Harvard Business Review on Blogs…

You know you’ve hit mainstream when this big business magazine votes blogging to be #10 in a list of 20 breakthrough ideas for 2005. The February edition has a one-page article about the blogosphere, which they call a "grassroots ecosystem comprising millions of Web logs." Of course, they look at blogs from a marketing point of view:

When…and how… are advertisers going to use blogs for marketing purposes. Here is what they say:

"In the blogosphere, as in the open-source movement, social recognition matters more than financial gain. Bloggers are driven by a desire to share their ideas and opinions with anyone who cares to tune in. That enhances their credibility, making them more attractive to marketers."

…"But they will find it difficult to navigate this complex blend of advertising, content, dialogues and publish relations."

"The grassroots media will not replace big media anymore than online commerce destroyed brick and mortar businesses…Markets are conversations…Blogs are the most conversational of all the forms of media, and marketers can’t afford to be left out of the talk." (p. 39)

Perhaps, but for the independent professional, it is precisely the non-commercialization that makes it ideal for establishing and maintaining credibility. Some are already using their side-bar space for ads, nothing wrong with providing resources for readers. But it’s still the content that counts.

Blogs by CEOs

Evidently a few CEOs are using blogs for communication, both on a personal and professional level. Debbie Weil of WordBiz.com has a new blog: http://blogwrite.blogs.com/ for CEOs. She lists several CEO Thought Leadership Blogs and other Corporate Blogs.

I’m still wondering why there aren’t more coaches and consultants blogging.

Here’s a great new blog by consultant Dr. Bud Bilanich, the common sense guy. Bud uses his blog for ranting and raving, and says it allows him to be more informal and spontaneous. Check out www.commonsenseguy.com.

Patsi

Emails Are Now Estimated to Be 80% Spam…

You are probably aware of Can-Spam laws and take care to not send promotional emails to people who have not asked to be on your database list. The law is clear…but totally ineffective with the spammers.

Email spam messages are up from 50 percent before passing the law to now 80 percent!

Here’s the full article in the New York Times yesterday:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/01/technology/01spam.html?oref=login&adxnnl=1&oref=login&adxnnlx=1107291699-RzsMq0ji0PK9rSIjIVRofA

(Requires a free registration, but worth it anyway.)

This is another reason I am switching my ezines over to a blog format. Email inboxes are too crowded and people delete too quickly without reading my very important articles <grin>.

When they come to one of my blogs (see new one at http://coachezines.typepad.com/bizbook_nuggets/) readers are there by choice, and the messages have a bigger impact. Plus, readers can respond, contribute and interact.

I’ll still offer my free ezines, but will now only promote my blogs.

For some of my content-rich articles, with plenty of research in them, I will then offer a premium edition for a small fee.

What are your thoughts about sending out email newsletters vs blogging? Maybe both are wise, as the more fishing poles in the pond, the more fish you can catch!

Patsi

Marketing expert Denise Wakeman recently posted this link to an excellent article on writing for your blog. The article, posted by BL Ochman of www.whatsnextblog.com, is great advice for writing for any blog, ezine, or web based platform. Here’s what Denise posted over on www.biztipsblog.com:

BL Ochman of Whatsnextblog.com has written a fantastic post on writing blog posts and comments.  Not only are the tips for better writing applicable to blogs, but I would say you could apply them to most writing, especially on the web and in email.

Link: How to Write Killer Blog Posts and More Compelling Comments.

This is a post that deserves to be read, printed out and taped to your computer when you begin your writing.

Just when I was beginning to wonder if anybody was out there…!

Thanks to Des Walsh, Kathy Mallary, Kimberly Black and Michael Pollack for having their eyes open and being awake at the wheel. They all wrote in to say yes, they have blogs. And do they ever! I highly recommend a visit to see what they have to say.

While not all of these professionals are coaches in the strict sense of the word, they do coach their clients on issues such as running small businesses. And that’s always a good thing to know about, right?

Here’s my updated list of coach blogs alive in the blogosphere…

GottaGettaBlog http://www.ggci.com/blog/ Barry Zweibel

www.bergerblog.com Michael Berger

http://lifecoaching-alternativehealing.blogspot.com/ William Wittman

http://business-coaching.blogspot.com/ Unknown, last post July 04

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/TerriLevine Terri Levine

http://theseductionofthemind.typepad.com/  Bea Fields

http://www.howtobecomeahero.com/ C.J. Hayden

http://www.realgoalgetter.com/blog.html Al Smith

http://weblog.kimberlyblack.com Kimberly Black

http://www.thinkinghomebusiness.com Des Walsh

http://spiritspring.typepad.com/cafe_la_coach/  Kathy Mallary

http://smallbusinessbranding.typepad.com/ Michael D. Pollack

Multiple Streams of Income: http://www2.cicada.com/internetbizwhiz/ Andrea Lee

One of the things I like about these blogs are there titles. Catchy, and they say what they are.

