Doug Karr's last post on the Razorfish FEED report talks about the huge importance of CONTENT in the near future, in terms of online marketing.
What it boils down to is this. Content, not just banners or ads, is what's going to attract a crowd. Think inbound marketing. Give them what they want. Killer content can attract a crowd. It can entertain them. Inform them. Thrill them. Shush them. Make them think. Make them act.
Content could be a video. This is something that action sports companies started making long ago, making b.a. videos that are so engaging for their audience that the consumer will not only sit through the entire thing, watch it with their friends, talk it up... they'll pay for it.
Content could be a game. Did you see what Crispin Porter + Bogusky did with Burger King? They not only put their advertising into a game, they made a game around their advertising. The Xbox game sold over 2 million copies or something like that. Think about that one. A whole lot of people actually paid for the advertising.
Content could be a whitepaper. A webinar. A case study.
The one medium of content distribution (and I might be biased working for a blog software company) that I feel every savvy company needs is a company blog . A company that blogs can get all sorts of content out in the open– from thought leadership, to entertainment and P.R. It becomes a publication that not only shows their human side, it gets them found in search by tons more prospects.
A warning.
Because this content–this new advertising, will be so plentiful online, there needs to be a lot of creativity to get your content found online. This requires a new kind of creativity. Because there are so many blogs out there, thousands and thousands created all the time, the content matters.
Company's and organizations passionate about what they do will be the ones who rise to the top. They won't have a hard time creating "the good stuff." But those who just "make content" for the sake of making it, or making money, will be struggling to stay afloat.
Remember, in this age where interactive reigns, a company that is not authentic or is in it for the wrong reasons will be exposed in an online minute.
Posted Monday, December 8, 2008 by
Chris Baggott
If you are thinking to start a business blog, scale it with multi user blog software. Success in business blogging starts with content volume. The more you write, the more traffic you drive. That's a good thing for the readers of your blogs and more importantly for searchers. But it can be intimidating if you rely on one person or a small team of bloggers. Blogging best practices start with casting a wide net for content....not necessarily customers, but mostly employees. (big myth in blogging...customers will participate. Don't build your program based on this assumption)
These numbers are our stats for the past three months. Our marketing team often puts on fun little competitions and rewards for the entire team for making content volume goals. As you can see, these efforts pay off.
September
Traffic: 4,068
Leads: 23
Posts:83
October
Traffic: 6,097
Leads: 68
Posts:164
November
Traffic: 6,628
Leads: 108
Posts:192
This month we get a Pizza party for lunch if we get over 200 posts by December 18th. We all know that we live on leads....that's what inbound marketing is about. What's great about Corporate blogging is that every company blogger matters...and can see her contribution manifest in additional inbound leads. Our job is to post, it's marketings job to come up with compelling CTA's (calls to action) to turn that traffic into qualified leads.
These numbers are our stats for the past three months. Our marketing team often puts on fun little competitions and rewards for the entire team for making content volume goals. As you can see, these efforts pay off.
September
Traffic: 4,068
Leads: 23
Posts:83
October
Traffic: 6,097
Leads: 68
Posts:164
November
Traffic: 6,628
Leads: 108
Posts:192
This month we get a Pizza party for lunch if we get over 200 posts by December 18th. We all know that we live on leads....that's what inbound marketing is about. What's great about Corporate blogging is that every company blogger matters...and can see her contribution manifest in additional inbound leads. Our job is to post, it's marketings job to come up with compelling CTA's (calls to action) to turn that traffic into qualified leads.
Posted Monday, December 8, 2008 by
Compendium Client Marketing
As a company blogger one of the best things about Compendium's multi user blog software platform is that you have the freedom and ability to talk in your own voice. Your blog and your content works towards the overall organizational goals but the content is from your perspective.
People are interested in other people. Especially people that they can relate or connect to.
Blog Tip:
Write in your own voice from your perspective. This will make your posts more genuine and increase your audience engagement.
People are interested in other people. Especially people that they can relate or connect to.
