Writing and maintaining a blog for your business is a great way to keep in front of customers or clients and position yourself as an expert in your field. A blog can also help drive traffic to your website and rank you higher in search engines. Blogging sounds like a great idea in theory, but who has the time for it? And how can you use it to promote your business? If you are thinking about starting a blog or just aren’t sure what to do with a blog that you have, this workshop is for you! This workshop will answer the 5 Ws for business blogging: Who should be blogging? What can a blog do for me and my business? (Also, what is a blog in the first place?!) Where do I start? Why should I blog for my business? When do I find the time to blog?

1. Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber:
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
presented by Jennifer Barbour
Blogging for Business:
Answering The 5Ws

2. About me
¤ Writer, New Media Coach, Teacher
¤ Chief Engagement Officer (CEO) for Another Jennifer
Writing Lab
¤ Author of another jennifer blog (anotherjennifer.com/
blog) and Crossroads blog (crossroadsme.org/blog)
¤ Started blogging in 2007
¤ More than a decade of experience specifically in
persuasive writing, marketing strategy and research,
media relations and graphic design.

3. W #1
Who should be
blogging?

4. Building a web presence
78% of Internet users
conduct product
research online
Source: HubSpot

5. W #2
What can a blog do for me
and my business?
(Or, possibly, what is a blog in
the first place?!)

6. What a blog can do for you.
¤ Establish expertise, thought leader status
¤ Your platform to educate, advocate, entertain, etc.
¤ Build brand awareness
¤ Build a community
¤ Drive traffic to your website (SEO)

7. W #3
Why should I blog
for my business?

8. Why blog?

9. Why blog?
¤ 57% of businesses have
acquired a customer through
their company blog
¤ Companies that blog get 55%
more web traffic
Source: HubSpot

10. W #4
Where do I start?

11. Answer this question
*What can your
audience
relate to?

12. Blogging best practices
¤ Have a strategy (tweak as needed)
¤ Keep posts simple and short, include an image
¤ Aim for at least 1-2 posts per week (more in the
beginning) – be consistent!
¤ Use tags, categories, social media sharing options
¤ Monitor and reply to comments
¤ Share/publish posts on other social networks
¤ Be authentic!

13. Blog Content Ideas
¤ Your specific expertise
¤ Success stories / testimonials
¤ News / current events
¤ Upcoming events
¤ Helpful tips
¤ Answer common questions
¤ Guest post or cross-post
¤ Write a regular series (ex., Philanthropy Friday)
¤ Whatever is on your mind!

14. W #5
When do I find
the time to blog?

15. Time Management Tips
¤ Dedicate a specific amount of time each week to blog,
comment and share posts
¤ Develop an editorial calendar (or have regular meetings)
¤ Set up Google Alerts to keep track of topics (google.com/
alerts)
¤ Use automatic publishing tools like NetworkedBlogs
¤ Invite your audience to contribute posts
¤ Use Evernote to keep track of ideas

16. Stay Connected
Jennifer Barbour
email: jennifer@anotherjennifer.com
phone: 207.653.4542
website: anotherjennifer.com
facebook: facebook.com/writinglab
twitter: @anotherjenb
linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jenbarbour
stumbleupon: stumbleupon.com/stumbler/anotherjenb/
google+: gplus.to/anotherjennifer