Best Practices in Blogging

Sarah Sedberry - Client Success Manager

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!

Blogging and Business Sustainability

Thursday, November 19, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

This morning I was reading an interesting article on business sustainability and how it relates to blogging. It took a refreshing look at why a corporate blog is important to the sustainability of a company, as a communication tool.

A key paragraph stuck out to me, where the author describes how a blog ultimately holds a company and its employees responsible for the message they are delivering and the work they are producing. Which is something that happens internally in a company everyday, but with a blog - it holds you accountable to your customers as well.

"Simply having a company blog open to comments from readers gives a key message on the importance and acceptance of differing viewpoints to that company. When truly an expression of the views of an individual business executive, blogging provides a strong foundation for individual accountability. And through opening him or herself up to a more personal connection with readers I believe the executive blogger creates an environment in which the views of their external stakeholders [potential customers] are front of mind..."

A blog is a simple and effective way to engage with those outside of your company, and allows a business the ability to have a conversation with those interested in their products and services. It allows the company to share its knowledge and show why they are a reliable partner to their clients and customers, in a cost effective and environmentally friendly communication tool.

Full article: "Blogging Really Can Enhance Corporate Sustainability"

Indiana's Top 50 Blogs - Congrats to the winners!

Thursday, November 12, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

Congratulations to Compendium Blogware's own Marketing Guru - Megan Glover - for making the Indiana's Top 50 blog list!

Compendium also had a few clients make the list, as well as, our beloved Doug Karr!

MediaTile - congrats Chuck for taking the #1 spot!
Fuseworks - congrats guys!
Marketing Tech Blog - congrats Doug!
...............to see more, just click the badge above

We are excited to be working along side and with some very talented people who are contributing to the blogoshphere.

For more information on how to get started on your blog for business, schedule a demo today, and maybe we'll see you on next years list!

Next Webinar - December 3rd!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

Blogging is a great marketing tool. Email is a great marketing tool

Learn how to combine these two in order to achieve more nurtured leads, and closed sales at Compendium's next webinar, featuring CEO Chris Baggott, and Richard Cunningham from Right On Interactive.

During the Webinar, you'll learn how Compendium's marketing team manages, tracks and supports their strategy—which has seen 97% growth in leads generated and 100% ROI, year to date.

Webinar: Using Blogs to Generate and Nurture Demand into Closed Business
Date: December 3rd
Time: 1:00 pm (EST)
Length: 1 hour

Blogs and Online Marketing

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

Several years ago (we're talking like 2004), if someone was talking about a blog the typical reaction was "huh - whats that?".

In today's world, as we start thinking about entering the year 2010 - blogs are everywhere and are increasingly becoming a leading online marketing tool, even Presidential candidates have blogs.

This type of online marketing has changed how things work - consumers now know, and look for a way into a company to see the true side. They don't buy the hype of PR and Marketing ads, they want to know what the person they are going to be buying from really has to say. Blogs allow this conversation and potential customers are listening in.

To quote the master himself, Self Godin:

"It is now common and will soon be expected, that every intelligent person (and quite a few unintelligent ones) will have a media platform where they share what they care about, with the world"

At Compendium we have been in the front row seats to see this first hand. We have over 400 clients of all shapes, sizes, and industries that are embracing a business blog platform and adding it to their SEO tools. Our clients are allowing the human voice of their company resonate with potential customers in order to generate sales and increase profit.

Richard Edelman, President and CEO of Edelman stated it best when he said:

" Blogs represent the best chance for companies to inform the conversation"

Is your company in on the conversation? To find out more on how to get started, check out our whitepaper on "Considering Blogging" or schedule a demo today.

Improving a Call to Action

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

One of the most important pieces of information to have when measuring the success of any marketing or SEO tools is the number of conversions, leads generated, or data captured to put into nurturing campaigns. All of this data will eventually lead to a larger pipeline and more sales!

A corporate blogging software, such as Compendium Blogware, allows a company to increase their online marketing efforts, as it is a platform built for search engine optimization. Our powerful blogging software takes on all of the heavy lifting and allows the user to focus solely on creating content.

Another piece that makes our our blogging solution so easy is that we incorporate CTA's (Calls To Action) on every blog network with us, to help track visitors that come to the blog then click through to the company wanting more information or to take that next step towards conversion.

Recently Compendium held a Client Only webinar focused on understanding and improving the calls to action (CTA's) on your corporate blogging network. This webinar allows you to get a better understanding of what makes a great CTA, and how to incorporate best practices to draw more leads into your sales pipeline.

For a replay of this webinar, contact your dedicated Client Success Manager or our Product Support Team at help@compendium.com.

Common Mistakes in Blogging (#5)

Monday, November 9, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

(5th in a series of 5)

Common Mistake #5:

Expectations. The majority of marketers are used to immediate reactions to their efforts, where winning organic search takes time. Therefore it is typically a resetting of expectations when it comes to a blog program or search marketing effort.