Blog Tip:
Write in your own voice from your perspective. This will make your posts more genuine and increase your audience engagement.
Posted Monday, December 8, 2008 by
Chris Baggott
Part of your Corporate Blogging Strategy has to focus on analytics. If your company is going to start a business blog you need to have some metrics for success built in.
Bounce rates are a great metric to track because that tells you if people are engaged when they find you. Understand, no matter what, the majority of your traffic is going to come through organic search. This is great! But can be an issue for traditional blog thinking.
If you don't have good calls to action on your corporate blogs, you may suffer from a high bounce rate. Depending on your analytics package, bounce rates can be calculated either by time on the page, or by click through rate. Evidence suggests that a low bounce rate can improve your search engine optimizaton, so that's one reason why bloggers should have some compelling call to action.
As a company blogger or if your organization is using some kind of multi user blog software, focus on a CTA. What do you want the searcher to DO when they get there...read your stuff yes...but move them on to the next step of the relationship too.
A low bounce rate indicates that the searcher is happy...that makes the search engine happy.....and should make you really happy too!
Bounce rates are a great metric to track because that tells you if people are engaged when they find you. Understand, no matter what, the majority of your traffic is going to come through organic search. This is great! But can be an issue for traditional blog thinking.
If you don't have good calls to action on your corporate blogs, you may suffer from a high bounce rate. Depending on your analytics package, bounce rates can be calculated either by time on the page, or by click through rate. Evidence suggests that a low bounce rate can improve your search engine optimizaton, so that's one reason why bloggers should have some compelling call to action.
As a company blogger or if your organization is using some kind of multi user blog software, focus on a CTA. What do you want the searcher to DO when they get there...read your stuff yes...but move them on to the next step of the relationship too.
A low bounce rate indicates that the searcher is happy...that makes the search engine happy.....and should make you really happy too!
Posted Monday, December 8, 2008 by
Brian McKay
The American workforce is more connected than ever, and more time that most of us realize is spent on the internet. That time is segmented for both work and recreation during the average workday. How can we best capitalize on that time, not internally at our office for effective use of our employees time, but earning the eyes of decision makers working for prospective clients?
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Employing multi user Blog software is a great start to put your company, and your sales people in front of the target. To effectively start a business Blog you'll want to ground it in concrete ROI terms. Blogging is not for thought leadership, it's for lead generation, customer acquisition, and maximizing SEO. Having as many people in your company as possible Blogging is a vital part of maximizing the medium.
Every salesperson in your company should be Blogging. Recently, in a conversation with Bryan Neale of Caskey Training, he referenced that Blogging is an effective way to warm prospects to the professionals on your sales team. Think about it, you go to a Blog of a sales person who wants to earn an hour of your time. You see her likes, and dislikes, her personality, her views on the world, and her business IQ. The relationship has begun. Blogging worked.
December is an absurdly busy time for everyone, which means more time will be "wasted" on the Internet at work than any time throughout the year. Reach out to us at Compendium for a free Blogging consultation, and we can get our relationship started.
Employing multi user Blog software is a great start to put your company, and your sales people in front of the target. To effectively start a business Blog you'll want to ground it in concrete ROI terms. Blogging is not for thought leadership, it's for lead generation, customer acquisition, and maximizing SEO. Having as many people in your company as possible Blogging is a vital part of maximizing the medium.Every salesperson in your company should be Blogging. Recently, in a conversation with Bryan Neale of Caskey Training, he referenced that Blogging is an effective way to warm prospects to the professionals on your sales team. Think about it, you go to a Blog of a sales person who wants to earn an hour of your time. You see her likes, and dislikes, her personality, her views on the world, and her business IQ. The relationship has begun. Blogging worked.
December is an absurdly busy time for everyone, which means more time will be "wasted" on the Internet at work than any time throughout the year. Reach out to us at Compendium for a free Blogging consultation, and we can get our relationship started.
