I always feel a little maternal when I get an email from a client who’s bought our ebook The Build a Better Blog System. Pamela Stewart tells me she’s been having fun building her blog over at www.escapefromcubiclenation.com. And I can see why. She’s got a great niche, writes well, and already has several readers commenting, even though her blog is less than a month old.

Here’s an excerpt from her recent post "Why blogs are great promotional tools for working moms":

1. You only need a few minutes to create a good post.  When you are running as fast as you can behind your little one, the prospect of writing a long sales letter or ezine article can seem impossible.  A blog post, on the other hand, can be easily formulated in your head while you are mixing rice cereal, putting in a load of laundry or changing a diaper.  Then you can take 15-20 minutes to write it while your baby snoozes or occupies himself with an amusing toy.
2. You can post from anywhere.  As long as you have internet access, you can keep good posts coming as you travel, take a long weekend or visit friends.

3. You can do it all yourself.  If you want to make changes to a website, often you have to work with a designer.  This can take time setting up conference calls or writing out instructions in an email.  With a blog, you can do it all yourself, whenever you have the time.  I tend to do most of the design work on my blog late at night when my son Joshua is sleeping.

All three points I have been preaching, although not with the mom in mind. (About the closest I’ve ever come to motherhood was when I adopted Huey and Dewey, my lovable Maine Coon cats.) But working mom or just working solo, blogs are a quick and easy way to communicate with your targeted readers (AKA your potential clients).

Take a stroll over to www.escapefromcubiclenation.com; there are some interesting articles there about this whole concept of people who live and work from cubicles. You’ll enjoy the reading.

Annie Dennison has proved that she is not only Smart at Love, but Smart at Blogging.

The Blog Squad has awarded their coveted Seal of Approval to Annie Dennison and her Smart at Love blog. After 4 weeks of weekly coaching sessions, Annie’s blog is now generating more traffic — up from practically nothing to an average of 200 visitors per week, she’s creating dialogue with her readers and the blog is easier to navigate.

Annie’s blog, Smart at Love: For the Single Woman who Wonders "If I’m So Smart, How Can I be So Dumb About Love?" is a great resource for both men and women who are looking for smart advice about dating, mating and relating.  Annie is smart, funny, an excellent writer and very charming.  Check out her blog!

It’s spreading…the Blog virus got ahold of Denise and I again. This time, it’s even more specialized, for coaches and those going to the International Coach Federation conference in San Jose Nov. 9-12.

Check out www.BlogSquadLive.com. We’re inviting a few select coaches who will be at the event to become guest authors. We will all be blogging the conference, making this the first ICF conference where participants can record their experiences live, in person, in real time!

CJ Hayden is a guest author, along with Suzanne Falter-Barns, Sylva Leduc, Barry Zweibel, Dee McCrorey, and Andrea Lee. More coming on board in a few days.

If you’re not going to this event which will be attended by 1600 global coaches, you can stay tuned to what’s happening by reading daily blog posts.

Of course, we had to use lots of hot pink on the new blog, the colors of The Blog Squad!

P.S. Come by our booth and get a free Blog Squad "Blog On!" button if you’re in San Jose!

The Blog Squad is doing a month-long blog makeover at http://smartatlove.typepad.com/annieweblog/. The site is authored by Ann Dennison, an intelligent expert in helping singles find the right relationship.

Ann is "smart at marketing" because she realizes the power of blogging to get more clients. She already has a great web site, and gives away a free ebook to visitors. Stay tuned for how she learns to maximize her blog.

P.S. If you want to get smart, you’ll join Denise Wakeman and I (The Blog Squad) and Adam Urbanski on Oct. 6 for a 6-week teleseminar on how to get results from your blog. Visit www.boostyourbizwithblogs.com for info and registration.

Over 200 questions about blogs were submitted by professionals who are curious about this tool for growing your business online. In the next few days, I’ll share them with you, along with my answers.

Denise Wakeman and I were interviewed by Marketing Mentor Adam Urbanski last night, and we start a 6-week intensive blog training teleseminar with Adam on Sept. 22. We’re going to walk him through the steps for setting up his blog and participants in the program will peek over his shoulder and see video screen shots. This is a great way to learn as you go through this program.

One of the biggest fears of professionals about blogs is not having enough time to write for it. This makes sense. There are hundreds of blogs started each day, and then abandonned. Here’s the deal:

Don’t start a blog if you don’t like writing or communicating with prospects and clients. When I say ‘writing’, I mean the sort of writing you do when you respond to an email.

Blog postings are short and to the point. There are three things you want to do each time you post a new article:

1. Share your expertise
2. Show people who you are, be personable, use the pronoun "I"
3. Ask them a question, stimulate their thinking, ask for feedback, a call for action (create interaction and response from readers so they can become a community)

Do start a blog if you are an expert in your field and you want to create trust and credibility with readers, get them to like you, and buy your services and informational or other products.

Want to know how you can set up and then optimize a blog to grow your professional services business? I thought you’d never ask! Go here: www.boostyourbizwithblogs.com.