Blog secrets

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The Wedding Blog

Posted Monday, September 29, 2008 by Kristen Raves

I decided that for my first day back I would write a fun blog for people who follow this. After all, the point of having a blog is to inform readers of the happenings in my life and Compendium. My goal is to update all of my wonderful clients on the wedding and talk about our blogging platform.

I missed all of my clients dearly while I was away. However, it was nice to have a two weeks in sunny Antigua and Orlando, FL. After planning a wedding, I must say that we deserved it. The funny thing is one of the things that helped me most with the wedding planning was by reading other people's blogs. A few sites that I would like to mention include Forever, Style Me Pretty, and MyWedding.com. Their helpful blogging tips were helpful for finding vendors and creating our special day.

The wedding day went off without a hitch. It was entertaining and emotional. To get some more stories on what went down on September 13, you can visit www.bandk.nearlyweds.com. You can also view our photographers site (www.mayalaurentphotography.squarespace.com) by going to page 2 and clicking on the slideshow. Our good friend and wedding day florist also provides a fantastic explanation of the day. Her blog can be viewed at www.samandemilyjackson.blogspot.com. I hope you enjoy!

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Top 10 Blogs for Writers

Posted Wednesday, September 24, 2008 by Sarah Sedberry

I am often asked about resources for blog authors to utilize in order to create better posts, have a pipeline of content ideas, and be able to consistently write posts that readers are interested in.

Recently, I came across an article that listed the Top 10 Blogs for Writers on WritingWhitePapers.com, that I believe to be worth sharing for all readers and blog authors alike for this very reason.

WritingWhitePapers.com has been holding this competition for the past three years and had a total of 37 entries for the 2008/2009 list. (Unfortunately, we were unware of the list otherwise I'm sure Compendium Blogware would have certainly topped the list...)

These blogs are a great resource for blogging tips, content development, and a better understanding of the blogosphere. Check them out, subscribe to thier RSS feeds and I hope everyone can gather a little more information on how to write a successful blot post.

Drum roll please....

Congratulations to those that won and especially to Copyblogger.com, who has held the #1 spot for three years running now!

Next year though - Sorry Copyblogger, you will be dethroned as Compendium Blogware will be the champ.

..............no we're not competitive at alll!

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Chosing the right Blog CTA's for your business.

Posted Thursday, September 18, 2008 by Megan Glover

CTA = Call to Action. What does it mean exactly and what place does it have on your blog?

A CTA is an icon/button that tells the prospect to take another action; hence the name. It's a tactic used to convert web/blog visitors into leads. An example is right here on this blog page, check out the buttons on the right sidebar of the screen.

We've been testing and measuring the effectiveness of our blog CTA's recently at Compendium and here's what we've found.

1. Educational actions i.e. Whitepapers and Webinars are proving most effective. We've seen a 50% lift on conversions when we focus on blogging research as opposed to demo language.

2. Newsletter sign up forms work! We just added ours last week, and are still in testing mode, but its on track to be the highest converting yet.

We've found there are no blog secrets. As with any online marketing program it's about testing, tracking and measuring tactics to come up with a win-win result. And, just like our Compendium clients, we're learning and developing best practices along the way.

I'll leave you with perhaps the most important piece of info we've taking away from all of our blog CTA testing. When blogging for SEO you're blogging to get found in search and be the result your prospects are searching for.

Searching - the root word for Researching. Keep that in mind as you place CTA's on your blog. Chances are you're intercepting eyeballs that are in research mode and didn't even intend to find your site in the first place. So, make sure to give these folks material that fits their needs.

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The Blogosphere:

Posted Thursday, September 11, 2008 by Sarah Sedberry

We recommend to our clients to check out the blogosphere for their industry in order to stay on top of trends and see what their competitors are saying. It is a great way for individual users to link out to relevant articles and become subject mater experts in their given field, while providing great content to post about.

For example, those of us here at Compendium keep an eye out on the blogoshpere about SEO, Blog Tips and Trick, Blog Research, etc. We all also have our favorite authors and blogs that we subscribe to, in order to stay in the loop.

One blog in particular is always good to follow and wanted to share with everyone.

