This webinar is brought to you by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the W20 Group. The focus is an introduction to blogging for small businesses. Aaron Strout | @aaronstrout was the moderator of the webinar. Caron Beesley | @caronbeesley, an SBA blogger and Simon Salt | @incslinger, a small business blogger/digital strategist, were the panelists.

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Blogging 101: Helping You Get Started
May 2013

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• Aaron Strout, Managing Director, W2O Group
• Co-author of Location-Based Marketing for Dummies
• Blog: http://blog.wcgworld.com
• Twitter: @aaronstrout
Today’s Speakers
• Simon Salt, Digital Marketing Strategist/Small Business Blogger
• Author of Social Location Marketing
• Blog: http://www.theincslingers.com/blog/
• Twitter: @incslinger
• Caron Beesley, Blogger, SBA.gov Community
• Small business owner, writer & marketing communications consultant.
• Blog: http://www.sba.gov/community/blog_contributors/1631
• Twitter: @caronbeesley

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• We ARE recording this webinar. You will
receive an e-mail with a link to the webinar
in the next 48 hours.
• Feel free to ask questions via the
“Questions” module in the GoTo panel on
the right of your screen.
• If you want to follow along on the back-
channel via Twitter, the hashtag is
#SBASocial.
Housekeeping
Special thank you to Justin Levy of Citrix for providing today’s GoTo Webinar platform – gotomeeting.com

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blog /blôg/
Noun
Short for web log: a type of website that is changed
regularly to give the latest news. The page usually
contains a person or business’s opinions, insights
or experiences. Many blogs allow for other people
to comment on the posts on the site.

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The Basics
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Top (Free) Blogging Platforms
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Top (Free) Commenting Platforms
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US Blogging Stats For 2012
42,000,000 Blogs in the US
329 Million People View A Blog Monthly
25 Billion Pages Viewed Monthly
500,000 Daily New Posts
400,000 Daily Comments
8 Source: http://blogging.org/blog/blogging-stats-2012-infographic/

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Businesses Blogging Stats
There are an
estimated 31
Million bloggers
in the US as of
July 2012
60% of
Businesses
have a Business
Blog
35% Blog At
Least Once A
Month
65% Haven’t
Blogged Once
In The Past Year
9 Source: http://blogging.org/blog/blogging-stats-2012-infographic/

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Value of Business Blogs
• Good for search engine optimization (SEO)
• Way to demonstrate thought leadership
• Lead generator
• Opportunity to showcase employees, partners and
clients
• Smart way to involve key stake holders in conversations
• Flexible way to present content on your website
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While sharing is important,
the real control rests with the 1 percent
The 1-9-90 Principle of
Social Media
Source: Jake McKee; Manhattan Research, Cybercitizen Health® v2.0-9.0

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Best Practices
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• The key to effective blogging: write. And then write some more.
• Find an Editor: Nearly all writing benefits from an extra pair of eyes. Find a
good editor – or let us help – to spot leaps in logic and typos.
• Read/Research as Much as Possible: Blogs are a vehicle for both original
perspective and commentary. Understanding what others are saying can help
refine the arguments you wish to make.
• Prepare for a long-term commitment: Blogs are designed for continual updating;
Do you have something to say today? Tomorrow? A year from now
Road Rules

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What to blog about
• Have a goal and keep it in mind
- Thought leadership
- Information sharing
- Improved SEO
• Get ideas from others
- From customers, other bloggers, your industry
- Use comments feature/social media for ideas and input
- Tie in marketing campaigns / topical events
• Write within your means
• Showcase people
- Introduce your staff, what do they bring to the table
- Interview an industry expert

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What to blog about (cont.)
• Be helpful – offer tips, “how-to” content
- Become the go-to resource in your area of expertise
• Share the load – invite guest bloggers
• For more ideas, read:
• http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/
never-run-out-blog-topic-ideas-here-are-36

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Writing your blog – write for your reader
• Improve your hit rate with headlines that resonate with
the reader but also with the search engine (“Top 10
ways to…”, “5 Tips…”, “How-to…” work well)
• Avoid musings – in the headline, in the intro, get straight
to the point
• Start with a question - what is it you want to answer for
your readers?
• End with a question
• Be conversational – connect with the reader
• Link, link, link - you can’t convey everything in one article
- Link to bulleted list of “Related Articles” and “Additional
Resources” at end of post

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Writing your blog post – formatting is your
friend

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Bring Your Blog to Life with Images
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Respect Copyright
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Never use images/content/etc found on the web
unless you have permission or the site states
permission and under what conditions
– Look for the Creative Commons copyright license
symbols which make it easy to know how to share
content legally

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Blog Titles – The Good, the OK, the ?!
• Write your
headline last
• Be descriptive
• Be concise
• How do you
search?
• Use tips, how to’s
and questions
• Don’t make
statements

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Managing your Time
• Maintain an editorial calendar
• Keep blogs to 500-700 words

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Sharing Your Content
• Plugins for sharing across Social Networks – supported
on all platforms
• Use Social Networks individually – craft different
messages for each platform. E.g. Twitter, Facebook,
Linkedin, G+
• Build a network of co-authors you can share links with
• Build a presence on other blogs that post content that
supports yours, leave a comment with a link to your post
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Case Study
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• River Pools and Spas – Owner, Marcus Sheridan, started in 2008 by answering
customers questions via blog posts
• Today, his company gets more traffic than any other pool company in the world
Source: http://www.copyblogger.com/brick-and-mortar-content-marketing/

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Round Table Discussion
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Small Business Blogs
• SBA’s Blog
http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs
• Jim Connolly’s Marketing Blog – Marketing tips and ideas to
help you grow your business – http://jimsmarketingblog.com
• Escape from Cubicle Nation – advice for small/startup biz
http://www.escapefromcubiclenation.com/pamela-slims-blog
• CopyBlogger – All things content marketing for small biz –
• http://www.copyblogger.com/blog/
• Duct Tape Marketing –
http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog/
• WCG’s Blog (a W2O Group Company) –
http://blog.wcgworld.com

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Questions?
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THANK YOU!
• Aaron Strout, Managing Director, W2O Group
• Co-author of Location-Based Marketing for Dummies
• Blog: http://blog.wcgworld.com
• Twitter: @aaronstrout
• Simon Salt, Digital Marketing Strategist/Small Business Blogger
• Author of Social Location Marketing
• Blog: http://www.theincslingers.com/blog/
• Twitter: @incslinger
• Caron Beesley, Blogger, SBA.gov Community
• Small business owner, writer & marketing communications consultant.
• Blog: http://www.sba.gov/community/blog_contributors/1631
• Twitter: @caronbeesley