Blogs, Marketing & Operations

Who is Abby

Hi! I'm Abby Brosmer. I am a Product Support Manager here at Compendium. As Product Support Manager, I work with internal and external users of the Compendium Software to resolve changes and issues. I serve as front line support and work to ensure we are providing the best blogging software around!

I am competitive in nature and I enjoy problem solving and building client relationships, but most importantly the challenge of exceeding expectations.

On the personal side, I am the proud mother of two amazing children and one dog. I love the company of family, friends and great food!

Exciting Product Release to Preview your Blog Post within Your Template

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

This morning, Compendium proudly released the ability to preview your blog post within your live blog template. Prior to today,when creating post as a user the options available were to save as a draft, submit my post to the administrator for moderation or preview the post in new window to ensure video worked properly.

Today, when a user selects preview post, they will now view their content as it would appear live on the web. A nice enhancement to our easy to use blogging software which allows users an extra reassurance that their content will represent the company well on the corporate blog.

As a member of the product support team, we are always working to request enhancements to the product that will enhance each users experience and provide the best blogging software to our clients.

If you have a suggestion, fill our the web form and we will add it to our product log for enhancements. Yes, these enhancements are prioritized by customer request, so every vote matters.

Engaging Readers with Images

Monday, September 14, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

While content is the most important piece of blogging for search marketing, it is still important to engage your readers. One easy way, is through images. I completely understand the concept of using imagery to quickly engage readers in your post, as it is often the way I am first engaged when reading other blogs. But, when using images in a blog post, you do want to always ensure that your images are safe for use and that you are not publishing someone else's material.

Google recently improved their Google Image Search by allowing searchers to specify "labeled for reuse" images. Now, this is not currently something that is listed on the main search page, but you can click to the Advanced Search Option and Select "labeled for reuse" from the Usage Rights drop down.

If you are creating your own images, Google's Webmaster Blog provided some great information about how to code your images to let people and Google know they are free for use.

What does a pumpkin spice latte do for you?

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Well, I really have no clue what it might do for you, but I can tell you what it does for me... Inspires me to write a blog post!

Wow, can you believe that? I am inspired to write a blog post. Was it actually the latte, that extra jolt of cafenine to give my creative blogging juices a jolt? I don't think so, I actually think it was the change from the normal day to day of Compendium and the nice smiling face of one of our great customers, Jeff from CareerScribe.

CareerScribe, based in Indianapolis, was created in 2008 to address the gap between online job boards and social networking sites. Consider this:

There are plenty of places to upload a resume online
There are many ways to stay in touch personally or professionally

But, we couldn’t find anything that systematically tracks career highlights and achievements online AND gives you a way to share them and network to your advantage. We wanted the resource. We found out others did too.

So, how do you motivate your bloggers? Offer up some "Pumpkin Spice" to their daily routine. Empower them to tell a customer's story and the business relationship that will help your organization be successful.

Designer Access is Now Available to Compendium Clients

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Recently, we released a functionality that allows your organization to designate a user designer privileges. This allows them to ultimately control the look and feel of your blog template. Yes, still contact the help desk to add users and if you have a question that cannot be answered by the knowledge base, but the management of your template is handled completely in house, by your designer.

Compendium has a WYSIWYG template editor that can allow you to make simple template modifications like uploading a new header image or replacing a call to action. For more detailed changes, designers have access to the blog template HTML.

Did we peak your interest in designer role for your blog program? Email your client success manager. We ask that designers have:

a basic understanding of web design and web development
basic image creation and editing tools, such as Photoshop
basic understanding of HTML and CSS
commitment to the blog design - once you assume designer functionality, you will be responsible for template changes

Still have questions, your client success manager can walk through any questions you may still have and help you determine if this functionality is right for your blogging program.

