'Net Features : blogs

12 Effective Corporate Blog Designs

Michael Garrity — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:35:00 GMT

In the age of likes, retweets and shares, content marketing has suddenly become the best way to spread the word about your brand to bring in new customers and rack up conversions.

However, since social media has its limitations, in terms of both branding and the type of content that companies can offer, many businesses have taken to blogging to provide insightful and valuable information to their customers, while also producing likeable and sharable content that can benefit their SEO efforts.

Look, plenty has already been written about how blogs can improve a brand’s content marketing campaigns or increase leads, but we’re here to be a little more superficial than that. While content is undoubtedly and absolutely the most important aspect of a valuable, successful blog, it’s not the only thing that matters. After all, we’ve all heard about the effect that a good (or bad) first impression can have on new consumers. That’s why all of that great content on your blog should look nice, as well.

If you’re in need of some inspiration, we’ve compiled this list of 12 of the most effective corporate blog designs on the Web. Each of them takes a different approach; some are design-heavy and visually striking (e.g. Whole Foods, Southwest), while others take a simpler, less bold approach that is more in line with what the brand offers (e.g. LinkedIn, Bigelow Tea).

Which designs are your favorites? Let us know in the comments section, or share some other great corporate blogs that you know about!

Bigelow Tea Blog

The Official LinkedIn Blog

7Gen Blog by Seventh Generation

eBay inc. Ink

Disney Parks Blog

Whole Story by Whole Foods

The Cleanest Line by Patagonia

Nuts About Southwest

The Dropbox Blog

All Songs Considered by NPR

TOMS

Ice Cream Journal by Turkey Hill Dairy

6 Tips for Creating Moneymaking Content

Michael Garrity — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 20:00:00 GMT

At the end of the day, content drives the Internet. It’s an important aspect of any Web presence, but especially for affiliate marketers, who depend on their content to interest visitors, attract advertisers, and make money.

When an affiliate is just getting started with blogging, it can seem like they’re wandering aimlessly trying to find the best ways to create compelling content that will help them successfully lure in merchants and consumers alike. However, in the mad rush to just get anything out there, many affiliates are willingly sacrificing quality for quantity.

Fortunately, as the best and brightest affiliates out there will tell you, that doesn’t have to be the case. It’s entirely possible to publish engaging, insightful, and lasting content that will also help fatten your wallet.

Just keep these six simple tips in mind every time you sit down to start blogging:

Get to the Point

One of the biggest turn-offs for many Web users is clicking on a link only to be met with a giant wall of text. Unless they’re super interested in what you have to say, chances are they’re only going to skim your article, at best, or just leave the page immediately (in other words, “tl;dr”). It’s not that what you have to say isn’t worthwhile, but most Web readers prefer their content in bite-sized, easy to manage doses so they can just read it and be on their way. Say what you have to say and get out of there.

It’s also important to consider your headline, since most users won’t read any more than that. If you want to get eyes on your site, you have to write good, informative titles that will encourage users to click-through and see what it’s all about.

Relevance is Essential

This should go without saying, but readers (especially those looking for very niche-specific information) absolutely want you to publish content that is relevant to their needs and interests. Your posts should be actionable and deal with both common and more esoteric topics about whatever industry it is that you choose to cover. Give the people something that won’t be a waste of time.

Make it Timeless

Evergreen content, information that is always useful and never goes out of date, is a great way to keep users coming to your blog. Anything that will always be relevant to your industry makes for an excellent topic, as it can ensure consistent traffic for an extended period of time, both from first time visitors looking for the information and regulars using it as a refresher. Not all of your content needs to be as timeless as the theme song from Titanic, but the more you have on your site, the better off you’ll be in the long run.

Don’t Forget Your Ads

Since the goal of your blog is to make money, you’re going to need ads. And if you want to utilize those advertisements for profit, you have to make sure that what you’re writing about compliments what merchants are trying to sell on your site. Remember, at the end of the day, your job is to help convince your readers that these advertisers offer the solutions to their problems.

