Let’s be honest—most business blogs suck. See, companies have been launching blogs for a few years now just because “it’s the thing to do.” Everyone else is doing it, so they do it too. Normally, they launch a blog that only a few people read and that offers no benefit to their company.

What’s so terrible about most business blogs? Business blogs that suck often:

1. Bring nothing new to the table—If people can read the content you’re publishing on dozens of other blogs in your niche, why would they bother reading your blog? If you want to build a loyal base of readers, you need to provide people with content they can’t find anywhere else. That doesn’t mean that you can’t focus on topics others are writing about. It just means that you need to find fresh angles and offer unique insights.
2. Write for the search engines first—Blogging is still a great tool for increasing your search engine presence, but if that’s the only reason you’re blogging, you’re doing it wrong. Optimizing your blog is smart, but if you’re only focused on writing posts for the search engines, you’re going to end up with a low quality blog that no one is passionate about reading.
3. Try to be someone you’re not—There are a lot of great bloggers out there who have truly special voices. Some are funny and witty, others are tough and biting. There’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from other bloggers, but if you try to mimic their style and be someone you’re not, it’s going to ring false with readers.
4. Never take a stand on the issues—Stop playing it safe. This is your blog. People read it because they want to know what you think about certain topics. Don’t try to be on both sides of the fence at once. Tell your readers what you really think. Offer your opinions and back them up with research and facts. Don’t apologize for what you think. Be strong in your convictions, whether people like them or not.
5. Let spammers take over the comments—Comment moderation is an important part of blogging. If you don’t clean up your comments, readers will be turned off by all of the spammy comments. Simply put, it makes your blog look unprofessional and unmaintained.

If you want your business blog to be successful, avoid the 5 mistakes above.

When you have a blog, you’ll attract all different types of readers, from those who just pass through one time to casual readers who come by occasionally to dedicated readers who subscribe to your blog and read every post. Clearly, your goal is to attract as many dedicated readers as possible, but that doesn’t happen instantly. Typically, you have to work on turning casual readers into dedicated readers over time.

Here are 5 ways you can transform a casual reader into a dedicate reader.

1. Focus on creating a great reader experience—The quality of your content isn’t the only thing that matters. It’s the overall experience that keeps readers engaged and coming back. Your blog needs to have a clean, compelling design. You don’t want to annoy readers with pop-up ads, complicated registration processes, spammy comment section, etc. Focus on creating the best possible experience for your visitors.
2. Make it easy for readers to subscribe and participate—The easier it is for someone to subscribe to your blog, the likelier it is that they’ll do so. Make sure your subscribe button is clear to see, and you can even include a call to action at the end of each post encouraging readers to subscribe. Also, make it easy for your readers to comment and share your posts on social networks. Don’t require them to register or complete a CAPTCHA to leave a comment. It’s annoying and kills their drive to participate.
3. Interact with your readers—If you want readers to stick around and keep coming back, one of the best things you can do is interact with them. Respond to them whenever they leave a comment. Connect with them on Twitter and Facebook. This builds relationships and increases their loyalty to your blog.
4. Give your readers a sense of ownership in your blog—Make your readers feel invested in your blog so they’ll keep coming back. Allow them to submit guest posts. Highlight the best comments. Ask them to submit ideas for topics they want to see you write about. Hold a contest. All of these things will create a community and make your readers feel like they own a piece of your blog.
5. Be real—It’s the easiest blogging advice you’ll ever receive. Just be yourself. Write like you talk and let your personality shine through in every aspect of your blog. That’s how you’ll build a personal connection with your readers that keeps them coming back for more.

What’s your best tip for turning casual readers into dedicated readers? Share it by leaving a comment.

Growing a blog takes time, patience, and a lot of focus. You can’t just set it and forget it. You have to work on building your blog every single day. Of course, this can be much easier said than done. That’s why so many blogs fail. The blogger starts off with great enthusiasm, but over time, he loses focus and the blog begins to die a slow, painful death.

Here are 3 tips that will help you stay focused on your blog.

