BusinessBlogAngel

"Continue Reading" With Style: Practical Tips for Business Bloggers

The "continue reading" option is a great way to keep the front page of your business blog tidy and easy to read.

[Actually I'm feeling a bit bad about writing this post, because on my own blog (Confident Writing) I've got out of the habit of using it.  Which means I've got a mixture of short and long posts on my front page, and more scrolling required than is sensible.  Hmm.  Maybe writing this post will get me back into good habits.]

There are a few points to bear in mind though when you're using the "post continuation" function to make sure you get the most out of it, and provide your reader with the best possible reader and visitor experience.

5 Good Reasons To Link Out In Your Business Blog Posts

I've got a post coming up in the 'Showing Off Your Content' series on how to format links, but before we get on to the how it's maybe worth spending a few minutes on the why.

I know a lot of people feel awkward about linking out when they first start to blog.  And at first glance it does seem kind of counter-intuitive. 

You want internet visitors to stick around on your site: to read about your business, learn more about what you do and what you're about.

You want to position yourself as the 'go to' expert in your niche.  So surely the last thing you'd want to do is provide links that point away from your business blog, towards the work of other people? Right?

Thinking About Adding Podcasts To Your Business Blog?

If you're thinking about dipping your toes into the waters of podcasting you might enjoy this podcast (audio show).  It's an interview that Sarah Rourke did with me about the podcasts I've started to do at Confident Writing

You can listen to the interview here - the link takes you to an MP3 which you can play on the computer or download and play later if you're set up for such things.  It's just over 15 minutes long and is mainly about ways to get over any barriers to getting started.

Sarah (also known as the Rat Race Escape Artist) has set up a service to help you with podcasting and other audio services.  You'll find out more at her new site The Audio Pod Artist.

One Simple Programme That Can Save You Blogging Time: Practical Tips for Business Bloggers

No, this time we're not talking Typepad but a simple little programme that can save you time, energy and lots of wasted effort. 

It's called Notepad...

...and luckily for you it's free, easy to use, and already installed on your computer. 

You'll find it in the list of programmes when you click on your 'Start' menu (probably bottom left of your screen).  Mine comes up in a list of icons that looks like this.

It looks very plain and simple, just like a blank sheet of paper, and that's precisely why it saves you blogging time and energy.  It has the effect of stripping out bits of code from things you might have copied or worked on elsewhere, keeping things nice and clean to go into your post.

This is a real stitch in time to save nine - although it might not seem like much we promise it will save you time in the long run... and might cause you hassle if you don't.

Break Up Your Posts With Quotes: Practical Tips for Business Bloggers

There are loads of good reasons for using quotes in your blog posts.

As Emerson said: “The next thing to saying a good thing yourself, is to quote one.”

You can use quotes to:

• Provide food for thought - for you and your readers

• Link out - to the work of other bloggers (more to come on how and why to link)

• Add variety to your blog

• Help you keep blogging when you're busy

• Break up chunks of text and give your readers an eye rest

The trick to the last point is remembering to use the block quotes function, which you'll find in your toolbar. (You start the quote with the "open speech marks" and show where it's come to an end with the "close speech marks").  That way you're showing off your quote, letting your reader grab the message, and making your post a lot more readable.  It'll end up indented, like this:

A short saying often contains much wisdom (Sophocles)

As an extra tip, I find it easier to apply the block quotes after I've done the rest of the post - that way you're less likely to unwittingly select the rest of the text which can lead to a bit of unpicking of the code.

There are lots of good quote sites that you can use - like ThinkExist and BrainyQuote - though if you're anything like me you've probably already acquired a good collection of your own.  (Or perhaps you're famous enough that you're now being quoted!)   

Do you use quotes as part of your blogging technique?  If not, could you see a way to work some in?

---

This is part 3 of the mini-series Showing Off Your Content, part of the new Practical Tips for Business Bloggers programme at Business Blog Angel.

Part 1: Should I Have A Welcome Post On My Blog?

Part 2: Use Bold And Bullets To Break Up Your Posts

If you've got questions or comments you'd like us to cover here please leave us a message in the comment box and we'll see what we can do...

Meantime, have a Happy Easter all.

