We have a webinar coming up this month that is sure to be interesting for clients and prospective clients alike.
If you are a current client, this will be a great time to learn about what some of Compendium's most successful customers are doing on their business blog, how they incorporate blogging best practices, and what success really means to them. Come see how you can make improvements to your current blog program.
If you are new to Compendium, come learn about how blogging for search can lead to an increase in traffic to your site, generate leads, and increase sales from people that have actually experienced these results.
As a snapshot, you'll hear from the following types of companies who blog for business:
eCommerce Gymnastics Apparel Company:
Over $100,000 closed business within a year, directly from blog traffic.
$10,000 in sales within the first two months of blogging with cheer uniform network.
SaaS Event Management and Web Survey Company:
500% increase in keyword reach, compared to the number of paid keywords targeted.
What's the main focus of your company's blog marketing program and search marketing program?
Recently Matt Cutts, a Google Sofware Engineer, posted a youtube video disucssing ranking, and he challenged companies that they should be more focused on converting better instead of getting obsessed with ranking.
In the Client Success department at Compendium, we do focus a lot of time on helping our clients receive great search results on numerous keywords related to their business. However, we believe that the success of a blog program is looking at tangible ROI results, i.e. online leads developed and then ultimately conversion.
To learn more about the success of our clients' blog programs, check out some of their case studies by clicking here.
New clients coming on board with Compendium are always wondering if they can see some of our best-looking templates . Obviously, "best" is a relative term - and when I say best I mean a template that has great calls-to-action, high conversion rates and high read times. Here are some of the templates that I send new clients to:
Each of these blogs has a great design that follows blogging best practice and makes it easy for the searcher to take the next step with the company. A blog for business should highlight the company's' brand and give the searcher in each stage of the buying process a possible next step. If you'd like to learn more about how to update your blog software template, email us at help@compendium.com!
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.
I've always been one of those people that abolutely loves birthdays. My friends' birthdays, my parents' birthdays, but especially my OWN birthday! And wouldn't you know it, my birthday is very soon! This upcoming Tuesday, November 3rd, I will be turning yet another year older.
As I began thinking about what I want for my birthday, my mind automatically drifted to something that I've wanted since I was a small child - a dog. Unfortunately I was never able to have any pets growing up because my mother was so allergic. Now that I am a grown adult and living on my own, I really want to get my own dog! Since I've never had a dog before, I have no idea what breed I would even begin to want, so every day I spend some time on Google searching for dogs. I would really like to get one from somewhere local, so I tend to search for "Indianapolis dogs" or something of the sort. Amazingly enough, there are not many local places that rise to the top of the search results.
This has left me thinking. Why are there not more humane societies, etc. out there using Compendium's blog software? With our simple blogging software, companies can choose to focus on geographically targeted keywords. Therefore, when someone would search "Indianapolis dogs", the company's Compendium blog would rise to the top! And why stop there? If you're located in Indianapolis, you might also want to target "Greenfield dogs", "Carmel dogs", "Fishers dogs"... The possibilites are endless!
Give Compendium a call today to learn more about our afforadable blogging software and how your company could benefit from focusing on geographical keywords.
Chances of becoming a professional basketball player - 1 in 400,000
Chances of becoming an all-pro blogger - 1 in 1
If you want to be one of the 400+ NBA players suiting up every week, you can bet you have to be one of the best of the best to become successful. It takes years of practice, strength conditioning and pure athleticism to have a strong presence in the NBA.
But what about blogging? The odds couldn’t be more different. While you need to be a Kobe Bryant or a Lebron James to have the most “success” in the NBA, you don’t have to be a Pulitzer Prize winning writer to write “successful” blog posts.
Success in business blogging is for anyone who can talk about the things they know best: their business. As long as you use relevant keywords in describing your business and products, your blog will find success. Don't let the blogosphere intimidate you. When you're posting relevant content frequently, you will find success in blog software.
Looking for more tips on blogging? Check out some of our other company blogs and see what other Compendium bloggers have to say about the world of business blogging.
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).
I received an email from Mike at Driver Solutions on Friday with some great news...
"We have a new product/website/company spun off from the parent Driver Solutions. It’s an e-learning website targeting truck drivers. We’re in the process of building out a marketing site around the existing store front."
Mike is already a customer of Compendium and went on to let us know that he wanted to expand his program by 50 keywords in order to drive targeted prospects to his new product.
Mike also paid compliments to Compendium co-founder and CEO Chris Baggott: "I had a chance to see Chris at Blogworld last week. There was a lot of great info and his presentation was well done."
Congrats to Mike on his new product launch, we are glad to help him drive new business with an expanded blogging program.
