The Worst Thing I Heard At Blog Indiana
Posted Wednesday, August 20, 2008 by Chris Baggott
So I was privileged to teach a session on Advanced Business Blogging at the recent Blog Indiana event in Indianapolis.  I learned a lot and there were some really smart people with some really good ideas and advice for Blogging in general and Corporate Blogging specifically.

But there was a LOT of Bull S--- too.   I'm not normally one to go negative but some of this stuff makes me so mad that smoke comes out of my ears.

Blog Indiana Bad Business Blogging Advice, Comment MonitoringThe experience has given me an idea for a whitepaper:  "Top Ten Lies about Business Blogging"  (once I calm down, I'll probably change the word Lies to Myths)

This person (who's name escapes me) was doing a session on Business Blogging as well.  A woman asked about comments and explained that her CEO wouldn't let them start a company blog unless he could review and reject comments he didn't like.

The advice??  Basically, it's better not to do a blog at all if you are going to actively manage comments!

I was incredulous.   Of course a corporation has to monitor not only comments, but blog posts as well.  There is a lot of responsibility and liability for anything that appears on your site...including your blogs.

If Blog Benefits = 100%   Comments in general represent < 10% of that benefit.

The reality is that most business blogs never get that many comments anyway.  Comments should never be used as a primary gage of success.   Think about Traffic, Search Engine Optimization and Conversions.  Those are the real metrics of  blogging best practices.  

So my surprise was this idea that if you are not 100% you shouldn't do anything at all was just bad advice. 

Stay tuned...I've got another 9 to go :-)
Comments (4)

Team building at Oliver
Posted Tuesday, August 19, 2008 by Sarah Sedberry
Those of us in the Client Success area at Compendium Blogware (as well as our entire organization) work hard and pride ourselves on our ability to work well together in order to ensure our clients are seeing ROI on their Corporate Blogs.  Every now and then, we do break out of the office for some team building.

Last week the Client Success team took a team trip to Oliver Winery, located in Bloomington, Indiana.  For those not familiar with the Indiana terrain, Bloomington is home to Indiana University, and is south of Indianapolis.

Client Success Team with Bill and Dennis in Oliver Vineyard
(Front Row: Dennis Dunham (Oliver), Chantelle Flannery, and Abby Brosmer-Rivera)
(Back Row: Loren Sandman (ICVA), Kristen Hanschu, Sarah Sedberry, Jeff Lefevere, and Bill Oliver (Oliver))

It was an experience none of us will soon forget, as we were taken on a personal tour of the Winery and Vineyard by Bill Oliver (Owner) and Dennis Durham (Winemaker), and treated to a fantastic dinner prepared by Oliver Winery's own Heidi, at the Oliver Farmhouse.

Our team was able to see how wine is made from start to finish at Oliver, complete with tours of their lab, tasting from the oak barrels, seeing them package the wine, to sampling their new line of Skydog. 

For those that are not familiar, there have been several commercials out recently promoting this new line of wines from Oliver.  There are several new aspects to Skydog for Oliver, including a twist cap (instead of the traditional cork), and a economical price of $7.50 a bottle.

Most endearing about this line of wines, currently involving a red, white, and rose, is the mascot.  To quote straight from the bottle...."Watch out…it's hard to resist a dog with a jet pack."

Dennis, Sarah, and Bill with the Skydog line


The day was a special one for all of us, and we could not be more appreciative to Bill and Dennis for their personalized attention and the patience to answer all our questions! We will not soon forget the experience and hope to plan a return trip soon.
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Five Steps to Mastering Blogging and Online Marketing
Posted Sunday, August 17, 2008 by jeff lefevere
A Compendium customer, Lizan Brand, from Greenfield Liquors, was featured in the Saturday edition of the Indianapolis Star.

One of the things that Lizan is doing that is really interesting is mixing in video--highlighting drink recipes, talking about wine and the sorts of things that contextually engage a reader.

In my personal life, I’m well in tune with wine & spirits video blogging as a wine blogger (vlogger) is ascending to national attention.  In fact, wine online darling Gary Vaynerchuk from WinelibraryTV continues to grab the wine world by its shirt lapels and give a good, healthy shake.

Gary continues to not only lead the charge in creating a brand online for himself and his business by proxy, but he also continues to give advice, good advice, to folks interested in growing their business, any business.