Use Bold And Bullets To Break Up Your Posts: Practical Tips For Business Bloggers

If you're a business blogger then you're also a writer and a publisher on the web.  And that means you need to change some of your writing and formatting practice for people who are reading on the web.

There's a lot (lot, lot, lot) of information, research, tips and advice on this subject and it's definitely an area that's worth reading up on.  But a good place to start is just to start thinking about ways that you can break up your posts - with much shorter paragraphs than you're used to, more frequent use of bullet points and lists, and using bold to highlight key points, and help readers who scan.  (In case you're wondering, that's pretty much everyone - it's how we read online.)

Here's a quick illustration of the difference this can make:

Business blog benefits - can social media work for ALL businesses?

Most business owners and managers I speak to are quick to recognise the benefits and huge potential that a 'social media marketing' and 'business blogging' strategy can offer.  But occasionally, I'll meet someone who whilst 'getting' the theory, simply cannot imagine what on earth they'd write about. Certainly, some businesses might have an easier time of it than others, but I truly believe that there's a solution for everyone.  Proof, it it were needed, might be this business blog from UK wide skip hire business TopSkips.com which I discovered yesterday.   

The Skip Hire Blog is maintained by TopSkips' MD Mark Attwood and is a great business blog example. The content is fun, relevant and useful. The tone is, as it should be, light and conversational.  The varied use of media - audio, video and text - all adds to the visitor experience.  But perhaps most importantly, Mark clearly understands the power of key words.  Many of us struggle to identify the best keywords for our business - not so here; Mark is wisely keeping it simple with just the one term - 'skip hire' - which he then uses in the post title, in the post body and in the tags - lovely. 

What else could Mark be doing to drive traffic and Google ranking?

Should I Have A Welcome Post On My Blog? Practical Tips For Business Bloggers

We thought we'd kick off the new mini-series by starting from the top, exploring a question lots of business bloggers ask:

Should I have welcome post at the top of my blog?

A "welcome post" is an introductory post that sits at the top of your blog.  It's the first post that your visitors see - assuming they come in through the front door (the URL to your blog) rather than a side entry (any blog post they've found through a link, a search engine, a social media site etc.)

It stays at the top if you mark it as 'featured'.  This means that it always stays at the top, and anything else you post will appear underneath it.  It's interesting that when you opt to mark a post as featured Typepad gives you a warning message: are you sure? 

It's a good question to ask yourself. 

Are you sure you want to have a welcome post?

Showing Off Your Content: Part 1 Of The Practical Tips For Business Bloggers Series

Yes, we’re ready to roll with the new Practical Tips For Business Bloggers Series. 

There’s so much content to cover we’ve broken it down into 7 “mini-series”... 

The first installment is Showing Off Your Content: practical ways to show off your content - the raw material in your posts  - to best effect.

We’re going to cover:

• the pros and cons of having a welcome post
• how to format links
• the split screen feature
• using block quotes, bold, italics, and bullet points to help readers who scan
• how to use cut and paste for material you’re importing from elsewhere (without decimating your formatting!)
• the many benefits of adding a footer at the bottom of your posts

Let us know if there’s more you want us to cover in this section, but don’t forget there’s another 6 topics we’ll be working our way through, so there’s plenty of time to cover the practical tips that are going to make the biggest difference to you.

---

The Practical Tips For Business Bloggers series is for business bloggers who are just getting started, who've been blogging for a while, but always wondered how to (x, y or z...) and bloggers who are always looking for ways to improve their blog.

Episode 1 Should I Have A Welcome Post On My Blog?

Episode 2 Use Bold and Bullets to Break Up Your Posts

Episode 3 Break Up Your Posts With Quotes

Don't forget to subscribe to the feed if you want to keep up with future episodes.

Practical Tips For Business Bloggers: Introducing A New Series At BizBlogAngel

There's nothing like blogging about something to get it clearer in your mind. 

Now that we've convinced ourselves (and hopefully you too!) of the merits of writing a blog series, branding posts and creating a product that's going to have a long shelf-life Claire and I couldn't wait to launch our new mega-series.

It's called Practical Tips For Business Bloggers... and yes, it'll do just what it says on the tin :-)

The series is aimed at business bloggers who:

• are just getting started
• have been blogging for a while, but always wondered how to (x, y or z...)
• are always looking for ways to improve their blog

And if that sounds like you, read on.