Peyton Manning that it's ok to throw passes to the other team. At first, it was like nails on a chalkboard, only the nails were buckets of acid and the chalkboard was my eyes.

But it makes sense.

People don't check Webster's Dictionary or the phonebook before they visit search engines to search for your company's keywords. Sometimes they're going to misspell their searches and you want to win those searches - even if they're "wrong." Right?

When you're bloging for search, you should always account for the searches that aren't perfect. It's okay. Wouldn't you rather have someone find your blog even though they mistakenly typed in "Acmes Solution" instead of "Acme Solutions," than someone completely miss your content because you weren't comfortable including the misspelling in your content?

Part of the beauty of blogging is that it's not perfect. Actually, I think some imperfections in corporate blogs make the writers more "relatable" to their audience. If I saw a typo in a brochure, I'd think that the company was lazy, didn't care enough to edit their material and all-around not very professional. If I see a typo in a blog, it's easier to remind myself that an actual human being is on the other end of the blog, constantly updating their content, and it was probably a simple oversight.

So don't be scared of your keywords just because they're mispelled. They'll still work, and strategically, it makes sense to use them. The goal is to reach your audience - even if they're not sure how to spell your company name.

Explaining Compendium to Friends

Friday, October 30, 2009 by Allison Bowen

I have always loved the fall season. Football, changing leaves, chilly fall days... and HALLOWEEN! What's better than that?! Despite the fact that I'm now an adult, I still find it fun to dress up and go out on the town. This year, my friends and I decided that our own little Halloween night was just what we needed. Of course this meant that we had to carve pumpkins.

I am one of the lucky individuals who is still best friends with their high school friends; last night's Halloween party was with girls that I have known since kindergarten. As we all sat around reminiscing about the past, our conversations quickly turned to what we are doing know. One friend is a hairdresser, one works for a local health company, two are in grad school.... and then there is me. How do I explain what my company does?

"Oh that's easy," I always say. "We provide the best blogging software for search engine optimization." That's the point at which I always get blank stares.

Compendium's product is really quite easy when you think about it. By writing blog posts, you are able to increase your company's position within Google's rankings for certain keywords. Does your company sell bicyles in Indianapolis? You would probaby want your company to appear first when someone searches for "Indianapolis Bicycles" within Google. Our product helps you do just that! Of course there is a bit more to it, but overall, Compendium helps your company rise to the top of search results through blogging.

We Want Your Ideas!

Friday, October 30, 2009 by Allison Bowen

Here at Compendium, we know that we provide our clients with the best blogging software available. Not only does our product allow you to easily write a blog post, it will also help you actually blog for search engine optimization. We know that our product is great, but there are always areas in which it could be better. This is where you come in.

We want to hear from you! Have an idea? A suggestion to improve our product? We are always open to ideas from our clients. Our main goal is provide our clients with the most powerful blogging software that will help them get the best results.

If you have a suggestion for something we could improve within our system, please let us know! Send you ideas and enhancement requests to help@compendium.com. We take all the ideas submitted and enter them into a database. Each idea is prioritized by demand, so the more clients that ask for a feature, the more we want to make it happen! Every week, our engineering team takes a look at the enhancement requests submitted and tries their best to upgrade our software accordingly.

Keep an eye out for more new features that you, our clients, have requested coming soon!

Changing User Information

Friday, October 30, 2009 by Allison Bowen

Have you noticed the many new features that are now a part of our Compendium blog software? Our engineering team has been hard at work making our simple blogging software even more user-friendly.

One recent new feature has been the ability for administrators to now add users to their

accounts. But did you know that admins also now have the ability to change a user's name and e-mail?

Did someone in your company recently get married? Did you change the e-mails of everyone in your company? No problem!

It's simple to make these changes! Once you add a user (for instructions, click here) you can make any changes by simply clicking on the user's name or e-mail. A box will appear; type in the appropriate changes and hit update!

That's right, the best blogging software just got better.

Compendium's Complexity

Friday, October 30, 2009 by Allison Bowen

As the main manager of our help@compendium.com e-mail, I often see many different cases come in to our queue. Sometimes clients are requesting blogging best practice tips. Other times clients are looking to have a call-to-action changed or have a question about how to best blog for search results. No two cases are ever the same; it keeps my life exciting!