Be Creative with “Content”

Too often, bloggers fall into the trap of thinking of content in a bubble – a horribly boring text bubble. Don’t get me wrong; text content can be great, and offers a solid foundation upon which to establish your blog, but you shouldn’t stop there. Believe it or not, not everyone likes to read or has time to read or can spend all of their time at work reading your content instead of actually working. Thankfully, the solution is simple; just produce and publish other types of content that supplement your regular blog posts. Popular and practical choices could include videos or podcasts.

Outsource

Sometimes, you may be too busy to consistently sit down and churn out a high volume of good content. And sometimes, you may just have writer’s block (it happens – trust me). In these cases, it’s good to have contacts that allow you to find guests to write posts and produce content for your blog. The best part is, you literally have to do no work.

2008 State of the Blogosphere

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:54:00 GMT

Technorati's David Sifry has announced the 2008 State of the Blogosphere. Along with data from the service's massive database of bloggers, Technorati also conducted a survey of some of their registered subscribers, asking questions about how respondents blog and more. Nearly 1300 individuals from 60 countries replied to the survey. Here are some of the most interesting highlights from the report.

- Technorati is currently tracking 133 million blogs
- 7.4 Million blogs have posted in the last 120 days - just 5.5% of all blogs tracked by Technorati.
- 1.5 Million blogs have posted at least once in the last 7 days.
- There are now, on average, 900,000 blog posts tracked every 24 hours. That means that Technorati is tracking 37,500 new blog posts per hour, or 10.4 new blog posts per second!

From the survey of Technorati bloggers:

- The majority of bloggers we surveyed currently have advertising on their blogs. Among those with advertising, the mean annual investment in their blog is $1,800, but it’s paying off.
- The mean annual revenue is $6,000 with $75K+ in revenue for those with 100,000 or more unique visitors per month.

RSS The Oprah Way

Mike Phillips — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:00:00 GMT

When first introduced, RSS (Real Simple Syndication) was touted by a vocal few as a great salvation of time for the wider Web community. And by all accounts, it delivered. It gives us the ability to consume massive amounts of information in a short period of time while also archiving that information for use at a later date. It's hard to argue against the value RSS provides for those aware of its capabilities and benefits. However, most people outside of the Internet sphere of influence are not using RSS, much less know what the heck it is and how it can benefit them. It's time to change that.

The challenge for website owners is in expressing to users the value of RSS and why they should sign up for our feeds.

Raising RSS Awareness
For many, RSS is neither real nor simple. Brilliant in conception, it is often hopelessly confusing for the beginner. But RSS can provide a good source of traffic, loyal users and higher website subscriptions. That is why it is important to walk website visitors through the steps of locating, subscribing and reading feeds.

Sample explanation pages are the norm for some websites, although still not common. These instructions pages often vary in scope based on the technical sophistication of users but should always highlight what RSS is and how the audience member can benefit, while explaining in no uncertain terms how a person goes about subscribing to a website's feed. In my opinion, nobody has done this better than media mogul Oprah Winfrey. On her website, in lieu of dry and technical jargon, Real Simple Syndication becomes "Ready for Some Stories." It's simple, easy to remember and to the point, opening up the possibility for more users to understand and benefit from the syndicated content. Below is an image from Oprah.com, detailing and demystifying RSS.

A continuing challenge when it comes to raising awareness for RSS, is that since its initial conception, website owners and marketers have presented or announced the availability of RSS feeds most often through bright orange icons or through "chicklets" - small icons for individual feedreaders. The problem is that many users don't know what these mean - it's foreign, intimidating and Web professionals are committed to using the same methods of RSS promotion. While it is important to make the presence of feeds available, too many of these cryptic symbols and options for subscribers may render a campaign to increase RSS subscribers futile. In the end, simply offering RSS in a way that is in line with how users consume information (for example email) will go a long way towards raising awareness. Take a lesson from Oprah - she knows her audience, knows how much they could benefit from RSS and knows how to explain and deliver it with as much ease as possible.

Beating the Blogging Blues

Mike Phillips — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:35:00 GMT

It happens to all bloggers at some point ... writer's block. Whether you can't find a good topic to write about or are just having trouble getting motivated, sometimes you need a little extra push to get going. Like any skill, the more you write, the better you get. If you're stuck, try out OneWord.com. Here, you get one word and 60 seconds to write whatever comes to mind. Submit your answer and it will be catalogued for others to see, if you enter your name and email (OneWord promises they will not show your email address.) You can also click "skip" to bypass that step and see what others have submitted. Either way, it's a nice exercise to get your fingers moving and your blogging brain cranking.

