Harlan Editorial

Blogging is the big, open forum. A place for transparency, for company presidents and owners to relax and let their customers get to know them – the personality behind the brand.

So, cautious blogger? I don’t think so. Open the windows, throw wide the doors. Let the folks outside your company get to know you. That’s how relationships are built; that’s how Web 2.0 works – with open dialog and personal connections. Not reckless blogging, not cautious, but some smart (professional?) region in between.

yours, Judith

Tags: Business blogs by Judith
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I’ll blog in my spare time. After work; after I close the doors for business that day; on my way home from work; my son (daughter, wife, husband) will blog for me; I’ll blog whenever I get the urge. I don’t like to write but I’m sure I can pop off a blog every coupla days.

If you’re blogging for fun and frolic, then all of the above works brilliantly and you can share your day’s log with the world: nothing wrong with that. But if you’re blogging as part of your business e-marketing plan? Different ballpark.

Here’s the great misconception I hear - have heard - several times. I can build my blog in wordpress and that’s the hard part. (No, I must tell you, that’s the misconception: creating the blog is the easy part.)

The time, effort and expertise goes into turning that pretty blog into a business tool.

yours, Judith

Tags: Business blogs, Small business blogging, Wordpress by Judith
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I respect it when someone tells me they are afraid to respond on the blogs they read. What sane business-person isn’t? Blogs are public forums. You say it; it’s written on the wall forever. It’s so much safer to just lurk.

This morning I responded to one of the blogs I admire and learn from, the Search Engine Optimization Journal, and as soon as I pushed that “submit” button, I wanted to edit my words. Suddenly, those words sounded pompous, maybe amateurish, or somewhere, some dark no-man’s land, in between. I’m a writer who loves to edit, and I’m a relentless rewriter. Blogs work against that never-ending urge to rewrite, pushing us to share our thoughts, not necessarily our polished prose.

So, it’s safer to lurk. But the blog conversation demands interaction. It’s not a conversation if it’s all one-way. So, fear or not – jump in on the next interesting conversation and blog through the fear. I’ll look for you there.

yours, Judith

Tags: Business blogs, SEO by Judith
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Can a free blog do all you need it to do for your small business? I’d say, yes, but.

(Since you asked!)

Yes — if you’re a solopreneur or a small business without the need for paypal or a shopping cart on your blog; if your branding is such that it can be imposed over an existing template (most are); if you’re content to have your blog live on Google or Wordpress or one of the free Web 2.0 sites that exist; if, in some cases, you do not mind having ads on your blog.

But I’m not convinced that free is all it’s touted to be, not when you can download blog software to your server or to a server you subscribe to for 8 bucks/month. And, once setting up your blog on your own server, then you are flying solo, your own pilot.

You can’t get more free than that!

Tags: Business blogs, How to blog, Small business blogging by Judith
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I don’t give a fig about yarn, but I sure do like this yarn store blog.

Bloggers Kathy and Steve, owners of WEBS Yarn Store in Massachusetts, blog about their family, the retail yarn biz, and the latest in yarn trends.The blog seems to be written mostly by Kathy, though she gives Steve equal billing. (Just another fine and generous New England lady.)

Tags: Business blogs, Retail blogs, Small business blogging by Judith
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Artists, with all the beauty in the world at their fingertips, ought to be creating wondrous blogs. So, I searched for some. I found this one, Belinda del Pesco. And I liked two things especially:

• She blogs frequently
• She uploads info on how she creates her art

 And she’s in business, so she’s got a quick link to buying her art. All-around good, I think. (Only beef I have with the site is its accompanying website. I suggest you do not click on that link. It’s a porno-built site, circular, so that once on you can never leave. (And how do I know about those? Unfortunate google searches, need I say more.) Yours, Judith  

Tags: Blogging, Business blogs, Retail blogs, Small business blogging by Judith
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You can’t just start blogging and expect the world to come to you. So true! And here’s another challenge we all face: what’s truly important on the list of to-dos? Picking and choosing from among Web marketing tools is key.

Nick Stamoulis lists the tools that make it happen, Web especially. It’s a terrific list! And gives you a place to start on your marketing, now that you have a blog. Which tools will you discard because your small business cannot sustain them or because they don’t apply? Which will you keep? (Hint: a few are auto-keeps, such as SEO, can’t do without that one!)
yours, Judith

Tags: Business blogs, Small business blogging by Judith
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All bookstores oughta be blogging. That’s what I think. I love books; what writer doesn’t? And I spend waaaayy too much time and money in bookstores. So, when I came across this bookstore blog, I paused. Here’s a bookstore (Powell’s Books in Portland, OR) using a blog to talk about books, to sell books, to keep customers updated on the latest book-signings and in-store promos. It’s got a guest blogger or two. I love it! Now I can spend even MORE time in bookstores!

Makes sense to me that a bookstore, full of people who love reading, books and writing would have a blog. And now, when I pop into other bookstore sites, I wonder, why don’t they have blogs?

They’re missing out on a terrific sales tool. And one that’s virtually free.

So far, no one has been able to answer the question, and I’m searching the far corners of the continent to find good bookstore blogs.

yours, Judith

Tags: Business blogs, Retail blogs, Small business blogging by Judith
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The never-ending need for content on your blogging site will catch up with you, so “they” say. And here’s proof that “they” are right: it will. Or, at least, it did for me. I’ve been off in the last couple of weeks writing magazine articles, setting up a couple of Websites for small businesses, and a workshop on blogging.

But what have I NOT done? I haven’t blogged.So that’s how easy it is for blogging to get thrown by the wayside. Business interferes. Life intervenes. Mea culpa. I allowed it. But what to do about such things if you are setting up a blog yourself? (And you know that when you set up a blog, you set up expectations in your client base.) Excellent question. From my experience here on the Harlan Editorial business blog, I’d say,

• Make blogging a priority.

• Put it on the Calendar — Make time for it.

• Keep a notebook handy for flashes of insight to include.

• Don’t just read other blogs, drop in formally and share your thoughts.

 (Now, if I can just listenn to my own advice and remember to do some of this stuff myself, you’ll see me back in a mere day or two or three.)

 Back online, Judith

Tags: Business blogs, How to blog, Online Content, Small business blogging by Judith
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Don’t talk.

Bloggers are infamous for chattering too much and listening too little.

Use your blog to reverse the information flow: Give customers a place to tell you what they think instead of you telling the customer what you’re selling.

That’s my reason number 3 to have a blog. It can be a place to Listen.

Sound upside down? It is, but that’s the ultimate in a business blog, one that’s so successful that your customer is posting more on it than you are. And when you’ve engaged your customers to that extent, then they have a vested interest in keeping you in business. Can there be anything better than that?

Tags: Business blogs, Free Advice, How to blog, Small business blogging by Judith
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