6 Copy Tips for SMB Blogging
Friday, August 29, 2008Posted by John Beagle
Deadline got your panicked?
by John Beagle
Dealing with a minor case of 'writers' or 'bloggers' block, Heather Lloyd-Martin can relate, being a professional blogger for over 10 years. In a recent article she wrote, "Breaking through blogger's block", Heather Lloyd-Martin, CEO of SuccessWorks helps writers with some professional advice.
Personally, I've been blogging for 8 years. And I have a staff of bloggers who work for me. In addition to my staff, I enlist family, friends, posters, sales people and technical people at my company to blog.
With permission from Heather, I took some of her ideas and added my ideas to come up with 6 tips for SMB Blogging.
Tip 1 Don't push the process if you're not feeling creative. This can be incredibly tricky if you're on deadline – after all, "the Muse isn't with me" isn't a reasonable excuse for a missed milestone. However, if you have some wiggle room, it's amazing how a half-day break can make a huge difference. (Lloyd-Martin)
Tip 2 Blurt it out when you can. If conditions are right and you can knock out significant copy, tell everyone to leave you alone and go for it. It won't happen often, but when it does, go for it. (Beagle)
Tip 3 Enlist an accountabilabuddy (thank you, South Park, for that fantastic term.) More nag than Muse, your accountabilabuddy isn't afraid to ask you hard questions like, "Did you write something today?" Or, "So, I checked your blog today. When ARE you going to write…something?" The good news? After enough nagging, you'll get embarrassed at your laziness, give in and write. Trust me. (And thank you, Ron.) (Lloyd-Martin)
Tip 4 Create an editorial calendar. Newspapers and magazines plan their story ideas months in advance. Although "months in advance" may not be applicable in the blogging world, planning a week's worth of content is a snap. Besides, you'll save scads of time wondering what you should write about. (Lloyd-Martin)
Top 5 Let it flow -communication with people and industry experts gives me ideas I need for blogging. If you can't act on the idea right away, write it down. I've kicked myself many times over the great blog idea that got away and went poof out of my brain. (Beagle)
Tip 6 Blog about what you know -Blog about your products, your employees, your services, your customers, your location(s) and your vendors. (Beagle)
In summary, make sure your company has a voice on the web.
You can do it.
Just do it.