Here’s Ted Demopoulos once more, this time around on the worst type of business blog…
Driving to work naked and starting a Biz Blog with zero planning are similar. Both might start out ok . . .
“Joe, I heard blogs are hot on the news, and our competitor XYZ Corp has one. I don’t know what a blog is, but start one. NOW!!”
“Yes, sir, Mr. President! Right away”
NO NO NO. A blog requires planning. The worst type of blog is the “let’s start a blog” blog.
A blog needs to be part of your strategy, whether you are a mammoth multinational with a well thought-out corporate communications and marketing strategy, or just me, one person Ted’s Company.
What are the blog’s main goals? Who will write it? What will it be about? Maybe you should simply encourage employees to blog instead of starting an official company blog?
How will you keep legal, marketing and PR from turning your wannabeblog into a shiny and glossy “produced” non-blog like this one from Nike, that does NOT have most of the advantages of a real blog? Nice job, for a corporate marketing brochure, but not for a blog.
It takes planning. Not necessarily a lot, depending on the company or individual, but absolutely some thought.
May 30th, 2006
During the “Lunch with the Experts” session at NEDMA ’06, you’ll have the opportunity to sit down and chat with an array of top direct marketing pros – designers, copywriters, database marketers, production people, even a blogger.
Yes, Ted Demopoulos will be joining us on June 15 from noon to 1:15 PM to talk about blogging — and, also, podcasting. You can register to attend his session (and all the others, too) by clicking here.
Ted Demopoulos’ professional background includes over 25 years of experience in Information Technology and Business, including 15 years as an independent consultant. Ted has helped start a successful information security company, was the CTO at a “textbook failure” of a software startup, and has advised several other startups. Ted is a frequent speaker at conferences and other events, coauthor of Blogging for Business, and the principal of Demopoulos Associates.
Ted also has an ongoing software concern in Hong Kong, The Arial Group, an Enterprise Risk Management solutions provider.
For the next few days, Ted will be all but taking over the NEDMA ‘06 Conference Blog with a few great posts on, well, blogging. As another one in our series of our special guest bloggers, he’ll be weighing in on how he thinks you can use a blog to communicate more effectively with your prospects, customers and colleagues.
Ladies and gentlemen, Ted Demopoulos…
Blogging for Business
I’m Ted Demopoulos, co-author of Blogging for Business, and excited to be blogging here today, and very much looking forward to the conference.
But, as an intro, “Why do I Blog??” – simple, RESULTS.
I started The Ted Rap with a somewhat lame “interview of myself by myself” post. Literally with 24 hours, my placement in the search engines had improved greatly. The traffic to my website more than doubled in a month (sounds like an infomercial, and it’s even true!). I’ve also sold keynotes, consulting and training classes from my blog.
In one case a potential client called me back after reading my blog and gave me the job — skipping the “selection committee” and proposal process I’d been told to expect. He felt he knew me well enough from reading my blog and was comfortable immediately hiring me.
I spoke with an E-commerce consultant last week who told me that all 20 or so blogs he had started for clients recently had increased traffic and profits to their related sites. The BloggingforBusinessBook.com blog is a main part of promotion for my book as well.
“Big” companies are getting massive benefits as well. Microsoft is no longer a faceless 800 pound gorilla due to the efforts of Robert Scoble, Channel9, and many others. Companies are getting valuable feedback from their blogs - often far better than from “focus groups” and surveys.
Blogging is NOT a silver bullet. Your results may vary. It DOES take time and effort, however the time and effort spent is enjoyable for most bloggers, and blogging helps bloggers stay current in their field.
Bloggers also usually become better writers — and writing IS a critical business skill.
May 30th, 2006