Posted Friday, December 5, 2008 by
Lindsey Young
I'm doing my duty as a company blogger today mainly because I was bribed to do so. What did they bribe me with you ask? A pair of candy canes with a pretty ribbon tied around them. You can start a business blog that will drastically increase your online real estate, drive traffic and leads for your business, by simply motivating everyone to get involved. Our marketing department is a terrific example of motivating all of us to blog to help our search engine rankings. They are constantly doing contests, prizes, etc. Opt to take advantage of an easy blog software like Compendium to your 2009 budget. It will empower employees to get involved and be a very affordable SEO solution for your business. Happy blogging!
Posted Friday, December 5, 2008 by
Kaila Woodside
So because Willow is not allowed in the Compendium Offices any more (per Building Management) - I have decided to make her an honorary member of the Client Success Team! Furthermore, give her a title: Da Duh Duh DAAAAHH!!! Blogging Wonder Mutt.
And she is here to talk about one of our newest user interface tools: blogging content ideas. We know that it is sometimes difficult for the company blogger to come up with an idea for a blog post - but it doesn't have to be. Our easy blog software has become even easier to use -- by helping you with the actual content.
The content ideas panel, located directly in the user interface, pulls in news articles that are relevant to your business blog and the keywords you are targeting.This is a really great starting point. Simply read the article and then blog about it. Give your reactions to the article. Blog about whether you agree or disagree. Do you have a product/service that will help combat the issue in the article? Just write about it!
Let your corporate blogging strategy become relevant when people are searching for the services your provide and the news.
Signing off,
Wonder Mutt
Posted Friday, December 5, 2008 by
Douglas Karr
When the Center for Marketing Research studied the Inc. 500 in 2007, only 11.6% of the companies were blogging. The study has been revisited and in 2008, 39% of Inc. 500 companies are blogging!We all know how quickly the Inc. 500 moves [sarc]. Mainstream adoption of blogging is unique in that it was really proven to grow small business, but now large businesses have confirmed the value of a comprehensive corporate blogging strategy and are applying the necessary resources!
Here's the verbiage on the study from the CMR page, Social Media in the Inc. 500
DownloadsThe University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research recently conducted one of the first statistically significant, longitudinal studies on the usage of social media in corporations.
The new study compares corporate adoption of social media between 2007 and 2008 by the Inc. 500, a list of the fastest-growing private U.S. companies compiled annually by Inc. Magazine. For details about the 2007 Inc. 500 and the complete directory of the included companies, please visit Inc. Magazine's website at www.Inc.com.
This study revisits the Inc. 500 approximately one year later (using the 2007 list) in the first longitudinal study on corporate use of these new technologies. Given that previous research now shows that just 11.6% of the Fortune 500 currently having a public blog, it is astounding to see that 39% of the Inc. 500 are blogging. The addition of 3.6% more Fortune 500 companies to the blogosphere pales in comparison to the addition of 20% more of the Inc. 500 companies after the same time period.
Posted Thursday, December 4, 2008 by
Jason Gergely
An internet business blog is a blog that is attached to the company website. Employees create their own personal company blog; writing about their job, the company, and the product or service that their company has to offer. All of which help the company increase its search engine optimization.
The reason that your internet blog should be part of your company website is because it is more effective in winning searches on Google. A company blogger writes about what his place of employment has to offer because when consumers are searching on Google, they are looking to solve a problem. When the employee writes something in a blog post about a similar situation that the consumer is looking to solve, it is more relevant to the search inquire, thus helping the company win the search.
When you are blogging for business, you not only just looking to increase your SEO, but you are also looking to humanize your marketing. By humanizing your marketing, the customers looking at your website and thinking about using your product feel a more human connection, rather than words on a website, explaining what the company does. Blogging makes consumers feel more connected with your company and as you know... people buy from people.
The reason that your internet blog should be part of your company website is because it is more effective in winning searches on Google. A company blogger writes about what his place of employment has to offer because when consumers are searching on Google, they are looking to solve a problem. When the employee writes something in a blog post about a similar situation that the consumer is looking to solve, it is more relevant to the search inquire, thus helping the company win the search.
