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Answer Upon - The Corporate Blogging Alphabet
Before you even attempt any form of email marketing, you will need to select a good email autoresponder; you would be crazy to try and manage a large list of email addresses manually.An email autoresponder is the workhorse for all your email marketing campaigns, automating a number of tasks so you can spend more time on writing your promotional emails. It will handle the opt-in system that allows readers to subscribe, or unsubscribe, to your mailing list and it will control the distribution of all the emails you send to your list.There are a number of features you should consider when choosing an autoresponder that will meet your needs. If you’re just starting out, you may not be very concerned with some of the more advanced features offered by various autoresponders, but it’s a good idea to keep some of the more advanced capabilities in mind as your business grows.The following are several main features you will want to consider when selecting your first autoresponder: Multiple Lists - A good autoresponder should be able to handle multiple email lists. Being limited to a single list will severely hinder your business. You may want to maintain a number of separate lists for customers, prospects, and so on. It’s also a good idea to have separate lists based on what products your customers buy.Easy Integration - Your autoresponder should allow you to
Informative
When you keep your customers well informed on new products, services or "behind the scenes" company happenings, you increase the likelihood of future business from those customers. Corporate blogging is a simple but effective way to keep people informed.
Jargon-free
Generally, corporate blogs are not the place for corporate speak. At least, not a customer-facing corporate blog. Save that language for your annual report. Business blogs evolved from online diaries, single-author sources of information and insight. Much of this plain-speak expectation carries over to corporate blogs, so the potential power of blogging for
Free animated ecards are available from a multitude of Internet sources including business, religious, personal, and non-profit websites. You can find a variety of free animated ecards that address any particular holiday, occasion, time of the year, special event or activity. If you need a free animated ecard to say you are sorry, you love someone, you are thankful or you are celebrating, there are unlimited free animated ecards to express just every human emotion. A free animated ecard is an easy and quick way to send anyone a special thought via the Internet.Free animated ecards have become wildly popular with the ease of Internet functions allowing web users the freedom to receive and send ecards that come in many different styles and designs. A user can find a free animated ecard that is humorous and displays cartoon clip art with cute quips. Beautifully illustrated, religious free animated ecards are also available offering recipients encouraging Bible verses. Free animated ecards displaying flash effects can be found through some sites that spark an enthusiastic response to anyone that receives it. A free animated ecard that displays realistic photography with colorful animation is an enjoyable offering to many web users.Although ecards can be purchased that sometimes offer a more personalized card or more professional design, free animated ecards have continued to flood the ecard market providing m
I built this alphabet to showcase what I think are the benefits and best practices of corporate blogging. Not all of these entries will apply to every individual blogging scenario, but they all apply to corporate blogging in general. So here you have them, corporate blogging benefits and best practices ... from A to Z.
Accountable
Accountability applies to corporate blogging in two primary ways. With single-author blogs (such as CEO blogs), the author can inspire trust among readers by "owning" his or her commentary. But companies also assume a certain level of accountability for all blogs under their umbrella, regardless of disclosures to to the contrary. So blogging accountability must be carefully considered at both the individual and corporate level.
Believable
Used properly, a corporate blog or CEO blog can make a company more believable. And in the low-trust, post-Enron world of corporate skepticism, a little believability goes a long way. Use your blog to tell an honest story in a passionate way.
Candid
A common mistake in corporate blogging is when organizations use the blog as "website, part two," shoveling press releases and other corporate literature onto the blog. To achieve the believability mentioned above, a corporate blog must take on the candid, heartfelt voice of the author. Sure, it takes courage to do this (and probably a set of corporate blogging guidelines), but your readers will reward you by becoming advocates.
Direct
Corporate blogs are direct. You write your message, click the "Publish" button, and your words are directly viewable across the Internet. This removes intermediaries from the corporate communication chain. There are no journalists or editors to put their own spin on things. The message goes from the author directly to the audience. Never again will your message be diluted or mis-aligned (unless you do that yourself).
Enthusiastic
In my opinion, only enthusiastic bloggers should be allowed to represent the company. Half-hearted commentary stands out like a purple elephant in the corporate blogosphere. This kind of commentary does more harm than good, whether it comes from the CEO, the communications chief, or Joe Employee. Enthusiasm comes across in blog posts -- and it's contagious.
Flexible
One of the great things about blogs is the versatility with which they can be used. A corporate blog, for example, can be used internally or externally. It can be a news channel, a customer-feedback forum, an educational tool, or a combination of these things.