I've had the opportunity to learn so much about our simple blogging software and every day I'm more and more amazed at how complex it is. Only our amazing engineering team can figure out how to make everything work together! Maybe they should take a break from our software and try their hand at an invention like the one in the video below!

Passion.

Thursday, October 29, 2009 by Allison Bowen

While being a Client Success Specialist here at Compendium, I also have the role of being an Orr Fellow. This means that I am a part of the two-year Governor Bob Orr Entreprenurial Fellowship Program and have had many opportunities within Compendium and Indianapolis because of my position. As a part of the Orr Fellowship, I have recently travelled to many colleges throughout the state to recruit for our program.

Last night I went to a networking fair at Butler University and quickly discovered one thing about recruiting - it only works if you have passion for what you are doing! Isn't this the way it is with everything in life? As I stood at our Orr Fellowship table and looked around, it was easy to tell which employees were passionate about their companies. Students instantly gravitated towards those that seemed excited about what they were discussing.

The same goes for blogging. It's all about passion. If you're a client of Compendium's, you know you're using the best blogging software available. So, shouldn't you be passionate about it? How amazing is it that you can tell your story to the entire blogsphere every day? So c'mon! Write some posts! If you're passionate about what you're doing, your company's corporate blog is sure to succeed.

Announcing Compendium Client Training!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 by Allison Bowen

Well folks, it's here! That's right... I'm proud to announce the release of Compendium User and Administrator Live Training Webinars! Your best blogging software just got better! The trainings will be coming to you live from 55 Monument Circle and will take place every Tuesday and Thursday.

On Tuesdays, user training will take place at 2:00pm, followed by administrator training at 2:30pm. The live webinars on Thursdays will take place at 10:00am for users and 10:30am for administrators.

Accessing the live webinars is very easy. You'll simply need to join the "Go-To-Meeting" session by clicking on the following link at the time given above.

User Training

Admin Training

Who should attend these trainings? Anyone! If you are writing a blog for your business through Compendium's blogging software, we would love to have you attend. Please note, you will be asked to tell us your company name, so you must be a client of Compendium's.

If you would like to learn how to operate our system or would simply like to learn some new tips and tricks, please feel free to join in on the fun! I look forward to training you soon!

Administrator and User Training is on its way!!

Thursday, October 22, 2009 by Allison Bowen

As we continue to grow here at Compendium we are constantly seeing the need for new programs, product features and more. Once such thing we've seen a huge demand for has been Administrator and User Training! Well, guess who they decided should be responsible for developing this program?! That's right... ME!

Although our system is a software as a service product and fairly self-explanatory, we do want to give our clients every opportunity to learn as much about our blogging solution as possible. If you don't know how to user the system, how will you even begin to write the best blog for search engine optimization?

I began thinking about exactly what this training should include and how it should be presented to our clients. The final verdict? A webinar! I'll be bringing live admin and user training to you each and every Tuesday and Thursday. Anyone can attend!

I've been working hard to develop the best content for this training program. I'll be demonstrating our simple blogging software and will even offer some blogging best practice tips at the end of the webinar. For now, I'm working to practice presenting this webinar so it will be a success. Watch for future posts from me regarding how the program is coming along and when you can sign up to be a part of the webinar!

Blogging is quick and easy

Thursday, October 15, 2009 by Michael Burton

Writing a blog post does not have to long, drawn out process. You can write a very powerful, successful post in less than five minutes if you wanted. The good thing about blogs is that people aren't necessarily going to them for the most in depth detail you can provide. Businesses should use blogs as a bounce pad to the company website

If potential customers land on your company website researching products and services that you provide after finding the links through your blogs, the blog is successful.

You can provide information in your blog that customers would be searching for, like upcoming events and promotions, but the best blogging practices include writing about relevant information.

Writing about the things that customers are searching for is the best form of search marketing. Think of the power that comes from showing up at the top of a Google search for your products and services...

Here at Compendium, we want to make sure that the commitment level of blog marketing doesn't scare you away. Blogging is a successful way to increase your marketing campaign.

