Troubleshooting your business Blog

As you start building your business blog, you might run into a few bumps along the way. There will be times when you are tempted to throw in the towel; however, I encourage you to keep going. As with any business endeavor, things are going to get tough from time to time and how you manage those times can make all the difference. Studies have shown that persistence will pay off in the long run.

Here are some common problems and how you can overcome them:

find time to blog. Time is always an issue with busy entrepreneurs and when you’re running out of time, your blogging efforts are often the first to go. Here are some tips to make sure your blog stays up to date even when you’re busy.

• Group your posts. Set aside a few hours and write several blog posts at once. If you’re writing about the top five tips for using your product, break each tip into a blog post. Then use your blogging software to schedule blogs to post over several days or weeks.
• Repost an old favorite blog post. Of course this won’t work for new bloggers, however if you’ve been at it for a while this is a great way to engage new readers. Even your long-time readers probably won’t remember that this is a repeat post.
• Make Post Lists. These are quick and easy to do and provide valuable resources for your readers. List the top ten must-have tools for your field, the best books or resource manuals.
• Record a video. Videos are great for blog posts. Record a quick 1-3 minute video on a topic related to your business. Tools like JingProject.com are free and a great way to record a short video from PowerPoint slides.

thinking about what to write. At some point you will run into writer’s block. Do a quick Google search on what others are writing in your field. Set up a Google alert on your top keywords and have those alerts automatically go to a folder in Outlook. Then when you’re stuck, look at the folder and you’ll have a host of new ideas.

people don’t comment. One of the goals of a blog is to get people to engage with you and start a conversation. This can be accomplished with comments. Please note that the number of comments on your blog is not a reflection of how many people are reading your blog. Here are some tips for getting more feedback:

• Ask people to comment. Don’t assume they will know how to make a comment. Ask them for their opinion.
• Hold a contest where people must comment to win the prize.
• Make an outrageous comment that you know will spark a conversation.

People are leaving inappropriate comments.. No one is exempt from those nasty people in this world who derive some kind of pleasure from leaving nasty comments. The best solution is to simply uncomment and continue. Do not respond to what was said. Many blogging programs have tools that will help determine if a comment is spam and automatically delete it. You’ll always want the ability to read a comment before it’s posted on your blog.

As you continue to blog, you will run into one or more of these issues. The key to success is to keep moving forward and be consistent with regular posting. People will start to notice your posts and you will gain new customers and new respect from existing customers.