Blogs are not overnight successes and will some times take a few months before really gaining traction. It takes time for the search engines to find your network and deem it an authoritative resource for their search queries.

Answer:

Understanding that a blogging strategy is a marathon, not a sprint. Set attainable goals for your program and realize that its for the long haul. Canceling blogging efforts after 3 months is the worst thing - as that's about the time frame when you will start to see traction (obviously depending on the amount of effort that's been put in). A rule of thumb for content generation in order to see results, according to Ian Lurie, is as follows:

When looking at the competitiveness of the term, use this scale for how much content you should be producing based on the number of competing pages showing up when you search for that term in Google:

    * <10,000 competing pages: Write once a week.
    * 10,001-100,000 competing pages: Write twice a week.
    * 100,001-200,000 competing pages: Write three times a week.
    * 200,001-2,000,000 competing pages: Write every day.

Keep in mind, these theory applies to each keyword - so if you are targeting 100 keywords, you need to write a lot of content! (You can see why we just tell people to write as much as possible).

Setting expectations appropriately with your blog strategy will both set it and your team up for success. For more best practices or if you have further questions, contact us today at help@compendiumblogware.com

Common Mistake #1
Common Mistake #2
Common Mistake #3
Common Mistake #4

Common Mistakes in Blogging (#4)

Friday, November 6, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

(4th in a series of 5)

Common Mistake #4:

The reason blogs are successful SEO tools is because they allow you to update them as frequently as you want. This is what the Search Engines love! They will send their web crawlers to your site looking for new content, and if they continue to find new content every time, they will come back more often and more frequently.

On the same hand, if the web crawler does not find new content, it will be trained to not come back as often or as frequently. Allowing your competition to surpass you.

Your business blog will not be very successful if the web crawlers aren't able to find new content. Make it discoverable and both the web crawlers and your readers/potential new customers will be able to find you.

Answer:

There are a few ways to make a blog more easily discovered by web crawlers, but the #1 way is to always be creating new content, and posting it frequently (on average a blog network should be generating at least 25 posts per month).

Other ways include:

Adding a link on your company home page to the blog.
Publicize the blog in newsletters, email signatures, and marketing collateral.
Integrate the blog with other social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Optimize content for search engines by always using at least one exact keyword phrase in your blog post and post title. (do not keyword stuff though - its spam!)

Common Mistake #1
Common Mistake #2
Common Mistake #3

Common Mistakes in Blogging #3

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

(3rd in a series of 5)

Common Mistake #3:

Not allowing or enabling conversation. A blog is a great way to allow potential customers to see the human side of the company. Don't let the blog just become another masterfully skilled piece of marketing that has to go through 8 layers of approval before going live to the web. Readers expect to see a human element when they land on a blog, so make sure they receive that.

Statistics show that the majority of visitors that read a blog, are new visitors. So how would you approach a new potential customer in person? You would engage with them and earn their trust before trying to sell them a product.

Same concept with a business blog - this is the first time they have seen your company, so if all they read are marketing and PR posts, that are super "sales"y - you're going to scare them away instead of engaging them.

Answer:

Allow visitors and readers the ability to interact with your writers. Let comments show on the blog - both the good and the bad - it allows you as the company to respond and show that you are willing to be transparent with your customers.

It is also good practice to engage with other bloggers in your industry. Comment on their blog posts, highlight an article in the industry and what your opinion is on it.

Let personality show, engage and encourage conversation with others out there.

Common Mistake #1
Common Mistake #2

Common Mistakes in Blogging (#2)

Monday, November 2, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

Recently I started writing about common mistakes we see when a company begins a blog marketing program. To continue with the series, I wanted to discuss the expectations regarding the amount and frequency of content generation.

(2nd in a series of 5)

Common Mistake #2:

This is one of the most common misconceptions we see with new clients, is the understanding of how a search marketing effort becomes effective. When looking at our most successful clients, it is when they continue to fuel their content machine, and frequently put out new blog posts.

Think about blogs that you read on a regular basis - how often do they publish content? Typically it is multiple times per week, and is on a scheduled basis. So that you as the reader begin to count on when you'll see new information. Same story with the web crawlers - the frequency that your network creates content will train the crawlers to come back and crawl your site more frequently and see you as an authoritative answer.

Answer:

Blogging on a regular basis is a hard habit to get into, but similar to going to the gym, once you get in the routine you'll find that it is an enjoyable experience, and the results will encourage you along the way. Get other individuals at your company to help write content, so that not one person is shouldering the load.

Also, with our easy to use blog software and post scheduling feature, you'll be able to schedule when a blog post shows live to the web, so that if you aren't able to put content out everyday, you'll at least look like you are! ;)

Remember that anything can be good blog fodder so talk about that great conversation you had with a client, or a new product that's coming out, or a recent article in your industry and how your company plays a role.

