Business blogging tips and news for professional bloggers

Five questions (Jason Boog would be proud) with business blogger Dave Wright.

Easton: What prompted you to start a business blog?

Dave: Earlier in the year I went along to SXSW in Austin. There was a huge profusion of web designers there. Like myself they were running these one and two man shops. Unlike me however they were well-known throughout the audience because their blogs had given the profile of web superstars. People like Jason Santa Maria, Shawn Inman and Jeff Croft were garnering huge audiences on the internet and they were able to translate their new found stardom into high-paying design gigs.

Easton: What is your blog about?

Dave: I have two blogs. One is on our company website, Stormlab. With this blog I look mainly at issues surrounding web design, trying to demystify the process for potential clients. The second one is about business blogging: what it is and how to do it effectively. It's part of our sister company, Bolder Blogs, which specializes in the creation of customized blog platforms for business.

Easton: How has your blog helped your business?

Dave: In both cases, the blogs have helped us to legitimize our businesses and reach out to potential clients across the country. When I publish an article about web design via Stormlab and that article shows up  in the top ten search results on Google it gives us huge exposure.

Easton: What have been the biggest challenges in maintaining your blog?

Dave: The most obvious challenge is finding the time to write fresh articles. From the outset I decided that I would rather write longer articles less frequently. I didn't want to be in the position of rehashing links that have been on ten other blogs. Instead I try to offer unique and thought-provoking articles like you might find in a magazine. The challenge here is that these take time to marinate and produce.

A more subtle challenge is maintaining the 'voice' of the blog. A lot of the design blogs like Stormlab tend to be written for designers. Because of this there is a lot of design vocabulary that is innately understood. Our audience is not as familiar with design and technology terms and so I have to remind myself to keep the tone of the articles simple and approachable.

Easton: What advice would you give others looking to make a successful business blog?

Dave:
- Pick one topic or angle and stick to it. It can be a big topic (like design,  blogging or cars) but it should have a definitive focus.
- Know your 'voice' and stick to it.
- Post with reasonable frequency.
- Make good use of services like Technorati, Digg, Feedburner and Feedblitz in order to 'get the word out'.
- Stay on top of your comments by responding to them straight away.
- Try to avoid putting up things like press releases in the guise of postings. These end up seeming dry and dull and don't give any reason for readers to return.

Thanks to Dave Wright for his time and thoughts.  I hope they help you in your business blogging!