Best of 2007: Blogging for Business

Blogs are becoming a hugely popular, almost mainstream tool for indirect business promotion. When used properly, a blog establishes the author—and by extension, the author's company—as a knowledgeable and influential voice within a particular industry or community. Examples abound, from Robert Scoble changing the market's perception of Microsoft to Chris Baggott making ExactTarget one of the leading hosted email services.

Journalists, industry analysts, and CEOs are turning to blogs to reach their audiences directly. A business blog can be written solely by the the chief executive, or managed as a group blog, where anyone in the company with unique knowledge, and a bit of writing skill, can contribute.

Here are some of the best articles and blog posts from 2007 on effective blog design, writing and promotion.

10 blogging tips from 10 bloggers by iMedia Connection

After stating that "Business blogging has passed the tipping point. Today, executives and professionals in the media, marketing, technology and public relations industries get much of their information from blogs and strategize about how to incorporate blogging into their marketing, advertising and communications campaigns," writer Joe Kutchera provides expert tips on blogging, including focusing on what you know best and building online relationships, from bloggers such as John Battelle, Christina Kerley and David Berkowitz.

Twelve SEO Mistakes Most Bloggers Make by Search Engine Land

If you're going to put out the regular effort to write a blog, obviously you want potential readers to be able to find it when searching. To help ensure that your blogging efforts don't go unnoticed, Stephan Spencer provides a helpful list of tactics to optimize search engine positioning for your blog.

How to Blog without Having a Blog by eMarketing Strategist

Blogging isn't for everyone; it requires discipline and persistence to be successful. As Elgé Premeau puts it here, too often, "New Bloggers get excited, start a blog, add entries for a few weeks and once the excitement wears off blogging becomes one more thing to feel guilty about not doing as often as you should." However, one can use blogs for indirect promotion without writing his or her own blog, and Elgé provides a helpful guide to researching, tracking, and commenting on blogs.

Optimize Your Blog Sidebars by Life Rocks! 2.0

Following the guidance in this short but valuable post will help ensure that your blog's page-loading time doesn't become an annoyance to your readers.

50 Great Widgets for Your Blog by Mashable

Than again, if you're more concerned with really pimping out your blog than page load time, check out this excellent selection of blog widgets, including Flickr and Twitter badges, widgets for weather and gas prices, Tecnhnorati Link Count, answers from Answers.com and more.

RSS – Blog Directories by TopRank Online Marketing Blog

Lee Odden provides an extensive list of direct submission URL links for RSS and blog directories where you can add your blog and/or feed for promotional purposes.

The 120 Day Wonder: How to Evangelize a Blog by How to Change the World

Marketing guru Guy Kawasaki offers ten tips to help launch a new blog with a splash, or grow readership for an existing one, including blog rolling, responding to commenters and using Feedburner.

How to mine the Blogosphere, a podcast with Jim Nail by Buzz Marketing for Technology

Blogger and podcaster Paul Dunay interviews Jim Nail, formerly of Forrester and now with Cymfony, about how businesses ranging from small B2B companies to large B2C enterprises monitor the web and listen to online conversations about their brand. This podcast reveals what small and large companies—such as Sony and Wal-Mart—are discovering about their image online.

The Top 10 List of the Best Affiliate Networks by Self SEO

If you're blogging for yourself rather than as part of a company's interactive PR efforts, affiliate networks are a virtually painless way to earn money from your blog. Titus Hoskins offers a helpful list.

Tips for Optimizing Blogs and Feeds by Search Engine Guide

Ross Dunn offers several tips for making your blog more search engine-friendly, from RSS feeds and PR to commenting and linking.

Previous articles in this series:

Best of 2007: SEO Analysis Tools
Best of 2007: SEO Keyword Research Tools
Best of 2007: News Articles on Social Media Marketing
Best of 2007: Blog Posts on Social Media Marketing
Best of 2007: Articles and Blog Posts on SEM
Best of 2007: Articles and Blog Posts on Google AdWords
Best of 2007: Articles and Blog Posts on SEO (Part 1)
Best of 2007: Articles and Blog Posts on SEO (Part 2)
Best of 2007: Website Design

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Contact Tom Pick: tomATwebmarketcentralDOTcom

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