Hi! My name is Sarah Sedberry, a Client Success Manager at Compendium Blogware. My responsibilities include keeping our clients motivated, posting current/frequent content, and getting the ROI results they want to see out of their blogging efforts.
This blog will primarily talk about tips and tricks for a great blog post and blogging best practices in order to inform readers about the importance of blogging.
Personally, I graduated from Rollins College (Winter Park, Florida) in 2004, where
I played collegiate softball. I returned to my roots here in
Indianapolis after graduation and enjoy sports, healthy competition,
and of course the Colts!
Today I was working through my emails from various clients who are using the Compendium Blogware platform for their online marketing efforts, when I came across an email that I often see. It typically goes something like this....
"I understand that content is what drives the success of my blog program, but I am having trouble figuring out what to write about. I have used up the content ideas I had planned out and need help knowing what to write about next."
For the answer let's start with the breakdown of the searcher to conversion path:
Searchers are using the search engine to find an answer to their problem
Your company writes content on how you can solve that searchers problem
Searcher engages with your company
You convert that searcher into a sale
So what should you be writing about? The same thing you talk about every day with your clients in email, phone calls, conferences, trade shows, etc. Talk about how your company can solve their problem. Tell them how you solved a problem just like theirs the other day with a current client. Most of us have a very active email inbox - every one of those is a blog post waiting to happen! Just like emails never end, neither do blog ideas :)
The other thing to keep in mind is that most of the individuals landing on your blog are from search and have never heard, seen, or read anything about you and your company before. With that in mind you can re-purpose old content - its OK to talk about the same things, because they don't know that you've already talked about it. You can also re-purpose old newsletters, email campaigns, marketing materials, etc.
I realized I have been lack in my posting lately, but am happy to be back blogging, and wanted to take a moment to highlight a relatively new client to Compendium Blogware - YourCover.
YourCover creates personalized magazine covers for any celebration, from birthdays, to holidays, to important life events. They are able to custom design these unique gifts for a very affordable price.
They started their blogging program only a few months ago and are seeing tremendous success, due to their commitment to write keyword rich content frequently. They have only 1 writer who has been able to write almost 30 posts already. In the last 30 days they have seen almost 900 visitors from search alone! Their search traffic and referring keywords are both trending exactly as they should for a client at their stage of the game.
It is a common question that new clients ask during content creation conversations: How do you write a post that is compelling and drives traffic to convert?
Let me dispel a big misconception about blog posts - no one is reading it. (What????) Searchers land on your blog looking for the answer to the problem they searched for. If they can't scan and find the solution to their problem, they'll leave and find a site that made it easier for them to find that answer.
So what are some ways that you can make sure your post provides an answer, quickly, to your potential customer? If you stay on topic and use your keywords, you'll be delivering the answers they're looking for. Also it all comes down to good formatting!
Here are some quick tips on how to format an easily scannable post:
Whitespace - Keep your paragraphs short and leave space between them. Make sure you leave space around your images. (This is called whitespace)
Lists - Numbered and ordered lists stand out and are easy to digest
Be Pithy - Talk about one point per post. If you have multiple points - write multiple posts!
Emphasis - Use bold, italics, or highlights to emphasize important aspects of a post.
For more information on how to incorporate a business blog for your company, schedule a demo today.
Here at Compendium its difficult for us to sometimes take a step back and realize that not everyone else out there is as super psyched about blogging, and recognizes the potential that it provides every company out there in their marketing efforts.
So for all of those out there that still have questions about whether blogging is right for your company (which it is!) I encourage you to register for our upcoming webinar, hosted by CEO Chris Baggott on June 24th.
This month's webinar visits the topic of Why Business Blogs Win Search. We know that over 90% of internet users say search is their #1 activity online - so it means that your potential clients are turning to the Internet, specifically the search engines, to find answers to their problems.
The question becomes - Why wouldn't you have a business blog?
