BusinessBloggingBootCamp

Simona invites you to ... blog!

Whew! Tom here. It's hard to believe the month of June got by without either of us posting in this blog, but we have certainly not stopped blogging (as anyone who follows Yvonne's Lip-Sticking knows), or working with business bloggers. We have several projects underway, both for general business blog clients and for authors in the book publishing side of our business. So we should be sharing some experiences, case studies, and business blogging news more often.

But right now I want to introduce you to our newest business blogging friend/client: Simona GeBauer and her new blog, Simona Invites you to Italy.

Simona paints wonderful word pictures with her writing and adds images to share her passion for Italy, Italian culture, and a remarkable array (for a blog only a few weeks old) of Italian artists and crafts people. Since I hope you'll want to go see and read for yourself, I'm going to offer these few images from her blog as links into a sampling of her posts (then come back and consider the Lesson Learned below):

We have so thoroughly enjoyed working with Simona and her husband/partner, Rick, that it's hard to separate out the business blogging lessons from the interpersonal experience so far. Here's one that stands out in my mind:

If you have a business website related to your blog topic, connect your blog to it. Create a space on the website hompage for the RSS feed from your blog to display the titles of your most recent posts as headlines. Simona was going through a complete makeover of her website for her fine Italian jewelry business and she was fortunate enough to work with web designers who, with just a little prodding, were willing to learn a new trick and incorporate an RSS feed into their design. Take a look: Simona Fine Italian Jewelry.

From our own experience with our WME Books website, having your website's home page updated as frequently as your blog, with fresh, relevant content, provides a major boost to your Google Page Rank.

Lesson Learned: If your web designer, IT department, webmaster, or whoever runs your website doesn't know how or refuses to acknowledge the value of an RSS connection from your blog, replace them with someone who does!

Business Blogging ROI: More Evidence

For those still sitting on the sidelines pondering whether it might be worth their time to start a blog as a business tool, take a look at what Yvonne's been up to.

The short version: Fortune magazine started a blog to support its upcoming Innovation Forum. The Fortune bloggers connected to Yvonne through her Lip-Sticking blog and asked to interview her on the Fortune blog. Then, Yvonne asked if she could interview Wendy Ball, Director of Marketing and Executive Relations, Fortune Conferences, as part of Yvonne's Smart Woman Online series.

The clincher? Fortune invited Yvonne to attend the Innovation Conference in NYC, November 30 - December 1, as a Guest Blogger. Yvonne will be blogging the conference here and on Lip-Sticking. We're also working on a live audio and/or video arrangement to allow Yvonne to share her experience with the Rochester chapter of The Association for Women in Communications, on the timely topic "Books, Blogs, and Business."

So stop back and see how this opportunity plays out.

Book blogs, fashion, and global reach

Over the past few months, we've held another Business Blogging Boot Camp and evolved our blog consulting to help individual business owners wherever they may be. Here in upstate New York, we've been working with authors who use their blogs as platforms for sharing the ideas and information in their books. They're also discovering the joys of interacting directly with their readers.

Book blogs

Stephanie Siegrist, M.D., author of Know Your Bones: Making Sense of Arthritis Medicine, launched her companion blog Know Your Bones, with the sub-title: Dr. Siegrist examines our fractured health system.

In the couple of months she's been blogging, she's developed relationships that have led to opportunities like becoming a guest blogger over at the ThirdAge blog.

Newer to blogging is George Kittredge, author of There's a Fine Line Between a Groove and a Rut. He calls his blog Above the Line: a blog about staying in the GROOVE. Building on his years of diverse experience and the practical advice in his book, George shares his passion for becoming and remaining a peak performer at the part of your business too many of us neglect, but all of us depend on: selling.

Looking the Part

Even more recently, our new blogger friends Erin and Steve, partners in life and in Amore' Fashions, an online high-end fashion business headquartered in southern California. Catering to busy women (and those who buy for them!), the Amore' team has assembled an impressive group of designers and a beautiful, easy-to-use e-commerce site.

Now Erin has added the Amore' blog as a way of sharing news, pictures, trends, and girl-talk about life, love, work, and - of course - fashion. Find out how she got the nickname "Love Butt."

Blogging Japan

Across the country and around the world, Boot Campers are everywhere! Now blogging from Kanazawa, Japan, Brendan Collins (yes, he's Tom's son). After graduating from Ithaca College with his degree in Politics last spring, Brendan recently traveled to Japan and began working as an instructor in English. We helped him set up his blog, Brendan-Abroad, before he left. But now he's posting about his experiences, uploading photos from his phone, and generally looking like he'll surpass his teachers very quickly.

We couldn't be prouder of those we've helped get started in blogging. Check them out and let them know what you think.

Blogging Workshops Afar

While we wish everyone could attend our Boot Camps, we know that timing and geography often get in the way, so we're glad to report on some high quality alternatives for those who are far away from Rochester, NY.

Coming up quickly on December 19, the American Marketing Association is hosting //Blogs//: Marketing Beyond the Website in Seattle. Future sessions are scheduled for Chicago and NYC next year.

Among the featured speakers are Yvonne's good friends and interviewees Toby Bloomberg (of Diva Marketing) and Dana VanDen Heuvel (of Dana's Blog). The Seattle session also boasts Microsoft's best-known blogger, Robert Scoble (Scobleizer).

If you're going to be in the southwest around February 9, you may want to attend the Blogging Workshop offered by Dave Young (of Branding Blog) at Wizard Academy in Austin, Texas. Dave is another of Yvonne's blogging friends through Michelle Miller (Wonder Branding).

Take a look at Dave's video clip and you'll get an idea why we agree with him that the hands-on approach to learning about blogging is so important and such a big part of our own Boot Camp workshop model. So of course, if you can't make it to ours, we recommend Dave's workshop enthusiastically.

Dave has also produced an excellent audio book/CD, Why We Blog. While we think Dave would agree it's no substitute for a full-day, hands-on workshop (Dave's or ours, hint, hint), his audio book is a great introduction to business blogging and a handy refresher, as well.

So, join us at an upcoming Boot Camp. Or, join our friends at one of their workshops. But join us in the blogosphere, one way or another!