17 Mistakes Professionals Make with Their Blogs

By Denise Wakeman & Patsi Krakoff

Are you getting results from your business blog? Is it
getting harder for you to spend time on your blog because
you're just not seeing how it is going to pay off? If so,
you're not alone. Hundreds of blogs are started each day and
many of them are abandoned after several months because it
takes time and energy to keep a good business blog going.

Make no mistake, blogs are a great tool for building
community, interacting with potential clients, and marketing
your services. And, it's not enough to set one up and post
occasionally. You have to use it effectively to drive
traffic and gain readership.

We've discovered several common mistakes professionals make
with their blogs. Mostly, they aren't using some the
features available to them with their blogging software,
because it hasn't been sufficiently explained. Eyes glaze
over with the mention of RSS, pinging, trackbacks and
permalinks. Professionals may be ignoring these things,
hoping they don't really need to know. But they do if they
want results from their business blog.

Here's a list of what we found on a recent trip around the
professional business blogosphere:

Content:

1. Not posting frequently enough. (Recommended: 2-3 times a
week.)

2. Content is not focused, and the target audience is not
clearly defined.

3. Posting articles that are too long, instead of using
extended post features.

4. Not linking profusely (because the professional isn't
researching their field on the internet).

5. Poor spelling, bad grammar and typos.

Design

6. No name of author in tag line or on side bar.

7. No author photo.

8. No signature or name in the footer; no way to tell who
wrote post on a multi-author site.

9. No subscription form; no way to get blog updates through
RSS or email.

10. No way for readers to leave comments and use
trackbacks.

11. Too many categories or none at all.

12. No information about their business services and
products.

13. Calendars for no reason at all (what is the point of
those calendars anyway?).

Marketing

14. Blog isn't submitted to blog directories.

15. Not pinging each time a new post is published.

16. Not using trackbacks referring or linking to other
blogs.

17. No blogroll or list of favorite blogs or websites.

If you're considering using a blog to build your business,
optimize it by taking time to learn the features and steps
that will ensure success. A blog is like any other
marketing tool - you've got to use it correctly to get
positive results.

Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. Get an ebook and take the time to learn about your blog
software or hosting provider.

2. Hire a professional blog expert to coach you on how to
rev up your blog.


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About the Authors:

Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman are two blog experts who
have teamed up to form The Blog Squad
(http://www.fixmyblog.com). They provide advanced training
and coaching for professionals who want to beef up their
blog for marketing optimization. Each month a blog is
selected as Blog of the Month and undergoes a rigorous
makeover. At the end of the month, the blog must pass the
Blog Squad Seal of Approval to be certified a success.
Patsi and Denise also publish a popular blog at
http://www.buildabetterblog.com

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