I just got off a call with John Bancroft at SmokerZChoice, a client here at Compendium Blogware. Now John and I were talking about his blog program, how to track and measure conversions, how to measure ROI, etc, when he casually mentioned something that struck me - Blog Food
We talk about it all the time internally or joke with our clients about how every conversation or topic can be turned into a blog post; however, it is often difficult to remember what that conversation was or that topic that you were so excited about, by the time you actually sit down to blog.
Now I personally keep a folder in my inbox specifically designated for blog ideas - any email (internal or external), online news publication, website link, etc that sparks an idea for a blog post goes into it.
What John brought up in our conversation is that he has a document called "Blog Food" where he writes down his ideas every time it strikes him. Then when he's got the time he goes back in and writes the post in the document and transfers it to his corporate blog when finished. Therefore he doesn't have to worry about losing that idea and once he's written about it, its on to the next topic he has in line.
This was a great idea John and I hope other bloggers out there are doing similar actions, as it eliminates the concept of "what do I blog about today?"
This week our Client Marketing Team is holding their Client Only Webinar on Thursday, June 11th at 2:00 pm (eastern).
This week clients who attend will be able to learn several techniques on how to maximize your content for search engines to continue to meet the needs of relevancy, recency, & frequency.
To attend please email clientsuccess@compendiumblogware.com for information on how to register.
1) Google wants to return the most relevant result back to a searcher 2) Having a page that contains that exact phrase match with content that is that exact phrase match is going to rank higher than other that don't 3) A site that has the exact phrase match and was updated recently, and on a frequent basis is going to show higher in the organic results
This is why blogging as a tool for SEO (search engine optimization) is such a great idea! You can target specific phrases that your potential clients are searching on and be able to get in front of hundreds/thousands of individuals a month and show them how you can solve their problem!
One of the best tips we can give our clients is to always write at least one exact keyword phrase that you are targeting in EVERY blog post. That way the web crawler can see that you are the best result to show the searcher because your corporate blog is the one with the best phrase match, relevant content, that has been updated recently on a frequent basis.
This month our Client Marketing Team is holding a variety of contests all centered around "Blogging Vacation" where this week an individual blogger can win a vacation from writing content as the winner will receive content for their blog from a professional blog writer. Log in now to get your blog vacation!
The winner will be determined by the individual who has the best increase from last week's posting to this week's posting. Keep an eye on Chantelle's Client Marketing blog, who will be announcing the winner!
Also, congratulations to last week's winners, who won a free CTA makeover:
In the Client Success department we have frequent discussions with our clients regarding questions regarding their blog program. Everything from blog topics, best practices, how do I motivate my team, what are my analytics telling me, can I change this on our template, etc. We love helping our clients out in every way we can, however, what we often notice is that program administrators will begin to get bogged down in the "extras" of blogging, instead of keeping a keen focus on the purpose of a corporate blog - to drive conversions.
The best way to drive conversions is to get searchers who are finding your blog to click on your "Call to Action". It would be great if they did this on their own, but sometimes you need to lead that horse to the water - tell your searchers what to do. Tell them about the great deal you have going on, tell them about the information they'll get if they download that whitepaper, tell them what's in it for them!
Review your CTA against our CTA Checklist, to see how yours measures up. Also, don't forget about our new ROI Toolkit that includes our "How to Measure Blog ROI" whitepaper, case studies, and a getting started checklist.
A few months ago Compendium Blogware held an Agency Partner Training here in Indianapolis, where we invited all of our agency partners to come learn all about Compendium. Everything from sales to client management and support.
I thought I would highlight the agency that has stepped away from that training, taking all the best practices we recommended and is applying them to not only their internal blog program but their clients as well.
Congratulations to Pathmaker Marketing! Since the training, they have brought on 3 new blogging clients, and are in the midst of talks with several others. They have been able to take the information provided, partner with the staff here at Compendium (our sales team and our client success team) in order to make success happen. Way to go Randall Mains, and the rest of the team at Pathmaker. We look forward to continued successful partnership!