(Common Mistake #1)

Why Rankings Aren't Important - from Matt Cutts

Monday, November 2, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

There are several things that are used to determine whether a blog marketing program is successful, but one of the things that we stress here at Compendium, is that rankings is not the main thing to focus on. We instead focus on overall traffic, search traffic, conversions, etc. These are much better ways of tracking the success of a search marketing effort, than simple rankings.

Recently Matt Cutts, a Google Software Engineer, posted a video about why even the Google kings advise to not pay as much attention to rankings. I wanted to share this video as additional information that a successful blog program does not hinge on a ranking report.

Blogging and Success

Friday, October 30, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

In the Client Success department we are always monitoring how our clients are doing, and measuring their success. Every network that is set up with Compendium's powerful blogging software is set up with analytics that we are able to share with our customers in order to keep the ultimate goal in mind - return on investment/driving lead generation and sales.

We work hard to help show our clients the success of their blog program, but we are able to see even more results when our clients understand the marathon type success with a blog program.

When looking at our most successful clients we see a few characteristics that are involved with each program - does your blog program have the following?

Dedicated Program Owner- someone who is tied to the success of a program and will work with their bloggers to stay motivated
Tracking - the company has tracking in place in order to see the a visitor from the blog through to conversion

For more information on how to add our powerful blogging software to your marketing's SEO tools, schedule a demo today!

Blog Platform Updates

Friday, October 30, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

At Compendium we are consistently striving to make our corporate blogging software more efficient and user friendly as we can. Therefore making it easy to use blog software that allows any size company, in any vertical to incorporate into their online marketing strategy.

As part of this mission, our development team has on average a new release every week, with enhancements to our platform. This week's release is an enhancement to a a previous release we had that allowed admins on a blog network to manage their keywords and select which ones they wanted their users to focus on.

This feature in our platform allows the network as a whole to keep focused on keywords that are relative to their business and as they continue to generate content, will drive search traffic that will convert into new leads for their business.

Compendium is excited about this new feature and looks forward to the enhancements to come. If you have an idea, request, or enhancement that you'd like to submit - contact your Client Success Manager and we'll get it to our Dev Team!

Blogging and Halloween

Friday, October 30, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

Part of the fun of having a corporate blog is that it allows the personality of the employees to shine, and allow potential and existing customers to engage with your staff.

So along that note, I wanted to share a bit of Compendium's personality during this festive weekend! Ladies and Gentleman....feast your eyes on one of our Business Development Managers - Brian Graham:

(Kudos to Brian for creating and sewing this Two-Face outfit together on his own - I'm sorry I missed the leopard print boot though...)

The best part about this picture is that Brian was on a demo with a client while allowing me to take advantage and publish his picture web-wide (Brian - any publicity deals you land from this, I get 15%).

Some might think this is a crazy office, but that's whats fantastic about working here. We are all passionate about what we do, and we have fun with it! That personality allows our customers to have fun too. The other thing that happens now, is that you probably feel a little closer to Brian, right? Feel like you might know him, would enjoy talking with him, etc - you've engaged with him!!

Obviously, a blog for search engine optimization is key, but don't forget to allow your human side to show too!

Here's hoping everyone has a safe and spooky Halloween!

Common Mistakes in Blogging (#1)

Thursday, October 29, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

1st in a series of 5

Common Mistake #1:

One of the common trends we see in a client that is new to blogging, (some older ones too) is that they forget to let the human side of their business show. Visitors that are coming to a blog, are looking for the truth behind the message, they want to engage with the employees of the company, they want to see the human side - not the sales pitch.

A blog is not the avenue to show off your new marketing materials and recent press releases. Sure these are great add in's for content, but it is important to remember that blogging is about conversation. The blog offers a way for potential customers to connect with your business.

If you are only using the blog to republish press releases and marketing materials those visitors will likely not trust your content, and therefore not continue to read, and worse yet - not take the next step to converting into a sale.

Answer:

The best way to avoid this is to use original content, and write it from your own individual voice. Its OK to talk about news in your company, but do it from one friend to another. Keep it casual, like you are discussing the topic with your best friend over a cup of coffee.

Other options are to share knowledge on your industry, or the day-to-day environment of the office and processes at your company, or provide tips and best practices on how to best utilize your products. Remember to answer the question to what your visitors are looking for - not just to toot you're own horn.

Blog Content Reality Check

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

When a client first comes on board here at Compendium we have some that are familiar with blogging and those that are just entering the blogosphere for the first time. In order to help warm up these new waters, we have begun offering user and administrator training 2x per week.