Vaynerchuk did an audio interview with an Internet-based business coach and he provided some additional insights that are not just applicable to technology marketing, but marketing in general.  You can find the audio portion of the interview here.

Find the text transcript here.

A couple of the nuggets that I gleaned are:

* Vaynerchuk on putting content out on the web:  “If you put out great content, you will be found.”

* Vaynerchuk on leveraging your expertise: “So, if you are the best guy in your law firm in contracts, instead of waiting eight to ten years to become a partner, start (using technology) about what you know.  Give away that content for free.  It will come back to you in spades 800 times over.”

* Vaynerchuk on tapping your passion: “So you may be good at three or four things, but please site down and analyze where you feel you’re most passionate about, even if that is the most competitive genre, do it because that is where you’re going to win when you really believe it, when it goes through your blood, you’re going to win every time because even if you’re not seeing the mythical success, your heart and soul is going to be happy.  That is going to push through to the point when you will start seeing success."

* The Interviewer on setting lofty goals: “you have to have high ideals. You have to have something that you’re shooting for that’s absolutely spectacular. What you have to realize is that’s the ideal, that’s not the goal. When you achieve a certain level of success, the people that are super successful don’t compare where they get to--to their ideal. The ideal is just where they’re focused towards. To be happy and to be excited about what you’re accomplishing, you have to look backwards to where you were. As long as you make that leap and you look backwards to feel good about yourself then you can keep that excitement going. If you’re always comparing where you are to the perfect (ideal) then it’s very hard to stay excited …

The frenetic interview wraps up with Vaynerchuk’ “Five Steps to Mastering Social Media.”  If you replace the “social media” with “blogging” the same values hold true.  They are:

1)  Make sure you want to engage/learn it.

2)  Now that you know you want it, spend every living second that you possibly can on it.

3)  Put your toe in the pool.  Get involved.

4)  Humble yourself.  If you’re the best basketball player in the world, you’re playing hockey now.  Put on your skates.

5)  Know what you want to accomplish.

Good advice for all and something Lizan, a Compendium customer, is doing successfully and so can you.  Business blogging is hardly hard, it just takes a little bit of the above five items.  
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Ready, Set, Go!
Posted Friday, August 15, 2008 by Sarah Sedberry
Our implementation manager here at Compendium, Abby, has done an excellent job of graduating several clients this week and we are very excited to see what they can do.

Check out the newest Corporate blogs to Compendium's platform:

  • Data Recovery Specialists: A company that focuses on data recovery and computer forensics.  Their success rate for data recovery is one of the highest in the industry and they offer extremely competitive rates for their services.

  • MediaTile:MediaTile is one of the very few companies in the world that provides a comprehensive, all-in-one digital signage platform that integrates an LCD HD display, media player, network access, and a web-based control system.

  • Roberts Distributors:  Roberts focus is on Photo, Video, Electronics, and Imaging.  They offer comprehensive classes as well as all the equipment needed to make you a pro!

We look forward to great content and although they were not able to get into this month's Blogging Tournament - Content for the Crown, I'm sure they will give the next round of competition a run for their money!


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Blogging Indiana!
Posted Friday, August 15, 2008 by Sarah Sedberry
This weekend marks a great event in downtown Indianapolis, and no I'm not talking about Gen-Con.  I'm referring to Blog Indiana 2008!

Blog Indiana is a 2-day blogging and social media conference, hosted at IUPUI, that aims to promote education, innovation and collaboration among Indiana’s fast-growing blogging community. There will be several keynote speakers at the conference, including our very own Chris Baggott. 

This blog conference for both experienced and new bloggers alike. Sessions will include topics such as blogging for beginners, using blogs in your business, monetizing your blog, political blogging and more advanced topics. So if you are a blogger looking to get started, looking to add a corporate blog, or wanting to capitalize on the success you're already having with the blog for your business - this is a conference you should attend.

Compendium Blogware will also have a booth at the conference, so feel free to stop by and say hello to two of our Business Development Managers, Jenni Edwards and Eric Romer.  They will be happy to help answer any questions you may have about blogging for your business.

Happy Blogging!

