Blogging to Drive Business

Introduction 1 How This Book Is Organized 2 Conventions Used in This Book 3 Web Pages 3 Special Elements 3 There's More Online 4 1 Why Are Blogs So Important? 5 Media Growth Is in One Area: Online 6 Get the Message Out 6 Blog Popularity 8 Hello,World! 8 Promote Products and Services 10 Reach People 12 Keep Pushing Content 13 Drive People to the Blog 13 Crowdsourcing 13 Case Studies: Intel and Adidas 15 Intel Inside Scoop Blog 15 Adidas Soccer MySpace Blog 17 Summary 21 2 Leveraging Your Blog with Marketing Tools 23 Online Marketing 24 Web Site 24 E-Mail Marketing 24 More Work! and Potential Solutions 25 Offline Marketing 29 Pushing Information via RSS 31 Getting Customers to Subscribe 33 Taking Care of Your Readers 33 Case Studies 34 City of Arvada 34 The Sacramento Bee 36 Summary 38 3 Creating a Blogging Strategy 39 Blogging Platforms 40 WordPress.com 40 TypePad 42 Vox 44 Blogger 44 LiveJournal 45 Blog Software 46 Finding the Blog Best for Your Business 49 Vlogs 49 Photoblogs 50 Podcast Blogs 51 Tumblelogs 52 Microblogs 53 Moblogs 55 Combining Blogs with Other Networking Sites 56 MySpace 56 Facebook 57 LinkedIn 58 Twitter 59 Case Studies 60 BusinessWeek 60 KCBS Radio, San Francisco 62 Summary 64 4 Blogging Responsibly 65 Listen to Your Audience 66 Two-Way Discussions 66 Listening by Sharing 67 Tools to Help You Listen 69 Comments and Responding to Them 74 Comment Forms 74 When to Moderate Comments 74 Negative Feedback Can Help You Grow 76 Dealing with Negative Feedback 77 Case Study: Molson Coors Brewing Company 78 Summary 81 5 Finding Topics to Write About 83 Writing Blogs for the Wider World 84 Creating an Industry Resource Blog 84 Create an Online Community 86 Case Study: Canucks Fan Zone 88 Creating an Internal Blog (or Blogs) for Your Company 90 Keep People Informed 90 Internal Blogs for Project Management 91 Product Blog (External) 92 Summary 94 6 Who Will Write the Blog? 95 Writing from Within a Company 96 Identifying Authors 96 Client Services and Tech

Eric Butow is CEO of Butow Communications Group (BCG), a Web design and online marketing firm in Jackson, California. Eric has written a wide variety of computing books since 2000, and his latest titles include User Interface Design for Mere Mortals, How to Succeed in Business Using LinkedIn, as well as custom For Dummies titles for F5 Networks and Hewlett-Packard. When Eric isn't writing or running his business, you'll catch him reading and enjoying the weather of the Sierra foothills. Rebecca Bollwitt is the co-founder of sixty4media, which specializes in WordPress design and development as well as social media consulting in Vancouver, British Columbia. Rebecca has been blogging since 2004 on Miss604.com, and podcasting about music and hockey since 2005.Miss604.com was voted "Best Vancouver Blog" of 2009 in The Georgia Straight and in 2008, she was listed within the top ten "Most Influential in Canadian Social Media" by Profectio.com. She has organized social media conferences and charity fundraisers, including Blogathon Vancouver, Twestival Local, and the Best of 604 Awards.

"A great read! If you're looking to start a blog for your business, this is the book for you. It's well-written and comprehensive, including case studies and examples of real companies to make the concepts easy to understand." --Dee Barizo, performancing.com "Blogging to Drive Business does an excellent job at educating the market on the critical elements required for success in the digital economy. After all, businesses only gain market share when they communicate in a way that enhances relationships. Blogging to Drive Business provides the roadmap for success!" --Jay Deragon, Social Media Strategist "To connect with today's buyer, you need to stop pushing your message out and start pulling your customers in. And there is no better tool for this than the blog! Blogging to Drive Business is an essential guide for any business wishing to use a blog to attract a steady stream of inbound opportunities." --Paul Dunay, Global Managing Director of Services and Social Marketing, Avaya Inc. "This book provides business owners and entrepreneurs hands-on advice on starting a blog--why planning is important, who should be contributing, what tools are available, and where to find additional resources and content ideas. The authors make good use of case studies to address many of the commonly asked questions about blogging. If you've been on the fence about starting a blog, this book will help you draw an action plan." --Valeria Maltoni, Conversation Agent "Butow and Bollwitt have assembled a practical guide for any company to follow as they develop a blogging strategy. Their approach is firmly planted in driving business success without overburdening executives with impractical advice or ideological mantras. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to take advantage of a blogging strategy to promote their business and connect with prospective and current customers." --Jeff Nolan, Venture Chronicles "If you are looking for a practical guide to show you exactly how to