Google-friendly
And Yahoo-friendly, and MSN-friendly, etc. A corporate blog can help you increase your search engine visibility in a number of ways. For one thing, a blog gives you an easy way to expand your website with new content. If you blog daily for a year, you've got 365 new pages of topical content (and 365 new items for people to find through search engines). Blogs are also more "social" than websites, so in time a well-written blog will acquire links from other blogs. This kind of link popularity does wonders for your search engine ranking.
Happening
Nine times out of ten, a corporate blog is more "happening" than its website counterpart. Blogs are easier to update than a regular website. And when you update a blog often with quality content, it becomes an active resource that people are more inclined to revisit.
Informative
When you keep your customers well informed on new products, services or "behind the scenes" company happenings, you increase the likelihood of future business from those customers. Corporate blogging is a simple but effective way to keep people informed.
Jargon-free
Generally, corporate blogs are not the place for corporate speak. At least, not a customer-facing corporate blog. Save that language for your annual report. Business blogs evolved from online diaries, single-author sources of information and insight. Much of this plain-speak expectation carries over to corporate blogs, so the potential power of blogging for
Affiliate Marketing is a concept with it's own terms. To get started, you'll have to know what the middlemen and affiliate program pitches mean when they use them, otherwise it will strike you as a bunch of gibberish. For those of you with some experience already in this matter, these terms are for the beginners.Ad Copy: A written sales pitch, also known simply as 'copy'. Most follow the AIDA form (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) and examples can be seen on any site that's selling something.Affiliate Link: This is how the company knows who to pay. These are the hypertext links given to you by the affiliate program that differentiates you from generic traffic at large. Unless you send someone through an affiliate link, you don't get paid.Affiliate Program: An agreement with a given company that has this sort of program to advertise and promote their products in exchange for payment, usually as a commission per sale. You do this at your own expense, although the programs themselves are free to join. I have heard of those that require payment to join, but I strongly recommend against them, as there are plenty of good programs you can join for free.Commission: This is how you get paid by all affiliate marketing programs. It's not a salary or a fee, and taxes are not deducted and thus your problem to track. Commissions are usually expressed in percent
Used properly, a corporate blog or CEO blog can make a company more believable. And in the low-trust, post-Enron world of corporate skepticism, a little believability goes a long way. Use your blog to tell an honest story in a passionate way.
Candid
A common mistake in corporate blogging is when organizations use the blog as "website, part two," shoveling press releases and other corporate literature onto the blog. To achieve the believability mentioned above, a corporate blog must take on the candid, heartfelt voice of the author. Sure, it takes courage to do this (and probably a set of corporate blogging guidelines), but your readers will reward you by becoming advocates.
Direct
Corporate blogs are direct. You write your message, click the "Publish" button, and your words are directly viewable across the Internet. This removes intermediaries from the corporate communication chain. There are no journalists or editors to put their own spin on things. The message goes from the author directly to the audience. Never again will your message be diluted or mis-aligned (unless you do that yourself).
Enthusiastic
In my opinion, only enthusiastic bloggers should be allowed to represent the company. Half-hearted commentary stands out like a purple elephant in the corporate blogosphere. This kind of commentary does more harm than good, whether it comes from the CEO, the communications chief, or Joe Employee. Enthusiasm comes across in blog posts -- and it's contagious.
Flexible
One of the great things about blogs is the versatility with which they can be used. A corporate blog, for example, can be used internally or externally. It can be a news channel, a customer-feedback forum, an educational tool, or a combination of these things.
Google-friendly
And Yahoo-friendly, and MSN-friendly, etc. A corporate blog can help you increase your search engine visibility in a number of ways. For one thing, a blog gives you an easy way to expand your website with new content. If you blog daily for a year, you've got 365 new pages of topical content (and 365 new items for people to find through search engines). Blogs are also more "social" than websites, so in time a well-written blog will acquire links from other blogs. This kind of link popularity does wonders for your search engine ranking.
Happening
Nine times out of ten, a corporate blog is more "happening" than its website counterpart. Blogs are easier to update than a regular website. And when you update a blog often with quality content, it becomes an active resource that people are more inclined to revisit.
Informative
When you keep your customers well informed on new products, services or "behind the scenes" company happenings, you increase the likelihood of future business from those customers. Corporate blogging is a simple but effective way to keep people informed.