Last month Compendium Blogware was nominated in the Gazelle catagory for the Information Technology field at the Mira Awards held here in Indianapolis by TechPoint. Unfortunately, we did not win our category, but we were able to network with other individuals and companies here in Indiana that are a testament to the statement "There's more than corn in Indiana".
The awards ceremony was fantastic, but what was interesting to me was the opening video highlighting several facts and figures about Indiana that I was unaware of and shocked (in a good way) to find out about, such as:
Ranked #1 for business climate
Ranked #1 for business tax climate
Global leader in Internet
Tech sector has grown faster than any other Midwest state
I wanted to pass along the TechPoint Opening Video as I think its valuable information to know about the state we live in especially regarding whats happening in the economy lately.
*Side note: The video was put together by Indiana based Cantaloupe TV, who also has a corporate blog for business.
I wanted to give a give shout out to our client GK Elite, and their blog administrator Andrew Foss.
Recently they were featured in an online article by Internet Retailer regarding their success for their e-commerce site and how the blog has helped drive sales. Congratulations on your success so far!
For more information on how to start a business blog for your company, view a demo now.
"what do I write about" "why are readers not converting" "what do I need to do" "how do I get more click through's"
All of the above questions are different versions of things we are commonly asked about, from our clients here in the Client Success department. Since we often talk to our clients about what they should be blogging about, it made perfect sense to write a blog post about it.
The number one sales tactic out there is to provide a similar situation and explain how you/your company solved the problem.
Think about your own experiences - when you are looking to buy a new grill, most likely you've talked to your neighbor about their grill and where they got it, your friends, done some research on the web (ding! ding! ding!) and ultimately you purchase your new grill from others experiences and/or the store clerk that showed you a grill that answered all your grilling needs.
You didn't buy the grill because Weber just had a press release on how their stock is doing, or because Charbroil is going to be at an outdoor patio show in San Fransisco. Although these are still good topics to blog about - it doesn't answer your searchers question.
"I want a grill and need it to do the following...."
For Compendium, our potential clients problem is being found in the search engine, and driving convertible traffic. We should be blogging about how our clients are accomplishing this - sharing success stories with everyone, or how to write content to ensure your blog is driving the ROI that makes the marketing effort successful, or how blogging is a fantastic way to gain search engine ranking/traffic. Now let's be honest, I certainly have my times when I get off topic, but that's OK as long as I can still provide a way for a searcher who is looking for a blogging tool for SEO to understand that Compendium Blogware is the answer for them.
by the way.... I'm interested in a new grill - anyone have any recommendations??
At Compendium Blogware, we are constantly doing research and keeping our fingers on the pulse of the blog-o-sphere, as well as, what trends are growing in search.
In a recent study, it was found that organic search results in almost a 6 times higher conversion opportunity than that of a PPC (Pay Per Click).
Blogging is the easiest and most cost effective way to make sure that its your URL that is showing up in those organic search results because the search engine is looking for the site with the most recent and relevant content. Blogs allow you to update content all day long - simply write another blog post!
I ran across a GREAT video today on YouTube, and wanted to share, as most everyone out there is on or at least knows about Facebook.
At Compendium, we get frequent questions here in the Client Success department about "blogging manners" and what's okay to do, or not to do in a blog post. The easy answer is that if you wouldn't write it in an email to a client, probably not best to put it on your corporate blog either.
Other than that feel free to have all the fun you want with your blogging, while keeping in mind that you're blogging for business. So you want to talk about your company, industry, clients, and how you can help solve their question or problem!
For more information on how a corporate blog can integrate into your marketing strategy, download our Considering Blogging Whitepaper.
One of the great things that I love about my job here at Compendium Blogware is that we are constantly moving and staying busy. Being a part of a growing company like ours allows you to wear many hats, and interact in all different ways with our clients.
