UPDATE: Here’s the transcript from last night’s #Blogchat!

SECOND UPDATE: Extra Space has published this wonderful recap of this #Blogchat on their blog.  Check it out, it really gets into everything we covered, so awesome!

This Sunday (Oct 1, 2017), Extra Space Storage will be joining #Blogchat as its sponsor!  I’m thrilled they are on board and love their topic selection!  We’ll be discussing “How to Be a Better Blogger By Creating a Better Blogging Workspace”.  I love this topic because in all the 9 years of doing #Blogchat, we’ve somehow never discussed the physical organization of the space we each write and blog in.

#Blogchat begins at 8pm Central, this Sunday.  Here’s the questions we’ll cover:

8:00pm – 8:10pm – Q1: What does your primary blogging/writing workspace look like?

8:10pm – 8:20pm – Q2: Which spaces or areas in your home inspire your creativity when writing?

8:20pm – 8:30pm – Q3: What style elements make a blogging workspace more productive? Being organized? Lighting? Location? Quiet?

8:30pm – 8:40pm – Q4: What are your best tips for maximizing a small writing space?

8:40pm – 8:50pm – Q5: What has been the most important change you’ve made to your writing space that improved your productivity?

8:50pm – 9:00pm – Q6: What advice do you have for maximizing productivity while writing blog content from home?

 

I think this will be a wonderfully informative #Blogchat as how you organize your writing/blogging space is so important to improving your productivity as a blogger.  I’m sure we’ll all have plenty of tips and tricks to share on how to better organize our spaces, and I bet @ExtraSpace will have some ideas as well!

So please join us this Sunday at 8pm Central for #Blogchat, sponsored by Extra Space Storage!  And please follow @ExtraSpace on Twitter, and check out their blog, Spacewise!

Does your company want to sponsor #Blogchat on a weekly or monthly basis? Here’s all the details you need, email me at mack.collier@gmail.com to reserve!

UPDATE: Here’s the transcript for this #Blogchat!

Tonight’s (6-18-2017) #Blogchat will focus on B2B blogging. From past surveys, I’ve found that about half the #Blogchat audience blogs for their employer, and that employer sells to other businesses. So this should be another very interesting #Blogchat for those of you blogging for a B2B!

Blogging for a business is much different from blogging as a hobby or for your personal enjoyment. The goals that an individual has for their personal blog are typically completely different from the goals that a business has for its blog.  Tonight we’re going to look at B2B blogging through two lenses: Getting engagement and getting results. To prep for tonight’s #Blogchat discussion, I wanted to take a closer look at how B2B blogs can and should do both.

What ‘Engagement’ Means for a B2B Blog

If you’re a personal blogger and you’re writing about your passions, probably the only engagement you care about or even want are comments on your posts, and social shares. This is because you are typically creating content as a way to create or expand a conversation. You want interaction with your readers, you want to share your thoughts and you want them to share their thoughts, with a larger conversation being one of the chief reasons why you blog.

Businesses that blog are using their blog as a tool to grow their business. This changes how they measure their efforts and how they blog.  So the types of engagement that matter for a personal blogger, may not to a business blog.

Here’s an example. When I started blogging back in 2005, I was focused on creating content that drove engagement in the form of comments.  Remember this was before Twitter and Facebook at the time wasn’t open to everyone, it was only available to college students. So the idea of ‘social shares’ wasn’t really a focus for engagement, it was all about driving comments.  So as a new blogger who was blogging to grow my consulting business, the type of engagement I pushed for was comments.

After blogging for a few months, I began to notice that the majority of my new clients weren’t readers that were leaving comments on my blog. Instead, they were people were finding my content from doing google searches. To this day, about 75% of my new clients have never left a comment on my blog.

So while comments are still important to me and most B2B bloggers, we often look at other forms of engagement.  B2B bloggers often use social media in conjunction with other marketing initiatives.  For example, a blog is often used by a B2B business to help drive newsletter subscribers, or to promote downloads of a whitepaper.  Then, the B2B will track engagement metrics associated with these.  Whereas a personal blogger might track how many comments per post they get or how many Likes on Facebook, a B2B blogger would likely track engagement metrics like the number of new email newsletter signups per week, or the number of white paper downloads per month.

In other words, B2B bloggers are trying to acquire customers, so they measure engagement metrics that tie to that goal.

What Type of Results Do B2B Blogs Measure?