1. Create a posting schedule—It’s important to have fun while blogging, but you also have to treat it seriously if you want to get results. One way to do this is to create a posting schedule and stick to it. You don’t have to publish new content every single day, but you do need to create a consistent publishing schedule that works for you. Whether that’s daily, 3 times a week, or weekly is up to you.
2. Make a list of essential daily blog management tasks—What are the things you need to do to maintain and grow your blog? You need to write content, schedule it to publish at the right times, manage your comments, interact with readers, and drive traffic to your blog. Spend some time each day focusing on these essential tasks. Make it part of your daily schedule so that you don’t neglect it.
3. Set milestones—If you’re blogging without any goals, you have no direction and subsequently you’ll lose focus. You need to have something to shoot for so you can stay focused each day on inching toward your milestones. Set goals for the number of subscribers you want to get, the amount of daily traffic you want to average, etc.

What do you do to keep your blogging focus? Share your best tips by leaving a comment below.

You can’t have a blog without having content, and if you want to grow your blog over time, you have to keep publishing fresh, interesting content on a regular basis. This content isn’t going to appear out of thin air. Someone has to create it, and while you might be thinking of tackling this task all on your own, you may wish to consider the benefits of hiring a freelance blogger to help.

Here’s a look at just some of the benefits you can enjoy when you hire a well-qualified freelance blogger.

• Better quality content—Are you a professional writer? Probably not. The truth is that most people aren’t great writers. While you might think that the informal nature of blogging means you don’t have to be a good writer, that’s not the case. Good writing has nothing to do with formality; it has to do with the writer’s ability to connect with the reader in a meaningful way. A professional freelance blogger will be able to create better content than you’re able to.
• Frees up your time—Do you really have time to write blog content on a regular basis? You’re probably already wearing enough hats as it is, so there’s no need to don the blogger hat as well. Save yourself some time by letting a freelance blogger shoulder the content creation load.
• Only pay for the work you need—Thinking of hiring an in-house writer? You’ll have to pay a full-time salary, benefits, and everything else that goes with having an employee. By outsourcing your blog writing to a freelancer, you only pay for the amount of content you need…nothing else. It’s a cost-effective way to get new content.
• Fresh perspective—Sometimes, you can be too close to your subject matter. You’re so close that your perspective is greatly narrowed. By hiring a freelance writer, you can get a fresh perspective to tired topics.
• Avoid blogger’s burnout—Let’s face it, when you’re the only one writing on your blog day in and day out, it can get tiring quickly. If you’re all on your own, there’s a good chance you’ll get burned out and eventually give up on your blog. By hiring a freelancer to help carry the load, you can keep your blog going strong.

Do you have any experience hiring freelance bloggers? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below.

Guest blogging is a topic I’ve spent quite a bit of time writing about. I think it’s an important thing to talk about, because many people are finally starting to realize the benefits guest blogging has to offer, and they’re jumping aboard the bandwagon. That’s great, but you have to make sure you’re approaching guest blogging in the right way if you want to get the most out of it. More simply stated, you have to make sure you’re not a bad guest blogger.

How can you tell if you’re a bad guest blogger? Here are a few warning signs.

• You act like the blogger owes you something in your pitch—I’ve received pitches from guest bloggers who come across as alarmingly entitled. They pump themselves up and try to bully me into accepting their guest posts. It’s insane just how clueless some of these guest bloggers are. News flash: nobody owes you anything. You don’t deserve any guest blogging opportunities.
• You don’t take time to learn about the blog—A good guest blogger spends time researching the blog, reading old posts, learning about the blogger, and interacting with the readers in the comments before making a pitch. The better you understand the blog, the more able you’ll be to pitch a topic that’s a good fit.
• You write your guest posts as quickly as you can—If you’re just interested in cranking out as many guest posts as you can so you can build tons of links, you’re in this for the wrong reasons. It’s your duty as a guest blogger to provide the very best content you’re capable of creating. You owe it to the blogger who’s publishing your content, the readers, and yourself (your reputation is on the line!).
• You change the topic you agreed to write about—If you tell the blog owner that you’re going to write a guest post about a certain topic, that’s what you need to write the post about. You can’t change your mind without notifying the blogger and turn in a post on an entirely different subject.
• You don’t respond to comments—Don’t be the guest blogger who turns in a post and disappears. Part of being a guest blogger is interacting with the readers who respond by leaving comments. You need to stick around after your post is published and create meaningful conversations with the readers. And while you’re at it, help promote your guest post too.
• You don’t thank the blogger for letting your guest post—It’s common courtesy. Send over an email thanking the blogger for publishing your guest post.

