May 22, 2006

It's always interesting to see the kinds of questions that will come up during a live seminar on business blogging.  Some of the questions are ubiquitous, some are unique to what the speakers are saying. 

If you'd like to view/listen to the recorded seminar that generated these questions, feel free to do so here.

On to the questions and answers:

Q.  What happened with WalMart?

A.  Tara adroitly talked about that the other day.  Check out the controversy here.

Q.  I work for an online publisher who already publishes blog-type editorial/opinion content in a traditional article format. Are there compelling reasons to change that format to a blog?

A.  Open up the content to conversations.  Engage your readers in discussing the news with you.  As in any dialogue, you'll find yourselves speaking with thoughtful, opinionated, enthusiastic (and yes, sometimes fanatic) people.  And you just might learn something from them/about them/ or with them.

In addition, if you are looking to interact or engage with a more youthful, technically-savvy audience, the folks who are living in that space today expect to have online conversations where they can debate, discuss, question and qualify...  I'd be compelled by that... 

If you want a better perspective than mine, check out some coverage of the Wall Street Journal's interview with Richard Edelman here at the Blog Business Summit site.  (Read some of their other posts, too, they're great people.)

Q.  I'm a publisher of a B2B magazine company and I'm interested in a blog for the community we serve> How do I make money from a blog?

A.  That's the most oft-asked question I have seen at seminars covering blogging.  And for a publisher, my answer would be that if you continue to deliver compelling, relevant, thoughtful content, you'll drive additional advertising revenue - no matter what the communication channel.  Be it a blog, a web site, an RSS feed or a newsletter, good content will drive subscribers which, in turn, will drive advertising. 

And speaking of subscribers, blog readers trend to the technically savvy (which means they're likely to be male, in the 18-34 age group, and generally in the higher income and education groups).  Unless I'm mistaken, many advertisers are looking to reach exactly that demographic. 

Q.  We are a non-profit professional assoc. that sets standards for the equipment and operations in a worldwide industry. Do you have any additional recommendations for blogging/responding to blogs?

A.  At the risk of sounding trite, do it!  If you belong to a standard-setting body, it's your job to know what's going on in your industry, to shape trends, make recommendations, and anticipate needs.  If I were you, I'd be combing the blogosphere for information about your industry every day.  Type in a few key phrases to Technorati for starters.  Find out who's discussing your industry.  Then find whom they link to in order to extend your sphere of influence.  It can take some time, but do it.  Then comment on their blogs.  At minimum.  If you want more interaction, blog about their posts and track back to them. 

If you want to learn more about these terms, download Marqui's Gross Blog Anatomy whitepaper here.  It'll give you a nice, simple overview of how all these things work to further connect you in the blogosphere.

Q.  How often should an executive blog be updated?

A.  Blogs should be updated regularly - I think the rule of thumb for an executive blog should be to produce fresh content once or twice a week.  Share the love (and writing) among a couple of executives and blog more often if you're going to really commit to this new communications channel.  When I see a corporate blog that sits for more than a week without a post, I question the intent of the company.  Are they committed, or are they just trying to jump on the bandwagon?

Of course, there are many, many strategic questions that need to be answered before you open your organization to a blog.  We hope to continue to provide wisdom and advice as you consider your blog strategy.  And we happen to provide a tool to help you actually manage your blog when you're ready to go. 

If any of us can help you as you negotiate these waters, we'd love to.  Just send us a note, and we'll give it a shot.

Posted by at May 22, 2006

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