Successful Blog

Business Blogging — Business Writing: Can You See the Elephant on the Net?

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Big Ideas about Communication

power writing at work

I’ve been working on big ideas — how blogging and online communication relates to how enterprises and entrepreneurs communicate in the 3-D world. How might thinking about one help us to be better at the other? What I know from my experience and research is this.

    Humans aren’t great communicators, even folks who work in communication don’t practice what we preach.

    In the act of communication, listening and reading are often undervalued, speaking and writing are often underperformed.

    Execution of any process or plan, and success of any business, is entirely dependent upon clear, quick, and complete communication.

    Many folks hold other people accountable for making sure communication happens.

    Few people actually think about the differences in forms of communication or which is the best in a given situation.

I’ve also figured out one more thing.

If you have a blog, there’s a good chance that you may have brought blogging habits back with you into the business world. That’s not a good idea. Really.

Blogging is bad business writing. Come look. [Read more…]

Introducing Clear Your Mind

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SOB Directory Entry:
Clear Your Mind by Javier Cabrera

Type: Marketing, Management, Productivity

ClearYourMind is a collection of thoughts and articles about management, Productivity and Marketing for entrepreneurs. CYM is aimed to everyone who want to increase productivity, work smarter and enjoy the challenges of entrepreneurship.

Notes by Liz: If you’re feeling tired or worn out, Javier is the medicine that you need. This man has the optimism and energy of at least 3 men, if not 333. A visit to Javier’s blog is like a visit to his new office. You feel like he has just put down the sandwich he was eating to talk with you personally. His stories and ideas are about what is going on with this business at that very moment. There is much to be learned in following this enthusiastic entrepreneur as he problem solves and finds new ways to meet the challenges of business.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Has your SOB Blog Been Introduced to US?
Blog Promotion: May I Introduce You?

Getting Your Blog Ready for Readers

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In the spirit of a community blog, articles from readers are a regular feature here. Know that I read them all to ensure the content belongs in the context of Successful Blog. Know that not every submission makes it here and that some get revised before they pass muster. Still even then, not every one of them will be right for every one of you.

To be respectful of your time–who needs me going on and on?–I ‘ve made a snapshot form to help you determine easily whether the content suits your personal needs. When you keep an article, it can serve also as a summary. If you have suggestions for changes to the form, just make a comment after an article whenever you think of them. Now on to the article. . . .

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Guest Writer: Katy Whitton

Katy Whitton of Katy Whitton.com sent us this article on how to Market Your Blog and Keep Your Readers from her blog, Flipping Heck!

Target Audience: Beginning Bloggers
Article Type: Overview
Content: Katy mentions the main points of bringing your blog into the world of blogging, including choosing an appropriate name, content considerations, Permalinks, pinging catalogues (directories), posting frequency, advertising, and stats. She also provides links to additional information.

Notes: This is an overview that will get a new blogger thinking on what there is to do and hopefully bring him or her back to Successful Blog to find answers to any questions the article might prompt. Katy’s writing makes her article an easy read, an investment of a few minutes. Her writing voice lets the reader know that he or she can do this.

Thanks, Katy, for contributing to the Successful Blog community.

ME “Liz” Strauss

Titles that Grab Readers

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The best marketer I ever worked for swore by this rule:

Call it what it is. They can’t read your mind.

The following three titles all describe the same posting.
Which title would draw the most readers?
Which title would rise higher in search engine results?

  • Golden Snapshots
  • Short Posts that Draw Readers
  • Posts Made of Steel Not Wood

Easy to see. Hard to remember. If only I had a billboard in front of my desk instead of dead air. I need to go back to rename some postings so readers can easily tell what’s in them.

Creative writing is two blogs down and then to the left. Sometimes I’m too clever by half.

Do you have the same problem that I do?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
What Is Content that Keeps Readers?
Turning Reluctant Readers into Loyal Fans
Audience is Your Destination