Is your company blogging yet? With the soaring cost of postage and pay-per-click advertising, blogging offers catalogers a powerful channel to get their message to prospects and customers worldwide. The cost is low. The impact is high. Here are 11 steps to get you started.
1. READ LOTS OF BLOGS. Before you start your own blog, spend at least two weeks voraciously reading. Choose an RSS reader; I recommend Google Reader. Get familiar with blog search engines, such as Technorati. Find bloggers writing about niches related to your company, products, industry, customers, etc.
Add bloggers you like to your RSS reader. Follow their link-outs to find more bloggers. Intentionally oversubscribe to feeds. Aim for 50 feeds in your RSS reader by the end of the second week. Oversubscribing helps you understand which blogs keep your attention. It also lets you experience how readers decide to subscribe and unsubscribe. After you hit overload, pare down your reading list to a comfortable level.
2. READ BOOKS. To understand why blogs are revolutionary, read these books: “Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers” (Wiley, 2006) by Scoble and Israel, and “The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual” (Perseus Books, 2001) by Locke, Levine, Searls and Weinberger. For stories and tactics, check basic blogging books, such as “Clear Blogging: How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them” (Apress, 2007) by Bob Walsh.
3. MAKE COMMENTS. Before you start, get comfortable commenting on blogs in your niche. Commenting offers a gentle way to ease into the conversation.
4. PICK YOUR PLATFORM. Decide if you’ll download software or use a hosted application. I’m partial to WordPress because of its rich ecosystem of plug-ins and themes. I suggest running this free software in-house, if your IT team can accommodate.
