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Part 3a - Starting a Business Blog - The Strategy

What do you need when launching a business blog? Well, lots of things really. The necessary "ingredients" will vary from one business blogger to the next. In fact, entire books have been written on the subject of launching a blog.

So instead of rehashing what's been written before, I'll offer what I feel are the five most important considerations when starting a business blog. Not so coincidentally, they all start with the letter 'P.'

The 5 P's of Starting a Business Blog

• Program
• Purpose
• Person
• Passion
• Persistence

Program

Before you can start growing your blog, you obviously need to choose a blogging program. These are the all-inclusive systems that will power your business blog. The three most popular programs are Blogger, WordPress and TypePad.

Some companies with big IT departments actually create their own blogging programs, but in my opinion this is often a waste of time and money. WordPress, for one, can be customized and configured to support any business blogging objective. So why reinvent the wheel?

All three of the programs mentioned above can support a business blog, but they do have their advantages and disadvantages. My advice is to experiment with each one before making a decision. It's also wise to talk to an experienced blogger who has used more than one program. He or she can help you understand the pros and cons of popular blogging programs.

For what it's worth, I have used Blogger and WordPress exclusively over the years, and I like them both just fine. Blogger is less technical during the setup process (WordPress requires a couple of extra steps during setup). But WordPress is a little more flexible and offers more options. The good news is that both programs are free to use, even if you run them on your own website (which I recommend). So you can try both and see which one you prefer.

Purpose

What are your blogging goals? What do you hope to get out of your business blogging efforts? How will your blog support your company's marketing and communications goals?

You should answer these questions before you start blogging. It's much easier to give a blog shape when you know the blog's mission. Start by clearly defining the purpose of your business blog, and then put that purpose in writing.

You might even have a multi-purpose blog that supports several objectives. That's fine too, as long as you define that purpose.

You can see that my blog's purpose is clearly defined and specific. This makes my blogging duties much easier, and it will do the same for you. By defining this purpose in advance, I know exactly who my audience is and what information I should give them.

Person

Who will publish your blog? Will you have one author or several authors? Will you write the blog's content yourself or delegate it to someone else in your organization? Will you outsource the writing to somebody outside of your business? These questions all fall under the "Person" factor -- the third of our five P's.

The author(s) of a business blog will solely determine the blog's success or failure. The author is the blog, so it's critical to choose the right person for the job. If you run a one-man or one-woman operation, you will obviously be the blog's author. If you run a larger organization, you may have the opportunity to delegate blogging duties to the best candidate.

Whoever does the actual blog writing, it's crucial that they possess the final two P's of our list -- passion and persistence.

Passion

If you are going to maintain a business blog, you will get much further and enjoy greater benefits if you blog with passion and enthusiasm. There are two primary reasons for this:

1. 1. If you blog about something you are enthusiastic about (a particular niche, industry, product, etc.), you will be more likely to blog often. As a result, your business blog will grow rapidly and thus provide more search engine visibility.
2. 2. If you blog with enthusiasm and energy, people will find your blog more interesting (than if you were half-hearted about your blogging). This will in turn help you grow your readership and foster interaction with your audience through the form of reader commenting, inquiries, etc. So instead of having passive readers, you could enjoy the lead-producing benefits of active participation.

Half-hearted commentary stands out like a purple elephant online. This kind of commentary does more harm than good, whether it comes from the CEO, the communications chief, or Joe Employee. On the other hand, enthusiasm comes across in blog posts -- and it's highly contagious.

Persistence

With any business blog, success will come over time. This is true regardless of how you define success. Whether you're blogging to increase sales, establish authority, generate leads or reinforce your brand, you will need to be persistent in your efforts.

This is especially true for smaller businesses, since a small business blog will not have the "built-in" audience of a larger corporation. In the early days, you will likely be blogging to an audience of one -- yourself. But in time, persistence can change all of that! Trust me on this one, because I speak from experience. All of my blogs started with an audience of one (myself). But some of them now get hundreds of visitors and readers each day!

So we have talked about the 5 P's of business blogging, one of which was the purpose of your business blog. Let's examine this topic further by looking at some common strategies for business blogs.

5 Common Strategies of Business Blogs

The business blog can take many forms and support many objectives. That's part of the beauty of using a blog for business purposes. But sometimes the many uses of a business blog can overwhelm aspiring bloggers, making it hard to decide on a particular blogging strategy.

If you have been meaning to start your own business blog, but you're not sure how to start, consider one of the following five strategies.

1. Instructional Business Blogs

Instructional blogs are extremely popular, and they come in many flavors. If you can teach your audience about a subject that's important to them, you have what it takes to develop a popular instructional blog.

For example, if a company sells accounting software, it might develop an instructional blog to teach readers about accounting methods, technologies and best practices. This would help the company develop readership and interaction, while also educating readers toward its products.

2. Controversial Business Blog

Controversial blogs can bring in a big readership. But the trick here is to avoid being controversial just for the sake of controversy. Some companies / niches are naturally controversial, and their business blogs are an extension of this.

For example, a business that sells political merchandise (shirts, stickers, etc.) could use a blog to generate legitimate controversy of a political nature. This could help generate buzz, readership, and sales.

3. Entertaining Business Blogs

People love to be entertained, and some companies are able to tap into this for business-related purposes. For almost every product or service, there's an audience who finds it entertaining. This is especially the case with the hobby industry and niche products / services that have a devoted (almost "cultish") following. In such industries, a company might use its blog to educate as well as entertain its audience.

4. Behind-the-Scenes Business Blog

This approach to business blogging gives your customers and readers a behind-the-scenes look at your products and services (and to a certain extent, your company itself). When done well, this business blog strategy can help the company foster trust among its key audience. When readers learn about the people behind the company, and how they go about their work, they are more apt to trust the company on a whole. "Hey, they're just regular folks like me!"

5. High-Value Business Blogs

People are naturally attracted to things of value. We seek value constantly, in both our personal and professional lives. As such, a business blog that offers value in some form will eventually attract readers. Those readers will become advocates of the blog, happy to share its value with friends or colleagues.

Value comes in many forms. Information can be valuable, if it helps us perform a task, save money, live a better life, etc. The greater this value, the more people it will attract. So a business blog that helps its audience succeed in some way has great potential for growth and popularity.

Conclusion

There are many ways a business blog can support your company's goals. The blogging strategies listed above only scratch the surface. What ideas and strategies can you come up with? How might you use your business blog to turn strangers into readers, and readers into customers? There is no limit to the possibilities.

So that's the strategic side of things. Now let's talk about the technical side of blogging.