Jeremiah Desmarais has written a new weblog summarizing John Cass’ new book, Strategies and Tools for Corporate Blogging. Five of his main points are below:

No linking. Blogs aren’t a one-way street. Readers expect you to give them a quick overview of a topic, and then point them to related Web sites for further reading. That means providing lots of links.

At a minimum, you should link to any place that inspires you to write, whether its a newspaper article, your website or just something you stumbled across on the web. What else can you link to? Web sites with authoritative content are always good choices.

Not offering anything of value. Nobody will read your blog if you only post fluffy, superficial content. If people don’t feel you’re worth the time they spend after a couple of visits, they’ll never come back. Impress them the first time around by consistently posting valuable content.

Not getting personal. Personal dialog is the hallmark of the blog world. The most frequented blogs invite readers in by writing in the first person, addressing readers directly, and sharing the writer’s unique perspective on the subject.

Get personal by using your real name when posting — not “The XYZ Agency.” Include a photo so readers can see the person behind the post. And when you’re writing posts, don’t worry about how your prose will stack up against the journalists at The New York Times. Instead, just be yourself.

Not updating often enough. Do you need to post every day? Not necessarily. Finding the time to write good content daily can be a challenge without a dedicated blogger on your staff.

But, to keep things fresh, you should plan on posting at least once a week, if not more. Remember, not every post needs to be “breaking news.” A personal anecdote can be just as helpful — and just as engaging — as a piece of cutting-edge commentary.

Disabling comments. This is a big one. Blogging is a dialog. That means your audience can respond to what you wrote. Invite commentary by allowing your audience to post their own comments or questions.

Some bloggers turn off the commenting function because they’re worried about negative opinions being aired on their blog. A better approach is to moderate comments.

So what should you do if a reader criticizes what you wrote or expresses an opinion you don’t agree with? If their comment is angry, insulting, or downright offensive, feel free to delete it. But if their comment is well-reasoned and respectful, it’s better to approve it. Then respond in a comment of your own — making sure to be well-reasoned and respectful yourself.

Keep these blogging best practices in mind before you publish your next post.

This post was submitted by Patrick Bonnett of Encore Financial Services. 

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