Now that we have over 400 clients nationwide, it keeps the Client Success Team on our toes at all times! Due to this my blogging has fallen off and I haven't had the chance to highlight any of our clients recently. (No that's not an excuse, trust me I get the irony of a CSM saying that I didn't have time to blog! Not to mention that my lack of blogging this month has let Doug Karr get the lead on me for the Compendium Blogger of the month...) So instead I will quickly highlight some of our recent clients who have come on board with Compendium. We look forward to working with them, incorporating our corporate blogging software into their marketing efforts.
Compendium Blogware will be hosting our next webinar on May 29th, at 11:00 am (EST) that will be featuring our CEO Chris Baggott. This month's webinar will focus in on the Top 5 Business Blogging Myths.
There are many myths out there about business blogging, that it’s hard to get down to basics and understand why and how to effectively implement a blogging strategy. Chris will be discussing and debunking the following:
MYTH #1: My Company doesn’t need a blog.
MYTH #2: We won’t be able to create and sustain content.
MYTH #3: My business doesn’t have anything interesting to write about.
MYTH #4: No one will find my business blogs.
Here's the truth - Blogs are great search marketing tools that businesses can leverage to generate demand, acquire new business and humanize their marketing.
Today our Client Marketing Team of Chantelle and Doug hosted our weekly Client Only Webinar - this week's topic - "50 Post Ideas". For our clients that were unable to make the webinar - have no fear! We record every webinar and will be posting the playback on our Online Knowledge Base here soon.
Every week our Client Marketing Team hosts a client only webinar where they target key questions, or topics that we visit on a frequent basis with our clients.
If we hear a question often enough, we'll design our webinar to help answer those questions. Why you ask? Because if a handful of clients are asking that question, who else wants that answer but hasn't had a chance to ask us yet.
This week they are focusing on:
Where to grab content from
How you can utilize it in a blog post
How you can do it on a frequent basis. For example, I'm currently sitting in a clients office waiting for a meeting - perfect time to blog about something!
On Thursday Chantelle and Doug will hold their webinar at 2:00 pm (EST) to discuss "50 Content Ideas". If you are interested in registering, please email the Client Success Team at clientsuccess@compendiumblogware.com.
Hi! My name is Sarah Sedberry, a Client Success Manager at Compendium Blogware. My responsibilities include keeping our clients motivated, posting current/frequent content, and getting the ROI results they want to see out of their blogging efforts. 
Today I was working through my emails from various clients who are using the Compendium Blogware platform for their online marketing efforts, when I came across an email that I often see. It typically goes something like this....
It is a common question that new clients ask during content creation conversations: How do you write a post that is compelling and drives traffic to convert? 
Here at Compendium its difficult for us to sometimes take a step back and realize that not everyone else out there is as super psyched about blogging, and recognizes the potential that it provides every company out there in their marketing efforts.
I just got off a call with John Bancroft at 
This week our Client Marketing Team is holding their Client Only Webinar on Thursday, June 11th at 2:00 pm (eastern). 
Here are the facts:
This month our Client Marketing Team is holding a variety of contests all centered around "Blogging Vacation" where this week an individual blogger can win a vacation from writing content as the winner will receive content for their blog from a professional blog writer. 
The best way to drive conversions is to get searchers who are finding your blog to click on your "Call to Action". It would be great if they did this on their own, but sometimes you need to lead that horse to the water - tell your searchers what to do. Tell them about the great deal you have going on, tell them about the information they'll get if they download that whitepaper, tell them what's in it for them!
I thought I would highlight the agency that has stepped away from that training, taking all the best practices we recommended and is applying them to not only their 
I wanted to give a give shout out to our client 
Think about your own experiences - when you are looking to buy a new grill, most likely you've talked to your neighbor about their grill and where they got it, your friends, done some research on the web (ding! ding! ding!) and ultimately you purchase your new grill from others experiences and/or the store clerk that showed you a grill that answered all your grilling needs. 
At 
Today our Client Marketing Team of Chantelle and Doug hosted our weekly Client Only Webinar - this week's topic - "50 Post Ideas". For our clients that were unable to make the webinar - have no fear! We record every webinar and will be posting the playback on our Online Knowledge Base here soon.
