A Pint of Guinness, Bowling & Blogs: Notes from Our 1st Biz-Blogger Convention

A Pint of Guinness, Bowling, Billiards & Blogs: Notes from Our First Biz-Blogger Convention

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The first meeting/convention of our newly-established biz-blog "think-tank" took place last month at our local bowling alley. The following are points which all five participants (if "three is a crowd" why can’t five be considered a convention?) reached consensus on as being critical factors in business blogging:

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  1) Blogging is the single best, most-cost effective way to promote a business. It is 100% free! If you don’t like free for some reason and are intent on spending money, go rent a blimp, billboards, a newspaper ad, or get out your credit card for any other type of paid advertising you so desire. Our advice: blogs are free and free advertising is good!

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  2) Consistency is the key! Time needed is minimal and will pay dividends. 2-4 hours/week should suffice to keep a blog going strong.

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  3) A blog must be informative, educational, timely and relevant. If not, it will be, well…uninformative, uneducational, untimely and irrelevant. That’s not good. A biz-blog is the perfect venue to display your knowledge, acumen, skills and to prove to prospective clients that you are an expert in your field of endeavour. Show them that you are someone who is worthy of being hired!

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  4) A blog can and should be entertaining, witty, thought-provoking, unconventional (if the moment calls for it) and/or intriguing to keep readers coming back.

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  5) A regular blog should be thought of as a regular blog (not that there is anything wrong with a regular blog). A business-blog on the other hand should be thought of as a means for drumming up business and establishing your name and the name of your company in the business world. It is a crucial mindset!

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  6) Never forget that every prospective reader of your blog is a prospective customer! Give them links to your profile and/or website, testimonials and portfolios. If they are interested in the services or goods which you provide, give them every reason to stick around after they finish reading your article.

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  7) A blog should offer tidbits and snippets of advice and tips, and/or steps, lessons and principles to achieve a certain goal. Readers love feeling that they are getting something worthwhile…so give it to them!

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  A bland, black and white, generic blog template is, well…bland, black, white and generic. Jazz it up with a bit of color. Change some fonts. Add some photos that are relevant. Embed a video if you have one. Make it more than just words, make it an experience!

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  9) Once you start writing a blog, don’t just stop. A business whose last posting was two, three, four or five months ago looks like a business that went belly-up. Customers might wrongly assume that you are no longer in business. Additionally, a blog which ceases abruptly gives the message of lack of follow-through, commitment and perseverance. It just looks bad

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  10) If you want business as a result of your blog, you must sell yourself in your blog! Speak about yourself somehow in the blog or use a byline at the end to tell the reader who you are, what your business is and what you have to offer. Your blog is your opportunity to shine…don’t be shy about it.

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  11) A blog can’t exist in a vacuum! It must be linked to relevant social networking sites and bookmarking sites. A general rule of thumb is: if your blog can’t be found, it won’t be read!

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  12) A blog needs life. Don’t just speak about a subject on its own. Relate it to life itself, current events, news, politics, sports, trends, technology, etc. Breathe life, energy, vigor, and enthusiasm into each piece. There is a whole world of subjects out there to incorporate into blog articles. Use them!

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  13) Stick a picture of yourself in your blog articles or in the template. People like to see who is doing the writing. It personalizes and humanizes the whole experience.

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Not-Necessarily-Blogging-Related (though nonetheless deemed important) Points from the Convention Itself:

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1) Bowling rules! It is a great pastime and a perfect backdrop for a blogging convention.

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2) Bowling shoes can make anybody look like a dork!

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3) If your bowling alley has a bar, you are looking for the best quality beer, and price is not a concern, nothing, NOTHING beats a pint of Guinness!

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4) If your local bowling alley has billiard tables (ours does), a game or two of pool ("snooker" if you’re European) is a great way to wrap up a biz-blogging convention!

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5) If you have enjoyed an alcoholic beverage or two, have a designated driver at your disposal or take a cab home from your blogging convention. Drinking, driving & blogging don’t mix!

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Image Credits: All images in this article are royalty-free and courtesy of the provider. Pool balls: istockphoto.com; "BLOG": clipart.com. Guinness Beer is a registered trademark of Guinness & Co. 2009.

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Disclaimer: Guinness beer is not a sponsor of this blog, nor did the writer, Yonatan Maisel, receive any financial compensation from them.

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Hello. My name is Yonatan Maisel. I am a professional writer, published author and business-blogger.

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