Name: Ali Sales Roach Company: Compendium BlogURL:
Don't look at me, look at our CEO and Co-Founder, Chris Baggott. His upcoming webinar, "What every marketer should know about the future of Business Blogging" is this Thursday, October 22, 2009, from 2-3 est.
I've been working here for well over a year now, I've heard Chris talk about business blogging week after week, and it never gets old! If you've never tuned in to one of his webinars, I can honestly say it is well worth your time. Not only will he educate you, he will probably make you a believer. From the many case studies of real companies blogging successfully, to first hand encounters, Chris' stories and ideas are both entertaining and enlightening.
If you have a chance and are available Thursday, you should check it out!
In the overwhelming realm of the internet - everyone needs direction. Internet marketing encompasses many topics, and if your perspective customers do not have any direction, they won't know be able to know what you have to offer.
Having blogs is like having signs that direct your perspective customers to the information they need. When internet searchers enter particular keywords in search engines, they are looking for some sort of direction. They want you to point them to the answer.
Blogs are like signs. They give people direction - straight to your company.
Your company will benefit most when you generate good, relevant content for your blogs. Relevant content is like having large clear signs telling perspective customers where to go.
Your blogs are maximized in organic search results with powerful blogging software, such as the blogging platform that Compendium offers.
For more information on Compendium's corporate blogging software, schedule a demo with one of our blog experts. They will explain how having a corporate blog will direct perspectives to your website - and ultimately YOU.
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.
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.
When it comes to corporate blogging, generating content is very important. Getting all of the employees in your company to blog is the most effective way to generate content for your blog pages.
Generating a lot of content will help your blog pages rank in search. Search marketing is such an integral part of marketing today, which is why it is important to position your company to benefit from search.
Blogging may be your solution to search marketing.
Setting up a corporate blog and having all of your employees generate content for the blogs will help your business maximize its search engine optimization.
Not sure how to get your employees on-board with blogging? Try implementing weekly incentives or monthly rewards. Fun gifts or gift cards are a great motivation tool for employees. Informing employees how many leads are generated from your blogging strategy is another great way to motivate employees to blog, because generating content for your corporate blog will benefit your entire company.
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!
Who comes to mind first when you think of a good, clean comedian??
Ready to hear who I think of?
Bill Cosby.
He is simply classic.
But have you ever stopped to think why he is so classic... and timeless?!
Here's my theory (and feel free to disagree with me if you think necessary)...
Bill Cosby figured out:
Who his audience was;
What his audience wanted;
And what his strengths were (talking to kids!).
That's it.
And now I'm going to demonstrate how Bill Cosby sets me up for the second part of my blog post.
YOU can be just like Bill Cosby. Maybe not as classic, but definitely as effective - and these days, there's an easy way to get to that point.
Here's how: business blog software.
Who is your audience? By using the internet and blogging, your company will target your audience. You will blog using certain keywords that will help your blog get optimized in search. So that's how you'll target your audience by blogging.
What does your audience want? They want to know about you! Blog about your company because your audience wants to know more about you and what you can offer them. Blogging will humanize your company and what you have to offer.
And lastly, Bill Cosby knew what his strengths were. Do you know what your strengths are?! In case you were wondering, I know what your strength is. The internet. You have a perfect marketing tool right at your fingertips (literally!). That is your strength, but whether you use it to your advantage is up to you.
Compendium's blog software can help you use your strength (the availability of the internet) to target your audience. Your audience is already looking for you on the internet - but you have make yourself available to reach out to your audience.
I was reading another blog post regarding blogging best practices. The blogger suggested to "dress it up," referring to your blog post.
So what if you took that phrase (almost) literally? If you dressed your blog post, what would it look like?
Doesn't your own style (at least) somewhat reflect you and your personality?? If so, don't you think your blog should reflect your company?
I challenge you to think of what dressing your blog post would look like... I think mine would look something like this:
It would have green eyes, because Compendium's signature color is green... and "green means go" when it comes to corporate blogging.
It would have a magnifying glass handy to examine blog content.
It would wear a hat/cap... and I'd call it a "thinking cap." Compendium's blogs are always generating new content with fresh ideas.
It would wear boots - because people wear boots when they are searching in the woods. A blog needs boots to search on the internet... boots help the blog get optimized in search engines.
So that's what my blog would look like if you wore clothes. What would YOURS look like??
Give your blog personality - and let each post reflect your company. My blog post is wearing clothes - what does that tell you about Compendium?!
