This is a crash course intended to quickly bring bloggers up to speed on today’s best practices for achieving the greatest mileage from your blog posts. Topics include: *How influence works in the blogosphere *Major applications of corporate blogs *Developing a content model *Generating ideas and unique angles *Writing compelling headlines and entries *Positioning and voice *Why top business blogs are successful *Unique characteristics of b-to-b markets *Tricks for generating buzz and recognition *Working with multiple media This slide deck is the basis for a three-hour course that can be delivered live or remotely via webcast.

1. Blogging Essentials Paul Gillin April 2, 2010

2. Agenda Definitions and concepts The new media world Blog structure and elements Culture of the blogosphere - dos and don’ts Finding a voice Generating ideas Building awareness and traffic Search engine optimization Using other channels General discussion

3. Media in collapse US Magazine Circulations Circulation decline of top 100 newspapers in 2009: 10.6% Average age of US daily newspaper reader: 57 Reduction in US newsroom staffs since 2001: 45% Growth in NBC prime time audience, 2008: -14.3% Age of average network evening news viewer: 63

4. The Numbers Active blogs on the Internet: 25-40 million Social networks: 2,900 Social network service providers: >100 Active Facebook members: 200 million Corporations with social media campaigns: >300 Photos on Flickr: 3 billion Twitter membership growth, ’08-’09: 1,438% Pres. Obama’s Facebook friends: 5.9 million

5. What are blogs good for? Timely, frequently updated information Multiple media types Single voice Fixed display Flexible organization Search engine performance

6. Why so popular? Cheap and easy to create and update Have distinct personal voice Can quickly build traffic through reciprocal links Excellent search engine performance Modest revenue opportunity Simple way to keep notes

7. Uses in Business Reinforce Brand

8. Uses in Business Thought Leadership

9. Uses in Business End Run Media

10. Uses in Business Define Culture

11. Uses in Business Educate Prospects

12. Uses in Business Build Trust

13. Blog structure Title & Description Sidebar Individual Entry or “Post”

14. √d Title/Subtitle Fixed pages Search Headline RSS feed Keywords Subheads

15. Blogging success factors Have a clear focus Update frequently Speak distinctively Have a point of view Surprise and delight Link to get links Use all the media you can Educate and assist Ask for feedback

16. Ready to Write

17. What’s Your Topic? People have abundant choice; pick your spots It’s fine to stray from your core topic, but keep 2/3 of entries relevant Dedicate yourself to becoming THE expert in your chosen area Tell people where you specialize Branding Technology Health Care Customer Care Strategy Analytics Search

18. Who’s Your Reader? Professional? Enthusiast? Peer? Novice? Investor? Competitor? Media It may help to post a picture of that person on your office wall! You can’t communicate effectively with an audience you don’t know. When you write, visualize your reader.

19. Find Your Voice Read mainstream media and other bloggers and comment upon them Frame issues in a context that reflects your expertise Be offbeat and occasionally outrageous Write in a voice that feels right to you Think conversation, not lecture Use multiple media Mix it up: Top 10 lists, predictions, best & worst, link lists

20. What’s Your Persona? Helpful? Funny? Offbeat? Sympathetic? Snarky? Professorial? Unpredictable? Think of people whose writing you admire, then write like they do, but only if it’s natural for you

21. Generating Ideas

22. Ideas: rss feeds Subscribe to sites you like Look for “trending” topics Aggregate or add your own commentary Share & comment Create topical feeds

23. Ideas: Trending Topics Tag clouds and discovery sites show what’s new and topical Bookmarking sites have element of surprise

24. A DELICIOUS FILTER

25. Other Idea Foundries Get angry Aggregate other opinions Tell a story Conduct a poll Make a list Predict something, then defend Recommend what you love Discover and share Serialize Imagine having written a great article Use keyword searches Interview someone Visit a quote site Talk to children Consult a notebook Write case studies Write about your week Create a top 10 list

26. Making Your Point

27. Focus, Focus, Focus Ask yourself, “What’s the post about?” Say what you’re going to say, say it, then say what you just said. Make your point at the outset Limit the number of points you make in each entry Invite feedback Rule of Thumb: If you have more than two key points, create a new entry

28. Secrets of Clear Writing Use everyday words Write as you speak Write it like a letter Keep sentences short Use voice recognition or dictate into a recorder Use Word readability stats Ask a friend/spouse/ child to review your work “I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” --Blaise Pascal

29. I just can’t get started Start in the middle Write freeform, then edit Imagine a different scene Start listing bullet points Model someone else’s work Take a walk Tell story to a friend or colleague

30. Many Approaches

31. Quiz: Test Your Engagement IQ Skeptic: Why Marketers Fail at Engagement Case Study: How One Company Does it Right Contrarian: Think You’re Engaged? Think Again How To: Five Steps to Improving Customer Engagement First Person: How I Learned to Engage Comparison: How Two Companies Approach Customer Engagement Q&A: Five Common Questions About Engagement Data: Study Shines New Light on Customer Engagement Outrageous: YourEngagement Strategy Sucks Humorous: Engagement Haiku Offbeat: Engagement: The Movie Alternative Approaches

32. Headline Current: Let’s Get Engaged! Other Possibilities: Five Goals for Customer Engagement Redefining Engagement Engagement Scorecard How Engaged Are Your Customers? Why Marketers Fail at Engagement Failing to Engage? Here’s Why

33. Don’t… Flame or use abusive language Repeat personal or confidential information Complain about clients, colleagues or competitors Gripe about media coverage Be overtly commercial Your blog is public and searchable. People are watching!

34. Have Some Fun! OK Labs uses "social objects," or distinct icons, to create a memorable association. “It’s been a way for people to feel that they know the company before doing business with the company,” says Marti Konstant, VP of marketing

35. Promoting your work

37. URL

38. H1,H2,H3 tags

39. Page Text

40. Bold25% Is On-page Visible Source: HubSpot

41. Search fundamentals 25% Is On-page Visible Description Keywords Alt Images

42. 75% is Word-of-Mouth “There’s only one way to guarantee good search results: Have great content.” --Mike Moran Co-author: Search Engine Marketing, Inc

43. Being visible Link internally Link externally Use tags, categories Register with aggregators Ask for “link love” Promote outbound links File a site map Bookmark and tweet

44. Link Opportunities Link to relevant blog entry or Quaero service

45. New Publishing Lifecycle Begins as a tweet Becomes a blog entry Feeds a podcast Stokes a white paper That gets tweeted!

46. Publish Everywhere 32 million members 44 million members 300 million members 1 billion daily views 1 million daily visitors 6 million daily visitors 1.5 million daily visitors 10 million members 50 million members

47. Promote Your Content

48. Promote what others say

49. Tricks of the trade Encourage and respond to comments Comment elsewhere Play reporter Serialize Use themes Give stuff away Complement with photos, podcasts & video

50. Tracking success Traffic – unique visitors vs. page views Technorati rankings RSS subscriptions Google linkto: and allinanchor: De.licio.us and Technorati tags Trackbacks

51. Many ways to measure Customer complaints Website Visitors Impressions Positive press Click-throughs YouTube views Retweets Coupons distributed Visitors to a brick & mortar store Positive WOM Delivered emails Negative press Negative WOM Employment applications Blog comments FaceBook friends Social mention Twitter followers Source: BrandBuilder

52. Thank you! Paul Gillin 508-656-0734 paul@gillin.com www.gillin.com Twitter: pgillin Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter at gillin.com Available on Amazon or at NewInfluencers.com Available on Amazon or at SSMMbook.com Coming late 2010: Social Marketing to the Business Customer By Paul Gillin & Eric Schwartzman