Adventures with Blogging 101 - Part 2

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I recently took a webinar on blogging for business with Social Media Magic. It was taught by Dave Barnhart. It was great. I learned things I wish I hadn't and other things I'm glad I did. My previous post was about things didn't want to hear about... ('cause they mean more work for me!)

And now I thought I'd mention some of the cool things I was happy to discover. Here are some:

1. Blog posts can be short and sweet. Its actually good to have long and short blog posts - so posting weekly or even twice weekly doesn't have to be a burden (phew!)
   
2. What to blog about? This was especially helpful in terms of building a brand. There are four topics Dave suggested you blog about;
   

• Aspects of your business you're passionate about (I've done virtually no blogging on that - oops!)
• Industry trends (I think I've done a fair amount of blogging on that...)
• Behind the scenes of your business (one might consider this blog post in that category.)
• And personal stuff. He recommends between 5-15% of your posts fall into this category (I've done many blog posts related to my passion for social activism - not sure if that counts as personal...) And it seems from what Dave's saying, I could mention something about my love of animals and the many rescue efforts we've engaged in (for instance, last year we drove 6 injured pigeons three hours upstate to a sanctuary, after having nursed one pigeon back to health for a year. - I know.)

I'm also a fine artist and painter when the spirit moves me. Did I mention my pet portrait website? (No. I thought that would be confusing. Now I may choose to mention it within the context of sharing something "personal".) Sneaky huh?

It had been my strategy, up until now, simply to experiment with blogging; find out how much time it takes, see if I enjoy it and determine if I'm really willing to commit to it. Learning about advanced tactics and strategy at this juncture is perfect timing. I followed what he was talking about easily because it wasn't theoretical, I had already been blogging.

My next step then, as a business, is to articulate a revised strategy based on what I've learned and go forward from there.

All and all it was a great webinar. Those are some of the highlights. I hope it helps you as you think about blogging for your situation.