In my consulting practice CEOs often have a fear to start a business blog.
That’s understandable.
We all have a fear of things which we don’t understand, we fear actions we don’t know how to do, where to start.
Business blogging is a new tool for managers, so they feel uncomfortable with this idea. They simply have too little information how to start, about how to run a business blog.
For those managers who want to start a business blog but are uncertain about their actions, there are top 7 things to do before starting a business blog. Let’s check them.
1. Decide what internet domain you will use. You have at least two choices – use your company’s domain (for example, www.yourcompany.com/blog) or register a different domain. Both have pros and cons.
You must have your own domain name, not free alternative from WordPress or Google or other provider. The address is your property and you should build business on your property, not others.
2. Decide whether it will be your solo blog or there will be occasional guests from your company. Mostly it depends on business of your company. Tom Peters does a nice job by letting his employees to post on his business blog.
3. Choose a publishing platform of your blog. I recommend WordPress, because it is powerful and free. Others also may be good and it can be OK to choose a different one, just check the possibility to create a blog on your own domain.
4. Find a blog coach and (if you feel a need) an editor. Most managers fear to start writing, so a good blog coach is welcome. Just find a person you are comfortable to discuss with, who doesn’t hesitate to say all the truth about your writing, who is a believer of your efforts.
5. Write down your blog topic in one sentence. If you are a founder, an owner, a CEO or General Manager – this must be the answer, why your customers must buy from you instead of competitors. If your sentence is different, double check it. Maybe your blog doesn’t fit your marketing strategy. More about it you can read in my e-book The New Rules of Business Blogs in the chapter about strategy.
6. Write the first post like a manifesto. Explain to early readers what they can expect to find here. Usually it is hard to decide with what topic to start and such manifesto often is the best solution.
7. Start to write not too perfect posts. You must start to write. Especially at the beginning, it is far better to write an average post than not to write any post at all. You must start practicing and not to worry about perfection. Perfection will come with your experience in blogging.
Bonus tip. Start reading a lot of other business blogs. Start leaving comments on other blogs. By reading you will better understand blogging and web 2.0 environment. By leaving comments you will shape your writing.
For most questions to be answered correctly I recommend to hire an experienced consultant of this area. Not a PR or worse – advertising agency, but a consultant who specializes in business blogging. You will save a lot of money if you avoid mistakes in this process. I am not saying that your company depends on it, but frequently there is a big stake and better to have a pro on your side. Trust me, it pays off.
In future I will post Top 7 flaws of business blogs and Top 7 improper excuses for not having a business blog. If you don’t want to miss them, subscribe to this blog.
Have any more tips? Leave them in the comment section!
Craig says
Thanks for the tips. Our new business venture is about to start moving forward with a business blog and try to establish more content. Do you think a business blog has to stay so professional, or can there be a little bit of personalization and entertainment value in it. Do you think a small company can be more flexible?
Craig
http://www.budgetpulse.com
John Townsend says
I am so pleased to see that you mentioned that the blog should be posted on a domain name to retain ownership of the content and intellectual property.
Professional business blogging requires considerable commitment in terms of learning and writing. Companies who decide to proceed along this path should study the Dell Blog which is an excellent example of blogging for business.
Linas Simonis says
@Craig: It depends. There are two extremes – to write like a teenager and like a lawyer. Both ways are wrong.
A business blog is about your profession, about your expertise in your field. Your writing should reflect your expertise and your personality. You should sound professional, because you are in serious business, but not dull, because nobody will read your blog in this case. And the ratio between both of the extremes depends on your business and your personality.
One of the best examples of business blogs is Inside the Box and Design Matters of Lenovo. They sound very professional and very human at the same time. I highly recommend to read both of them in order to feel the good balance between business and personality.
More comments on this topic and exact links you can find in my e-book.