Seth Godin's Blog

Seth Godin Action Figure

Seth Godin (born July 10, 1960) is an American author of business books and a popular speaker with appearances at Google, TED and a number of charities. His blog is one of the most popular blogs in the world.

In fact, Compendium's CEO Chris Baggott, recently posted a video about his obsession with Seth. Check it out here!

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What's a Business Blog Supposed To Accomplish?

Posted Tuesday, July 29, 2008 by Chris Baggott

There was some feedback from my interview on Blog Squad Radio last week about the Compendium Approach to Business Blogging was too Corporate.

I posted this reply:

I wanted to thank you both for a great session last week. Your questions were insightful and I really appreciate your open-mindedness for some of these new concepts.

A successful relationship requires direct communication. To get the right to build a relationship with a customer or prospect you have to first be found, second build credibility that a relationship with you will add value to the prospect or customer.

Blogging is spectacular for this stage of the relationship. From that point however 99% of the time that relationship is going to evolve to leverage some other medium...which might include face-to-face, email, telephone or even paper based things like catalogs.

You guys are a perfect case to show that a successful blogging program shouldn't be measured by the number of comments...but from the amount of traffic and conversions.Thanks again,

Chris Baggott, CEO
Compendium Blogware

Advanced Business Blogging Strategy, requires that your employee and constituent content should be mostly about your business. Blog about your solutions, your customers, your aspirations as it relates to your products & services. This is what people are searching for...great blog information that helps them and builds trust

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Is Blogging Only for SEO Wrong?

Posted Friday, July 25, 2008 by Ali Sales

Blogging for SEO isn't wrong, but it can't be your only goal. Why? Because it's the tip of the iceberg. Of course you want your business to get found through search as many ways as possible, but your goal can't stop there.

You want a prospect to find your business blogs through search, and then what?

There is a next step. What is it? You want them to find one of your corporate blogs and then read sixteen posts before leaving the page? You want them to find one of your blogs and then subscribe to an RSS feed in order to come back over and over again and do nothing but read?

You see what I'm getting at here of course.

Your corporate blogging strategy can't focus on only the search engine optimization aspect. SEO is a means to the end, and your end is to make money by creating new relationships. That's it. If someone clicks to your blog from search and finds a webpage that's impersonal, unprofessional, and full of pointless information, then your blogging program is completely falling flat.

Today Compendium's very own Chris Baggott, will be hosting a webinar that goes into more detail on these topics. The webinar will also cover blogging tips, blogging best practices, and more. This is a great opportunity to ask any burning blogging questions. Get details and sign up for the webinar here.

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Write Like a Blogger

Posted Thursday, July 24, 2008 by Kristen Raves

One of the blogging problems that people constantly wrestle with is how long their content should be. In the world of blogging there are two types of people that you will typically run into. One is the "thought leader-must write an essay" type. The second is the "keep it simple so people will read this" type. Which type are you?

We tell our clients that best practices for a blog post is anywhere from 2-5 paragraphs. This keeps your readers engaged. They are able to find what they need in a blog post rather than digging through piles of information. If you find yourself writing posts that are 10, 11, and 12 paragraphs then it is time to shorten them up. You can also split them up into several posts or have them as a series of posts. Big League Tours is a client of mine that does a fantastic job with this.

Of course, you will still be seen as a thought leader even though you are not writing essays. The next time you go to post a blog, keep these blogging tips in mind. If you are spending an hour typing up a post, that is way too much time. Remember to keep it short and to the point. You will gain new readers and people will potential subscribe to your blog because they will care about what you have to say.

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25 Ways to Market Your Blog

Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008 by Kristen Raves

We focus on a wide variety of marketing tactics surrounding our blog writing software. In a recent article by Lee Oden, he goes on to discuss each one of his secrets to blogging for search engine optimization. I do have to disagree with his second point where he names his favorite blogging platforms. This is probably due to the fact that this author is not familiar with our better blogging software.

One of the major differences between Compendium and our "competitors" is that we walk you through each one of these 25 marketing initiatives. Where as, the other blogging tools allow you to set up a blog and then leave you to figure it out on your own, we hold your hand through the entire process. Our client success team is trained to get your blog off the ground and have you ranking on keywords as soon as you possibly can.

