sales blogs and blogs in general

Hi All
Im new to the whole sales blog experince, can someone please explain this to me? Im very interested in starting a blog yet what would I put in there? do I need to get my companies approval before I start a blog about my services? I would love to see some sales blogs as well as some general information about a sales blog.

thanks!

Business blogs are an effective way of communicating the 'soul' of a business, or its character because it offers its writers the ability to communicate on issues that matter to them and their business which isn't as easy to communicate in a static web page.

The important thing to consider when starting up a blog of any type is what you are going to discuss and whether you have the time and the collateral to keep the task going. I often compare running a blog to puppies - they aren't just for christmas, they are for life (or a long time anyway). What often damages a companies brand and annoys blog readers is an initial surge of writing and then a tapering off to nothing when the blogger runs out of things to say.

If you have interesting things to say and are willing to put some time and effort in over a prolonged period then blogging is a very useful communication and networking tool.

You may want to discuss your blog with someone at your company if you foresee yourself blogging about work. Some companies don't mind but some have problems with it.

Since helping people use blogs for sales and marketing is my business, I thought I would chime in.

Well done, blogging can allow a small company to do what a larger company with millions to spend on marketing could never achieve. Some of the direct benefits of blogging are:

1. Better Google Rankings
2. Increased exposure
3. Get your message out directly to your audience
4. Build trust and credibility
5. Enhance your company's image
6. Conversation with your audience.

After you make sure your boss or company says a blog is OK (which may end up being the hardest part), I recommend that you:

1. Think very hard about the people in your market, who they are and what they are thinking. Specifically, understand what problems you solve for them. Important: express these problems in their words, not yours, and express them using words and phrases they would use in normal conversation.

2. The content of your blog should be addressed to (and written for) those people and problems. You want what you write to resonate with them so much that they say "It's like Jessica knows me". Forget 'marketing-speak'. Write it like you are talking to a friend.

3. Use Google Blog Search and those words/phrases you came up with in step 1 to find conversations on the internet and join them. When you join the conversation, DON'T SELL. Simply offer advice and help. If your sig line or the comment form's URL field contains a link to your blog, interested people will naturally be drawn back to your blog and will read it.

None of this is rocket science, and it works. It is merely taking the activities you do in your normal face-to-face networking and extending them globally. Think of it as Networking On Steroids.

Dave Barnhart

Well here are a few tips.

If you work for a company,
a sales blog should only talk about your expertise and company competitive advantage. The goal is to create a resource for your clients but not give away the whole enchilada. You should talk about clients' problems and issues and provide a few insights. May be create a link at the end of every blog post saying if you want to learn more you can always contact me (with a link to a contact me form). The blog has to be very professional no personal stuff. If you want to write a personal journal that has to be on a separate site. Even than please no bashing your own company. You might get fired. Also link building is important if you want your site to reach anywhere. A seed (blog content) is nothing without some water (links).

Hi Jessica

It's refreshing to see such a go for it attitude. Well done you. First off though ask yourself.

" what is my outcome?" "what do I actually want to achieve?"

It is very easy to rush off and do something because it seems trendy and the thing to do.

There have been lots of great replies to this post so I am sure you have got lots of useful help.

Blogs are a great way to keep the conversation going with customers and to add amazing value. First things first though how will they find you? will it be on your calling card? Does your company approve etc.

Good luck with whatever you decide

Best Wishes

SalesManagerCoach
PS wordpress is probably the best platform. You can get a free site as well by going to wordpress.com. A better option though is to host your own on your own domain name and through a hosting account