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.
Posted Friday, August 15, 2008 by
Eric Romer
A new survey from the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) shows that both advertisers and agencies are ramping up their spending in Search Marketing, particularly organic SEO. This shouldn't be shocking news, as Search Marketing has steadily grown, and will continue to grow as less and less people use destination websites.
It's not rocket science. If I am looking for a particular brand of jeans, or a specific tea pot my mom was talking about, I search. I Google "cast iron asian tea pot", and start my research.
As the survey shows, advertisers are increasing their organic SEO by 28%, and agencies by 73% (the highest increase of all the categories!). So what does this mean? It means companies are trying to optimize a traditional website to be found on many different keywords. The only problem is a website will only be able to capture a handful of keywords. There are hundreds, thousands of different ways I can search for that tea pot. As a business who sells that product, I need to cast a wide net and be found on as many of those terms as possible.
Don't believe me? If you have 5 minutes, check out this Whitepaper that discusses how traditional SEO efforts pale in comparison to a corporate blogging solution when it comes to organic search.
Posted Friday, August 8, 2008 by
Ali Sales
A lot if you're an employee at Compendium Blogware. A few weeks ago we took the entire company on a whitewater rafting trip to Pennsylvania. The event was planned by our very own Kaila Woodside, who was a whitewater rafting guide for several years in Ohiopyle. Not only is she a fantastic part of our sales organization, Kaila can steer you through a drop the size of Niagra Falls.
Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, but as someone who's never rafted below, that's just about what it felt like for me.
What did the company get out of our whitewater rafting event? Of course we got team building, bonding, and all sorts of great stories (and pictures), but we also got a lot of great blogging content. And that content helps visitors that show up at our business blogs understand that yes, we are a company that provides blogging software, but we're also an organization full of smart, fun, and hard working individuals who aren't afraid to roll up our sleeves, dig in, and kick some butt.
A big part of any company blogging program -- regardless what industry you're in -- is showing your human side. That's why I'll leave you with this great picture of me and my raft mates on the Yougheny River!
Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, but as someone who's never rafted below, that's just about what it felt like for me.
What did the company get out of our whitewater rafting event? Of course we got team building, bonding, and all sorts of great stories (and pictures), but we also got a lot of great blogging content. And that content helps visitors that show up at our business blogs understand that yes, we are a company that provides blogging software, but we're also an organization full of smart, fun, and hard working individuals who aren't afraid to roll up our sleeves, dig in, and kick some butt.
A big part of any company blogging program -- regardless what industry you're in -- is showing your human side. That's why I'll leave you with this great picture of me and my raft mates on the Yougheny River!
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!
Posted Friday, August 8, 2008 by
Chantelle Flannery
A field of over 100 companies will be participating in this falls Blogging Tournament – Content for the Crown. The companies will face off in a single elimination bracket over the course of the next 7 weeks. At the end of each week the total number of posts for each company will be compared and the team with the most posts will advance to the next round. Tie breaks will be broken by comparing the previous weeks post totals - going back as far a necessary in order to break the tie.
To find out whom you have to compete with check out the tournament bracket.
The first round of the tournament begins on Monday August 11th and lasts through the 17th of August.
Posted Thursday, August 7, 2008 by
Eric Romer
I came across an blog post from Saul Hansell in the New York Times' Bits blog that highlights what most of us regular YouTube users have noticed lately: an increase in ad-supported videos.
The author points out that the ads are more reminiscent of "the gaudiness of MySpace than the sterility of Google," and describes how the Kings of Search are trying to get a return on their $1.65 billion investment when they purchased YouTube last year.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of behavioral targeting when done properly, and not intrusively like Facebook's Beacon nightmare. For example, the image above has a text ad in the top right corner for Obama's book, which is probably relevant to a person watching a video about the man. But, like Saul said, it's a little harder to justify "enhancing user experience" with a Nissan ad that pops up on the bottom.
As online video grows (which it will), I'm sure this model will be tweaked and improved. However, right now, it's very much a "shouting" method of marketing. The first time an ad has no relevance to me, I stop paying attention. This only needs to happen once or twice (Myspace is a prime example), and then I tune out.
