Blogging for Business
Thinking of jumping on the business blog bandwagon? Hop aboard, there’s plenty of room. But be aware that writing a business blog is significantly different from writing a business e-zine. You’ll need to adjust your writing style, and much more, to suit this burgeoning new medium. Get blogging wrong, and you could attract unwanted attention from angry customers, partners, employees—or your boss. Even worse, in the eyes of the blogosphere, your blog could be totally ignored. So here are eight tips to get you writing a business blog with the best of them:
Stay focused: Whenever possible, limit yourself to just one topic per blog entry, or “post.” If you want to discuss several closely related topics, group them together in a single entry. Otherwise, write separate entries, one for each topic, and post them separately, too.
Keep it short: Yes, there are plenty of windbags on the Web who post long, long, long entries. Don’t be one of them. Few people enjoy reading 5,000 words onscreen. Instead, write a paragraph or three, add a few links, and be done.
Write often: With a blog, frequency matters. Many bloggers post once a day, even several times a day. While that’s not necessary for most business blogs, I recommend a minimum of at least two entries a week. Less frequently than that, and visitors will sense that you’re not serious, and they won’t return. Besides, if you’re posting less than twice a week, you’re writing a column, not a blog.
Have something to say: Just because you need to blog frequently doesn’t mean you can fill the space with random ramblings. Instead, make sure you’re presenting either new factual information, or an original, provocative opinion on some already-existing facts. In general, factual blog entries are easier to write, but opinion blogs are more likely to garner attention and discussion.
Be clear about what’s opinion, what’s fact: While this is important for nearly all types of writing, it’s especially important for a business blog. Because linking online is so easy, you don’t want other sites passing off your opinions as facts, or vice versa. So whenever you present a fact, be sure to give a full attribution. For example, if you wrote that the population of Nevada will grow faster than any other state’s between 2000 and 2030, you would simply add, “according to forecasts by the U.S. Census Bureau.” You may also want to add a hyperlink to the original article, report, or other source (see “Link, don’t explain,” below). Likewise, when presenting your own opinion, preface it with something like, “In my opinion…” or “I believe…” How about spreading rumors? In my opinion (!), that’s something a business blog writer should not do.
Link, don’t explain: As a blogger, you won’t need to define terms, present a lot of background information, or explain much. That’s because you can hyperlink instead. For example, when discussing a technology standard, simply link the term to the relevant standards organization or an online reference. Or, if you’re bragging about your company’s latest earnings report, link to your Investor Relations press release rather than presenting all the numbers in your blog. Don’t worry about learning HTML; adding a link is simple. Just tag the word(s) you want linked as follows: Y, where X is the full URL you want to link to, and Y is the word or phrase you want hyperlinked.
Don’t steal: Respect the copyrights of others as you would have them respect your own. I’ve seen business bloggers post complete articles from business magazines, other Web sites, etc., as a way of sharing information with their readers. While these bloggers’ intentions may be good, they’re breaking the law. Instead, when you want to bring good information on someone else’s Web site to your visitors’ attention, post a short summary of the article written in your own words, and add a link to the full article. This way, you’ll both inform your readers and stay on the right side of the law.
Understand (or help create) your company’s blogging policy: You don’t want to find out that your CEO hates blogs three weeks after you’ve launched your own blog. Some companies “get” blogging, and some don’t. Some companies allow blogging, but insist that all blog entries be professionally edited, copyedited, and vetted by the legal department before they can be posted. Others allow bloggers to DIY. Find out where you company stands before you get started, and play by the rules. And if you don’t like the rules, get involved with your company’s committees, workforces, etc., and do what you can to change them.
Now that you understand the basic rules of writing a business blog, you’re ready to take advantage of this powerful medium. Happy blogging!
Peter Krass is the president and founder of Petros Consulting LLC, a firm that helps clients improve their written communications.