Are you a bad guest blogger?

You might be sick of seeing them by now, but the fact remains—list posts work. People love reading and sharing good lists. A good list post contains useful or entertaining information in an easy-to-read format that promotes discussion.

Here are 5 easy ideas for list posts that you can create for your blog.

1. Favorite people in your industry to follow on Twitter—I’ve written multiple “Top (insert industry) People to Follow on Twitter” posts on different blogs, and each time, the posts have been a remarkable success. Twitter is a very popular social networking platform, and your readers are always looking for new, interesting people to follow. Put together a list of some of your favorite industry people on Twitter.
2. Best blogs in your niche—Show some love to the other blogs in your niche by creating a list of your favorites. Don’t be afraid to link out to “the competition.” If your content is great and unique, your readers aren’t going to leave you. They’ll enjoy checking out the other blogs, and the bloggers you link to will be grateful for the shout out.
3. Most common mistakes your customers make—As a marketer, I often write about the costly marketing mistakes businesses make time and time again. These posts are effective for multiple reasons. They educate the reader, giving them information they can actually use and benefit from, and they increase the author’s credibility, helping to position him as a thought leader.
4. Biggest myths related to your industry—Every industry is plagued by misinformation. This blog is focused on internet marketing and SEO. Think there aren’t a few SEO myths out there that need busting? Make a list of the biggest myths in your niche and set them on blast!
5. Predictions for the future of your industry—It’s still early on in 2012, so you have time to make your predictions for the future of your industry in the coming year. Don’t be afraid to make some predictions. Just make sure you provide solid reasoning for each of your picks.

What are some other good ideas others can use for list posts? Share your best ideas by leaving a comment below.

Blog comment spammers have been around as long as blogging itself. It wasn’t all that long ago that “blog comment marketing” was seen by some as a great way to build links and drive traffic back to targeted websites. Personally, I always thought it was a spammy tactic, and most people now agree with that sentiment.

That’s not to say that I don’t think there are any benefits to leaving comments on other blogs. On the contrary, leaving thoughtful comments that add to the conversation can be a good way to increase name recognition, build your credibility, and grow your network. But the way some marketers approach blog comment marketing (leave as many comments on as many different blogs as possible) is what irks me.

Are you a blog comment spammer? If you do any of the following, you might be one.

• You use a keyword as your name—If you’re going to leave comments on other blogs, use your real name. Don’t be the guy who uses a keyword in the name field so that you can build a keyword-rich link back to your website. It’s spammy, and the link will carry little value anyway.
• Your comments add no value to the conversation—Comments like “nice post” or “this was really interesting!” are meaningless, spammy, and add no value to the conversation. If you’re going to leave a comment, take the time to come up with something that gets a conversation started. Share your real opinions on the subject. Respond to something specific in the post. Engage with the author and the other commenters.
• You blast the exact same comment out to dozens of blogs—Blog comment spammers are notorious for coming up with a few generic comments and posting them on every blog in their niche. Comments should always be specific to the post at hand. If you’re not addressing something that was brought up in the post, you’re more than likely a comment spammer.
• You pitch your products or services in the comment—The comments section on someone else’s blog is NOT the place to advertise your products and services. If you want to advertise on someone else’s blog, pay for an ad slot. Otherwise, stop spamming.

So, are you a blog comment spammer? What are some of the other things comment spammers do? Share your thoughts by leaving a (non-spammy) comment!

Having goals for your blog is important. It gives you direction, and provides something for you to measure against. This prevents your blog from becoming stagnant, which is a guaranteed way to kill your passion for blogging.

Here are 5 good blogging resolutions you could have for 2012.