Re-purposing is awesome for writing a quick post. I recently compiled a high level list of blogging best practices related to writing a great post. Here were my thoughts: Tips and tricks to writing a great blog post:
1. Use your keywords in the post title and in the first sentence of your post
2. Make sure you are covering timely and relevant topics in your post
3. Keep to a single, central theme that utilizes a few keywords that are relevant to the content
4. Use white space; people scan, they don't read. Write short paragraphs and bold important words Make sure you leave space around your images
5. Dress it up: pictures, data, and video all work great to differentiate your content
6. Numbered and ordered lists stand out and are simple to digest, use them often
7. Utilizing keywords effectively in your image descriptions will drive search results
8. Talk about new products and services
9. Keep your post engaging and creative; start with a great title
10. While we are not writing novels, keep your posts grammatically correct; blogs are casual, but they still need to be professional
11. Keep your posts to a couple of paragraphs in length
Corporate blogging isn't something that your company should just blindly start doing. It requires thought and clearly defined goals in order to receive the maximum benefits of blogging for business.
Before you begin blogging, set goals. What do you want to achieve? The only way to successfully blog is if you know exactly which aspects of your company you want to focus on.
Once you have outlined your blogging goals, you can build your foundation. Building a foundation on clearly defined goals is like building your foundation of stone. It is substantial. Your search marketing strategy can be best executed when you know exactly what you are trying to get accomplished.
In contrast, blogging for business before outlining your company's blog goals is like building your blogging foundation on sand. Your blog content may never be maximized in search engine optimization. And your blog may be a little skewed. A skewed blog will lead to having sporadic content throughout the internet - and what good is that?
Compendium's corporate blogging software is designed for your blog to be optimized in organic search. With relevant keywords, you are building a solid foundation. To keep building on that foundation, you have to continue generating content containing those keywords.
Schedule a demo with a Compendium blog expert today. They will determine if your goals are compatible with Compendium's corporate blog strategy!
Are you considering blogging but concerned that no one in your company will blog? Here at Compendium, we blog for all kinds of things. Right now we're blogging for pizza, a few weeks ago we blogged to enter a raffle to win gift cards (I won, btw), and about a month ago we blogged for pro tennis tickets. With tangible incentives, it's amazing how our marketing team can motivate the whole office to blog. One day we were enticed with a buffet of junk food if we wrote a post that day. By the time the sugarfest started, all but two people at Compendium had submitted a post.
My point? Don't let employee participation get in the way of starting a blogging solution for your business. Whether your employees blog for snacks, tickets, or PTO you can get them to blog. And at the end of the day, they're all blogging for business. Now THAT'S something worth blogging about
Corporate blogging is a great way to update your clients (or perspective clients) on what is going on within your company.
Corporate blogging is a great search marketing tool. It also helps businesses get found in search. Blogging is also a great way to generate leads. And it humanizes your business.
But another great aspect of blogging is communication.
Simply communicating what is going on within your company is equally as important as getting found in search or generating leads.
So as the marketing intern, I'm here to tell you what's going on within the marketing department at Compendium.
This month, the Marketing department is hosting a blogging competition amongst the 5 departments at Compendium. Our Marketing Manager, Meghan, assigned each department weekly blogging goals to reach. The Client Success department won two weeks in a row. No one has caught them yet!
The Marketing department hosted a successful Webinar last week! Look for the replay on Compendium's website soon.
We're preparing for another Webinar and follow-up this Thursday, Sept. 17 from 2-3PM, Third Generation Business Blogging. Click on the link to sign up for this FREE webinar!
These are just a few of the fun things going on at Compendium - particularly within the Marketing department. From now on, look for more regular updates from me on what's going on at Compendium in the Marketing department!
Hosted by Richard Cunningham, VP Marketing of Right On Interactive and Chris Baggott Co-founder, CEO of Compendium Blogware. Thursday, December 3rd 2009. Sign up here »
New clients coming on board with Compendium are always wondering if they can see some of our best-looking templates . Obviously, "best" is a relative term - and when I say best I mean a template that has great calls-to-action, high conversion rates and high read times. Here are some of the templates that I send new clients to: 
ys, my parents' birthdays, but especially my OWN birthday! And wouldn't you know it, my birthday is very soon! This upcoming Tuesday, November 3rd, I will be turning yet another year older.
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).
Blogs are like signs. They give people direction - straight to your company. 
Think about how many hours a day you spend in front of your computer...
Bill Cosby figured out:
Once you have outlined your blogging goals, you can build your foundation. Building a foundation on clearly defined goals is like building your foundation of stone. It is substantial. Your search marketing strategy can be best executed when you know exactly what you are trying to get accomplished. 
This month, the Marketing department is hosting a blogging competition amongst the 5 departments at Compendium. Our Marketing Manager, Meghan, assigned each department weekly blogging goals to reach. The Client Success department won two weeks in a row. No one has caught them yet!