In addition to learning the basics of our simple blog platform, there is a learning curve to the actual content to be written. Many have the misconception that blog posts should be similar to white papers - not the case at all. Most visitors that come to a blog are scanning the content, not reading it. Think to your own experiences - what do you do when you land on a webpage thats full of text?

In reality most blog posts should be:

Pithy and to the point - similar to writing an email to a friend
Keyword Rich - your content should be focused around the keyword phrases your company is targeting.
Engaging - make it easy for readers to skim your content to get the point. effective use of white-space can go a long way.
Directive - tell the readers what to do next (take that next step and convert into a lead).
Remember that most online readers will make a decision in less than 10 seconds after landing on your page as to whether they want to stay or not - make sure you capture them quickly!

In order to help those new to this blog craze, I'll be posting over the next few days the top mistakes new bloggers make. In hopes your business blogging program will be able to avoid them and get the most success from your efforts.

Stay Tuned!

Blog Training Available!

Monday, October 26, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

We are excited to announce that Compendium Blogware now offers blogger and administrator training for our clients! So if you're a new blogger or just need to brush up on some blog best practices, sign up to attend one of our weekly training sessions.

There are separate times depending on which access you have to the company's blog network, so be sure to contact your Client Success Manager to let them know which one you'll be attending, and they'll be able to send you the log in information (note - all times are Eastern).

Tuesdays:
- User Training - 2:00 pm
- Admin Training - 2:30 pm

Thursdays:
- User Training - 10:00 am
- Admin Training - 10:30 am

Happy blogging!

Having Fun With Creating Blog Content

Friday, October 16, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

ITS A BLOG OFF!

I have had the pleasure of working with two very enthusiastic and engaged clients, Indianapolis Visitors and Convention Association and Tampa Bay's Visitor Association. They have both had successful blog programs over the years, and have been connected through Compendium. They now have a bond between them, sharing ideas about both blog content, as well as, other business programs.

In order to spice things up and keep their bloggers motivated, as their Client Success Manager I have set up a blog off competition between the two companies. Jeremy Fairly will be leading his team at Tampa Bay, while Breena Fain and Jeff Robinson will be the driving force behind ICVA.

Here are the details of their competition:

Start Date - October 15th 12:00 am
End Date - November 15th 11:59 pm

Winner - blog program with most posts wins (post scheduling feature is allowed)

What's at stake??

The losing blog team will have to where t-shirts saying "I'd rather be in "winning city"". Jeremy vowed that he would never where a shirt that said he'd rather be in Indianapolis, so we know he's going to be pushing his team hard to win.

To keep an eye on the action, check out their business blogs at: Visit Indy and Visit Tampa Bay

Blogging for Business - Success Story from Taiga Company

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

As we like to consider ourselves partners rather than vendors of our clients, we frequently touch base with blog program owners to touch base, address questions, and provide guidance and feedback on their blog marketing strategy.

This past week I had the pleasure of speaking with Julie Urlaub from Taiga Company, who consults on business sustainability. Julie has seen not only great success from search traffic and click through rates, but also due to the blog, has been establishing herself as a thought leader in her industry.

During the recent meeting with Julie, she shared that a reporter from a well published news corporation had found her blog and is now interested in an interview. The interview will be re-purposed across LOTS of mediums and will drive "ungodly amounts of traffic and eyes to her company/blog" This interview would set them up for the entire year of 2010 by establishing them as credible and an authority in their field - which is a huge opportunity for for this small business!

This success story goes to show that no matter the size of your company, as any type of business it is always important to keep an eye on the return on your investments, whether they be monetary or other. Utilizing a simple blogging software such as Compendium, helps take the stress off of the you, and allow you to focus on the bigger picture - growing your company and bringing in leads.

If your interested in finding out more about our clients and their success stories, check out one of our case studies.

Using Search and My New Puppy

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 by Sarah Sedberry

Of course since I work at Compendium I am a tad biased towards the advantages of marketing through SEO, but let me give you a real life example and why any business out there should have a business blog program.

I have been on the look out for a puppy for quite a while. Not just any kind of puppy, a Shiba Inu - specifically a black/tan male. As most of you are already wondering what a Shiba Inu is, you can understand that its not a highly popular breed, and finding a reputable breeder was pretty difficult. However I was steadfast in my search and continued to scour the internet looking for breeders with litters coming up this year, etc.

*Marketers - notice the last sentence*

I knew exactly what I was looking for, I am a qualified buyer, all it takes is me (potential customer) to find you in order to buy.

Since I am not a Shiba Inu breeder insider, I utilized search engines to find the breeder I eventually connected with, and had the perfect little pup that I had been looking for. After handling the details, as of Saturday, I am a proud Shiba Inu owner and a customer that got exactly what I was looking for.

How are you reaching the potential customers that don't know you're out there, but know what they want and are ready to purchase? For more information on using a simple blogging platform like Compendium, schedule a demo today!