Blog Indiana 2008
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Compendium Welcomes the Eugene Chamber of Commerce
Posted Friday, August 8, 2008 by Kristen Hanschu
Compendium Blogware is happy to announce that our newest client, Eugene Chamber of Commerce, is blogging.  Not only are the blogging, but they are already seeing results!  In just one month of posting content they have seen all but one of their keywords ranking in Google. 

How have they accomplished this in such a short time?  The answer is, and will always be, content.  The way to get better rankings in the search engines is by adding updated and relevant content on a regular business.

Blogging for SEO is a growing business trend that companies are continuing to see the benefit of.  Our blogging platform is easy to use and makes blogging fun.  The Client Success Team at Compendium will help you get your blogs off the ground and provide you with continuing support for the life of your blog.  We are here for questions, consulting, and getting your company the results that you are trying to achieve.  What other blog software can say that? Well, none to be exact. 

If you would like to view Eugene Chamber's Blog click here.  Leave them a comment while you are at it!
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Corporate Team Building
Posted Thursday, August 7, 2008 by Kaila Woodside
A few weeks back Compendium took a weekend to do a little team building - via white water rafting. The trip was amazing and everyone came back with a new energy and feeling of real camaraderie. Wilderness Voyaguers, my rafting company of choice in Ohiopyle is actually one of Compendium's clients. So as opposed to blogging immediately after our trip on our blog - I made a guest post on the WV blog. You can check it out here. 

Wilderness Voyaguers has taken to blogging for search and  they keep their blog updated with fun happenings in Ohiopyle as well as infromation on the trips they offer. Following blogging best practices with the help of their Client Success Manager, Sarah Sedberry- they will surely be one of our next top corporate bloggers.
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Welcome aboard Bauer 360!
Posted Monday, August 4, 2008 by Sarah Sedberry
Our latest client to graduate from Implementation and Training with Abby is Bauer 360.

Bauer 360

Bauer 360 specializes in Consulting, Training and Research pertaining to Internet Marketing and Web Production needs of a company.  They offer a wide range of services including Web Development, E-Mail Marketing, E-Newsletters, Cell Phone Marketing, Digital Video Production, Search Engine Optimization, Social Networking, Pay Per Click and Banner Ads.   They will work with your business to build an E-plan, so that you are prepared and ready for success.

Compendium Blogware and Bauer 360 have similar goals in mind as we are both committed to listen to your desires, educating our clients on processes and metrics, creating and incorporate your goals in order for the customers to see increased productivity, drive down costs, and see improved results on ROI.

I look forward to working with Ross and the gang at Bauer 360.  Check them out here, as they are already on the ball and are up and posting!
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Developing Blog Post Content
Posted Friday, August 1, 2008 by jeff lefevere
Have you ever wondered how others find time in their day to write consistent (and consistently good) blog posts? 

You may think to yourself, “If only I had the time.”

It’s easy to de-prioritize blogging in order to stay caught up on email and the real core of your business -- growth.

De-prioritizing your blogging, however, is a mistake, especially in the face of your in-box and business growth.

Simply, you likely write close to two thousand words a day in email.  One blog post is the equivalent of 250 – 300 words.  So, in the course of business, on a daily basis, you likely write at least 8 blog posts, at a minimum. And, likely, at least half of those emails are internal and operationally oriented, not affecting the acquisition of a new customer.  

Secondarily, as an adjunct to your daily email, your real daily focus is helping the business run smoothly and drive growth.  

When you think about where you can save time, or shift time to focus on blogging, it would have to be getting out of the email in-box and into the blogging platform.

I say this not for the obvious reason that time spent emailing and blogging is a one-to-one trade-off, instead it’s because blogging for business allows you to create content that is optimized for search engines and that traffic subsequently leads to customer acquisition and a flow of potential new customers.

These two factors combined make daily blogging a no-brainer.

Am I positing that time spent blogging instead of emailing will lead to growth in your business?  Yes I am.

So, say no to those four emails that don’t advance the situation forward, though they may advance your opinion forward, and drive that energy into growing the business, using blogging as a tool to do so.

A couple of tips to take your creative brainpower into overdrive:

1) Start to view your work life in terms of story vignettes

The customer situation yesterday that was resolved and made the company look good?  It makes a perfect blog post!

2) Think about your business and blogging tangentially. 