For businesses trying to reach their target audience, corporate blogging software allows you to create very relevant, personal content for those in the market to buy. The best "behavioral targeting" is to deliver highly relevant, recent information to those seeking it. As the digital shift continues, every organization will have a company blog in the next 3-5 years.
Posted Tuesday, August 5, 2008 by
Eric Romer
Through an interaction with a potential client today, I was introduced to an intriguing event: Startup Weekend. The basic premise is a group of highly motivated developers, marketers, entrepreneurs, and business-minded people gather for a weekend to pump out ideas for companies and projects - and they actually develop them from start to finish. Wow.
This immediately made me think about the 48 Hour Film Project which was recently in Indianapolis. I've had a couple of friends who've participated in the past years, and I always thought, "what a cool concept!" You have a set period of time to start from scratch, and end up with a finished film project. Well, now there's something similar for those with entrepreneurial minds (by the way, I just spelled entrepreneurial without the red-underlined AutoCorrect feature popping up - I was very proud of that)
So, this is event is coming to Indianapolis September 12-14, and I'm planning to participate. It's been an incredible experience transitioning from a global corporation with thousands of employees to working for a small startup software company of 25 people. And I love it. The startup atmosphere is contagious, and our blogging software company in Indianapolis is no exception. Being on the front lines of an ever-evolving and rapidly growing company is like nothing I've experienced before.
I encourage you to check out the event if you have an interest in this type of thing. If it sounds boring, check out GiggleSeed, one of the companies born from Startup Weekend Columbus.
Posted Monday, August 4, 2008 by
Eric Romer
I had a great weekend at a friend's lake house, which consisted mostly of relaxing, boating and eating. However, I managed to sneak in some talk about business blogging as well.
One of my biggest struggles with being on the cutting edge of a new blog software is how to break it down to layman's terms. In any form of communication, you have to speak the language of your audience. If I'm talking to a business that is well-versed in SEO and Paid Search Advertising, my discussion will be more granular and technical. However, some people don't want to know how the engine works, they just want the car to run.
Our host for the weekend, Harry, was intrigued by Compendium's solutions for business, but needed a quick explanation. OK... so what's the best way for me to describe what we do, cocktail in hand on the boat, so it's relevant to Harry? I got it... his hip replacement surgery next week.
Me: So, before your surgery, did you do any research?
Harry: Well, yeah, of course.
Me: Did you use a search engine?
Harry: Like Google? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did.
Me: Well, what we do is provide software to businesses, and in this case it would be a doctor/surgeon/health care provider, to tell relevant stories about hip surgery and recovery. So, when you, the potential patient, goes to do research, you find a human being giving you up-to-date, relevant information. It looks similar to a website, but with more of a conversational, personal communication.
Harry: Sounds like it makes sense...
Eric: (pulls out iphone) Here, let me show you...
Then I went on to do a Google search of a Compendium client. If you want to hear how this process works from one of our clients, Tampa Bay Convention & Visitor's Association, click HERE to sign up for the Webinar Thursday, Aug. 14th.
One of my biggest struggles with being on the cutting edge of a new blog software is how to break it down to layman's terms. In any form of communication, you have to speak the language of your audience. If I'm talking to a business that is well-versed in SEO and Paid Search Advertising, my discussion will be more granular and technical. However, some people don't want to know how the engine works, they just want the car to run.
Our host for the weekend, Harry, was intrigued by Compendium's solutions for business, but needed a quick explanation. OK... so what's the best way for me to describe what we do, cocktail in hand on the boat, so it's relevant to Harry? I got it... his hip replacement surgery next week.
Me: So, before your surgery, did you do any research?
Harry: Well, yeah, of course.
Me: Did you use a search engine?
Harry: Like Google? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did.
Me: Well, what we do is provide software to businesses, and in this case it would be a doctor/surgeon/health care provider, to tell relevant stories about hip surgery and recovery. So, when you, the potential patient, goes to do research, you find a human being giving you up-to-date, relevant information. It looks similar to a website, but with more of a conversational, personal communication.
Harry: Sounds like it makes sense...