Sales. That’s it. B2B blogs need to help generate sales for the business, and everything it does is measured through this lens. Notice above when discussing engagement, a B2B blog measures engagement metrics that more closely align with sales versus simple interactions with readers.

So if a B2B blog’s job is to generate sales, then it must create content that helps support that goal. However, there is an important caveat that B2B bloggers must understand; You can only sell what the reader is ready to buy.  What I mean by this is, if you are creating content that sells your product, it will only be receptive to readers that are READY to buy that product. This is where many business bloggers get in trouble, because they want to blog as a way to raise awareness for their business. But raising awareness often conflicts directly with the idea of generating sales IF you aren’t thoughtful about your content strategy.

If your content strategy is to create content that raises awareness of your business, that means by default, you are creating content for an audience that doesn’t know who you are (which is why you need to raise your awareness). If that audience doesn’t know who you are, they also don’t know why they should do business with you. So if you create content that directly sells to the same audience that doesn’t know who you are, it will most likely fail spectacularly.

Instead, your content should be focused more on the potential customer, in order to gain their attention and attraction for your content. After you’ve gained their attention (built awareness), then you can start creating content that more directly sells to them. Here’s an example: In doing a content audit of my blog, I realized that recently, I haven’t been creating enough content to support my consulting services that are focused on helping companies launch and build brand ambassador programs. So I’ve been building out a content calendar of future posts that will focus on connecting with readers that I want to hire me to help them build brand ambassador programs. But this audience is one that doesn’t know who I am, so my content doesn’t need to sell my services directly.  Instead, my content will be focused on the customer, it will be educational and instructional, with the goal of helping the customer so that the customer will be open to engaging more with my content and learning more about my consulting services around brand ambassador programs.

So for B2B blogs, the result they are seeking is more sales, but you need to understand your audience and craft a content strategy that moves the reader from unaware, to aware, to ready to buy.  Check out this post for a deeper dive on this issue from the content strategy side.

Whew, that’s a pretty meaty prep post for tonight’s #Blogchat on How to Write a B2B Blog That Gets Engagement And Results! Please do join us tonight on Twitter at 8pm Central. Also, #Blogchat is being sponsored this month by Marketing Profs, who was kind enough to offer #Blogchat a FREE writing toolkit, just click here to get yours, all for free!  See you tonight at #Blogchat, you can follow along here on Twitter.

UPDATE – Here’s the transcript from Ann’s #Blogchat!

I’m thrilled to announce that Ann Handley, the world’s first Chief Content Officer will join #Blogchat this Sunday (June 4th, 2017) to discuss Storytelling in Marketing!  Marketing Profs is June’s #Blogchat sponsor, and they have a great freebie for you!  Click here to get their FREE 37-page writing guide!

Here’s our topic: Storytelling in Marketing: how do I do it? How do I tell MY company’s story?

Here’s the questions we’ll be discussing:

Q1 – What does it mean to be a ‘storyteller’ when it comes to marketing, and which brands do this well?

Q2 – How does a company figure out what its story is? What should it share?

Q3 – Which social media tools are best for storytelling? Can it just be a blog?

Q4 – If a company only has 1-2 people that ‘do’ social media and marketing, how do they effectively use storytelling?

 

That’s what we’ll be discussing! All this fun starts at 8pm Central on Sunday! As an added bonus, Ann will be giving away 3 copies of her bestselling book Everybody Writes to participants in the #Blogchat!  Marketing Profs will randomly select 3 people that signup for the 37-page writing guide to win a copy of Everyone Writes.  Void where prohibited.

So by joining #Blogchat this Sunday, you’ll learn a ton about how to tell your company’s story with marketing, you can get this wonderful 37-page marketing guide AND you’ll have a chance to win a copy of Everybody Writes.  All this for the price of…..FREE!  Can’t beat that deal! Make sure you are following @MarketingProfs on Twitter and we’ll see you Sunday at 8pm Central!

UPDATE: Here’s the transcript from our #Blogchat discussion on How to Write Like a Thought Leader.

On Sunday (May 28th, 2017), our #Blogchat topic will be How to Write Like a Thought Leader (Even If You Don’t Think You Are).  The discussion starts at 8pm Central, and #Blogchat is sponsored in May and June by Marketing Writing Bootcamp.  You can save $200 on the 13-class writing course by clicking here.

