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B2B Blog Q&A: What’s Most Critical to a Great Blog Post?

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Guest Post by blogger and author, Mark W. Schaefer

Our recent webinar “Elevating Your B2B Blog: Content, Conversations & Conversions” resulted in more questions than we had time to answer so we have provided a personal reply on our blog to each question.

This corporate blogging question was submitted to me by our good {grow} friend Brent Pohlman:

On a scale of 1-to-5, with 5 being a requirement, which items are most critical to a great blog post?

  • Great Title
  • Image
  • Introductory Paragraph
  • Content with facts, figures and links
  • Call to Action
  • RSS Feed
  • Social sharing options

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Zmags Content. Commerce. Intelligence. Reimagined.

B2B Blog Q&A: What do you do when your blog is in the fog?

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Guest Post by blogger and author, Mark W. Schaefer

Our recent webinar “Elevating Your B2B Blog: Content, Conversations & Conversions” resulted in more questions than we had time to answer so we’ll provide a personal reply on our blog to each question over the next few days.

We have an extraordinary opportunity today! Thanks to Christina Pappas, a blogger with Zmags.com, we’’re going to dissect her blog as a case study! Christina came to me with this familiar question:

I joined my company in September of 2010 and one of my “missions” was to start and maintain a consistent blogging schedule. I am posting regularly (at least 1x per day) and am sticking to themes that my audience would relate to. But I cannot reach two goals: getting subscribers and getting comments. We have 2,500 customers and only 170 blog subscribers. Why such a big disconnect? Why am I creating great content for no results?

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blogging voice

B2B Blog Q&A: The blog’s voice, mine or the business?

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Guest Post by blogger and author, Mark W. Schaefer

Our recent webinar “Elevating Your B2B Blog: Content, Conversations & Conversions” resulted in more questions than we had time to answer so we’ll provide a personal reply on our blog to each question over the next few days.

We received this great question from Josh Cantrell, a B2B blogger …

Who is my audience? Is it the people I want to sell to, or the people who will regularly follow our blog? How do I determine the blog’’s “voice?” My writing style/personality may be different than the corporation’’s. Do I do my own thing and just be myself, or do I try write as the business would?

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Elevating Your B2B Blog: Content, Conversions & Conversations

Elevating Your B2B Blog Q&A

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Our recent webinar “Elevating Your B2B Blog: Content, Conversations & Conversions” resulted in more questions than we had time to answer so we’ll provide a personal reply on our blog to each question over the next few days.

Question from Matt:

When blogging about products, services, etc, what is the best way to drive traffic to a specific site/media to measure the effectiveness of the blog as part of a marketing campaign?

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Ready to Elevate Your B2B Blog? I’m Ready to Write Your Next Post

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Pre-Webinar Guest Blog Post by Mark Schaefer

I look at a lot of blogs each week: famous blogs, newbie blogs, personal blogs, mommy blogs, techie blogs, etc. I have a minimum daily requirement of blog reading, both for fun and business, because it’s pretty much part of my job. If I’m going to teach about blogging at the university level, I need to be an authority on what’s going on out there.

But there is one aspect of blogging that mystifies many and fascinates me: How can you make your company blog capture the lightning, spirit and reader engagement of a personal blog?

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Yield to Inbound Traffic sign

B2B Marketers: Yield to Inbound Traffic

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Just like sitting at a stop sign at the mall, watching all the inbound traffic flow in, B2B marketers can yield to traffic using inbound marketing tactics. Try some of these methods to drive repeat traffic to your B2B website:

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crystal ball

What’s the Next Big Idea in B2B?

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It’’s a question you may often think about,– I sure do.

As I was pondering this topic the other day, it occurred to me to Google “b2b predictions” to see what others may have said on the subject. There were many articles from this time last year full of insightful predictions for 2010, and a few recent ones for 2011. I recognized a few of the authors as people I’’ve met and become familiar with via Twitter.

Then I had another idea. Why not pose this question on Twitter to the B2B marketing experts I trust?

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Hey Blog, how ya doin?

What’s Up, Blog? Seven Ways to Revive a Neglected B2B Blog

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What’s up, Blog?”

“Not much. How’’re you doing?”

“All right.” Pause. “So what’s new?”

“Nothing. You?”

“Same.”

Is this how you greet your blog?

So you haven’’t written a blog post in a few days, weeks or, maybe, months.  Unfortunately, this happens, even to the most prolific business bloggers. Blogging is hard work. You must consistently create relevant compelling content. But, you get a little get busy, then even busier with other marketing tasks. Your priorities shift to other B2B work. Sometimes, you have few or no interesting new ideas. Perhaps Twitter’’s dominating your social web activities (140 characters is a lot easier than writing a 400-word blog post, right?). Maybe you think an intern or junior associate should do the social media stuff; you’’re busy with more important marketing projects. You’’re not sure if B2B blogging really works anyway. Meanwhile, your blog sits idle.

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light bulb

Be a B2B Idea Generator

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Every Wednesday afternoon around 1:30 or so, the huge Kohler generator outside my office cranks up, running through a loud cycle that exercises the motor. I’ve often wished, as I contemplated B2B blogging topics or other creative marketing ideas, that my brain cranked up so easily. Perhaps like the generator, which prepares itself weekly for that once-a-year winter ice storm or summer power outage, I should regularly run my mental motor in preparation for the brainstorms expected of me at our B2B marketing firm.

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blog legal gavel

B2B Blogging: The Legal Implications

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Our recent webinar on business-to-business blogging resulted in more questions than we had time to answer so Mark Schaefer agreed to provide a personal reply on our blog to each question.

For our final installment, we’re combining the final two related questions:

Polly: I work for a small division in a large global company. Legal constraints are huge for us. Have you seen organizations getting around this issue by using some kind of disclaimer?

Jill: If you are a law firm how do you get beyond all the legal issues lawyers come up with? I would think strategies for professional services are more challenging?

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