When you are blogging for business, you not only just looking to increase your SEO, but you are also looking to humanize your marketing. By humanizing your marketing, the customers looking at your website and thinking about using your product feel a more human connection, rather than words on a website, explaining what the company does. Blogging makes consumers feel more connected with your company and as you know... people buy from people.
Posted Thursday, December 4, 2008 by
Brian Millis
I was demonstrating the power of the Compendium corporate blogging software today for a prospective client who wants to blog with a business purpose. The woman I spoke with knows how to blog, but can't seem to organize her content that will allow her to blog for SEO. As I we got into our discussion, I could hear her excitement build about our easy blog software that allows a company blogger to not worry about the marketing of each post. Let Compendium do that part for you! Just get on, and blog about what you know best . . . . your business. Here is a comment I just read on one of our client's blogs:
"We have found that many parents-to-be visit our website as a direct result of Internet research of learning in the womb."
http://blog.babyplus.com/blog/infant-growth-assessment
In this post, BabyPlus asks their online customers to send them questions to be answered on the blog. What a great way to get your revenue stream engaged in your marketing effort! Nice work BabyPlus, nice work.
Posted Thursday, December 4, 2008 by
Chris Baggott
Trust that I’m going to hound you on this forever. It’s for your own good :-) Data driven search marketing is the perfect compliment to email. 90% of all marketing dollars are spent on acquisition marketing...a place that email has limited value. Search is the only acquisition strategy that is still growing in this environment and Compendium is the only software designed to legitimately target organic search on a scale comparable to PPC.
You will be thanking me :-)
Great thought starter for any Company Blogger? I'm wanting to help him start a business blog and so I'm giving him some compelling reasons to consider our multi user blog software....exactly the same kind of thing I should put into a post.
The same thing is true for you. When you are wondering what to post about today....check your 'sent mail'. It's a blogging best practice.
By the way, i was published yesterday in MultiChannel Merchant talking about Retail Blogging and the need to compete more.,
Posted Wednesday, December 3, 2008 by
Jason Gergely
Ok, I know I have been telling you all about what I think is important to include in your business blog and how to organize it, but I just wanted to mention a few things that can make you blog post a little stronger, especially if you are blogging for your company.
I think the best thing you can do with you blog to make it more effective is to add that little bit of personality in there. I mentioned this before, but you don't have to have perfect grammar and syntax, nor do you need to have proper punctuation and paragraph breaks. Let some of your personality show through on your posts.
Another way to make your business blog more effective is don't just awkwardly include a keyword you are trying to use. My strategy is to integrate the word into the post somehow. Some keywords are harder to just slip in your blog post, while others are easier.
I think the best thing you can do with you blog to make it more effective is to add that little bit of personality in there. I mentioned this before, but you don't have to have perfect grammar and syntax, nor do you need to have proper punctuation and paragraph breaks. Let some of your personality show through on your posts.
Another way to make your business blog more effective is don't just awkwardly include a keyword you are trying to use. My strategy is to integrate the word into the post somehow. Some keywords are harder to just slip in your blog post, while others are easier.
Posted Wednesday, December 3, 2008 by
mikey mioduski
I just read a post by Mark Gibbs of Network World on "web video delivery with The FeedRoom." Informative post. What I really liked what the blog itself. It was my first time visiting.
I was mostly impressed with the sidebar of the blog. It is clean and simple, yet there are plenty of relevant "offerings" to call readers to act further. These offerings, like whitepapers, webcasts and special reports, show that Network World operates under a very smart corporate blogging strategy.
Hold the phone! What's that?
Well, many people who come to your blog are there for the first time. They found your post through a search, or through Digg or someone may have passed it along. So they might not be entirely familiar with the blog or the company.
As one of my favorite professors used to say, "well, the dog caught the tire. Now what?"
This is really what your blog's call to actions are all about. They've read the post, now you have to keep them interested before they bounce. Give them something else to chase.
