Vol. III, Issue 17
April 29, 2008


A smart and savvy tip from Patsi and Denise:

Denise and I still haven't settled our debate whether social networking sites are worth spending time on yet, but I'll tell you one thing:

They are an excellent source of ideas and input on what your target audience is concerned about.

We wanted to know what challenges bloggers had with writing on their blogs. Denise asked the question on LinkedIn and the response was amazing and immediate.

Here are some of the challenges people posted, in order of descending frequency:

* Finding time to post (this was mentioned in 70% of the responses...)
* Getting readers to comment
* Finding the "Wow" factor
* Whether to share personal stories
* How to repeat/re-purpose a topic
* Wondering if the time involved is worth it in terms of results
* Writing compelling titles
* Finding relevant topics
* Keeping it fun

Far and away, finding time to post was the recurring theme. I had to laugh, of course, and posted this on our Writing on the Web blog:

It seems these very busy professionals all have time to hang out on LInkedIn and answer our question, but they can't find time to write on their blogs...!

But this is an interesting use of a social site for business, and you can clearly see the value here in using LinkedIn, can't you? ...Yes, Denise, I can see this...!

Here's the post I wrote about why I think people really can't find the time to write on their business blogs:

http://www.coachezines.com/2008/04/blog-writing-ho.html

Is this a real challenge for you? I'll let you in on a secret...we did this research because we're developing a brand new class on business blog writing. It begins May 19. Stay tuned for details.

To your ongoing success,

Patsi
The Blog Squad


Blog Squad Events
May 2-4, 2008

SOBCon 08 in Chicago - Biz School for Bloggers
Denise will be attending - meet me there!
http://www.buildabetterblog.com/2008/04/biz-school-for.html

Tuesday, May 6, 2008, 8 p.m. ET
Blogging to Gain Expert Status (we always include new information in our signature teleclass - no two classes are the same!)

The Blog Squad is interviewed by Ellen Britt for the Marketing Qi Intensive
FREE - Register here.

Professional and Personal Development articles for your ezines and blogs:
http://www.CustomizedNewsletterArticles.com

May08 Article:

The Business Case For Happy Companies

http://snipurl.com/cnmay08

Categories: Leadership, Managing, Energy, Communications, Teams, Ethics

There is no doubt that business success depends on highly motivated employees.

Highly motivated employees multiply in organizations whose missions, leaders, and inner workings provide profound meaning and inspiration.
--Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

Why do so many companies have uninspiring leaders and uninspired employees who plod along with little -- or the wrong -- motivation? Why are corporate decisions still being made for the short term, undermining morale and jeopardizing business success?

Happiness is not a result, but a cause, of success. It's key to fully realizing an organization's "return on people" (ROP), which entails bringing out their best talents, strengths, passions, interests, knowledge and skills.

(To order online, visit http://snipurl.com/cnmay08)

Smart and Savvy Blogs - This week's Must Read Blog Post

BizTipsBlog.com

Social Networking Debate Part 4: Find out what you need to know about social networking online
by reading these lively discussions! There are links to all related posts:

http://www.biztipsblog.com/2008/04/social-networ-4.html