Caro Consulting

Blogging Peer Pressure

My blog momma Toby Bloomberg and I are on our way to San Francisco for another Fancy Food Show presentation - this one focused soley on Social Media. In honor of our trip, we are inviting fellow bloggers and those who like hanging out with bloggers to join us at MoMo's San Francisco Grill.

So why blogging peer pressure? Have you seen the last time I blogged? I guess I'm still working on that blogging strategy I talked about in July and plan to talk about in the presentation this weekend.

See you in San Fran!

Atlanta Bloggers Wrap Up

The Grape at the Forum expected a quiet evening for training a new server. Then the Atlanta bloggers showed up and excelerated the training just a bit. With ease they handled some spilt wine, numerous questions about wine and food, and the dreaded separate checks. Kudos to them.

The energy in the room was amazing as each person matched the face to the blog. All ages and backgrounds came together because of one common love - and became fast friends. It was a blast - just check out the smile on my face.

Here are the bloggers in your Atlanta neighborhood: Toby Bloomberg, Josh Hallett, Dave aka Earthlink Blog Master, Potato Chip Girl Abigail, Justin Hunt, Auburn Grad Justin, and Scott Burkett.

A special call out goes to my blog baby Carol Kirschner who I now realize can teach me a thing or two (or three or four) about blogs.

Finally, a special welcome to the soon to be bloggers, Polly Wade and Julie from Softscribe. Our event was certainly not limited to the blogging expert.

If you would like to join us in the future, just let one of us know. We'll see you next time.

Atlanta Bloggers

Josh Hallett is in town next week and is working with local bloggers to put together an informal blogging dinner.

Come join Josh, Toby, and myself on Tuesday the 28th at 7pm. We'll be dining at The Grape at the Forum. Josh has all the info in his Atlanta Blogger Dinner post. See you there.

Favorite Blog Books

I just finished reading "Freakonomics" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. It certainly makes you look at the world differently... And is not recommended for those who prefer to look at the world through rose colored glasses. I'm now reading "The World is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman. Very timely for today's world. Both come on CD, so my long commute home is good for something.

Upon my request, my blog mama Toby Bloomberg recommended the following books for those looking to brush up on their blog marketing skills. Before I add them to my Amazon.com wish list, I'd like some feedback first. What do you think? Worth the time?

I'd also like to know when these authors are going to come out in a podcast version... I need to continue filling that time in the car.

• Jeremy Wright's book, "Blog Marketing" - The guy who auctioned himself off as a blog consultant on eBay.
• Debbie Weil's book, "The Corporate Blogging Book" - Not available until August 3, 2006.
• Robert Scoble and Shel Israel's "Naked Conversations"
• A random entry James Surowiecki's "The Wisdom of Crowds."  The concept is a good one and the book was enjoyable, but it did trend to drag on at the end.

Thoughts on these books? Suggestions for other books?

Blog Mama and Blog Daddy

My blog mama - Toby Bloomberg from The Diva Marketing Blog - has a great post about blog family trees. Who influenced you to create a blog? Who helped you work through all the kinks and promoted it to all your cousins?

Well, I am happy to announce, I am officially a blog mama myself. Carol Kirshner from Promedica Research Center just recently launched her own blog. It's still a young blog and she is looking for feedback from the blog professionals out there -- who are most likely blog grandparents and great-grandparents by now!

Congratulations Carol.

Why a blog and an e-newsletter?

Just last week, I presented to Storehouse Furniture what I do best, an Internet Marketing Plan Strategy. In it I recommended they provide content to their customers and prospects three ways: website, newsletters, and a blog.

"Where website content and FAQs are more factual and educational, blogs can be more personal and of the moment. A blog is an extension of your brand - it enables you to create a relationship with your audience."

Why? Because we all know by now that people want to consume information (and purchase products) in different ways - and you need to make sure you are fulfilling those varied wants. Some will search your website, some will sign up for your newsletter, and some have added RSS feeds to their reading stack.

And what is a Caro post without a top 10 list to answer a question? This one comes from "Top Ten Reasons to Publish an Ezine AND a Blog" by Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman.

Blogs allow you to...

1. Be spontaneous.
2. Show your informal, friendly side.
3. Circumvent those nasty spam blockers and filters.
4. Enhance your search engine optimization efforts.
5. Give your ezine article eternal life - and keep them organized too.
6. Establish yourself as a good resource.
7. Include ads, products, and affiliate programs in the blog side columns (side note: some of those in the blogosphere would debate this).
8. Create two-way communication with your readers, prospects, and customers.
9. Post your ezine articles online without needing to bug your tech guy.
10. Attract more visitors to your website - and hopefully convert them into customers.

Why do I do both? Because it's easier to post my thoughts over time and then send them out every few months to my distribution list... many of those on this list do not follow blogs at this point.

Do you do both? Why?

Addition 10/19/05 - Paul Chaney and Amy Gahran share their perspectives on why they are not using or are no longer using email newsletters.

Blog Tool Recommendations

In my last post - Ten Things to Consider Before You Blog - Carol posted a comment and asked,

"What should a person look for in a blog provider? Are there any disadvantages to starting with a 100% free provider? Are there distinct advantages to starting with a provider that charges?"