There are a couple of blogs here that I won’t comment on, suffice to say they haven’t been posted in a while and there is no information on the author profile to know who is writing…(or not!) them. But it’s always worth seeing what not to do…

Subscribe through Bloglet

Bloglet offers a great service that I really prefer over getting an RSS feed. When a blog site offers a way for you to subscribe, type in your email address and you will get an email message each time there is a new posting, right in your inbox.

I have a Bloglet service, so does Denise Wakeman, and Michael Pollack. Sign up now (upper left hand corner).

Patsi Krakoff

Are You There?

As Denise Wakeman and I make our last minute preparations for our flight into the blogosphere (Tuesdays, 8:45 p.m. ET) I am searching for great coach/consultant blogs.

I am surprised! There aren’t that many! Sure, there were some created last year…and then their owners just stopped posting. I don’t know about you, but I am just not that excited about reading a blog with a last entry date six months ago.

This is good news and bad news. It means that many independent professionals aren’t taking advantage of this easy tool to create a web presence, establish credibility and expertise, and set up dynamic client interaction. Too bad for them!

Good news for you, if you are a coach, consultant or any other independent professional in the personal development field. Why? Because you can get into the forefront. You can create a blog and be right up there with the few stars that know about this great creative tool. And, if you have anything to say, and have a knack for saying it, you will get yourself known. And, because search engines love blogs and pick up easily on their key word-rich format, your rankings will go up. Even if your web site is static, just an online brochure, you can start to get more visits to both your web site and blog.

Here are some coach blogs we’ve found so far. Please let me know of any others you come across. Denise and I are writing a book and would like to include as many interviews and sample blogs as possible.

http://www.ggci.com/blog/

www.bergerblog.com

http://lifecoaching-alternativehealing.blogspot.com/

http://business-coaching.blogspot.com/

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/TerriLevine

http://theseductionofthemind.typepad.com/

http://www.howtobecomeahero.com/

If you would like to set up your own business blog, Denise and I will show you how. Class still has 5 places left, and you can attend for $47. Even if you can’t attend, that’s worth the price of the ebook and audio files.

Register here:

http://www.ecomincs.com/app/javanof.asp?MerchantID=50408&ProductID=2146414

Hope to see you Tuesday Jan. 18, 8:45 p.m. ET, and for all four Tuesdays!

Patsi

Why You Really Need a Blog for Your Business

If you missed the teleclass last night, “What the Hecks a Blog, and Why Do I Need One?” you really missed out! But you are in luck!

Denise Wakeman and I are making the audio recording available to you.

Just go here and listen and learn:
http://www.tpov.biz/Teledevelop/Teledevelop.com/Blogs011105.wma

If you would like to walk through the steps for setting up your own blog, please join us for the following 4 Tuesdays at 8:45 p.m. ET.

Why? Because setting up your own business blog is easy even for non-techies, it’s free or costs as little as $5/month, and it drives traffic to your website and/or can even replace a website. If you know how to use it effectively, it will get results for your business.

It is perfect for creating a web presence for independent professionals who have something to say and who need people to get to know them and what they can do for them. Having your own business blog gives you credibility and an forum where you can show your expertise. Readers can comment directly onto your blog, thus creating interaction and interest.

No more waiting for your web designer to update your web site. You can post to your blog yourself. And the search engines love blogs and will pick up your keywords easily, boosting your rankings, making it easier for people to find you on the web.

To register for the 4-week workshop go to www.teledevelop.com. Don’t worry, if you miss a session, it’s all recorded and transcribed.

We’ll include the audio tapes of the classes, and the ebook on how to do your own blog. We will also be communicating to all class members through an interactive class blog so that you can experience what it is like. You will have your own blog up and running AND be able to add new material to it yourself by the 2nd or 3rd session.

If you’ve been putting off doing an ezine, start with a blog and it will solve many of the ezine struggles. But to learn how, you need to know more than just setting up your blog. You need to learn to use it to get clients. We’ll show you all the features, and little known secrets of effective blogs!

Join us next week!