And blogging is quick: This post clocked in at 5 minutes and 42 seconds...

It's easy, just contact Compendium today and we'll tell you how blogging fits your company.

The right tools for SEO...

Thursday, October 15, 2009 by Michael Burton

It doesn't take much, but there are a few important tools that any organization needs to possess before they can expect to experience strong SEO:

Simple Software: If you're looking for SEO, the place to start is the software. Compendium's easy to use software is the perfect tool needed to start the process of skyrocketing your organization up the Google rankings. It is powerful, affordable, and easy to use.

Bloggers: Your employees are the best bloggers you can have. Why? Because they are the experts on your products and services. Making blogging a priority in their day is important. You can do this by offering incentives and blogging contests.

Goals: Set goals for your bloggers... 2 to 3 posts a week on average is a good start, but remember- the more posts, the more effective the software.

Blogging for search is different than most blogs- You're blogging to get found! With the tools listed above, you should be on the right track to maximize SEO. If you are looking for more insights on how to maximize the use of Compendium's blog software, feel free to contact a Compendium team member today.

The solution is right at your fingertips...

Friday, October 9, 2009 by Stephanie West

http://www.graftoncommunitycollege.org.au/Controller?entity=page&command=service&subpageID=1070016

Think about how many hours a day you spend in front of your computer...

Now consider how easy it could be to market your product from your computer by taking only a small amount of time out of your day...

So many companies use search engines to locate the information they need - but many of them don't realize that the solution to their marketing strategy is right at their fingertips. Corporate blogging is such an easy way to incorporate a substantial inbound marketing strategy.

Compendium offers easy to use blog software. Anyone can use the software.

Corporate blogging is such a valuable tool that you - as a marketer - can use to target your respective audience. You don't just have to be a marketer though. Everyone in your company can (and should) blog. The content that you generate is relevant to what your potential customers are searching for. So the more people that blog within your company - the better!

A Blogging Solution as an SEO Tool

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 by Angela Castelli

Are you currently blogging as a search marketing strategy for your business? Or, do you have maybe 5-6 different blog pages at an attempt to blog as an SEO tool? If so, what type of results are you seeing with this strategy?

The reason I ask is because I speak with many companies each day who are blogging for their businesses as a way to increase their inbound traffic organically online, but they aren't using the best blogging software that's available, so they aren't getting the best results that are available.

Are you using a specific corporate blogging software designed to help drive your blogs high in organic search results? If you aren't working with Compendium, then you are using blogging platforms and tools designed more specifically for first and second generation blogging (citizen journalism, and to create community). In order for you to maximize the results you are wanting to see, you need to be using the best tool designed to help you blog for search engine optimization. If you are looking to do any of the following:

Increase inbound organic traffic
Be found in search for more keywords than you are currently found for
Convert the new traffic into inbound leads
See a return on your blogging investment

Then please request to see a demo to learn more about how we can help you achieve your online marketing goals, and show you how to use the best blogging and SEO tools, to achieve the best results.

Blogging to Increase College Enrollment

Monday, October 5, 2009 by Angela Castelli

I just finished reading a fascinating article today in the New York Times titled,"M.I.T. Taking Student Blogs to the Nth Degree". The article mentions how more and more universities are starting to leverage a blogging solution to help them appeal to more prospective students who are in high school. While the article mentions some universities are hesitant to use this strategy, it also mentions that this search marketing tactic is producing results. By allowing students to blog about their current experiences, it really humanizes the story of the college life for those who are considering the university or college. It gives the high school student the ability to read these real stories, and take action by applying to these colleges after finding the blog. As higher education continues to jump onto this blogging bandwagon, Compendium is working with more and more colleges as the best blogging software available.

Stop playing hide and seek with customers...

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 by Michael Burton

In my opinion, one of the best games when I was younger was hide and seek. It had everything a 11 year old boy wanted in a game: fast running, creative hiding places, and plenty of guarding the "base" when no one was looking...

However, as much fun as it is when I was younger, I see it as the problem that most people in the business world are still having today- it's like they are caught in a never ending game of hide and seek. Potential customers hop onto Google with one goal: Find the product or service they're looking for.