Eric: (pulls out iphone) Here, let me show you...
Then I went on to do a Google search of a Compendium client. If you want to hear how this process works from one of our clients, Tampa Bay Convention & Visitor's Association, click HERE to sign up for the Webinar Thursday, Aug. 14th.
Posted Friday, August 1, 2008 by
Megan Glover
The SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) announced this week that corporate websites and other forms of online media such as blogs will be a permissible vehicle to disclose information for investors.
Here's a good article that gets to the heart of the ruling.
So why is this so important for enterprise blogging solutions, like Compendium? Couple reasons:
1. Need - the need for corporations to have blog software is only going to increase.
2. Legitimacy - occasionally we'll get the question, "is blogging a fad?" We know the answer is "no" but now we have the federal government promoting blogging for business as a "recognized channel for distribution."
And, for businesses - gosh what better time to embrace a blogging strategy, and save up a little cash that would otherwise go to releases! So now among other things business can blog to:
Here's a good article that gets to the heart of the ruling.
So why is this so important for enterprise blogging solutions, like Compendium? Couple reasons:
1. Need - the need for corporations to have blog software is only going to increase.
2. Legitimacy - occasionally we'll get the question, "is blogging a fad?" We know the answer is "no" but now we have the federal government promoting blogging for business as a "recognized channel for distribution."
And, for businesses - gosh what better time to embrace a blogging strategy, and save up a little cash that would otherwise go to releases! So now among other things business can blog to:
- disclose information
- get found in organic search
- humanize their marketing
- and, blog to acquire new business.
Posted Thursday, July 31, 2008 by
Chris Baggott
Big Corporatations try and make things so complicated. I always say that innovation starts at the bottom...the so called Minor Leagues. Think sports marketing, everything cool in sports marketing (bat night, concerts, fireworks...even frisbee dogs) started in Minor League Baseball.
This is especially true in business blogging. With the advent of Affordable blogging software, some of our best bloggers turn out to be coming not from the ivory towers of the fortune 500, but from the SMB's. Forget Jonathan Schwartz or Robert Scoble...
If you want to emulate great Blogging Best Practices, pay attention to Lizan Brand.
Lizan is focused on Blogging for Search. She highlights high value and unusual products using all the best SEO tactics including the right keywords, geo targeting and blended search favorites like video. Why?
So when someone is looking for a specific product or a drink recipe in Greenfield or any of the surrounding communities like the big city of Indianapolis, she's the number one choice.
As a result, she has been featured in the Indianapolis paper which is over 20 miles from her store. This week she was featured in DMNews (trust me, she doesn't consider herself a direct marketer) and the things that she blogs about, she is now buying by the case. This is the best thing about Business Blogging, telling a great story about things that move your business forward.
Sure Greenfield Liquors sells 6 packs of cold Miller Lite, but her profits come from high end wine and Liquor. Blogging on these topics rings the cash register.
Watch this video and see if you don't end up thirsting for a Root Beer Cocktail :-)
This is especially true in business blogging. With the advent of Affordable blogging software, some of our best bloggers turn out to be coming not from the ivory towers of the fortune 500, but from the SMB's. Forget Jonathan Schwartz or Robert Scoble...
If you want to emulate great Blogging Best Practices, pay attention to Lizan Brand.Lizan is focused on Blogging for Search. She highlights high value and unusual products using all the best SEO tactics including the right keywords, geo targeting and blended search favorites like video. Why?
So when someone is looking for a specific product or a drink recipe in Greenfield or any of the surrounding communities like the big city of Indianapolis, she's the number one choice.
As a result, she has been featured in the Indianapolis paper which is over 20 miles from her store. This week she was featured in DMNews (trust me, she doesn't consider herself a direct marketer) and the things that she blogs about, she is now buying by the case. This is the best thing about Business Blogging, telling a great story about things that move your business forward.
Sure Greenfield Liquors sells 6 packs of cold Miller Lite, but her profits come from high end wine and Liquor. Blogging on these topics rings the cash register.