Power of Social Media and Blogging

Thursday, August 27, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

So, on Facebook, I recently told my fiance's sister that I was thinking about not going to the family reunion, because it is 2 weeks away and with John being deployed to Iraq, I have a ton to get done. Soon after, my soon to be uncle commented and said that there are no excuses and offered to come help do all that "stuff" I had to do.

Compared to some, my group of Facebook friends is relatively small, aproximately 400 people. Now, if I can get a response quickly with 1 little post, think about what can happen if you are promoting your business on a regular basis.

Let's think about it, why is a Blog better than social media? With social media you need friends and followers. With a blog, you are open to all - basically, all you need is a searcher.

Compendium will help your company to be found by those searchers. We help you find those keywords or search terms that are relevant to your business. And by writing relevant and frequent content, people will find you and ultimately make that conversion that all companies are looking for...sales.

Hey Admins: How are you motivating your bloggers?

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Hey Admins:

How do you motivate your writers?

I would like to learn a little from our clients. I know what we do here at Compendium - contests, contests, contests. As a User and not an Admin, I can speak for myself and say some contests motivate me to write content and others do not.

I was thinking about it though, what is about those contests that motivate users - is it the reward, is it the fear of public humiliation in front of my co-workers for not playing. And why do some work and others do not? I am not really sure what motivates me to write content some days and not others.

We all know that content drives our blogging programs. So, ensuring that everyone is doing their part and helping bring brand awareness through the corporate blog is imperative to your blog's success.

So, let's share the wealth - if you are an Administrator for a client of ours, I challenge you to comment and share your story on how you motivate your users...

Users, just wait, I will be asking for your feedback too!

Corporate Blogging - Oh so simple

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Let's be honest for a minute starting a corporate blog can be a big endeavor - especially if you try to do it yourself. The design alone can take hours, then optimizing it with an SEO firm, and on and on with the little details to get your blog rolling.

Here is my question - WHY PUT YOURSELF THROUGH THAT TROUBLE????

Seriously, when you become a client of Compendium, we take of that for you. Our Support Team designs your blog to resemble your website, our templates are optimized for SEO, we strategically target keywords for your business. All you are responsible for is approving the set-up and then writing the content. And to make that even easier, we provide unlimited user accounts to help you generate content for your blog.

Take it from me, if you are considering blogging for your business, take the time to find out more about Compendium - I promise, it will be time well spent!

Google Analytics - some more detail

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Yesterday, one of my co-workers here at Compendium sent over a great outline of Google Analytics Reporting. Check it out here - this outline provides links to a detailed description of each report Google Analytics Offers.

As a service to our clients, we provide everyone with a Google Analytics Report for tacking their blog and weekly PDF report of your blog analytics and statistics. But, if you want more detail - AWESOME! Request access to your Google Analytics Account (all you need is to complete the form with your information and a gmail account or the email address associated with your Google Account)

The best way to strategically plan the next move for your blog and use blogging as a tool for SEO is to fully understand where you currently sit by monitoring the Google Analytics Report for your corporate blog.

Most Frequently Asked Question

Tuesday, June 9, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Everyday, Krystal and I get the pleasure of helping our clients resolve questions and issues they encounter. But people ask what are our most frequently asked questions about corporate blogging and the Compendium Platform.

We have many questions ranging from questions about Google Analytics and SEO, to how do I retrieve my password, to what is an RSS Feed. We always recommend to our clients to check out our knowledge base for answers and if you cannot find and answer, let us know so we can create one. I have learned that if one person has a question, guaranteed that one of our other thousands of users do as well. Here are links to some of our top questions...

One of the exciting things about Compendium, is that our client base ranges from large corporations to small 1 man businesses and the levels comfort with the internet and learning new software vary as well. So, if you have a question, don't be shy - ask, we are here to help you succeed!

March Dunce Cap Recipient

Thursday, April 2, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

OK - so I already know, I will be receiving the Blogging Dunce Cap for March... I can come up with all sorts of excuses, but excuses are for the birds.

