Blogging is a great tool for companies in very exciting industries.  Great examples of this include musicians, writers, lifestyle mentors and other personality-driven businesses.

However, most industries are a bit more boring and don’t lend themselves as well to this type of blogging.  This was a problem that I first ran into when I started my cleaning company.

I opened up a blog, and began writing about the core of our business.  This one is commercial cleaning.

As you might imagine, the content was pretty dry and unoriginal.  We would write articles on subjects such as “how to clean carpets”, “how to clean patios”, “how to clean tiles”, etc..This was very similar to what every other cleaning company and the world had been talking about.

It wasn’t very exciting and it didn’t attract people from our local business area. In order to fix this, I had to step back and think about the goals we were trying to accomplish.

My 2 main objectives were:

• to gain exposure for my company within our community and
• build relevant links to our website

Rather than just recycling the same boring old themes on our corporate blog, I decided to reach out to the local business community and lend my expertise to other blogs.  This had the combined effects of exposing us to new audiences while giving fresh and new insights on other blogs that were in need of inspiration.

For example:

• We might write an article for a local accounting firm’s blog about how to negotiate better prices on cleaning contracts.
• We might approach a local health food company and provide insights into how to clean in such a way that it helps people with allergies.
• We might approach a local business that markets to parents, and give them handy insights into   how to keep children safe from hazardous products.

As the specialists, we found that we had a lot of insights to offer that many of these other local businesses may not have thought of.  Customers who frequented their blogs often found this advice very helpful. It was a win-win situation for all parties involved.

If your company is having trouble keeping its blog fresh and interesting, you may want to consider contributing to other people’s blogs rather than maintaining your own.  It’s a great way to build relationships with complementary businesses while gaining exposure to new audiences that would have otherwise never heard of you.

About The Author: Ontario Cleaning is one of Canada’s top cleaning services, with cleaning customer in Mississauga, Oakville, Brampton and Toronto.

About The Author: Paul Rudo has been a freelance business consultant for over 5 years. He specializes in B2B marketing for technology companies and organizations targeting geographically local clients. For more information, you can visit his web site at Paul Rudo.

1) Stay on topic – If the topic is about blogging, comment about blogging and not about your business or personal affairs. Those who do not stay on topic break the rhythm of the thread, waste valuable space and cause difficulty for readers trying to follow the conversation.

If you have another topic you would like to discuss, create a new thread. Try to keep ‘side conversations’ off main threads.

2) Sign your name – Some blog and forum sites do not offer areas to clearly identify the poster. On those sites without a designated spot to sign a name and company name, please type-in this information within the post for better SEO and for self-identification.

If you create a username which is different from your real name and do not sign your post, people will not know who you are.

Replies to your own entries will typically be returned using your name which personalizes the responses and engages continued conversation. Using your name in a post also makes it easier for you to search out any direct responses to your own posts.

Your name is your unique signature which sets you apart from other posters. Be proud of what you comment. Use your name.

3) Use back links which are useful for several reasons. Back links support a posting; provide easy clickability to the readers as well as confirm to the readers you have topic expertise. Back links will also help you to get the google juice for the sites you link.   If the site on which you are posting does not automatically link urls (Biznik is one such site) you can use code to make your links live.

HTML and Markdown Language (lighter version of HTML) are two code choices.

Example:  HTML <a href=”www.yourlink.com”<Your Site Name></a>

Example:  Markdown Language [Your Site Name](http:*//*yourlink.com) *Do not type in *characters. Demo purposes only.

4) If you provide back links in your posts, make those links relevant. Do not just put your website address or your blog address. Link back to the referred post URL itself or a document which is relative to what your post is mentioning. You will receive a high bounce rate on your blog or website if you are not using direct links to specific posts because folks will be frustrated when they cannot find what it is you might be linking and will quickly leave your site.

5) Try not to comment for the sake of commenting or agreeing. If you want to say ‘thank you’ to someone for offering valuable information or if you find someone’s post to be helpful, say ‘why’ it was helpful or how you can apply this newly found information.

6) Try to summarize your posts into an easy-to-read format. If you have a lot of information, try to breakup your thoughts into paragraphs or use bullet points.

7) Before you post, check first to see if someone else has made that same post. So if you are on a social networking site, do a search of keywords. If there is a previous post on your topic, do not start a new one; add a relevant comment to that particular post. Blog and forum posts have infinite lives. Adding fresh and relevant information to an already birthed thread brings the full string ‘out’ for new readers to view.

Janine Gregor