Jargon-free
Generally, corporate blogs are not the place for corporate speak. At least, not a customer-facing corporate blog. Save that language for your annual report. Business blogs evolved from online diaries, single-author sources of information and insight. Much of this plain-speak expectation carries over to corporate blogs, so the potential power of blogging for
When you own a small business and have never owned a business before then it would be understandable if you needed some bankruptcy help. There is nothing to be ashamed of, you may not know which section of bankruptcy to file for and we can help you. One of the first questions to be answered is your business a partnership or a sole proprietorship? If you own a corporation there are limited liabilities for companies and partnerships that are legal entities that are separate from their partners. In cases like these then, you can file Chapter 7 or Chapter 11.If you have partners and you choose Chapter 7 then you should know that in a Chapter 7 case the trustee that is appointed by the court can sue the general partners if the partnership’s assets are not enough to pay for the entire debt. The partners could be sued by a well funded trustee suing on the behalf of all of the business creditors. If you have a proprietorship then they are pretty much just an extension of the owner and a Chapter 7, Chapter 11 or a Chapter 13 may apply.Chapter 7 is equal to liquidation and Chapters 11 and 13 are about reorganization. How should you make the determination on which way to file? You have to look at the facts and see which avenue suits your business better. For example, if you chose Chapter 7 then once your assets are gone can you still run the business, most likely not. So if you think you have to give up the business
Enthusiastic
In my opinion, only enthusiastic bloggers should be allowed to represent the company. Half-hearted commentary stands out like a purple elephant in the corporate blogosphere. This kind of commentary does more harm than good, whether it comes from the CEO, the communications chief, or Joe Employee. Enthusiasm comes across in blog posts -- and it's contagious.
Flexible
One of the great things about blogs is the versatility with which they can be used. A corporate blog, for example, can be used internally or externally. It can be a news channel, a customer-feedback forum, an educational tool, or a combination of these things.
Google-friendly
And Yahoo-friendly, and MSN-friendly, etc. A corporate blog can help you increase your search engine visibility in a number of ways. For one thing, a blog gives you an easy way to expand your website with new content. If you blog daily for a year, you've got 365 new pages of topical content (and 365 new items for people to find through search engines). Blogs are also more "social" than websites, so in time a well-written blog will acquire links from other blogs. This kind of link popularity does wonders for your search engine ranking.
Happening
Nine times out of ten, a corporate blog is more "happening" than its website counterpart. Blogs are easier to update than a regular website. And when you update a blog often with quality content, it becomes an active resource that people are more inclined to revisit.
Informative
When you keep your customers well informed on new products, services or "behind the scenes" company happenings, you increase the likelihood of future business from those customers. Corporate blogging is a simple but effective way to keep people informed.
Jargon-free
Generally, corporate blogs are not the place for corporate speak. At least, not a customer-facing corporate blog. Save that language for your annual report. Business blogs evolved from online diaries, single-author sources of information and insight. Much of this plain-speak expectation carries over to corporate blogs, so the potential power of blogging for
Just the other day I was on the phone to a salesperson working for a manufacturer I’m dealing with in one of my businesses when he tried the old sleazy alternate advance - “How about Tuesday at 10 or Thursday at 1?”I nearly laughed him off the phone I was so insulted and bemused that he would try so blatantly to get me commit to a time which suited him for a meeting. The problem here is that most sales people today are still taught the same techniques that worked twenty or thirty years ago and fail to adjust them for today’s world.When your selling to the trade i.e. business to business sales, you have to remember that your often dealing with a prospect who themselves is or has been a salesperson in one form or another. This means that if you persist in using sleazy, pushy salesmanship you will get shut down. Fast!The prospect obviously wasn’t aware that I was an author on the subject of selling and have heard more closing techniques and sales strategies over the years than he could dream of. Nonetheless this is not the first time I’ve seen this happen and indeed many of my friends and business associates have told me of similar experiences they’ve had, for example, of sales people trying the familiar ‘Ben Franklin Balance Sheet’ close on them.Now the theory and reasoning behind these sales techniques is generally sound. The idea behind the Ben Franklin of listing the main points of their de
Google-friendly
And Yahoo-friendly, and MSN-friendly, etc. A corporate blog can help you increase your search engine visibility in a number of ways. For one thing, a blog gives you an easy way to expand your website with new content. If you blog daily for a year, you've got 365 new pages of topical content (and 365 new items for people to find through search engines). Blogs are also more "social" than websites, so in time a well-written blog will acquire links from other blogs. This kind of link popularity does wonders for your search engine ranking.
Happening
Nine times out of ten, a corporate blog is more "happening" than its website counterpart. Blogs are easier to update than a regular website. And when you update a blog often with quality content, it becomes an active resource that people are more inclined to revisit.