To prepare for this discussion, I’m going to share my thoughts on how to write like a thought leader. First, what does it even mean to be a ‘thought leader’?  To me, it means that you spark new ideas and conversations. You share your opinions, but you also offer a new or unique take that makes people view an idea in a new light.

If you want to Write Like a Thought Leader, keep these tips in mind:

1 – Don’t be afraid to share what you know. We all have expertise around some topic. space or idea. Don’t fall victim to the ‘you can’t self-promote’ blame game.  Sharing what you know isn’t self-promotion, it’s helping others. From my experience, the people that claim you can’t self-promote are often the people that are wanting to be better self-promoters themselves. In other words, don’t listen to these people, listen to the people you want to reach and connect with.

2 – Stay up to date on what recognized experts in your space are saying and highlight their views on your blog when relevant. This not only helps you become more informed (and helps you boost your claim to thought leadership), but it also makes your content more interesting and relevant to your readers. And along with this, you can also…

3 – Incorporate the ideas of other thought leaders into your content, especially when they agree with your points. Let’s say you are a SME in the automotive manufacturing industry. But the problem is that you aren’t well known and you are blogging to get your name out there and to establish your expertise with an audience that doesn’t yet know who you are. One way to do that is to incorporate the thoughts and ideas from other, more well-known leaders in your space. For example, you could write a blog post that makes a point about a specific topic, then reference quotes from other, more well-known industry leaders, who agree with your stance. By doing this you are effectively leveraging the credibility of recognized experts in your space to make your ideas look more credible.

4 – If you don’t think you are a thought leader, you won’t write like one. How you view yourself comes across in your writing, whether you realize it or not. If you feel your opinions are valid and worthwhile, you will write in a way that reflects their importance. Don’t feel that you have to convince the reader that your thoughts matter, write as if they do, and the reader will become convinced.  Educate yourself, share what you already know, and you’ll be fine. Remember, everyone knows something and you are making your readers smarter and more prepared to face their world by sharing what you know.

 

So those are some ideas to keep in mind and make sure you bring your own this Sunday when our topic will be How to Write Like a Thought Leader (Even If You Don’t Think You Are), starting at 8pm Central.

And we’ll also announce who our surprise guest host will be for the #Blogchat on June 4th, you’re going to want to be there for that!

I’m thrilled to announce that #Blogchat will have a repeat sponsor for the next two months as Marketing Writing Bootcamp from Marketing Profs returns to sponsor #Blogchat in May and June! the Marketing Writing Bootcamp launches on June 1st and features 13 classes and SEVEN hours of advanced learning that’s designed to greatly improve your business writing skills. And yes, there’s even a class devoted strictly to improving your business blog!  Click here to view the courses offered, and as a special bonus, Marketing Profs has offered #Blogchat participants a special $200 discount! Click that link to get the Marketing Writing Bootcamp for only $395!  Thanks to your continued support of #Blogchat, we can continue to attract wonderful sponsors like Marketing Writing Bootcamp who can offer special deals and value for our community.

Since Marketing Writing Bootcamp will be sponsoring this month and next, the #Blogchat topics will lean toward how we can be better writers, especially in our business blogging efforts. Sunday (May 7th) we will discuss Ideas For Making Your Writing More Interesting. When we’re discussing this topic, we’ll focus on areas such as:

• Sharing personal stories, either our own or those from our customers/clients
• Taking a hard stance or rant (can work but be careful)
• Solving customer/client problems

And other areas of course.  The fun begins at 8pm Central, Sunday May 7th! We’ll have a couple of members of the Marketing Profs’ team joining us, be sure to follow @ laurencwebster and @msnods as they will be interacting and there to answer any questions you may have about the Marketing Writing Bootcamp. Click here to review the course lineup and save $200 on registration, a special #Blogchat discount just for you! 

UPDATE: Here’s the transcript to the #Blogchat with Jessica Northey!

NOTHER UPDATE: #Blogchat was the Top Trending Topic on Twitter last night, thanks again Jessica!

TopTag(3hrs) 1:#BlogChat 2:#news 3:#5yrsago 4:#FeudFX 5:#TheLeftovers 6:#CMchat 7:#DLeagueFinals 8:#IIoT https://t.co/pE0X9WlfVq

— issue now global (@inowgb) April 24, 2017

Does your company or brand want to get in on this excitement and sponsor #Blogchat in May? Click here price and details.

