Express Marketing Memo

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Here’s some encouragement for any of you thinking about starting a blog, but not yet ready to get your feet wet. Andy MacDonald says, “Go On, Start Blogging Now.”

The advice to “start blogging now” is really quite consistent with a carefully thought-out and competently executed business blogging strategy. The experience gained from launching, designing, and posting to a simple “starter” blog is a critical component in the obligatory “data gathering” phase of developing an informed business blogging strategy.

He goes on to say that you can’t effectively plan your overall blogging strategy until you’ve had some relevant direct experience. I agree.

And while you’re at it, have some fun with it. Experiment with a couple of different blog platforms. I’m partial to WordPress, but you may prefer Typepad or Blogger or one of the other options available through your Web host.

Don’t get too hung up on design at this point. Instead, focus on your message. What is it that you want to communicate to your audience? Learn how to draw your audience in to a conversation.

Read the rest of Andy’s post here.

Photo Credit: Mike Licht on Flickr (Creative Commons)

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Have you noticed that when you lose touch with old friends, it can be really hard to reconnect? I’m finding that when I step away from blogging momentarily to focus on urgent, priority projects, that it’s also hard to get back into blogging mode. Granted, this has been more than a momentary lapse, but it was necessary to truly focus on some client projects. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

I’m frequently asked if blogging makes any difference to the small business owner - if it’s worth the time commitment. My experience is that YES, it’s definitely worth it on a couple of different levels. For one thing, it’s a growth experience for the blogger. It forces you to constantly try to get inside the head of your audience … what will you find valuable and interesting? What have I just learned that I can share with you? Who just wrote an insightful post that would benefit my readers? These are good questions for any business owner to ponder!

On a completely different level, blogging is good for business because it increases your online presence. Search engines still love blogs because they’re continually updated with fresh, hopefully relevant content. They’re fun to promote. We’ll go into detail on that in a future post, but for now, I’ll just say that it’s a joy to find truly interesting writing. When you leave a comment on an interesting post, you’ve created a backlink to your site. Yes, there’s more to it than that, but in a nutshell and for the sake of brevity that’s the basic idea.

It took about three months of consistent writing, commenting, and cross-linking with my other blogs to notice business-building results from my efforts. This blog has already helped me gain copywriting assignments and web site development projects, in addition to serving as a resource for my customers.

The other side of that coin is that blogging isn’t for everyone. It’s time consuming. Once-a-month posting won’t get the job done. You need to have something to say, be willing to reach out to other bloggers, and enjoy writing.

OK bloggers … I need your help. Do you blog for business or pleasure? What results are you seeing from your blogging efforts? How long did it take to see those results? Do you feel it’s worth the time commitment?

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My all-time favorite image search tool is Compfight. This is a simple Ajax utility that searches Flickr images by tag or keyword. It returns a page of thumbnail images based on your criteria. Check a box to return only images with Creative Commons licensing. Choose from original images only and turn on safe search for the highest quality images. This is my favorite tool, bar none, for finding images for my blog posts.

When I strike out with Flickr, my next choice is Stock.XCHNG for free downloadable images. They also have premium images available for $1.

Another option is iStockphoto. Images on this site tend to be higher quality than on Stock.XCHNG, and prices start at $1 and work up. They offer a beautiful assortment of vector illustrations in the $10 range. This is my site of choice for images to use in web site layouts and for print-based work.

Regardless of where you find images for use on your blog, make sure you read their licensing agreement. Many Creative Commons photos on Flickr only require attribution to the photographer and a link back to their Flickr page, but some add additional restrictions. Likewise, some images on Stock.XCHNG require attribution, and all photographers appreciate a link.

Photo Credit: FelipeArte (Creative Commons)

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It’s nearly Spring in Wisconsin. After a long, cold winter with record breaking snowfall, it feels so good to get outdoors without bundling up head-to-toe! Oh, who am I kidding? Skip the bundling up part … I hibernate when it’s bone-chilling cold.

The very thought of stepping outside when it’s below 20 degrees makes me want to put on a sweater and pour myself a hot chocolate.

It’s the thought that holds me back though, not really the cold. Our thoughts and perceptions always lead the way. Have you ever noticed that you can get more done when you’re really busy and you HAVE to meet a deadline, than when you’ve got just a few projects and less urgency to complete them?

For instance, I’ve found that I really CAN write in this blog nearly every day, regardless of my workload. Last year, I thought I had to make a choice and of course, I chose to finish client work over blogging. The thought (belief) that I couldn’t do both held me back, not the actual client work. And I’m here to tell you that daily blogging is a growth experience in so many ways!

When you really believe you can do something, you generally can. What’s holding you back?

Photo Credit: wokka

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Is Blogging Startup on your must read blog list? If you’re interested in the nuts and bolts of blogging, it should be. The site’s owner, Jim Lockwood, says that he started the blog to share his passion for blogging and the Internet. If you’re just getting a blog started, he wants to help you get started as simply and painlessly as possible, and have some fun in the process. Jim has asked for a blog review and I think his niche is a good fit for you, my readers. Here goes:

Design & Layout

I like the overall look and feel of the site. Blogging Startup has a simple, uncluttered design. The bright colors draw me in. It’s well-organized, with tabbed pages for contests, archives, advertising, site policies, and about/contact info. I like its prominent search box at the top, and the oversized RSS icon. It has just a few ads and would not be overpowered with a few more. Jim already knows that his blog would benefit from a unique logo and that’s really my only suggestion having anything to do with design.

Content

Jim’s writing style is conversational with a touch of humor. He’s a good writer, which makes his blog an easy read. Most of his posts link out to other blogs, as well as have reader comments, so he’s doing a phenomenal job of reaching out AND drawing people in. My only suggestion here would be to post more frequently, if possible.

It feels kind of strange reviewing another blog when mine needs so much work. I’m “shopping” for a new three-column theme with more color and fewer limitations. This one has a few quirks with how the sidebar handles widgets, and with only two-columns, it’s impossible to fit everything in that I’d like to see above the fold. But enough about this blog …

Please head on over to Blogging Startup and check out this blog for yourself.

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