Business Blogging: 5 Things To Avoid

Blogging can have a significant positive effect on your business or career if done well. Many people concentrate on what to do, but not what to avoid which is equally important. Here are 5 common errors to avoid with business blogs.

1) No Blog Focus

In a personal blog you can ramble about whatever you'd like: sports, the weather, your pet Chihuahua, etc. You can as well in a business blog if, and only if, you tie each post's content to something professional.

Feel free to blog on your Chihuahua's eating habits, for example, if there is a business lesson or point you can draw from them.

2) Improper Writing Style

A business blog, like any other blog, needs to be written in a personal and conversational tone, but it also needs to remain professional. It's closer to water-cooler talk at the office or a discussion with someone you meet at a conference than a discussion with your oldest friend or mother. Some big faux-pas are occasionally made in this area.

3) Not Enough Honesty

All right, so you're writing personally, conversationally, and professionally. Let's add some honesty about you, your products or services, and your company. Not everything you make or do is the absolute best in the world, so don't act like it. Sometimes you may need to honestly accept mistakes or shortcomings or that your stuff is not the best for everyone all the time!

Someday there also may be less than wonderful news; acknowledge and move on. If your company is front page news and it isn't good, you can't ignore it. At least acknowledge it and honestly comment on it. You can't hide anything on the Internet. Be quick and honest and try to get it over with.

4) Whimsical Post Titles

Post titles are not just written for humans, but for the search engines as well, which drive most Internet traffic. Your post titles are one of the key elements search engines (as well as humans consider). Although a New Year's headline of "look better naked" may work for the local healthclub in the newspaper and other offline locations, "Exercise: Lose Fat and Get Fit for the New Year" is much better online!

5) Regular Blogging for the "Sake of It"

Yes, most bloggers, especially new bloggers, should strive for a minimum of 3 posts a week, but if you have nothing to say, don't say it! Just writing for the sake of writing tends to produce ineffectual drivel.

You may need a few days off, or you may be able to find other blog posts that are valuable to your audience to link to and comment on.

Business blogging is a great way to get visibility for yourself and your organization. Avoid these five common mistakes and your blogging will be far more effective.

And for over 100 more tips on successful blogging, I invite you to grab your free copy of my ebook Secrets of Successful Blogging at http://www.secretsofsuccessfulblogging.com