That Fortune, Men’s Health or Cooking Light magazine you read in your personal time is a treasure trove of cultural currency that can be cross-pollinated with your business for pop culture relevancy.  That article about the healthiest cities in America?  Well, if you’re a healthcare blog, there has to be some relevant tie-in to your business

3) Keep a notebook handy to scrawl down the genesis of an idea when it strikes
  
You won’t remember the idea later, but just the scribbled note will jog your memory.

I hope these tips help drive your blogging success forward.
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Obsession...
Posted Wednesday, July 30, 2008 by Sarah Sedberry
Alright, I admit it.  I have completely given into to the iPhone craze (although, I still retain some pride as I did not stand in line for 5 hours to get the phone on the first day, I waited until day 2).

iPhoneThis is my first Apple product so I am certainly no apple-head, but I can now understand the passion expressed by Apple users.  However, this conversion of loyalty is not caused by what you would think. As Jon Fortt over at Fortune Magazine mentions in his article:

"The iPhone’s magic isn’t in the features – not the 2-megapixel camera, or the Safari web browser, or even the music and video capabilities. It’s in Apple’s knack for making all those features easier to locate and use."  Not only is Apple making it easier for consumers to use, they are also reshaping the wireless game by making a move "from phone sales to software development".  

The iPhone's impact on business is monumental as well.  There are endless choices out there for the professional looking to be mobile; but with the iPhone's ease of use, larger screen, quicker web access and user-friendly internet tools make it an easy choice for me.  Having access to the internet no matter where you (as long as you have a signal) without having to carry around a clunkly laptop/computer bag will only breed more and more users surfing the web.  

The next time I'm standing in line, have a lay over in the airport, or waiting on my friends for a get together - guess what I'll be doing - that's right, checking in on all of my clients blog posts (ha ha). 

In all seriousness though, with the focus on technology, it is important that a business get their name out there and be searchable.  Corporate blogs are a perfect answer to this, as search engines love the fresh, relevant, and frequent content that blogs create.  Our blogging platform keeps the process simple, as well as, delivers powerful results (like the iPhone).  Not to mention, we also partner with our clients, and provide day to day support, and are available to answer any questions that may arise.

Millions of searches are run every day, and we here at Compendium Blogware want to help ensure that it's your company that is showing up in those searches, for your targeted consumer.  With our easy to use software, active support and customer service, your corporate blog will see success and perhaps you'll become "obsessed" as well...
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The Bloggers Code of Conduct
Posted Wednesday, July 30, 2008 by Chantelle Flannery

Over the past few years the concerns have been raised about how bloggers conduct themselves online. The most notable was Tim O'Reilly’s call for a bloggers code of conduct. Some of the more traditional bloggers gave a significant amount of push back to the situation while others embraced it. I think that it is important that all corporate blogging companies establish their own rules of conduct as it pertains to blogging.

Here are the main points that should be included in the code of conduct:

  • As an individual and as a company taking responsibility for content fond on the blog
  • Take a stance for/against use of images and videos you might not have the full rights to
  • An explanation for your commenting policies – to you respond via email/post/comment and do you even approve comments when appropriate
  • Policy for approving or declining posts – what content is acceptableHow success is measured and tracked on the blogs
  • An explanation for how the content from the analytics on the blog are used and what they are
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Compendium clients are seeing success!
Posted Tuesday, July 29, 2008 by Lindsey Young
We've started something pretty cool here at Compendium.  Our Client Success team has started sending out emails to the rest of us sharing statistics, and major successes of our clients.  I have found this pretty helpful when talking to potential clients, especially trying to drive home the point that early adopters will prevail using our software.  The sooner you start, the sooner your organization is going to see increased search engine traffic, engaged readers, and eventually more business! 


I'm always amazed at how potential clients that are coming to us know they need to be blogging, they just don't know why.  That's always my favorite part of our conversation when I get to inform them, and see the light bulb go off!  I'd like to share an exerpt from NetSquared.org: 

"Did you know that over 57 million Americans read blogs? U.S. blog readers average 23 hours online each week! An average of 64% of Canadians visited blogs in 2007. And 10% of online consumers in the U.K. read blogs at least once a month.”

For the complete article go here.  Like our CEO Chris Baggott always says, "we're changing the world!".