Informative
When you keep your customers well informed on new products, services or "behind the scenes" company happenings, you increase the likelihood of future business from those customers. Corporate blogging is a simple but effective way to keep people informed.
Jargon-free
Generally, corporate blogs are not the place for corporate speak. At least, not a customer-facing corporate blog. Save that language for your annual report. Business blogs evolved from online diaries, single-author sources of information and insight. Much of this plain-speak expectation carries over to corporate blogs, so the potential power of blogging for
If you are looking to get your name out there, chances are you are looking to do it for little or no cost. So, how do you get free publicity? There are several ways to get this done.One of the main things to remember is that press releases are not just reserved for big announcements or major accomplishments. Put out a press release when you develop a new product or service. Let the community know when you have contests, award prizes, have open houses or when you have a speaker coming to your establishment. Anything that is out of the ordinary of business as usual is grounds for a press release.Write articles for anybody you can think of; newspapers, trade publications, magazines, newsletters, websites, blogs, ezines. This will not only get your name out there, but will help establish that you know what you are talking about. Write these articles in a "how to" format that is easy to read. Put out free advice - lots of it! You need to create a reason for people to read your press releases and articles.Speaking to communities is a great way to 'create a buzz' about you and your company. Get the public excited about your ideas and plans for the future. You want them to remember you.Create a website that makes people want to visit. Offer advice free of charge, links to similar sites, provided they do the same for you. Post articles, either written by you or about you, with t
Informative
When you keep your customers well informed on new products, services or "behind the scenes" company happenings, you increase the likelihood of future business from those customers. Corporate blogging is a simple but effective way to keep people informed.
Jargon-free
Generally, corporate blogs are not the place for corporate speak. At least, not a customer-facing corporate blog. Save that language for your annual report. Business blogs evolved from online diaries, single-author sources of information and insight. Much of this plain-speak expectation carries over to corporate blogs, so the potential power of blogging for business purposes lies within the blog's frankness, not its jargon.
Knowledgeable
Use your corporate blog to show readers how knowledgeable you are on your subject. When your readers see how much information you have to share on a subject, they'll recommend your blog to others who are interested in the subject. These are the kinds of readers you want. Just remember, some of your readers will know as much about the subject as you do. So check your facts before posting.
Limitless
Corporate blogs can be configured in endless ways to serve endless roles. They can stand alone, be part of a website, or be part of a larger network of blogs. Because the technical aspects of a corporate blog are limitless, so too are the uses for the blog.
Manageable
Blogs reduce the technical side of web publishing to such a degree that anyone can blog, regardless of their web experience. Blogs are so manageable, in fact, that even a large web presence built on blogging technology can be managed by a single individual. In this way, blogs are only an initial burden on the IT department. Once a blog is setup, it can be managed by the author alone.
Non-invasive
Corporate blogs "pull" readers to the message, rather than "push" the message to the reader. People can sign up for a blog in total privacy, simply by pulling the blog's RSS feed into their feed reader. In this way, corporate blogs are non-invasive for readers. The readers come to the blog -- the blog is not thrust upon them, like other forms of corporate communication. As long as blogs adhere to this non-invasive, respectful approach, they will be held in higher esteem than other communication channels like email.
Operational
Corporate blogs are more than simple communications tools. With their versatility and ease of use, a corporate blog can server operational roles. This might include internal collaboration (like an intranet) or outward instruction (like an interactive Q&A forum). Blogs can be an active part of your organization's daily operations.
Purposeful
The key to a good blogging experience is to have a purpose. Sure, you can plunge right into corporate blogging and figure out your purpose as you go. That's part of the appeal. But your blog will be more effective (and easier to produce) if you have a blogging plan and purpose. Maybe your blogging purpose is to educate readers on what goes on behind the scenes at your company. Maybe you want to increase your visibility on the Web. Or maybe the CEO wants to share his ideas on the business to foster interaction. Fill in the blanks as needed, just be sure you have a purpose behind your blogging efforts.
Qualitative and Quantitative
When corporate blogging is done well, it has both a quantitative and qualitative affect. Because blogs are easy to publish, they help you increase the quantity of content on your website. This increases your blog's value to readers, as well as its visibility to search engines. If the content is also useful and informative to your key audience, the blog adds quality. A well-managed corporate blog can enhance your web presence by adding both quantity and quality.
Reusable
Blog content can be reused for a variety of purposes. For example, if you expand on a blog post (or compil
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