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Your Acquisition Dream Come True

Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008 by Ali Sales

I don't care what kind of business you are, or what industry you're in. Your acquisition dream is probably pretty similar to mine. And it goes something like this:

1.    A prospect that knows nothing about your company "Googles" a problem or a need that you can solve.

2.    The prospect sees your result on the first page of Google in the organic results, and the title of the result matches the phrase, which causes them to click on it

3.    The prospect lands on your webpage, does around 60 seconds of credibility checking, reading, light research, and likes what he/ she sees.

4.    The prospect notices that there is a way to engage with you immediately and contacts you to start a conversation.

My dreams come true on a daily basis because of our corporate blogging program, and today was no different. Here's what happened:

1.    A prospect with no knowledge of Compendium or our blogging platform "Googled" what the needed -- "Blogging Solution”

2.    Prospect found Compendium’s “Blogging Solution” blog as the #1 organic result. Prospect clicked on blog, did brief research

3.    Prospect clicked on "Instant Chat" available in the sidebar of the blog and immediately engaged with someone from our staff.

How can you make this happen for you? Well, funny you should ask...see that little "Instant Chat" ad on the side of my blog? Go ahead and click to talk to us. We're ready to share our blogging secrets anytime.

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Great Ideas For Blog Writing - Thanks Chris Brogan

Posted Monday, July 14, 2008 by Jenni Edwards

I like Chris Brogan, I generally just think he seems like a nice guy and has a good blog; so I read it pretty regularly. This is a side note, but I think one thing that might be left off of this post that I was inspired by today was just that "be a nice guy". Compliment others, let others know when you find something cool or neat, share your knowledge, admit your faults in your blog...all just simply part of being nice. You may not get a lot of people reading your corporate blog regularly like Chris does, but when people do find your blog through search they will like you, stick around, read more and ultimately 'convert' --- all based on them 'liking you'.

Anyways, what Chris did share is a comprehensive list of blog tips. Below are a few favorites that apply to many of us business bloggers from the various compiled articles:

Don't over think it. (It's a blog not a dissertation.)
Comment on other great blogs.
Mix it up.
Above all else, be human.

And my major rebuttle to all of this is "Platforms Aren't That Important"...really Chris? Would you send out your e-newslettters from your personal account instead of an email service provider? I think it is important that businesses at least consider a business blogging platform that is built with both their administrative needs and goals around organic search in mind, but as you said Chris --- to fully disclose all of your affiliaitions --- I do work for a blogging software company.

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Why Using a Subdomain is Best Practice

Posted Tuesday, July 8, 2008 by Kristen Raves

When setting up a blog, you have the option to use a sub-domain or a directory. We suggest using a sub-domain for two main reasons.

Sub-domains are seen as a part of the website so you do not have to "start from scratch". In other words, Google will recognize your sub-domain before it would a directory so it takes less time to get indexed.
Sub-domains are also easier for a reader to remember. They are more likely to remember both your website and blog site since they are so similar.

In an article by Matt Cutts, he goes in to great detail as to why he recommends the sub-domain over the directory. You can learn more blog secrets and how to blog for search engine optimization from Matt as well.

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Web 3.0, Semantic Web...?

Posted Monday, June 30, 2008 by Daren Tomey

I just finished reading a great article on The Semantic Web by John-Scott Dixon in the May 2008 issue of Website Magazine. In this article John does a great job of outlining the current short falls of search engines and what the future may in fact look like. I really liked the analogy of doing a search on Randy Johnson's ERA...Great Stuff! I am a major fan of baseball, so that one really caught my attention.

Anyways, the long and short of it is that search engines are delivering far too many results today and will continue to do so for many more years, but as a marketer we are constantly challenged to increase our lead generation efforts through an audience which is passionate and engaged into what products or services we have to offer.

How do you do that? Our client success team will tell you that in order to maximize the benefits of blogging for seo, a blogging best practice is to focus on the mid and long tail approach in their keyword/Compendium blogs as the audience that is using three words or higher when conducting a search are more educated and engaged in what they are searching for and closer to making a purchasing decision.

If you really want to target the audience to drive conversions and ROI, add a local qualifier to your keyword blogs! For more information from Compendium on blogging trends, blogging tips, and blogging best practices, please visit our website frequently!