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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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Cuil Search Engine: An Outsider's Review
Posted Tuesday, July 29, 2008 by Jenni Edwards
Another search engine?  Are we really in need?  Maybe if it is drastically better, maybe if it makes my life easier; but in general I am not sitting there wanting a new search engine, but I also have to assume that most marketers aren't sitting wanting for a corporate blogging tool --- it's my job to show them that they need one.  So has Cuil convinced me to switch from Google?  Not quite.  Although Cuil was founded by Google engineers and brags about the increased number of pages that are combed through and the ability to search the so called 'deep web'.  In addition, the search results look more like a magazine than a list, as traditional web searches do.  Not to mention the $33M in venture-capital money.

Interesting concept...but a bit confusing for my first try.  Also, was a bit surprised with the results of a few test searches.  Unfortunately, it looks like this evening that their servers were a bit overloaded and I wasn't able to get results for a few terms.  I like the innovation, pushing every search engine to be better and better.  However, this doesn't seem game changing for Compendium because at the end of the day --- a search engine's success will always be based on its ability to serve up the most relevant results based on the search terms in the quickest and most user friendly way.

What does this mean to our business?  Not much --- we measure some of our client's  success with Google and benchmark search standings there as well; but the topically driven corporate blogs that are created from the Compendium system are search engine neutral.
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Compendium Blogware: Blogging & Teambuilding
Posted Monday, July 28, 2008 by Chris Baggott
Compendium Blogware Company Trip to Ohiopyle...lots of business blogging fodderI'm sure a lot of good stories will come out of this weekend's Compendium Blogware's First Annual White Water Rafting Trip to Ohiopyle PA.   The Story is best told in pictures, so please feel free to browse Kaila Woodsides's Flickr Compendium of the trip.

If one of the goals of Corporate Blogging is to humanize your organization, sharing your events and activities probably go a long way.   I'm guessing anyone who sees these blog photos and reads the posts from the Employees that post to their Compendium Blogs will get a pretty good idea of the personality of our organization.

At the end of the day, advanced business blogging is about showing that you have smart, fun, passionate people...who all share a common goal of doing everything they can to make you a successful business blogger.
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Finding Time to Blog
Posted Monday, July 28, 2008 by Jim Hyslop
It seems as we move along in this new realm of blogging with a corporate focus for search engine optimization and return on investment one of the largest concerns expressed by management is access to the resources necessary to make a corporate blog successful. What we need to remember here is blogging is simple. Do not over think it. We all know a lot about our business  but we don't have  to get it all out in a single post. That is the Beauty of a blog.It is not America's next best selling novel instead it is a coffee talk conversation and should be focused on human engagement.

Best practices in blogging- by Compendium tell us that these posts should take 10 -15 minutes MAX! 200-250 words MAX!  Remember...the key to SEO is recency and frequency of your blog posts NOT how much you say per post. So don't be worried about who will contribute and how much lost productivity may come from people needing to allocate time to blogging, instead think of it this way, by allowing people within your organization the 20-30 minutes they need each week to contribute a couple posts they will actually be building your lead generating machine. 
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Corporate Blogging from another voice.
Posted Friday, July 25, 2008 by Sarah Sedberry
Douglas Karr touched on a topic near and dear to our hearts here at Compendium Blogware in his post yesterday: Blogging for Business: New Tricks for Old Dogs.

Douglas does a great job breaking down how blogs are emerging as a marketing source for companies.

He addresses the pitfalls businesses are falling into, such as:
  • Dull conversations aren’t attracting readers
  • Business blogs turn into regurgitated press releases.
  • The topics don’t spark comments or trackbacks.
  • The posts lack personality and thought leadership.

"In short, the reason why business blogs are failing are because corporations are substituting a blogging application for their content management system."

At Compendium Blogware we help focus your posts and give you the tools to help make your corporate blog successful.  We stress blogging for a purpose and assist  in creating a strategy with your business to get a return on your investment. 

Douglas also touches on what they can do to ensure success. 

"Gaining authority and search engine results"
           - This is part of the package with Compendium - our expertise in SEO"

"Implementing a blogging platform that guides the blogger effortlessly through the posting process"
           -  Our platform allows the user to easily create and post content, provides a                 list of keywords to focus on, and an indicator letting the blogger know                     how strong their post is.