I already know I will be receiving this infamous award at our company meeting on April 7th, so I am going to start now... Start April on a new foot get moving with content for my blog, take some of my own advice and relate everyday topics to corporate blogging and think also about some of our most frequently asked questions as a product support team and communicate these through my blog.

If I start to slack - comment and call me out... I promise not to take it personally.

Compendium Co-Founder Chris Baggott Featured on iMedia Connection

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Compendium Blogware Co-Founder was recently featured on iMedia Connection with an article 10 Ways to Boost the Value of your Corporate Blog. In this article, Chris highlights:

Learn how to optimize your blog to drive organic search traffic
Read why you should blog like a 5-year-old
Check out the reasons you should encourage widespread employee blogging

Overall, this is a great article anyone who is considering or already blogging should read. Thank you, Chris, for this great article.

Great Client Feedback

Friday, March 27, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

- Thank you, Brian for making my day!

As a member of the Product Support Team, it is such a great thing when we have happy clients and we can prove our simple blogging software truly is simple. I recently added a Call to Action for Sutter's Mill, a client who is a Promotional Supplier. Brian Matthews, the Cheif Technology Officer, emailed me, "U R Da Woman, Abby!" and thanked me for adding his call to action. Not only did I appreciate the feedback, but it was a great way to wrap up the week.

Sutter's Mill is a new Promotional Products client based in Tempe, Arizona. They are the leading provider of custom laser engraved products throughout the world. They recently started their business blog with Compendium to drive their SEO efforts and increase their web sales.

Thanks Chuck!

Friday, February 20, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Recently, a client of ours, Chuck Gose from MediaTile, commented on about Compendium's Support by saying:

You mean with Wordpress you have to search for help? Ugh. . . I like my support handed to me on a silver platter, preferably with some garlic mashed potatoes and a sprig of parsley.

As a part of the support team this quote was a very nice compliment, not just to our support team, but the entire team at Compendium, from the Client Success Managers to Chantelle and Doug,the Blogging Evangelilsts and even our engineers, marketing and business development teams.

We are blessed to be a part of blogging team that will just about anything to ensure your SEO tool is successful! So, thank you again Chuck for kind comments!!

What's your IP address - Part 2

Friday, February 20, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Thank you PJ for your recent comment on a blog post of mine, What is your IP address . PJ commented mentioned a very important fact, that I neglected to mention. Often today, many businesses, small and large will do rotating IP Addresses or even multiple IP Addresses. You can always contact your IT consultant for definite confirmation or as PJ mentioned in his comment, we can look at ignoring visits from your browser

Comment:
One caveat to keep in mind is that a client's internet service might not offer a static IP address as part of their plan, which
means that the address that analytics servers see may vary. Another approach that is offered by analytics services like Google
and SiteMeter is to configure the client's account to set a cookie which tells the analytics service to ignore visits from the
client's browser, regardless of the IP address. It is discussed further on Google Analytics' help site at this URL: "http://www.google.com/support/googleanalytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=55481"

Thank you PJ for your clarification and help with other options available to ensure our clients analytics reports are as valid as possible.

Want Read Only Access to Your Google Analytics Account

Thursday, February 19, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Would you like to have Read Only Access to your Compendium Google Analytics Account? Click Here to send an email to Support to get read only access.

Remember, to receive read only access to your GA Account you must have a gmail account or an email account that is associated with a Google Adwords Account.

Why is Read Only Access Google Analytics nice to have? Read only access will allow you to dive deeper into your analytics of your corporate blog. It will allow you to get more detail about your blog visitors, see your blog rankings, and ensure that your SEO techniques are working with your corporate marketing objectives.

What is your IP Address?

Thursday, February 19, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Need to know how to find out your IP Address? Click here.

Today during our client only webinar about Google Analytics and your coporate blog, Doug and Chantelle mentioned filtering your IP address in your Google Analytics report. You can contact help@compendiumblogware.com to filter your IP address, but you will need to know your IP address. The above link will help you find your IP address to provide to support when requesting a filter on your Google Analytics Report.

