Website Blueprint

I Have a Website. How Do I Get a Blog?

Posted on Nov 23, 2009

In my previous post, I shared an article called, “Why Small Business Owners Need a Blog.” One of our readers followed up with a question. It said, “Okay, so, I already have a website. Who or what can help me insert a blog into my website?”

Great question!

Before I get into a few of the blog software/program alternatives, I want to address where to get help setting up and customizing your blog (because, you’re going to need it). If you can afford it, hire someone local. But, be certain they are familiar with the program/software I recommend below (WordPress). Before I found local help, I used freelance services such as www.elance.com and www.guru.com. Just be sure the person you hire as a freelancer is located in the country you’re in. Even more important (and this is a deal breaker for me), you want to make sure this is a person who will allow you to speak with them on the phone (and not just offer communication via email). Trust me on this one. There is nothing that takes up more time than emailing someone back and forth on an issue that could be cleared up in a two-minute phone call. Just remember to be courteous and brief with anyone who offers you phone support. This will keep the door open for you to speak with them in the future.

There are also blog redesigners/freelancers that you can find through some of the paid themes/template providers out there. Including, www.woothemes.com (this website/blog was built from a WooTheme template and I used them to help me customize it), www.studiopress.com (I’ve used one of their folks and had a good experience), and www.perfectory.com (I’ve bought themes from them, but not used their customization services).

If you can’t find anyone to help you get your blog setup, let me know. I have a relationship with a group out of California that have always been helpful to me and I’ve recommended to other small business owners. Just email me through my contact page and I’ll forward you their information.

Adding a blog to your website is not for the newbie. Even though your blogging software may be free, adding the files to your website and customizing your blog so it compliments your current site is a job for a professional. Unless you’re geeky or a pro, I would never recommend you try to do it yourself. It just takes up too much time, has too many headaches, and probably won’t end up being professional enough for business use.

Let’s take a look at some of the alternatives for what blogging platform/software to use, based on the platform/software/program your website is built on:

• If your website was created old-school with HTML, or with a basic WYSIWYG (“What You See is What You Get”) program, such as Dreamweaver, FrontPage, or Microsoft Expression Web, you have several options to choose from: The two best would be the paid TypePad product (advantage is they offer support) or the free and more popular “WordPress” alternative. Not only is WordPress free, but you can even get a free theme/template from WordPress. WordPress is my recommendation.
• If your website was made with a higher-end program, such as Joomla or Drupal, there are blog “plug-ins/add-ons” already built into the program. Hopefully the person that helped create your site could help you install your blog. If not, see my recommendations for finding freelance help at the beginning of this post.
• Finally, there are a variety of “do-it-yourself” web building programs out there from places like www.godaddy.com, www.web.com, and www.intuit.com (formally Homestead). Because I don’t recommend these type of do-it-yourself programs (because there’s just not enough flexibility for growth), I am not sure if they offer blogging software. You’ll want to check with them and see.

There is also the alternative of Google’s Blogger software program. Even though they make it super-simple to create a blog, you cannot include a Blogger blog into your current website. In other words, you want your blog to be located at: yourwebsite.com/blog and not on a completely separate domain (such as yourwebsite.com and yourblog.com). The main reason is that if your blog is outside your website’s file structure/domain name/URL, you won’t receive all the huge benefits of improving your site’s SEO (search engine optimization).

As I mentioned in my original article; “Businesses that blog get 55% more website visitors than those that do not have a blog.” So, if you don’t yet have a blog built into your website, I’m glad you want to get started. I hope this article helps you see how to get rolling in the right direction. If you have a follow-up question or comment, be sure to click the link or add it below.

Basics of Small Business Blogging

Posted on Mar 21, 2009

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Small business owners need a blog. But not so they can tell people what they had for lunch (there’s enough of that on Facebook and Twitter). A blog for a Main Street business is a type of website that displays posts about what’s happening with your business.

What’s a blog? The cleanest description I’ve read is:” A blog is a web page made up of usually short and frequently updated posts that are arranged chronologically—like a ‘what’s new’ page or a journal.”

Business blogging started in 1999, and since then has exploded to over 100 million blogs today. But don’t think you’ll be lost out in sea of cyber-posts. There are many techniques for how you can (and should) utilize your blog to build your small business.

Unlike a personal blog that is usually opinions or a personal diary, a small business blog should be used to deliver helpful information to customers and prospects. A blog for your small business is a great way to share your expertise, build additional web traffic, and connect with potential customers.

Blog software is easy to use. You simply type out your posts, which is as easy as typing an email. Then  link to resources, and publish to your blog with just a few clicks of the mouse. I recommend the blogging software WordPress.

Blogging is a low-cost alternative to having a web presence , but you want both if at all possible. But for small business owners without the time to learn HTML (and who does?) or the money to hire a professional web designer or developer, blogging offers an inexpensive method to establish your company’s presence online.

Updating a blog is fast and can be done pretty easily with a little initiative to learn a few steps. This is a cost-effective option to shelling out bucks for a web designer.

Your small business blog will allow you to share your expertise, knowledge, and company news with a growing audience of potential customers. And with an email service like Aweber, your blog posts can automatically be emailed to your email list. Sweet!