Like a whitepaper. A webinar. A case study. A visit to your website. Call them to act! Always be thinking of that 10 letter word...
Conversion.
I was mostly impressed with the sidebar of the blog. It is clean and simple, yet there are plenty of relevant "offerings" to call readers to act further. These offerings, like whitepapers, webcasts and special reports, show that Network World operates under a very smart corporate blogging strategy.
Hold the phone! What's that?
Well, many people who come to your blog are there for the first time. They found your post through a search, or through Digg or someone may have passed it along. So they might not be entirely familiar with the blog or the company.
As one of my favorite professors used to say, "well, the dog caught the tire. Now what?"
This is really what your blog's call to actions are all about. They've read the post, now you have to keep them interested before they bounce. Give them something else to chase.
Like a whitepaper. A webinar. A case study. A visit to your website. Call them to act! Always be thinking of that 10 letter word...
Conversion.
Posted Wednesday, December 3, 2008 by
Kristen Raves
We have a new contest that I am very excited to share with my fellow clients. Are you having trouble getting your bloggers to create content? Are you a company blogger finding it hard to come up with new topics to write about? We have a fun new contest to get you motivated!
Participate in Compendium's Holiday $1k Blogging Spree.
Here's how it works:
Create Content. Every post you create counts as one ticket for the raffle. Drawing happens live on December 18th.
The winning ticket holder will receive $500, and we'll give $500 to the blogger's team.
The promotion starts now. Create your content today to win!
To view the official rules, check out our new client blog.
Participate in Compendium's Holiday $1k Blogging Spree. Here's how it works:
Create Content. Every post you create counts as one ticket for the raffle. Drawing happens live on December 18th.
The winning ticket holder will receive $500, and we'll give $500 to the blogger's team.
The promotion starts now. Create your content today to win!
To view the official rules, check out our new client blog.
Posted Tuesday, December 2, 2008 by
Compendium Client Marketing
Don't forget about your chance to win the Holiday $1k Blogging Spree raffle. Remember that every post earns you a raffle ticket increasing your chances to win.
$500 visa card goes to the raffle winner and $500 goes to the raffle winners blogging program. So encourage all of your company bloggers to write content so that your entire program can benefit.
Click here to view the full promotion details for the Holiday $1k Blogging Spree details.
$500 visa card goes to the raffle winner and $500 goes to the raffle winners blogging program. So encourage all of your company bloggers to write content so that your entire program can benefit.
Click here to view the full promotion details for the Holiday $1k Blogging Spree details.
Posted Tuesday, December 2, 2008 by
Kristen Raves
The Indianapolis Tennis Championships is a high performing company because of the marketing techniques they utilize on an everyday basis. This group has been blogging for over 5 months now and their success continues to grow. They started their program in July and immediately saw nearly 2000 visitors and have maintained a steady pace since that time.
They are able to do this by staying on top of current events and promoting their blog through social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Additionally, the Indianapolis Tennis Championship team endorses their blog through their company newsletter. By doing this, they are able to drive more traffic to their blogsite which leads to conversions through their calls to actions and/or the website. You can view a sample of the newsletter below. To view the blog click here.
They are able to do this by staying on top of current events and promoting their blog through social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Additionally, the Indianapolis Tennis Championship team endorses their blog through their company newsletter. By doing this, they are able to drive more traffic to their blogsite which leads to conversions through their calls to actions and/or the website. You can view a sample of the newsletter below. To view the blog click here.
Posted Tuesday, December 2, 2008 by
Douglas Karr
There's always debate on the net about who you should allow to blog and speak for your company. Mark Cuban is an extreme, but he does not allow anyone within his organizations to blog since he wishes to be the sole voice of the company. Personally, I think this probably hurts him more than helps him.
Other companies put their Marketing team on it, so the content is really regurgitated site content, whitepapers and case studies. The verbiage is refined with little personality. Blah... blah... blah... Zzzzzzz...