Watch this video and see if you don't end up thirsting for a Root Beer Cocktail :-)
Posted Wednesday, July 30, 2008 by
Ali Sales
You're not alone. This article, 25 Tips for Marketing Your Blog, made me think of how daunting business blogging can be for any kind of organization.There are some good tips in this article, don't get me wrong.
It's just a lot to think about, and you're a busy person, right? I am a big fan of using subject matter experts (SMEs) as much as possible. I don't want to be an accounting pro or a legal pro -- I want to have a basic understanding and then pay and rely on people around me to help.
Okay, so you know where I'm heading with this:
- Wouldn't it be great if you could do the same thing with a corporate blogging program?
- Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a blogging partner who can worry about all the details so that you can focus on writing content for your company blogs?
- Oh, and wouldn't it be great to use a blogging solution that lets you log in, type your content, and then the blogging software itself structures that content in a way that helps you get found in the search engines?
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.
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.
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.
Posted Tuesday, July 22, 2008 by
Eric Romer
Seth Godin has a great blog.. despite my disagreeing with his "Limits of Meta" post from last week. He's published various books on marketing, and has an amazing knack for simplifying concepts.His recent post titled "Are they ready to listen?" talks about the concept that most marketers forget:"is my audience ready to listen to what I'm telling them?"
I really like this concept, and totally agree that it's vital to a business's communication with potential customers.
This can be related to all facets of life. For example, I went to a concert on a Sunday night in Indianapolis recently. The bands were all talented, and the promoter worked hard to flyer the city and get the word out. But, people don't want to go out on a Sunday night... regardless of how good the act is.
The same thing applies to business, as Seth points out: "The tragic mistake of demographics and media planning is that they overlook the single most important issue: is the person you're talking to ready to listen?"
Guess what?? The web has changed marketing. Search engines give you (a company) the power to LISTEN, instead of shout at prospects with traditional forms of media... hoping they are ready to hear you. Business blogs allow you to be found easier in Google, engage readers with relevant, conversational content, and convert them. Simple as that.
Easy blogging software allows this process to happen with little effort. Start creating content today, and spread those two ears out over the internet. Now, you can sit back and listen... When people WANT you to talk to them, you'll be there.
To see this in action, Google "blogging solution", and see what the top 1 or 2 result (out of 11 million) is in the organic results.
Posted Friday, July 18, 2008 by
Kristen Hanschu
Individuals and organizations who are using some of our competitors (and for sake of being respectful, I will not name names) are running into problems with people commenting on their blogs. A reader will leave a negative remark and the accused has no way of monitoring or deleting the comment. In fact, there have been some lawsuits over unlawful statements and comments that are made on blogs and websites.
In a recent article by Wendy Davis, Roommates.com was sued for civil rights violations. With this said, our prospective clients are usually nervous when it comes to the commenting portion of our business blogging software.
Our blogging platform allows the individual or company to view all comments before they go live. Compendium's advanced system give them the power to approve and decline all comments that people leave. Therefore, nothing will be shown on your blog site that you did not approve. To view what our comment section looks like, you can view my blog. Additionally, our comment section requires that the reader fill out a captcha which does not allow for people to spam your site.
In a recent article by Wendy Davis, Roommates.com was sued for civil rights violations. With this said, our prospective clients are usually nervous when it comes to the commenting portion of our business blogging software.
Our blogging platform allows the individual or company to view all comments before they go live. Compendium's advanced system give them the power to approve and decline all comments that people leave. Therefore, nothing will be shown on your blog site that you did not approve. To view what our comment section looks like, you can view my blog. Additionally, our comment section requires that the reader fill out a captcha which does not allow for people to spam your site.
Posted Friday, July 18, 2008 by
PJ Hinton
One edge that word processor programs traditionally have had over web browser based editors is spell checking. Many web-based content creation applications, including our own blog authoring software, now include a spell checking feature.
Built-in support for spell checking has been slow to make its way into browsers. Since version 2, Firefox has supported in-line spell checking (those squiggly red underlines you see under suspected misspellings). Internet Explorer 7 doesn't have this feature at all.
