In a tour around the blogosphere looking for excellent business blogs, it’s not uncommon to observe a variety of conditions that reflect poorly on the state of business blogging.

• Many business blogs are languishing
• Some haven’t been posted on in weeks or months
• Some are all over the map with their content

And it gets worse! One of the most common mistakes being committed is little attention to branding for the business.

What does that mean?

When visitors land on your blog, in a blink of the eye, they should know:

• Who the blog is for
• What the blog is about
• Why they should stick around and read your content
• Why they should subscribe
• Who you are and why they should believe what you have to say

Without following best practices that address these points, a blog is confusing and ineffective. It will not reflect well on you professionally; it will not work to build your list of prospects and most likely will not convert readers to clients.

These common mistakes are on blogs written by intelligent professionals who are very good at what they do, in their fields. They just haven’t understood and mastered business blogging yet. Perhaps you might be experiencing a few of these problems on your own blog as well. If that’s the case, you aren’t alone. These are actually quite common challenges.

Your blog must pass the “blink” test: It must be immediately recognizable and memorable.

Branding goes beyond finding a clever name, though that is critical as well. Along with a clearly defined core message, there are a few elements must be in place for you to create a well-branded blog that attracts massive visibility:

A descriptive name – if you’re starting your blog, are you branding YOU, your business, your book? Know the purpose of your blog so you can name it appropriately.

Tagline – who is the blog for? What are the benefits for your readers? Who you are, your name and your expertise

A customized banner – ties in with your brand, your website, logo, brand colors; it extends the look and feel that represents you and your values

Your photo and bio page – These two items should be a good representation of you as a professional.

Once you have established the name and brand for your blog, then it’s easier to stay focused and build visibility with a consistent image of your business throughout the blogosphere.

How to Have a Poorly Branded Blog… And How to Fix It is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

The “About” Page, also known as your bio page, is one of the most visited pages on a blog. Readers want to know the author of a blog: their story and why they are blogging. Yet most business bloggers are missing this opportunity to connect with readers. Many blog authors write about their education and job history in a dry manner.

Your ‘About’ page should be written appropriately for your blog – not copied from a professional bio or CV where you talk about yourself in the third person.

Remember a blog is a conversation, more like writing an email to your favorite client. The more you can connect with readers by using the “I” and “you” pronouns, the more it will feel and read like a conversation.

More importantly, rather than delivering your past experiences and education, your about page is an opportunity to connect with readers on an emotionally profound level.

• What’s your story?
• Why did you decide to start a blog?
• Why are you passionate about your niche?
• What were the pivotal moments in your life and work that led you to where you are now?

People want authentic stories. They want to know who the person is talking to them through the blog. Why should they care what you have to say? What makes you the expert? Why should they believe anything you say?

Tell readers about the challenges you’ve faced and how you’ve overcome them. Be real with readers. When you are transparent, you become someone readers can relate to; readers will begin to connect and see more than words written on a web page.

Your business blog is more than a brochure or a marketing tool. It’s an opportunity to establish intimacy with readers who are searching for inspiration and solutions to their problems. People do business with people, not companies. It’s up to you to breath life into your blog and the “About” page is the place to start.

How to Write a Better About Page For Your Business Blog is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

Blogging can be a powerful marketing tool for entrepreneurs, especially those with an expertise- or information-based business, such as coaches, speakers, chiropractors, dentists and trainers.

Blogging is a natural way to attract traffic to your website. And if you are already in a business that shares information and expertise with your clients, then creating blog posts can be an natural extension of what you do.

The following are a few tips for creating an ideal prospect attracting blog for entrepreneurial businesses.

Blog about your topic of expertise

O.K. This one should go without saying. If you want to attract prospects interested in your products and services, write about information related to those products and services. Your blog can be expansions of, or tangential meanderings from, the information provided by your products and services. Use your blog to illustrate what areas you can help your clients with.

Keep your readers informed

If you are actively attending or participating in networking and other events that your readers can attend too, blog about them so they can have the opportunity to meet you in person. You’d be surprised how this can greatly increase client acquisition.

Share your client success stories

Profile happy clients. Share the successes your clients are having after working with you or using your products. Shine the light on their triumphs and reveal how you helped them get there.

Tell Engaging Stories

Blogs are most effective when they attract a loyal readership. And the best way to do this is to entertain, inform and engage your audience. Write about things that are worth your ideal prospect’s time to read … be it on an emotional level or a professional level. Depending on your personality and your business goals, you might consider including events from your life and then move on to your marketing message.

Hold Contests

Want to challenge your readers to write the most moving testimonial for your products? Have them leave their submissions in your comment box. Want to get some feedback on a new service you’re trying out? Have them try it out and post their feedback in the comment form. The possibilities for contests are limitless, and blogs make all of them possible.

Blogging Tips for Entrepreneurs is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

Does your blog pass the “blink” test? A key ingredient for an effective blog is a great tag line that captures the first time reader’s attention.

The Tag Line

After naming your blog, it is highly recommended that you include a tag line to explain what the blog is about.

Here are the 3 points you want to cover in your tag line:

1. Identify your ideal reader

2. What is the subject matter

3. Who are you?

Not being clear about a blog’s purpose is one of the major mistakes businesses make. Not only are titles often confusing about what the focus is, the tag line often does a poor job of defining who the blog is for, and what’s in it for them if they stay and read the content.

Don’t let this happen on your site.

The other frequent mistake bloggers make is not putting their name clearly in the tag line. Blogs are designed to be personal conversations and it’s frustrating to have to search to to try and figure out who is authoring the content

A reader shouldn’t have to search on the About page to find out who is writing . Even when there is a photo of the author, often there is no identifying name. Put your name in the tag line underneath the title so readers know right away who is writing the blog.

If you don’t have a header that permits a tag line, then you can create a sidebar item with the name and tag line.

You can also create a marketing message or mission statement, such as how people can hire you and why they would want to. This short message can go in one of the upper sidebars, such as underneath your photo and link to your About page.

Recipe For a Blog – The Blog Tag Line is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge

The following are some tips for using blogging to promote your books, as well as your writing and expertise in general.

Blog about your topic of expertise.

Your blog can be expansions of, or tangential meanderings from, the main topic of your book. This can get readers interested in the topic and give them a taste of your writing style. This is a great strategy for nonfiction authors, but can be modified to work for fiction authors, as well.

Blog about events that you’ll be attending, are attending or just came back from attending.

Do you attend events where fans can meet you? This can include book signings, seminars, workshops, conventions, trade shows and more. Blog about them! Mention that you’ll be attending such-and-such event and let your readers know how they can attend. If the event is multi-day, post a daily summary of the experience. And, once you’ve returned, you can blog about lessons learned or even fun things that happened. Met some of your fans? Include pictures of you with them and write a little blurb about your meeting.

Include your blog audience in the formation of your next book.

Are you wondering what subtopics should be covered in your next book? Ask your readers! Are you having trouble deciding what your next character should be named? Ask your readers! Again, this strategy not only can help you get past writer’s blocks, but it also engages your fans, making them feel a part of something bigger.

Blog about the writing process.

You can talk about how you came up with your idea, the research you’ve conducted, even share some excerpts from your upcoming book. This can get your fan based engaged and works well for both fiction and nonfiction books.

Blogging Tips for Authors is a post from Marketing Turbo-Charge