I think Chris Baggott nails it when he says that the best company bloggers you have are the people that are closest to your customers. They understand the relationship between your products and services and how it assists their business. They also understand the challenges and successes.
When you wonder about who will be a company blogger, you should ask yourself who you'll entrust your clients to? Who will be fulfilling your business relationship? Since blogs provide such a rich quantity of qualified leads through search engines, it's typical that the search engine user is asking the exact question that your employee can answer. Not your CEO, not your President, not your VP of Marketing... but the person who you've entrusted the relationship with.
That means that you can assume a pattern where your employee who handles the customer will write about topics important to the customer... which, in turn, will be topics important to a new visitor! As a result, customer-facing employees happen to make fantastic company bloggers.
Other companies put their Marketing team on it, so the content is really regurgitated site content, whitepapers and case studies. The verbiage is refined with little personality. Blah... blah... blah... Zzzzzzz...
I think Chris Baggott nails it when he says that the best company bloggers you have are the people that are closest to your customers. They understand the relationship between your products and services and how it assists their business. They also understand the challenges and successes. When you wonder about who will be a company blogger, you should ask yourself who you'll entrust your clients to? Who will be fulfilling your business relationship? Since blogs provide such a rich quantity of qualified leads through search engines, it's typical that the search engine user is asking the exact question that your employee can answer. Not your CEO, not your President, not your VP of Marketing... but the person who you've entrusted the relationship with.
That means that you can assume a pattern where your employee who handles the customer will write about topics important to the customer... which, in turn, will be topics important to a new visitor! As a result, customer-facing employees happen to make fantastic company bloggers.
Posted Thursday, November 27, 2008 by
PJ Hinton
It was a little over a year ago that I interviewed for my current job here at Compendium. It started out as a fluke. I saw a short-lived job announcement that a recruiter had posted to a technical employment board, and the list of skills and technologies floored me... Agile development? Amazon Web Services? LAMP stack? Surely this was too good to be true! It read more like a job posting for somewhere other than Indy, perhaps San Francisco or Seattle, but not here. Indianapolis was the land of .NET and Java EE development within a staid corporate environment.
Although the announcement disappeared after a day or two, my interest did not. I decided to use long tail search queries involving phrases from the job announcement to see if I could figure out what company might have been advertising the role. A combination of references to Amazon Web Services and Indianapolis turned up a post on a personal blog maintained by Blake Matheny, who had hired on with Compendium a couple months before. The post mentioned how he had recently moved to the area, was looking for new talent, and wanted to hear from people who might be interested.
I had a good idea he might have something to do with the job announcement, so I e-mailed him using the contact address for the blog, telling him:
Startups can be demanding. I knew that coming into this role because I had worked at a startup the previous two years, a place that had big ideas but not enough resources and discipline to execute on them. But I also knew that my unusual software development background, which involved small companies and lots of original development work, made me a good match for the kind of things startups do. In sort, Compendium is the kind of place that I could thrive in... and I have done so.
Over the course of almost 11 months, I have worked with a large number of technologies... PHP, JavaScript, MySQL, Amazon SQS, Google Visualizations, the Yahoo User Interface library, XSLT, XML/HTML DOM, memcache, XML-RPC web services, RSS search feeds, just to name a few. Early on in the job, I told Blake that this job seemed like a professional fountain of youth for me, and I still feel that way to this day.
Within our group there is a culture of professional development. We do more than just write code. We have regularly scheduled reading group meetings where we can talk about technologies that we could incorporate into future versions of our application. We also have regular code reviews where we get a chance to improve our skills and codify our own set of guidelines and best practices.
So, on a day where we set aside time to express gratitude for the good things in our lives, I would have to say that this job is among them. But it wouldn't stop there...
There are a lot of startups with neat ideas and fun technologies, but a lot of them don't survive. Difficult economic times make the body count all the higher. When I was considering Compendium for employment, I did some homework, recalling stories I had seen about Chris Baggott and Compendium over the course of 2007. Chris' experience as an ExactTarget co-founder was a strong point because he had been successful in getting a startup off the ground.
