BLOGGING FOR BUSINESSSPONSORED BY CORNERSTONE BANK, EUREKA SPRINGS DOWNTOWN NETWORK | MAIN STREET EUREKA SPRINGS & THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE EUREKA SPRINGS BUSINESS COMMUNITY

WHAT IS A BLOG?• Web + Log = Blog

• A site on the web that is continuously updated to give information or start conversations

• Something Google loves

WHY BLOG?Reasons To Blog

• Product Info

• Service Info

• Become an Expert

• Stay Connected to Customers

Advantages of a Blog

• Cheaper than a Newsletter

• Easier to Update

• Easy to Syndicate

HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT TAKE?• Short posts can take minutes: Photos, updates, statuses

• Longer posts can take up to 45 minutes

BLOGGING PLATFORMS• Wordpress.com – Self Hosted Site

• Wordpress.org – Wordpress free site

• Blogger

• Tumblr

• Typepad

HELP! WHAT DO I BLOG ABOUT?• Lists – people LOVE lists

• New Products

• Customer Stories

• You

• Tutorials – How to do something, use something

• Tips & Tricks

• Reviews

• Link Round-Ups

• Current Events/About Our Area

HELP! WHAT DO I BLOG ABOUT?• Recommendations

• New Staff

• Controversial Issues

• New Ideas You Have

• About Running Your Business

• About Your Life – You are LIVING the DREAM

BLOGGING BEST PRACTICES• Research - Follow Blogs in Your Industry

• Look at What Your Competitors are Blogging About

• Develop a List of Potential Blog Topics

• Use Google External Keywords Tool to Find Your Most Searched Keywords

• Write What You Know

WHAT MAKES A GREAT BLOG POST?• A Kick Ass Headline – Grab Attention First Thing

• An Opening Sentence that Bursts Off the Screen

• Break Your Post Into 3 Sections

• Introduction – Introduce the topic• Details – Who, What, Why, Where, When• Finalize – Send them off with a wow

• Link to internal posts and external posts

• Use photographs

• Use video

A NOTE ABOUT KEYWORDS• Don’t write strings of keywords – Google will bust you

• Write in real sentences just like you were taught in school using keywords

• Bold your keyword in your sections and text, but don’t over do that

A NOTE ABOUT IMAGES• Use them

• Take your own – show your world

• If you use others, credit them

• Use multiple images in a post

• Need to edit on the fly? PicMonkey.com

TAGS & METADATA – THE DETAILS OF A POST• Title: Include the Title of Post

• Meta Description: 160 Character Description of Your Post

• Keywords: No More Than 10

• Tags: Words Used by Search Engines to Identify Posts

GRAMMAR POLICE• Spellcheck

• Proof

• Fix Mistakes

HIT PUBLISH!• Publish Your Post!

• Push to Facebook Page, Personal Facebook Profile, Twitter, LinkedIn

• Respond to Comments

• Establish a Regular Schedule of Blogging – The Key is Consistency to Become an Expert

• Let’s Look At Some Lovely Examples!