Still, that's no excuse to avoid using a browser based editor, because there are easy tweaks that you can employ on both browsers to give you an experience comparable to that of modern word processors. Over at CNet's website, Dennis O'Reilly has a recently published blog post that spills the details.
That's just one more reason to add to the list for not using a word processor as your blog posting software.
Built-in support for spell checking has been slow to make its way into browsers. Since version 2, Firefox has supported in-line spell checking (those squiggly red underlines you see under suspected misspellings). Internet Explorer 7 doesn't have this feature at all.
Still, that's no excuse to avoid using a browser based editor, because there are easy tweaks that you can employ on both browsers to give you an experience comparable to that of modern word processors. Over at CNet's website, Dennis O'Reilly has a recently published blog post that spills the details.
That's just one more reason to add to the list for not using a word processor as your blog posting software.
Posted Tuesday, July 15, 2008 by
Sarah Sedberry
The final installment on the historical 4th of July trip! (then to your dismay, you will have to listen to my ramblings regarding my obsession with the new iPhone.)
On the final day of our trip to Pennsylvania, we stopped by Gettysburg in order to wrap up all things concerned with our Nation's history that we could jam into a 3 day weekend.
Again, I was amazed at how much I learned about the battle of Gettysburg during my visit. (Mom, I swear I paid attention in History class) For example, I did not realize that we were actually visiting this historic area on it's anniversary. The battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1st -3rd, of 1863. Also, unknown to me was that the battle took place on over 65 acres of land. That is some serious ground to cover in those days!
Despite the short time frame and massive distance between troops this battle was the deadliest with 51,000 casualties. This left a major problem for the towns people of Gettysburg. During our tour of the grounds we were able to compare pictures taken days after the battle and hold them against the same spots today - a very humbling experience.
A fun fact for those Hoosiers out there - the first brigade to enter into battle for the Union was the Iron Brigade, which was comprised of soldiers from Indiana and Michigan. These soldiers gained their famous nickname following their hard fighting at the Battle of South Mountain on September 14,1862.
To our clients out there - let us Hoosiers here at Compendium Blogware be your Iron Brigade. We will fight hard to make your company's corporate blog successful.
On the final day of our trip to Pennsylvania, we stopped by Gettysburg in order to wrap up all things concerned with our Nation's history that we could jam into a 3 day weekend.
Again, I was amazed at how much I learned about the battle of Gettysburg during my visit. (Mom, I swear I paid attention in History class) For example, I did not realize that we were actually visiting this historic area on it's anniversary. The battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1st -3rd, of 1863. Also, unknown to me was that the battle took place on over 65 acres of land. That is some serious ground to cover in those days!
Despite the short time frame and massive distance between troops this battle was the deadliest with 51,000 casualties. This left a major problem for the towns people of Gettysburg. During our tour of the grounds we were able to compare pictures taken days after the battle and hold them against the same spots today - a very humbling experience.
A fun fact for those Hoosiers out there - the first brigade to enter into battle for the Union was the Iron Brigade, which was comprised of soldiers from Indiana and Michigan. These soldiers gained their famous nickname following their hard fighting at the Battle of South Mountain on September 14,1862.
To our clients out there - let us Hoosiers here at Compendium Blogware be your Iron Brigade. We will fight hard to make your company's corporate blog successful.
Posted Monday, July 14, 2008 by
Chris Baggott
Seth Godin has a quote at the beginning of "All Marketers are Liars".
"Either you are going to tell stories that spread, or you will become irrelevant."
Websites are for facts and figures.....blogs are for stories. Every company has stories that come up every day. Customer interactions, product innovations, problems solved. An employee based blogging strategy empowers your people to tell these stories! it's a business blogging best practice.
Compendium Blogware is a perfect example. As a blogging software company in Indianapolis we empower all of our employees to participate in our blog strategy....they blog, the software organizes the content around keywords and topics.
Not only do we drive a ton of organic traffic, we get to tell a lot of compelling stories.
"Either you are going to tell stories that spread, or you will become irrelevant."
Websites are for facts and figures.....blogs are for stories. Every company has stories that come up every day. Customer interactions, product innovations, problems solved. An employee based blogging strategy empowers your people to tell these stories! it's a business blogging best practice.