Positioning your Blog Content

Friday, February 6, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

SEO Moz, CEO, Rand Fishkin's recent Whiteboard Friday blog post was all about positioning of your blog and the best way to focus content.

SEOmoz Whiteboard Friday - Positioning Your Blog from Scott Willoughby on Vimeo.

Rand basically says there are 3 way a blogger can position content on a blog

PR & Features (All about me & my product type of blogging)
Industry News (Them - gives great information about what is going in the industry)
Tips & Tricks (You way of blogging - helps people grow with you and gives them tools to want to partner with you)

Most importantly, Rand says, "Leverage content tactics" to drive people to your blog.

He has some great ways to look at how to focus the overall content, which is a great tool as you begin your corporate blogging program, but ultimately, you as a marketer, need to ensure your content and blog is being found.

Schedule a demo with Compendium to see exactly how we help you blog for rankings!

Oh so sweet support!

Friday, February 6, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Dunkin Donuts is currently running a radio commercial that cracks me up! Unfortunately, I have searched and searched for the audio of it, but have not been able to find it. So, you are just going to smile and bear with my rendition.

I apologize in advance, but basically a gentleman is calling in for support on his computer and Support Team says, "let's start with some basic trouble shooting" and asks, "is the computer plugged in?" The gentleman requesting support says, "plugged in, to what?" The support team member says, so calmly, "to the wall, sir." And the gentleman says, "this computer didn't come with a wall." That's when the narrator comes on and says its going to be a long!

You are probably thinking, "great story", maybe chuckling a little, but really what does this have to do with business blogging? Well, as you all well know, I am a member of the support team here at Compendium. Every day, I get the pleasure of working with our clients to help them solve questions and concerns they may run into while using the best blog software around.

I can't stress it enough to our clients, any product related, questions, contact Support!! We are here and ready to help you! Also, We love feedback, so if you ever have any recommendations, please send them in. If you are nervous about asking a question, we have a public knowledge base or FAQ, surf through there. If you are unable to find a solution to your question, let us know that you looked, but couldn't find one, so we can be sure to add one in.

We are here 8am - 5pm EST, and always ready to help!

Marketing: Blogging vs. Brochures

Thursday, February 5, 2009 by Abby Brosmer

Last night, before I closed up my computer for the night, I read through a couple of the blog feeds I subscribe to. One of the blogs I suscribe to is the Official Gmail Blog. On this blog, I stumbled onto a post title Tasks: Paper vs. IPhone. The Gmail team talks about why to use Tasks with your IPhone rather than the old paper version of keeping track of your tasks. They actually went so far to do a competative analysis of the two. I really liked the irony of this post and immediately made me think of Blogging for SEO and coporate marketing vs. the standard form of marketing with brochures.

In similar fashion, lets talk about Blogging vs Brochures.
I also did some competitive analysis and here is what I found.

Marketing Brochures have a number of popular features:

Works offline. You can read paper even when your PC is not connected to the internet.
Mobile. Fold paper and stick in pocket.
Instant boot up. Just pull paper out of briefcase -- don't have to wait for it to load.
Printed and Purchased in Bulk. so basically, its always available (except when you don't plan and keep track of your stock)

However, brochures do have some limitations:

Editing is difficult and expensive. Re-write, re-approve, re-order, re-print and re-purchase (YUK!).
Limited availability. You don't always have a brochures with you to pass out
Not ubiquitous. If your prospect leaves a brochure behind, they may not be able to remember why they should use your product or service.
Difficult to track. Eventually get filed away either in the trash can or lost in some ancient filing cabinet.
Not very Eco-Friendly. Our earth is a precious comodity.

With our affordable blogging software, we focus on enhancing your search engine rankings to allow prospective clients to find you when they are looking. While brochures are still useful in appropriate situations, we are excited to improve on this antiquated form of marketing.