"Blogging is a not an overnight success. Great blogging results require momentum and constant analysis and improvement." 
           - Our Client Success Team is here to provide support and guidance                             regarding content ideas, best practices, tips and tricks to keep the                         process simple and stress-free.

Another feature of our platform is that there is an administrative layer that monitors the content that ends up published. 

These are all reasons why Compendium Blogware can be the best answer for any business looking to begin a corporate blog.

(Also a thanks to Douglass for the plug!)   :o)
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25 Ways to Market Your Blog
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008 by Kristen Hanschu
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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Blogging for Search: Text Book Example
Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008 by Megan Glover
At Compendium Blogware, we drink the kool-aid. We blog to get found in organic search and our compending software helps us maximize the keywords we're targeting in search.Instant Chat

So -it's always fun to share some real-life examples of blogging success! We had a prospect (now potential client) find us through our blogs yesterday. Here's how it happened:

1. Prospect was looking for blogging software.
2. Prospects googled "Blogging Solution"
3. The Compendium Blog "Blogging Solution" appeared as the #1 search result.
4. Prospect browsed the blog to affirm the information was on point.
5. Prospect clicked on the Live Chat Call-to-Action, which triggered me!
6. Prospect and I chatted she was interested in a demo.
7. Prospect was forwarded on to Business Development
8. Prospect is now a Sales Ready Opportunity - and might close within the month!

Does this pattern of events sound familiar?

Personally, when I'm searching for something, my search starts and ends in the organic section of a search engine. That's why, as a marketer, it's your job to get found in organic search and blogging is a tool that will help you do so.

And, with the right calls- to- action on your blogs you will convert blog visitors into potential customers. In our case, a simple Live Chat feature appealed to this particular prospect. View it here.

Do you have Blogging ROI stories to share? If so, Compendium wants to know about them. Please send blogging ROI results to: megan@compendiumblogware.com.

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Tangential Brainstorming for Blog Content
Posted Tuesday, July 22, 2008 by jeff lefevere
Writing interesting, compelling content for blog posts is very simple.  Just a dash of brainpower is necessary in order to set yourself up for success.

Besides planning to write on a schedule with consistency, where how can you find writing inspiration?

1) Keep a pad of paper that serves as a brain dump for ideas

2) Think about your ideas in a story arc—with a beginning, a middle and an end.  Blog posts don’t need to be long -- 250 words can do the job.  In fact, there is a whole niche on the internet around Micro Fiction—short stories less than 400 words.  An idea, with context, with a beginning, middle and an end.  

3) Use day to day interactions with customers and situations that come up – even business fires and fire drills can turn into a blog post if you apply a bit of humanity and wisdom to the situation while tying it into your business.  Plus, the funny anecdotes that come out of customer service situations, along as the innocent are protected, serve as excellent educational items

4) Think about translating a prevailing concept and tying into a post related to your business.

One way I like to do #4 this is to read business book summaries.

Everybody loves a good business book—the one with some insight that taps that far away repository in your brain matter that then sends a synapse firing against your memory bank of experiences that creates a new idea.  Books help to feed that fire and add to our repository.

But, let’s be honest, reading books takes time, and most of us have, at best, an hour a day for leisure reading—which makes getting through a book, or several books to spark an idea something of a bit of work, and that presumes that we’re choosing non-fiction books and not a bit of escapist fiction.

There are numerous services that offer, for a reasonable fee, business book distillation summaries—a Cliffs Note version of the book—the essential truths and ideas without all of the interminable anecdotes that fill up 225 pages of a 250 page tome. Clearly, this sort of option lets you glean the ideas, quickly, retaining the good stuff and not engaging in the non-productive activity.  Most summaries are eight pages or less and that’s a program I can get behind.

So, how can you immediately apply this to your blogging?  Simple.  Google “Business Book Summaries” sign up for a sample for a service, read a book summary, glean the ideas and apply it to your business in a way that is accessible to a customer or a potential customer.

For example, for a book like “Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell, I might use that as a frame of reference to discuss the influencers and your core customers that act as your evangelists and how they spread the word for your company.  Every company has these customers and it is just a matter of setting the appropriate context with humanity and authority to apply the concept to your business.  

Easy peasy.  

So, next time you get stumped, just remember that tangential thinking, or allowing different ideas to bounce off each other can be a great way to create an interesting post and business book summaries are one of hundreds of ways to do so.
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