Moreover, having been a reader and author of blogs in the past, their message about the potential for corporate blogging made sense. After all, it was through search that I had found Blake's blog. The company has done well over the past year, with progress that would make most startups green with envy. We've managed to do all of this in spite of the tumutuous economic condtions. Whereas big names like Technorati and SixApart are cutting salaries and trimming budgets, we're looking for new people.
So I am also thankful that I work for a company that is as well run as it was well conceived.
Finally, I am thankful for my coworkers. Within my own department, Blake has done a great job of putting together a technical team that works well together, even when things get stressful. There is a shared sense of humor, perhaps a bit quirky at times (a paper DUNCE cap, a junk food laden trip to the State Fair, an inflatable sword have all been involved) that helps us keep our sanity. We get a lot done, but we do so with a lot of laughs throughout the day. The other departments are pretty cool, too. As I learned on the company rafting trip in late July, even though I am a bit older than most of them, they still don't have any issues with me hanging with them. :-)
So, yeah, I do have a lot to be thankful for.
Although the announcement disappeared after a day or two, my interest did not. I decided to use long tail search queries involving phrases from the job announcement to see if I could figure out what company might have been advertising the role. A combination of references to Amazon Web Services and Indianapolis turned up a post on a personal blog maintained by Blake Matheny, who had hired on with Compendium a couple months before. The post mentioned how he had recently moved to the area, was looking for new talent, and wanted to hear from people who might be interested.
I had a good idea he might have something to do with the job announcement, so I e-mailed him using the contact address for the blog, telling him:
At first glance, my work experience might not be a perfect match, but I have a track record for adaptability and the ability to learn new things. I also believe that the skills you're looking for constitute a career direction that I would like to pursue, especially with respect to web technology and agile software development. I also happen to be local to Indianapolis.That was the start of a conversation that would lead to two interviews and eventually a job offer. As you might have guessed, I gladly accepted and have been here since.
Startups can be demanding. I knew that coming into this role because I had worked at a startup the previous two years, a place that had big ideas but not enough resources and discipline to execute on them. But I also knew that my unusual software development background, which involved small companies and lots of original development work, made me a good match for the kind of things startups do. In sort, Compendium is the kind of place that I could thrive in... and I have done so.
Over the course of almost 11 months, I have worked with a large number of technologies... PHP, JavaScript, MySQL, Amazon SQS, Google Visualizations, the Yahoo User Interface library, XSLT, XML/HTML DOM, memcache, XML-RPC web services, RSS search feeds, just to name a few. Early on in the job, I told Blake that this job seemed like a professional fountain of youth for me, and I still feel that way to this day.
Within our group there is a culture of professional development. We do more than just write code. We have regularly scheduled reading group meetings where we can talk about technologies that we could incorporate into future versions of our application. We also have regular code reviews where we get a chance to improve our skills and codify our own set of guidelines and best practices.
So, on a day where we set aside time to express gratitude for the good things in our lives, I would have to say that this job is among them. But it wouldn't stop there...
There are a lot of startups with neat ideas and fun technologies, but a lot of them don't survive. Difficult economic times make the body count all the higher. When I was considering Compendium for employment, I did some homework, recalling stories I had seen about Chris Baggott and Compendium over the course of 2007. Chris' experience as an ExactTarget co-founder was a strong point because he had been successful in getting a startup off the ground.
Moreover, having been a reader and author of blogs in the past, their message about the potential for corporate blogging made sense. After all, it was through search that I had found Blake's blog. The company has done well over the past year, with progress that would make most startups green with envy. We've managed to do all of this in spite of the tumutuous economic condtions. Whereas big names like Technorati and SixApart are cutting salaries and trimming budgets, we're looking for new people.
So I am also thankful that I work for a company that is as well run as it was well conceived.
