How to Create a Business Blog

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Making and maintaining a blog for your company is a challenging task. You need to update it every day and make the layout look nearly like your websites. So how do you do it?

Steps

1. Buy hosting and a domain if you don't already have a company website (not blog).
   
2. Choose the correct blogging platform needed - the best and most widely used is Wordpress. Typepad, Blogger, Moveable Type, and numerous others are all available as well, so shop around and look for the one that best fits your needs.
   
3. Develop your business marketing objectives.
   
4. Decide on the theme of the blog and find a template (or hire a web design company to create one) that best fits your needs.
   
5. Determine how many blogs your company will need. It is more than 1 in about 90% of the cases. No matter how small your business.
   
6. Decide who will be blogging and writing the content.
   
7. Have a blog promotion plan and learn some basic search engine optimization and search engine marketing techniques.
   
8. Choose a consultant that will help you achieve maximum results. Ask for specifics, case studies and references.
   

Tips

• Look at the most effective blogging platform
  
• Choose a platform that offers detailed reporting analytics, or install Google Analytics or one of the free or inexpensive analytics tools to track and measure your progress.
  
• In order to get people to come to your blog you must post relevant engaging comments on popular blogs in your niche. Leave a link embedded in your comments. This will allow others to see your insight and access your blogs. Problogger has greater insight on the subject.
  
• You should also link out to other blogs in your niche and authority websites; this gives your site credibility according to the search engines as well as helping you to network and make yourself known in your niche.
  

Warnings

• Do not attempt to "Try Blogging Out". This only ensures failure.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Start a Small Business
  
• How to Budget Your Money
  

Sources and Citations

• http://www.leveragedpromotion.com/products.html Free 20 Page Business Blogging White Paper.
  
• http://blog.leveragedpromotion.com 6 Blogs About Effective Business Blogging and How To use Blogs as Effective Marketing Tools.
  
• http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/06/05/the-power-of-commenting-on-other-blogs-video/
  
• http://www.15minutestoriches.com/2008/11/01/how-to-build-a-blog-for-residual-income-part-3-choosing-a-wordpress-theme/ How to Choose a WordPress Theme for Your Business Blog
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Create a Business Blog. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.