Blog Advice from Blogging Experts with Podcast

I recently attended a panel discussion about blogging here in Cambridge near MIT (it was actually held in the same building as my office). There are lots of panel discussions about blogging, but few that have such successful bloggers as were on this panel:


* Bijan Sabet, Spark Capital

* Don Dodge, Microsoft

* Jimmy Guterman, O'Reilly Media

* Barb Heffner, Chen PR

* Nabeel Hyatt, Entrepreneur

* Scott Kirsner, Blogger & Reporter for Boston Globe


Here are some notes I took on some of the more important questions and statements from the panel.

Notes from the Panel Discussion of Blogging Experts

What is blogging about?


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Authenticity and bringing your personality into play for your business

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Increasing visibility at bigger company, if you blog, the c-level execs are more likely to listen to you and your thoughts

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Getting invited to speak at conferences, blogging raises your profile in the industry

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Improving your thought leadership position in the market

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Traffic, leads and sales


What are some best practices for blogging?


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Put your name in the title of the blog so people can find you

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Put your picture in the blog so people will recognize you

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Show your personality in your blog


What are some examples of good corporate blogs?


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Flickr - "from reading it you know they care about customers"

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Bzzagent - they have some good thoughts and it is not a huge sales pitch

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37 Signals- great information, relevant to the audience, separate from thier product blog


How do you come up with good ideas for your company blog?


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Talk about ideas with employees every couple weeks at lunch

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Give prizes to employees if they write (good) blog entries

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Read other company blogs and blogs in your industry and comment on industry trends

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Keep track of customer questions by phone or email and write about those in your blog


Podcast of the Blogging Expert Panel

Also, Dan Bricklin (co-inventor of the first spreadsheet VisiCalc) was at the event and recorded the panel as a podcast. Here is a link to the mp3 audio file and you can also read Dan's blog entry about the blogging event.

More Articles about Blogging


* 6 Reasons Every Small Business Should be Blogging

* 7 Beginner Blogger Blunders and How to Avoid Them

* Why Wordpress and Blogspot / Blogger Fall Short for Business