Another resource, Newseum's Today's Front Pages may help too. Here you can see front pages from newspapers all over the country and the world, every day. Sort by region, choose a state, country, etc. You can view the pages as they stand, download a readable pdf, print the page or click a link to go to that newspaper's website. Along with providing some inspiration, this can give you timely and geo-friendly topics to write about - always a plus for blogging.

Feed Compare - Bigger or Better?

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:45:00 GMT

With Google is mere days away from publicly unveiling Adsense for Feeds, you're about to read a lot more on this blog and other regarding how to determine the popularity of a blog and how to assess the value derived from appearing in a specific sites RSS feed whether it's through a casual editorial mention or via advertising. While RSS continues to have a slow adoption rate with the greater Web community, it's got the backing of many Web professionals - and that goes a long way.

While true RSS "engagement" analytics are a ways off, there has been an influx in the number of services which show the number of RSS subscribers a weblog actually has. Case in point, we mentioned BlogPerfume back in January of this year. Today however the Web is abuzz with FeedCompare.com, a free service which enables anyone to do side by side comparisons of Feedburner RSS subscribers for a website.

Connect with Local Customers by Creating a Blog

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:33:00 GMT

Want your site to rank better with local Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Adding a blog to your site makes smart business sense for a variety of reasons! Simply put, search engines tend to rank business websites with blogs higher than those that don’t have them and they’re an excellent way to connect with people in your area!

Although you may be thinking that everyone has a blog and you don’t have the time to deal with updating one, once they’re set up and running, they really don’t take much time at all and the benefits are simply too great to ignore.

But Why are Blogs So Effective?
The short answer is: Search engines love the fresh content that blogs provide and tend to reward sites with consistently fresh content with higher rankings. They also create great inbound and outbound linking opportunities which search engines also use to determine page rank.

Readers love them too as it gives them an opportunity to ask you questions, get answers, and interact with businesses in a whole new way. Further, blog owners also love them because the reader feedback gives them invaluable information on how their business is perceived by their clients. It’s a win-win-win situation all the way around!

What would I Write About in My Blog?
You can write about anything you choose but the best blog posts talk about topics that are relevant to your industry AND your readers. If you own an auto repair shop, you could write about seasonal things like winterizing your car or making sure your antifreeze is ready for summer travel.

You could also write about maintenance checklists, how to increase fuel mileage, what to look for in an auto mechanic, the advantages of using synthetic oil in your next oil change, etc. You can also include blog-only promotions, contests, and coupons so your readers have extra incentive to read and become active participants in your business blog.

What if I don’t Have the Time?
If you don’t want to write your own blog entries for any reason, you can choose to outsource the writing to a freelance writer who knows how to add extra optimization to the posts or hire an Internet marketing company like Brick Marketing to run it all for you. No matter what path you choose, simply adding a blog to your site will positively impact your bottom line in no time at all and, who knows, you might even discover that it’s fun too!

About the Author: Nick Stamoulis
Nick Stamoulis is the President of Brick Marketing and Website Magazine's “Local Thursdays” weekly contributor.

BlogHer Business '08 : This One's For the Ladies

Administrator — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:00:00 GMT

BlogHer, a popular Web guide to blogs by women will present its second annual BlogHer Business Conference on April 3-4 in New York City.

BlogHer Business '08 has "recruited a variety of social media mavens and online marketing gurus to share how to build online communities and reach women online by leveraging content, community and technological proficiency" according to the release. The conference, sponsored by companies including Microsoft, Intuit, Wiley and Cisco, will feature keynote panels, break-out sessions and a free-form "Ask the Experts" micro-consulting opportunity, all aimed at providing attendees with experiences that are interactive and educational.

BlogHer Business '08 will also mark the release of preliminary data from BlogHer's latest community survey, created in tandem with Compass Partners. BlogHer and Compass posed questions to a representative sample of the U.S. female online population and across BlogHer's network reaching more than 8 million unique visitors per month. The results illuminate the motivations, interests and influences driving women as they flock to the blogosphere in unprecedented numbers.