I’m thrilled to announce that the most popular #Blogchat Guest Host EVER, Jessica Northey is joining #Blogchat again this Sunday! Jessica is a dear friend and a truly good person, who also happens to be a social media powerhouse. She has over half a million followers on Twitter and another two million on Google Plus.

Additionally, in 2011 she started #CMChat, the first Twitter chat devoted to country music.  Since that time, the chat has hosted a who’s-who of country music: The Oak Ridge Boys, Alabama, Sugarland, Clint Black. Additionally, as #CMChat has grown by leaps and bounds, she’s found ways to push that growth past Twitter.  In fact, she has a very robust site created from the chat, CMChat.com. I love this site because it not only focuses as an extension of the #CMChat on Twitter, but it’s also a Country Music portal, with information about country music and the guests that will be appearing at future #CMChats.  It’s a great example of building a Twitter chat around something you are passionate about, then extending that into creating a site or blog to help support that passion.

Which is exactly why Jessica is perfect to join us this Sunday for the topic of Creating a Blog or Site For Your Passion. She’s done what so many of you are wanting to do with your blogs, and actually what I want to do with #Blogchat.  More on that at the end of this post.

Here’s what we’ll be discussing on Sunday (4-23-2017), starting at 8pm Central:

Q1 – How did you decide you were ready to launch a site/blog for #CMChat? How did you know you were ready?

Q2 – When you started the site, what were the first 2-3 things you tackled? Strategy? Design?

Q3 – What is the one thing you wish you could go back and do differently with launching the site?

Q4 – What is the one thing you learned about launching CMChatLive.com that totally surprised you?

Q5 – If you could give one piece of advice to #Blogchat about starting their own blog or site, what would it be?

 

I got a chance to chat with Jessica a couple of days ago and she’s got some very interesting things to share with you. I love talking to Jessica because I always come away with so many interesting ideas, and I know you will too!

So join us on Sunday for Jessica Northey discussing Creating a Blog or Site For Your Passion.  Make sure you are following Jessica on Twitter, and also check out her site CMChatLive.com!

Now, I wanted to give you a bit of a #Blogchat update. For the last few years, I’ve unfortunately spent less time cultivating the community at #Blogchat. In 2013 my book, Think Like a Rock Star came out, and my consulting business shifted and I decided to spend my time on other areas.

However, the chat has continued to remain very popular, and increasingly with college students, whose instructors are requiring them to attend #Blogchat as part of their course work. Honestly, this is probably the one thing in relation to #Blogchat that I am the most proud of. That universities and colleges across the country would trust its students with learning from the #Blogchat community, well…it’s an incredible honor.

@MackCollier Thanks for taking care of the class last night! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/BJCQr2Sj6g

— UF Social Media Mgmt (@UFSMM) October 4, 2016

So I’ve decided to make a few changes to #Blogchat. The first one is that starting immediately, my sister Beth will take over the @BlogchatNews account on Twitter. She actually started on this a couple of weeks ago and we’ve already seen a nice bump in engagement from her efforts. @BlogchatNews will bring you all the latest news and updates on #Blogchat. Additionally, @BlogchatNews will be more engaged throughout the week.  We want to expand #Blogchat beyond simply being a Sunday-night chat.  During the week, we’ll be more engaged with the #Blogchat community, and will especially focus on promoting the most active and supportive members of the #Blogchat community. So starting immediately, @BlogchatNews will be the new Community Manager for #Blogchat, and Beth will be happy to help you and engage with you on Twitter, so please follow her there.

Long-term, one of the plans I want to explore for #Blogchat is having its own site. This is a big part of the reason why I wanted to have Jessica on as guest this week, because what she’s done with CMChatLive.com is something that I would eventually like to do with #Blogchat. I can envision a place where we house transcripts from past #Blogchats and share posts from the #Blogchat community and serve as an additional resource for the community beyond just the Twitter chat.

Oh and also make sure you check out The #Blogchat Weekly from Paper.li.  This is a weekly collection of some of the most useful and instructive blogging articles from #Blogchat participants and select friends of #Blogchat.

So if you’re a fan of #Blogchat, hang on, things are about to get a lot more interesting very soon! And I’ve just lowered the price for next month’s #Blogchat sponsorship, so if you’d like to grab it, act fast!  See you Sunday night at 8pm Central for Jessica Northey!