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WHAT IS A BLOG?
1) A Blog is the contraction universally used for weblog, a type of website where entries are made (such as in a journal or diary), displayed in a reverse chronological order.

Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs (photoblog), videos (v-log), or audio (podcasting), and are part of a wider network of social media.

The word blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. “I’m going to blog about that today!”

WHY BOTHER WITH A BLOG?
2) Your ultimate goal with a blog is to create an informative, useful, and timely net that fishes out information, news, views, and opinions in your field. You are the fisherwoman: you identify the “catch” and you haul in the stories. Your blog provides a community for your readers to focus on your inspiring, educational, and positive blog posts: ultimately, your expertise will also shine through.

Readers will not want to wade through gook and slime: give them something meaningful and tell them more about yourself. You’ll find yourself in great demand for your services and products as you get more quality blog posts out into the search engines.

HOW DO I WRITE A POST?
3) You will usually have a login and password to your administrator section of your blog. If you’re using Wordpress, Blogger, or Typepad, you’ll land on a main page with all your options, such as publishing posts, publishing pages, updating the look and feel of the site, and managing subscribers and comments.

A post appears in your blog section. A page is permanent and will appear in your navigation section. Practice and see what happens! You always have the option to delete something.

WHAT DO I WRITE ABOUT?
4) The blog post content is up to you and most probably will focus on your particular theme, with periodic mention of your area of business. We highly recommend you visit other content-specific blogs (Sistersinbiz.com is my other blog, an example that focuses on women of color in business). See how other posts are created. Typically you will write your post from a very personal point of view and refrain from an excess of “corporatespeak” or highly self-promotional blogging.

5) Bloggers find inspiration from any source, such as:

• news.google.com (sign up for a Google Alert to be notified of news in your target area)
• your own business process and how that relates to your audience
• books, articles, or magazines you’ve been reading
• events that you’ve attended, organized, or led
• associations or membership groups
• other blogs in your content area

Visit other blogs for some idea: do a web search on “Blog on _______” and fill in your topic area.

BLOGGING TIPS
6) Content delivered in “kid-sized” portions is the best type of content for both search engines and readers: categories include Top Ten Lists, Thought of the Day, Tip of the Week, Highlight of the Month, or My Resource List are ways to categorize information that are helpful. Maintain different categories of information so your readers may browse through your different posts.

Always use particular keywords within your post that you think are useful for website search engines. For example, a blog on green businesses would always include words like LOHAS, green, “reduce, reuse, recycle”, water conservation, environmental sustainability, carbon neutral, or other tags.

WHAT NOT TO WRITE!!
7) You will always refrain from smut, offensive material, or any type of content that is derogatory. It’s just polite.

8) You will always refrain from using your blog as a way to constantly sell your product or service, instead of addressing the larger environment of your field, the trends in your industry, key players, reports, and developments.

9) You will always refrain from copying another author’s work. Acknowledge someone else’s hard work if you use their words. Provide a link back to their original work, too.

10) You will always upload your own photos to your own server, rather than “hotlinking” to someone else’s image. It’s considered good form to reduce traffic load on other people’s servers.

YOUR BLOG IS YOUR HOME
11) Keep your posts lively and make your viewpoint clear. Nothing is more dull than a boring techno-babble or jargon-encrusted blog, or worse, a blog that is automatically created by another content provider. Your blog is your home in the blogosphere: keep it clean and tidy, and make sure your visitors want to come back again and again. Invite readers to bookmark you, or to subscribe in the feed, so they receive entries via e-mail. Also, comment on the blogs of other authors you enjoy reading: engage in a debate or add additional information as you see fit. You’ll make great friends and develop a community of like-minded people all working on the issues that are important to you and your business.

12) Your blog is something that is easily searchable: make sure you stand by your posts, fact-check, and keep your blog up to date.

Happy Blogging!

For a more thorough blogging guide, please visit the following:
http://www.eff.org/bloggers/
Electronic Frontier Foundation Blogging Guide

A Successful Woman's Handbook: Fifty-one Ways to Build your Community of Clients Online. How Women are Using the Internet to Grow their Business, Reach the Right Customers, and Make a Difference

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