Business blogging is much more than just technical mumbo jumbo.
Etiquette in the business blogging world is a leadership skill that sets your organization apart from the competition
Many potential relationships and business deals can be lost due to the lack of business etiquette by a blog writer. Business blog writing needs proper etiquette if you want to charm your readers. Here are some thoughts for business bloggers:
Link back – it’s a good thing
Follow all these guidelines for ethical business blogging. Apart from all these tips, make sure you do not copy content from other blogs. This is unethical and search engines like Google will flag down your content, and your blog might even get banned from the search results. Plus there are copyright issues as well. Stay ethical, stay safe.
We all know what it feels like when we find some content that we shared posted on another blog – without any credit! The important part here is not to go policing, but rather, give proper credits on your part. Blogging is all about sharing and participating in the community. And if you get a positive thing somewhere- just share it and credit it.
Do not react to criticism
There are many times that a person comes from somewhere in the blogosphere, and has got some mean spirited things to say. You shouldn’t react too soon and reply to them in ‘their terms’. It is best to attack them with kindness and calm professionalism. You can either address them in a calm tone, or ignore them altogether. If you try to get the last word, it will only increase the tribulation. It’s best to be the bigger person and walk away. If you do not respond, they will ultimately give up. Or you can just block them if they are proving bad for your business.
Share the kindness
When you are into business blogging, you get many kinds of comments and messages. All these small gestures make the life of a blogger. Whenever you get a nice email or comment, make sure you share it on your blog. Any kind comments are most welcome, and the sender of the comment will feel good if you share it in your posts. It’s all about building good relationships with your readers.
No newsletter
When you are into business blogging, do not sign up bloggers for your newsletters without their consent. This is something that often happens. Sometimes people join a business blog, and they start getting their promotional emails. This can leave a bad taste in people’s mouths and they stop caring about the products of your company.
Education
Spend time in educating people. Business blogging is done for selling products, but make sure you do not sell more than you educate. You can see many blogs that only talk about their company products and their updates. It seems like the world just revolves around their company and they fail to understand that readers will stop reading their blog if they keep talking only about their products.
When you educate others, you keep them interested and they come and read your content along with the sales pitch that you want to add.
Other blogs
Frequent other people’s blogs and see what they are writing. Your blog might be the center of the universe for you, but other bloggers are churning out great content too. Comment on them, retweet them, and appreciate their blogs if they are good. It is always good if you show appreciation for someone’s hard work.
Stop the pop ups
There are many times when we visit a blog and are welcomed by a pop up that takes time to load. And then you have to close it to read the information you want. These pop ups do not help your sales in anyway- rather, they annoy your blog visitors. If you visit someone’s blog and you see a huge pop up, would you jump up and instantly sign for their product? The sane answer here would be no. Same goes for your visitors. Make sure your blog is more educating and less selling.
Follow all these guidelines for ethical business blogging. Apart from all these tips, make sure you do not copy content from other blogs. This is unethical and search engines like Google will flag down your content, and your blog might even get banned from the search results. Plus there are copyright issues as well. Stay ethical, stay safe.
Mary Pearce is a blogger and PR Consultant for various companies. She enjoys writing about blogging, web hosting competition, and public relations advice.