Patsi

What the Heck’s a Blog Anyway? And Why You MUST Have One for Your Business!  FREE!
Lead by Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman

Tuesday, January 11, 2005
8:45 p.m. ET

Are You Ready to Join the Blogosphere?

Don’t miss out on this really user-friendly tool to create your web presence.
It’s so easy, even I can do it!

Just what is a weblog (blog)? Join us for a one hour overview of the wide world of weblogs.

Blogs are the wave of the future on the Internet. Learn the basics of blogging and how you can use a blog to build your business with relatively little expense. Blogs are being used more and more in big, small and micro businesses as a dynamic vehicle for communication between business and customers, to build trust, credibility and awareness. Find out why you need to implement this powerful strategy for marketing online. This is for non-techies and geeks alike.

Register Here

Join the Blog Revolution! The Non-Techie Guide to Setting Up A Blog for Your Business  NEW!

Lead by Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman
4 Tuesdays, January 18 – February 8, 2005
8:45 p.m. ET
Limited to 15 participants
$97

This is a hands-on, how-to telecourse focusing on helping you join the Blog Revolution to build your business online. This is a non-techie course geared to independent professionals who want to stay in front of the wave. A blog can replace the need to have a website and it is easier to set up and maintain, as well as being much less expensive. You can manage it yourself and save $$$ rather than paying a web designer to do the work for you.

We will take you by the fingertips and guide you so you can have your Blog set up and start publishing during the class!

You will learn:
**why it’s so important to have a blog for your business
** how to set up a free trial blog account
** how to write and post to a blog
** what kind of content to focus on
** how to use your blog as an ezine delivery system
** how to collect subscribers’ email addresses and build a database
** tips for designing the look of your blog
** secrets we’ve discovered to leverage your blog
** how to monetize your blog by driving traffic to your site
**how to get listed with the blog search engines
**a secret about getting listed with search engines for free

You will get
** 4 hours of live classes with guidance and coaching from two internet marketing experts
** access to audio you can refer to after the class
** a transcript of each class
** a complimentary copy of the ebook that is developed from the course

Register Here

Denise Wakeman is having great success with her blog. It was just reviewed over at PowerBlogs. Read about it here.

Happy blogging for the New Year!

Patsi

Read what Debbie Weil has to say about the future of blogs and ezines for 2005:

Question: I read that "blog" is 2004’s Word of the Year. What does this mean for our e-mail marketing in 2005?

Answer: In a nutshell, it means that you should continue your e-mail marketing efforts but consider adding a blog to your online marketing mix. Here are five things to think about as you head into 2005.

• E-mail is now in its mature phase as a killer app. There are best practices you can follow, from adhering to CAN-Spam laws to determining what subject lines prompt a click. If you’re not already employing best practices, now is the time to do so.

• E-newsletters aren’t dead yet. In fact, according to a recent study by MarketingSherpa, 90% of b-to-c and b-to-b marketers are publishing them. And 60% of these companies plan to increase spending on e-newsletters in the coming year. Don’t get left behind. An e-newsletter is a tried and proven online marketing tactic.

• Landing pages are more important than ever. Whether you’re sending e-mail promotions or publishing an e-newsletter, spend more time tweaking the landing page that your readers click through to. This is where conversion happens. Opens and clicks are nice. Conversions to a registration, download or sale are your goal.

• RSS is going mainstream. If that acronym (it stands for Really Simple Syndication) sounds too techie, take a deep breath and try it. First, download an RSS newsreader or subscribe to a Web-based RSS service such as Bloglines.com. There are dozens of RSS readers to choose from; NewsGator.com integrates seamlessly with Outlook. Next, subscribe to RSS news feeds. You’ll find little red RSS icons everywhere, on blogs and on news sites such as CNN.com. Your newsreader will automatically send you the latest entries or posts to whatever feeds you subscribe to. The news or information comes to you instantly and effortlessly. There’s no e-mail—so no spam filters—involved. Soon you’ll understand why lots of folks are excited about RSS.

• Once you’re comfortable with RSS, consider starting a blog as an adjunct to your e-newsletter. Think of a blog as an "always-on" e-newsletter. Blog software is simple and easy to use. It enables anyone to create and post fresh new content to the Web instantly.

• Finally, congratulations! You’re not hiding under a rock if you’ve heard about Merriam-Webster’s Top 10 Words for 2004 http://www.merriamwebster.com/info/04words.htm. "Blog" tops the list as the Word of the Year.

Debbie Weil is president and publisher of WordBiz.com. She blogs at www.DebbieWeil.com and www.BlogWriteForCEOs.com.  She also publishes
www.WordBizReport.com.