Finally, I am thankful for my coworkers. Within my own department, Blake has done a great job of putting together a technical team that works well together, even when things get stressful. There is a shared sense of humor, perhaps a bit quirky at times (a paper DUNCE cap, a junk food laden trip to the State Fair, an inflatable sword have all been involved) that helps us keep our sanity. We get a lot done, but we do so with a lot of laughs throughout the day. The other departments are pretty cool, too. As I learned on the company rafting trip in late July, even though I am a bit older than most of them, they still don't have any issues with me hanging with them. :-)
So, yeah, I do have a lot to be thankful for.
Posted Wednesday, November 26, 2008 by
Jason Gergely
Engaging people in your blog is very important. You can't simply have a person read your blog and take action to solving their problem. You also can't really try to write a post your readers don't know anything about. When I think of blogging, I think of a personal diary; not a lecture, not a informational session, but a place where searchers can get all the background on what they are looking for. Blogs should be more personal and down to earth. Corporate blog should be just the same. You should write like you are having a conversation with a person.
Ignore what you learned in English class in high school. You shouldn't scrutinize
over proper grammar and syntax (although, you should make sure your spelling is correct). When I go and read another persons blog, I find myself to enjoy blogs that are more personal, and not just a person telling me what it is.
Improper paragraph breaks, fragmented sentences, and my personal favorite overuse of ellipses... it's all ok in a blog because you are trying to reach the reader in a more human and personal level. Corporate level blogs are trying to humanize their marketing by blogging. The key is actually make your posts human, rather than going through the same song and dance lecture that you give to people over the phone or in person when you are making that sale.
So the next time you are trying to add to your company blog, just be human and write, like you are talking directly to the person that is reading your stuff. Engage them in the blog.
Ignore what you learned in English class in high school. You shouldn't scrutinize
over proper grammar and syntax (although, you should make sure your spelling is correct). When I go and read another persons blog, I find myself to enjoy blogs that are more personal, and not just a person telling me what it is.Improper paragraph breaks, fragmented sentences, and my personal favorite overuse of ellipses... it's all ok in a blog because you are trying to reach the reader in a more human and personal level. Corporate level blogs are trying to humanize their marketing by blogging. The key is actually make your posts human, rather than going through the same song and dance lecture that you give to people over the phone or in person when you are making that sale.
So the next time you are trying to add to your company blog, just be human and write, like you are talking directly to the person that is reading your stuff. Engage them in the blog.
Posted Wednesday, November 26, 2008 by
Jason Gergely
Lateral thinking... you may not know what it is or how it could help out blog posting. Lateral thinking is sort of like "right brained" thinking, thinking outside the box when given a problem. By using your creative side, you can add a little spice to your writing, making it more entertaining and attractive for your readers.
While reading an article titled, "Five Steps to a Truely Unique Blog That Attracts Readers and Revenue," I found different ways to make a blog more unique. One of the steps, author Brian Clark says "Make jokes about your business, and then take the joke seriously. Humor contains truth, and truth, uncomfortable or not, is an excellent starting point for innovation." This will help add a little color to your corporate blog, making it more unique and able to stand out from other blogs.
However, jokes aren't the only way you can add a little flavor to your blog posts. You can add pictures, videos, etc. Just go out and come up with your own ways to differentiate your blog from others out there. If you need some ideas, you can check out the blogs of Compendium's employees to see how they make their company blogs more attractive!
While reading an article titled, "Five Steps to a Truely Unique Blog That Attracts Readers and Revenue," I found different ways to make a blog more unique. One of the steps, author Brian Clark says "Make jokes about your business, and then take the joke seriously. Humor contains truth, and truth, uncomfortable or not, is an excellent starting point for innovation." This will help add a little color to your corporate blog, making it more unique and able to stand out from other blogs.
However, jokes aren't the only way you can add a little flavor to your blog posts. You can add pictures, videos, etc. Just go out and come up with your own ways to differentiate your blog from others out there. If you need some ideas, you can check out the blogs of Compendium's employees to see how they make their company blogs more attractive!
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