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An Inspiring Reason to Blog for Your Business

Posted Monday, June 30, 2008 by PJ Hinton

Others' blogs can be a great source of blogging tips, even if they don't come right out and label them as such. Take for example a post that was published by Lead with Your Heart author Lewis Green. In discussing why it's important to give as well as get, Green talks about our natural resistance to "sharing openly" with others in personal and professional settings.

He goes on to list several examples of businesses and individuals who put this principle into practice and succeed by doing so. It's no surprise that his longest bullet point deals with bloggers who use their sites to educate and advise, not just self-promote.

If you are thinking about starting a business blog, SEO might be an attractive selling point. But one of the best blogging benefits you will reap, if you write the right kind of content, is an improved relationship with your customers. Quoting Green's closing remarks in the post:

People like and like to do business with those they trust and those who have integrity. Sharing ourselves and what we know is the best way to build a trusting relationship, and it doesn't hurt profits.

How well can you share?

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People don't trust CEO's they Trust Employees

Posted Tuesday, April 22, 2008 by Chris Baggott

CEO and C-level blogging is not credible, post from Compendium Blogware

Wow, great article the other day by Cheryl Hall of the Dallas Morning news. In a story that references Richard Edelman she discusses Corporate Blogging and Trust. As we discussed, AdAge reported that 20% of the Fortune 500 have blogs. Almost every one of those blogs are the traditional C-level, Thought Leadership kind of blather.

Guess what? The people don't trust the C-level. A Company blog strategy needs to include the employees:

"It's clear that when it comes to traditional authority figures – whether they're chief executives or heads of state – people trust them less," says Mr. Edelman. "Employees are the new credible source of information. We have data that shows an employee blog is five times more credible than a CEO blog – and I say this as a CEO blogger."

Great insight Richard!

If you are evaluating blog software for your business or enterprise you need to consider how to incorporate your employees as a whole into the effort. That is a blogging best practice. Blog information can't come from the top down, but rather the bottom up.

Compendium Blogware is a great enterprise blog software to on the one hand empower employee blogging and also put in controls and workflow so Corporations can manage blog posts without squeezing the life out of the content.

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The Gap Between SEO and PPC and how business blogs help

Posted Tuesday, March 18, 2008 by Chris Baggott

The problem with SEO vs. PPC

Ok...so this is the world as I see it.   Suppose you do a really good job on SEO for your site.   At best, you can probably get that site to rank on a few terms...maybe a dozen if you are really solid.

The average company that participates in Pay Per Click targets around 1,000 keywords, and many target thousands more than that.

So we know that something more than 90% of the clicks on a search results page happen in organic area.   Soooo..... The gap between traditional site SEO and PPC seems pretty gigantic.

This is where Corporate Blogging comes in.   Either an Enterprise or a Small Business can benefit in a big way from Corporate Blogging.   By organizing blog content around topics or keywords organizations are able to greatly increase the reach of their keyword traffic.

It's not a blog secret, blog sites for business really help organic search.

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The Optimist Blogger

Posted Tuesday, March 11, 2008 by Shawna Mullen

Today I read an article in CNN Money which covered business blogging tips. I thought the article had several great points/ideas including: Blogs need to be frequently updated with new content, “Business blogs are a form of conversation marketing that can make a substantial contribution to your company’s bottom line if used correctly”, “writing posts that provide value to the reader is the best way to make your blog attractive to visitors”, and finally “good business blog topics”.

Now there were a few comments that I would have to argue.

1. “Keep in mind that blogging requires a substantial time commitment”. –Generating content shouldn’t be a wearisome task if you understand your industry and your business. Please refer back to my Smile! Say Blog! post. Now, if you are not utilizing an effective blogging software that is not built for organizational purposes (ex/ SEO pieces are not built in, technical experience is required, and/or no success management services), then yes, I believe it would take a substantial time commitment.

2. “Before going down this path, I would carefully look at all my current sales and marketing programs that are already effective and see if I couldn’t improve elements of those before venturing out into the blogosphere.” -Why?! Blogging for a purpose can have a vast impact on your business. Why not begin making use of all the great minds you have hired and let them start generating valuable content to begin increasing SEO rankings! In addition to the other great benefits including, thought leadership, customer acquisition, and human interaction.