It's not a difficult concept- if there are thousands of consumers searching for exactly what you provide, stop hiding! A customer can't buy from you if they never find you!

Search marketing is the perfect way to address this problem. When companies blog for business, it makes the process of customers finding your website so much easier. Check out this recent post about why you should be blogging.

Compendium Blogware is ready and willing to help you address this issue. We have developed a powerful software solution that makes it easy to maximize your power through search engines.

As much fun as it was to never be found when you were younger, it is not nearly as enjoyable now that customers are looking for you each day and finding competitors instead. If you're still searching for the best blogging system, you'll find just what you need in Compendium!

Only my mom cares about MY blog

Thursday, September 17, 2009 by Jim Hyslop

My mom is probably my number one fan. She LOVES to stay up to date with my life and how things are going for me but I am going to guess she is probably one of a handful of people in this world who really care about me, Jim Hyslop, and what I have to say.

So why should I use my blog for search marketing if only a few people in this world actually care about what I have to say? The simple answer here is I shouldn't use a personal blog if the PURPOSE of my blog is to drive business through search acquisition.

People search for answers to their problems on-line with topically focused search terms. If I am a company that can solve those problems it is my job to show up with answers to those questions based on the way my potential customers are searching. If you are reading this post today I have a feeling you probably don't know me but you found me because you searched a term like "business blog software" or "best blogging software" or something of this nature. If this is the case, then good for you. We should talk soon because I can help you. And good for me as well, because as an on-line marketer for my company I have done my job. We both win.

And Mom, if you are reading this, I will probably be calling you tonight because I think we are going to need a babysitter this weekend. Tell Dad I said "Hey". Love you guys!

Welcome to Compendium! A Walk Through Your Post Set-Up Process.

Monday, September 14, 2009 by Allison Bowen

There is nothing quite as exciting as that first time you get an e-mail saying that you are now officially a Compendium blogger. Okay, maybe there are a few things more exciting, but not many! Who doesn't want to blog with the best blogging software available? Once you log in to the Compendium system with your new username and a temporary password you may think you're all set to start writing. But what's that? Information to fill out?

Don't worry, just like many software programs, Compendium needs to know a little bit about you before you can start creating those magnificent posts. To begin, you will need to create a new password. We don't want you to have to remember that temporary password forever!

After completing that step, you'll then be asked to create a blog title and blog description. Many people will quickly title their blog "Allison's blog" or something of the sort. However, did you know that your blog title is also included in your post URL? When someone views your post specifically it will also appear in the header. Just like the rest of your posts, search engines pick up keywords used within your title as well. So think wisely before naming your blog! For example, my blog title is "Basic Blogging for Business." The next box asks you to develop a blog description. Just a few short sentences regarding what your posts will generally be about is perfect!

And looky there, you're all ready to begin writing your first post! That wasn't so hard, was it?

Happy Blogging!

You can't live without search.

Friday, September 4, 2009 by mikey mioduski

There is simply no denying it. You can't live without search. You love it. You use it. You bath in it. Even when you're not thinking about it, you're probably doing it. You like big fat searches. You do it at work. You do it at home. You do it on your way from work to home on your phone. You like to type in questions like, "How do I rank in google?" or "what is the best month for blueberry picking?" because you know someone has already searched this exact same phrase, which means your search will bring you the exact answers you're looking for. You love big fat fatty searches. Sometimes you even clarify your searches with a date or a geography, "best blog software for business 2009," or "implant dentist northern colorado" because you know it will give you the most relevant information possible.

You can't live without search. Trust me. I tried it. I almost died. In fact, I think a little piece of me did die that week. I wasted time that I will never get back. Not cool.

When we have questions, we want them answered immediately. It's a fix, it's instant gratification, we demand it, and maybe that's sad, but that's the era we live in. If you are a business trying to stay with the times, you will be better to realize that your future customers and prospects are no different than you. They have problems that they need answered. Like you, and like me, they can't live without search. Put yourself in your customers shoes and you will see the importance of search marketing. So as the saying goes, "If you don't like change you're going to like irrelevance even less." I don't know who said that, but if you search that exact phrase, you'll find out.

What are you doing to get your company found in search? Stay relevant, and get found with a business blog from Compendium.