The Side Note

Josh Catone from Mashable recently wrote a blog post titled, “Top 5 Business Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.” Weise has a number of clients currently considering entering the blogosphere, so we thought we would repost Catone’s how-to guide and provide some of our own advice and experiences.

Business Blogging Blunders:

#1 Treating Your Blog Like a Press Center

Long story short of this section, don’t use your company blog to toot your own horn. This doesn’t mean you can’t mention a recent newsworthy event, usually reserved for the traditional press release, just make sure you add a personal touch to the post. Express how excited you are for a new company program or a new partnership.

One of the “ground rules” Weise established prior to launching The Side Note, was to avoid promoting the agency. We prefer to be contacted directly by readers who find our content interesting, rather than constantly using a push-messaging strategy about how great an advertising agency we are. If readers like your content, they’ll find you. (Having a link to your Web site on your blog doesn’t hurt, though.)

#2 Not Blogging Regularly

Now that you have started blogging, don’t lose steam! There is no benefit to gaining loyal readers and then not posting for a week, two weeks, etc. Catone’s point in this section is to commit to posting on a regular schedule.

“If you plan to put out new posts every Tuesday and Friday, for example, try not to start writing Tuesday’s post on Tuesday morning.” I agree completely with this suggestion.

#3 Not Enabling Conversation

This is one of the easiest mistakes to avoid! Enable commenting on your blog, reply to comments in a timely manner, and comment on industry blogs. Do these things to retain your readers and attract new readers to your business blog.

#4 Making New Content Hard to Discover

Josh offers four suggestions to make it easier for readers to discover new content on your blog.

1. Include your blog’s link in you email signature, business cards and collateral.
2. Make your “subscribe to RSS” feed easy to find.
3. Use Twitter and Facebook to inform your followers/fans of new content. (Both allow you to automate this process!)
4. Integrate into your blog posts and titles relevant key words that your audience would search for.

#5 Expecting Too Much, Too Soon

Cantone says it best, “Blogging isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Your blog won’t be an overnight success, and for the first few months it might feel like you’re writing for no one. It can take time to build up your readership and have a regular community of people who participate on your blog. Don’t expect immediate returns from your blog and do expect to put in a lot of hard work.”

Good luck bloggers!