My goal of today’s post is to take away some of the negative views about blogging and point out the value blogging can bring to an organization. We need to work on changing our older concept of blogging or “citizen journalism” and focus our energy on blogging for business using a professional blogging software!

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Four-Part Video Series on Business Blogging

Posted Wednesday, March 5, 2008 by PJ Hinton

Online video syndicator Your Business Chanel is in the process of releasing a four-part video series on business blogging. You can view the clip sans registration at the Salem-News.com website.

Quoting a number of experts in blogging research, the nicely-produced first installment provides a quick run through the reasons for corporate blogging and tips for blogging effectively.

Some of the key points worth taking away the video:

The migration from large scale marketing to conversational marketing is not only happening, it is a return to the way things were done before the advent of mass media.
To be successful, a blog needs to be interesting (relevant), human (authentic), valuable, and updated frequently (timely).
Blogging is suitable for businesses of all sizes.

You'll also find these topics discussed at length in our employee blog posts.

It will be interesting to what will be featured in the next three videos.

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Blogging For Fun AND Profit

Posted Monday, February 25, 2008 by Kristen Raves

How do you blog for fun and profit? Let us count the ways...

1. Use an easy blogging platform such as Compendium Software. The easier it is to use, the more enjoyable experience you will have.

2. You are writing about your company, so it should be fun! You know what you do best so make it apparent in the blog content.

3. Make this an enjoyable experience by setting aside a certain time in the day to blog. This time can actually be therapeutic and relaxing.

4. Customize your blog by adding pictures, video, and other elements that describe you best.

5. Blog about goals that you or your company want to accomplish. By reaching your set goals it will give you a rewarding feeling and maybe even a raise!

6. Add "calls to action" into your blog. These can be icons with what you or your company is selling, sign up sheets for your newsletter, or even a simple give away. This can easily lead to customer conversion.

7. If you are the boss, give an incentive to those who are blogging more frequently. After all, those individuals are helping to drive more business to the organization.

Just try to follow these simple blogging tips and you should reap the benifits soon!

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Blogging for Newbies

Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2008 by Kristen Raves

I continually run into the same thing with new bloggers. They get overwhelmed with what to blog about and where to even start. This is a completely understandable and relatable problem. I have been blogging for a while and still run into this every once in a while. So I have some tips for you newbies!

Have an easy blogging platform to use. We have the best blogging software available at Compendium which is one the I highly recommend.
Don't stress on the look of your blog, focus on starting to create content.
Once you start blogging make sure you have useful content. What is useful content? That can be whatever you want it to be. These blogs can be about anything from news to entertainment to business development. Obviously, if you are a cell phone company then you will want to stick with something along that field rather than venture off into a posting about elephants. Mainly just make sure it is relevant to what your overall theme is going to be.
Post length is a topic which frustrates many bloggers. Your post length will depend on what you are wanting to convey. If it can be said in 1 paragraph rather than 5 then do so. Your goal is to keep readers engaged.
Links, Links, Links. This is a blogging secret that not everyone knows about. By adding links into and out of your blog it helps you to be found quicker. It can also help with the conversion rate for your customers.

I hope these blogging tips have helped you as you get ready to start. Remember, blogging is the new way to be seen and heard. In the words of Nike, just do it!

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Tips on Business Blogging in USA Today

Posted Tuesday, February 19, 2008 by PJ Hinton

Small business authority Steve Strauss gives a nod to small business blogging in USA Today's "Ask an Expert" column, which was published on Monday. Describing his own path of personal conversion, he writes:

When blogging first made its way into our consciousness a few years ago, I was as skeptical as they come. Was I really heard to remark, "It's the CB radio of our time!" Yes, I was.

But, hallelujah! I see the light! I've become a convert. How much so? Yes, I have just launched my own blog, Business as UNusual.

Strauss goes on to make the case for small business blogging, citing many of the same points that we make on our own blogs here at Compendium: networking, product promotion, search engine visibility, customer interaction, and reputation building.

He also offers blogging tips, linking to sites that demonstrate what he's discussing.

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