1. Try new things—The more you blog, the easier it is to slip into a pattern of publishing the same type of content over and over. You probably tend to write about the same subjects in the same format. This year, mix it up! Try to incorporate new blogging styles. Maybe you can begin doing some video posts. Or perhaps you can find some new topics to write about.
2. Update your blog’s appearance—Too many bloggers think that content is all that matters. Yes, your content is the foundation of your blog. If your posts suck, you’re not going to build a successful blog. However, looks are important too. When’s the last time you updated your blog’s appearance? A new design could help build credibility and keep readers on site longer.
3. Become a better networker—Networking with other bloggers, social media influencers, and colleagues is important for helping your blog grow. The more known you become, the more popular your blog will also become. Take some time to use the social networking tools that are out there to start building strategic relationships so you can have a powerful network at your fingertips.
4. Try a new method of promoting your blog—Want to build your blog? You need to promote it. Maybe you’re promoting it now, but you’re probably using the same basic methods each time you publish a new post. It’s time to try some new things. Promote your posts on websites and forums that you don’t typically use. Use blog carnivals. Build your email list. Maybe even use PPC to drive traffic to certain blog posts.
5. Guest blog more often—Guest blogging is a great way to increase your name recognition, build credibility, drive traffic back to your blog, and grow your network. This year, make a conscious effort to guest blog more often. If you only guest blog once a month right now, bump it up to once a week. If you’re already guest posting on other blogs once a week, try doing it twice a week. Take your guest blogging efforts to the next level.

What are some of your blogging resolutions for 2012?

Trying to land a guest posting opportunity on another blog? These opportunities won’t just be handed to you. You have to work for them. Bloggers are very protective of their websites, and they only want to provide their readers with the best possible content.

That’s where the pitch comes in. Before your guest post can be accepted, you need to pitch the blog owner. This means sending them a short email introducing yourself and telling them what you have to offer (your guest post). In essence, you’re trying to sell the blogger on your guest post. You want them to see that you have an understanding of their audience, and that you can provide them with content their readers will love.

What better way to do this than to show them the guest post you have for them?

Some writers come up with idea for a guest post, and then they pitch the blog owner on this idea. If the blogger accepts the pitch, they then write the post and send it over.

I prefer writing my guest post before I ever pitch it. Why?

• The blogger can see exactly what he will be getting—I’ve received some great pitches from potential guest bloggers, but when they turned in the post to me, it didn’t live up to my expectations. By writing the post before you send your pitch, you cut out the guesswork. The blogger can see the full post and decide whether or not it’s a good fit for his blog.
• The post is ready to go, making it easier and more appealing for the blogger—Bloggers are a busy bunch, and the easier you make it for them to accept and publish your guest post, the likelier it is that they’ll do so. A great post that’s already good to go is much more appealing than just an idea for a potential guest post.
• If the post isn’t accepted, it’s still mine to use—At the worst, the blogger will reject the guest post, and you’ll have a pre-written post on your hands. You could still pitch this to another blogger, or you could simply post it on your own blog. It won’t go to waste either way.

What do you think about writing the guest post before the pitch?

Accepting guest posts on your blog offers a range of benefits, such as increased traffic, a fresh perspective, and new content with minimal work on your part. But it’s important to have some guidelines for your guest bloggers.

1. Guest posts must be useful and relevant to the blog’s audience—Above all else, your duty is to provide your readers with content that interests them. The most important requirement for guest bloggers is that they provide you with content that’s relevant to your blog and that will appeal to your audience.
2. Guest posts must be original and published nowhere else—Some shady guest bloggers will try to pass off content that they’ve already published on other blogs, or even worse, they’ll steal someone else’s content off another blog and present it as their own. You should only accept original content on your blog that hasn’t been posted anywhere else.
3. Guest posts must not be promotional in nature—I’ve received guest blogs that were nothing more than a thinly-veiled advertisement for the author’s products or services. I refuse to publish such posts. If you want to advertise, pay for an ad spot on a blog. Don’t try to pass off a self-promotional guest post.
4. Guest posts must be proofread properly—Guest bloggers should be providing you with their very best work. They shouldn’t turn in work that’s full of grammatical and spelling errors. You have a responsibility to your readers to provide them with great content, so don’t let your quality standards decline with guest posts.
5. Guests posts should meet a minimum word count—Now, if you’ve been following this blog for a while, you might remember that I’m anti-word count. I’ve never bought into the idea that content needs to be a certain number of words in order to provide value to the reader, but when it comes to guest blogging, I make an exception. Why? Because there are some people out there who just want the links back to their website, so they quickly crank out short guest posts, without focusing on quality. Instituting a minimum word count for guest bloggers can help deter some of this behavior.

What are some other important guest blogging guidelines you’d add to this list?