An excellent question and one best left to the experts to answer. Paul provided the "Ten Things To Consider," so let's let my blog mentor Toby Bloomberg and my new blogging friend Josh Hallett take a crack at this one.

Because she is a smart marketer, Toby reinforces marketing fundamentals,

"The question is not necessarily free or paid - especially with a business blog - but is the functionality needed. As with any smart marketing tactic/strategy you need to start with your goals and objectives and then use the blog to support those.

Ask yourself, do you want trackbacks? Do you want the ability to add multiple pages off the blog? Do you want an "About Us" page? If so, the free Blogger may not be the right platform.

How much control of the software does your IT department want? Will the IT people have time to administer and support it? Should you go with software that is hosted on your server or do you want an ASP like Typepad?"

In addition, Toby has also heard it is difficult to export content from free Blogger. So consider long-term consequences.

Toby also provided a great comparison chart of the major blog platforms.

Josh said he could go on and on,

"I just don't let me friends use bad blogging tools."

And then proceeded to write an information packed post on his site to answer my question. To sum it up:

• An installed solution is his preferred method, but you or someone you know needs some technical know-how to get it off the ground.
• A blog provider is more like the services Toby listed below (more appropriate for a techno-phobe like myself).
• Consider the following when choosing a good blog provider - cost (you get what you pay for... or don't pay for), options, lock-in, and customization. Read more...

Thanks Paul for starting off this conversation and Toby and Josh for providing additional information.

Keep the great questions coming.

Ten Thing to Consider Before You Blog

Thank you Paul Chaney for creating this fabulous Ten Thing to Consider Before You Blog! As you all know, I love lists - here is my rendition. Go to Radiant Marketing Group for more details

1. Determine your goal.
2. Determine your core message.
3. Appoint someone to support it. Write the posts. Monitor the comments.
4. Be prepared for positive and negative two-way conversations.
5. Create a blog policy.
6. Monitor the blogosphere. Know what they are saying about you.
7. Choose a blog platform... I'm thinking you may want to put this higher in the steps.
8. Create a blog marketing strategy. What's the point of putting it out there if no one knows about it?
9. Track it!
10. Know your keywords... This really should go in your strategy, buy hey he needed a 10th.

Paul sums it up by warning against self-promotion. Understand, your blog is an extension of your brand. It is you creating a relationship with your audience. Picture yourself at a party, talking about your company. Do your fellow party goers want to be sold to? Probably not.

Blog Tip - Know What You're Doing First

Update 10/19/05: Toby was one of two bloggers given an interview by Ed Garsten, Editorial Director of Chrysler Group Media Blog - TheFirehouse.biz. Make sure to read the post about her interview, it certainly clears up why Chrysler did what it did and shows they did know what they were doing.

My blogging mentor, Toby Bloomberg taught me a little something this afternoon. She was telling me about her Chrysler's Firehouse Blog IS For Media Only post and how much buzz it has generated.

Apparently, Chrysler has created a password protected blog for verified media only. If you read comments on the post in her blog as well as on the Business Blogging site, you learn quickly that in the blogging world, this is a big no-no. Not to mention the conspiracy theorists really start coming out of the woodwork.

This to me was contrary to what I was taught... Blog applications are extensive and sometimes companies use password protected blogs to gather input from customers or share information with a very targeted group of people. Well, goes to show I don't know everything about blogs (yet) and neither does Chrysler. According to Toby, the problem with Chrysler's Firehouse Blog is they password protected a public site - something everyone can see. They should have created an access only blog.

The moral of this story? Don't enter the blogosphere lightly - blogs are supposed to enhance your brand, not tarnish it. Speak with a blog consultant first - someone like Toby.

Blogs - Fad or Fundamental?

It was a friend filled weekend. First it was dinner with our friends Steve and Beth and their adorable son Grant, who will not stop growing up!  Saturday night was with the "Fabulous Four" - a name created after one too many of Rob's margaritas.

Both nights my new favorite topic came up - blogs. It was interesting to hear the different perspectives on blogs - is it a fad or should this tactic now be considered a fundamental in every company's marketing plan?

Three years ago, my friend Meredith and I cried fad - just a bunch of renegades rambling on and on about one topic or another. It is ironic that today the two "brilliant" marketers calling blogging a fad now use it in their marketing efforts. Even more ironic is Meredith's effort to ensure our children are healthy and encourage women to have pride in their bodies was met by bitter comments by those rambling renegades.

Okay, so what's my point? Ezra Palmer's How Blogs Pertain to You sums it up nicely,

"Many businesses and publishers are still trying to figure out "blogs," wondering if they should have a blog and what they should blog about. That's probably a mistake. What they ought to be trying to understand is bloggers and blog readers... The Blogosphere is a place for people who want a more personal relationship with various entities they deal with on a regular basis - corporate, government, media, you name it. They want to have a sense of a person behind or within the enterprise. They are looking for something or somebody real."

Three years later, I believe blogs are here to stay and for some companies they should be a fundamental in their marketing plans. I always say people do business with people they know and like - sometimes regardless if it is a fit or not. Why not take advantage of this fact? Use blogs as a window into the soul of your company.

...It doesn't hurt your search marketing efforts either.