Compendium Blogware is a perfect example. As a blogging software company in Indianapolis we empower all of our employees to participate in our blog strategy....they blog, the software organizes the content around keywords and topics.
Not only do we drive a ton of organic traffic, we get to tell a lot of compelling stories.
Posted Monday, July 14, 2008 by
Jenni Edwards
I like Chris Brogan, I generally just think he seems like a nice guy and has a good blog; so I read it pretty regularly. This is a side note, but I think one thing that might be left off of this post that I was inspired by today was just that "be a nice guy". Compliment others, let others know when you find something cool or neat, share your knowledge, admit your faults in your blog...all just simply part of being nice. You may not get a lot of people reading your corporate blog regularly like Chris does, but when people do find your blog through search they will like you, stick around, read more and ultimately 'convert' --- all based on them 'liking you'.
Anyways, what Chris did share is a comprehensive list of blog tips. Below are a few favorites that apply to many of us business bloggers from the various compiled articles:
Anyways, what Chris did share is a comprehensive list of blog tips. Below are a few favorites that apply to many of us business bloggers from the various compiled articles:
- Don't over think it. (It's a blog not a dissertation.)
- Comment on other great blogs.
- Mix it up.
- Above all else, be human.
Posted Thursday, July 10, 2008 by
Eric Romer
So, I recently made a joke to someone that my blog was all about.... well, blogging. Seems a bit redundant at times. But I guess I'll ask the people reading to let me know if it's a complete bore. Hopefully it sheds some light into your business, and how you can better communicate through multi user blog software.
But I do like Seth Godin's post today "The limits of meta", in which he uses the example of a website that makes money by teaching you... how to make money with a website.
It reminds me of how I used to feel about teachers. You go to school for 15+ years, learning from teachers how to.... go to school and teach? I always thought people should have some other life experience before leading a classroom. But now I have friends that are great teachers, and started right out of college.
I digress....
The point is, our blog software is meant to help your business GET FOUND, engage people with relevant content, and convert them into a customer… or subscriber… or whatever it is you want them to do once they find your organization.
But I do like Seth Godin's post today "The limits of meta", in which he uses the example of a website that makes money by teaching you... how to make money with a website.
It reminds me of how I used to feel about teachers. You go to school for 15+ years, learning from teachers how to.... go to school and teach? I always thought people should have some other life experience before leading a classroom. But now I have friends that are great teachers, and started right out of college.
I digress....
The point is, our blog software is meant to help your business GET FOUND, engage people with relevant content, and convert them into a customer… or subscriber… or whatever it is you want them to do once they find your organization.
My blog, and other Compendium blogs are excellent examples of this. Looking at keywords that have driven traffic to our website vs. our blogs over the past year -- our blogs drove 3x as many non-paid keywords than our website. We're talking over 1,000 keywords we would have never captured from organic search without blogs!
So, sorry Seth, it may be redundant... but this stuff works. And I'm going to continue to blog... about blogging.
Posted Wednesday, July 9, 2008 by
Kristen Hanschu
Many people think that when it comes to blogging, one size fits all. In other words, they think that one platform will work for every type of business out there. This is not true in today's fast moving technological world.
In the book, Break From the Pack by Oren Harari, he explains why one size does not fit all. When people are looking to blog and they come to Compendium for solutions, we get asked why we are better than the rest. That is because we are different from every other blog creation software company out there.
If you want to blog for your business then you need the right tools. This includes an affordable blogging software that you can customize to your website and business. It also means that you are able to have many individual bloggers contributing to one site. In return you are utilizing the blog site to gain new clients, sell more product, and market your product or service.
In the book, Break From the Pack by Oren Harari, he explains why one size does not fit all. When people are looking to blog and they come to Compendium for solutions, we get asked why we are better than the rest. That is because we are different from every other blog creation software company out there. If you want to blog for your business then you need the right tools. This includes an affordable blogging software that you can customize to your website and business. It also means that you are able to have many individual bloggers contributing to one site. In return you are utilizing the blog site to gain new clients, sell more product, and market your product or service.
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