Blogs can be useful marketing tools when done correctly. I often work with clients on starting, managing and promoting their blogs. We've worked out a list of ten rules to follow when blogging for or about your business.

1. Know What You Want to Accomplish

   Blogging may be the latest "thing to do", but before starting a business blog, its important to decide what the blog is going to do for your business. If you define clear goals from the start, you'll find it easier to decide on topics, links and even tone. Goals also give you a measuring stick for success - if you have no clear direction for your blog, you'll never know when you've achieved something.

   Once you've decided on a list of goals, check to see that they all have the same focus. If you have a variety of different areas in your business you'd like to emphasize, one blog may not fit the bill. Choose goals that marry well rather than confusing your audience with mixed messages.

2. Provide Something Useful to Your Audience

   This is something that we would like to think is self-evidence, but many business blogs offer little in the way of actual content. If blogging about your business and its new products fits your goals, then those posts certainly have a place so long as you also provide meaty content in between. Consider what kinds of needs your audience has - could they benefit from advice, recent news or even tips on how to use your own products? If you can find and meet a need, readers will return and keep you in mind when they may need your services.

   You can learn a great deal about usefulness by checking out leading blogs in your industry. These bloggers have already gotten where you're headed; reviewing their posting content and style will help you reach your audience more effectively.

3. Leverage Already Existing Connections

   When you start a new business blog, establishing a reader base is one of your first concerns. Think about existing connections your business has to its customers and partners - can these links help drive traffic to your blog? If you have an online presence in other areas (including social media), readers will appreciate a link to your blog and news about blog posts.

   Offline industry connections can be just as important. If you already use press releases, newsletters or industry magazines to communicate with your audience, its possible to use these same avenues to point people to your blog or even highlight important posts.

4. Integrate Your Web Identities

   A blog should only be one part of your brand identity and it needs to integrate well with any existing marketing. Blogs should almost always be part of your main domain and echo the design of your website. Make sure that your blog is easy to reach from existing marketing by linking from your website and possibly even adding information to your business cards or letterhead if appropriate. Just like any new marketing campaign, your blog should tie in and build on your company's image.

5. Interact with Your Audience

   Interaction is something companies seriously have to consider with any entry to blogging or other social media. Many companies are concerned about negative responses and rightly so - you can't please everyone all of the time. Rather than letting this become a reason to hide in your shell, think of the quick and honest feedback as an opportunity to grow and show your company's quality.

   Its important to develop processes for dealing with comments and feedback before you start dealing with them. Maintaining consistent replies is one advantage, as is avoiding knee-jerk responses that acerbate already unhappy customers. If you have a plan in place to deal with complaints, you can often turn these issues into positive experiences for both your company and the customer.

6. Know What You Blog

   There's nothing worse than reading what you think is an expert blog, only to find out that the writer really doesn't know or care what they're talking about. Your posts have the opportunity to show your company as a strong leader in its field, or as a clueless corporation that's out of touch with expectations. By doing proper research, delegating topics to experts within your company and even using peer review, you can maintain a high quality of content and gain respect from your potential clients.

7. Always Remain Professional

   Never, ever forget that you speak for your company. As ethereal as it may seem, things on the internet last forever - someone, somewhere will save any embarrassing or ill-thought out post that you make and circulate it far and wide. Problems we've seen include:

   • Posting angry - Whether its a full post or just a response to a comment, never post while angry, upset or flustered. You will say things you didn't mean or just fail to think through the implications of your words. Don't do it.
   
   
   • Bad mouthing others - It might be tempting to point out things that others are doing wrong (and by inference, your company does right) but bad-mouthing competitors leaves a foul taste in a readers mouth. Stay professional and espouse your company's benefits, not the flaws of others.
   
   
   • Talking about clients - Clients trust you. Unless you have their permission or have an advance understanding, don't spill their secrets for the world to see. Never, ever speak poorly of your clients; potential clients are reading and they're certainly not going to want to be treated that way.

8. Make but don't Push Sales

   There's nothing wrong with selling, discussing new products or even offering discounts via a blog as long as you don't make that your primary reason for blogging. Just like we all bore quickly of the social butterfly who can't stop talking about themselves, readers are quickly turned off by blogs that offer nothing of use beyond a few sales pitches. As long as you're consistently offering quality content, readers won't mind the occasional promotion.

9. Know What You're Advertising

   One mistake we see frequently from small businesses is the use of Google Ads or other ad networks on their business blog. Not only can you not control these ads, you may end up promoting a competitor using your own hard work. If you'd like to consider advertising, why not come up with internal linking to your own products or services? If you really think you need to sell advertising space, make sure you choose a system that allows you to control was appears on your blog.

10. Consistence is Key

    We've talked about making sure that your posts are useful an informative. Another part of consistence means developing a schedule for your blogging; find a rhythm of posting that works well with your schedule and style of blogging and stick to it. Consistency doesn't have to mean boring - don't hesitate to offer different kinds of posts and content in your blog to keep things interesting.

So that's our ten commandments for business blogging. What other tips do you have for new (or even veteran) bloggers?