The Blog-Studio

Why I use Typepad for business "blogging".

I've lost count of how often it is asked (anywhere: forums, twitter, off line) which blog platform a small business can best use. Plenty of choices out there: from paid for online software, self-hosted 'free' software, free and hosted by software creator, to small and rather unknown WYSIWYG software.
Typepad, Blogger, WordPress.com (free and hosted by WP) and WordPress.org (self hosted 'free' software) are the four most well know and most used platforms. I always discard Blogger and WordPress.com because of the limits they have - when used as web presence for small businesses - which leaves Typepad and WordPress.org.

As with everything online: you have raving fans for the one and equally raving fans for the other option. This review will focus on my own personal experiences with both platforms and why I recommend Typepad for business owners who want/need an easy to use, SEO ready and quick to edit/add platform.

Why would any business use a blog?

So far I've come up with 7 key reasons, see here for the long version
1) You're in control - always (not your web designer or IT department)
2) Better Listings On Google (BLOG)
3) It works in real simple syndication with online directories (RSS)
4) Notify your prospects/clients of new content instantly (email marketing)
5) Interact with your website visitors (throught the comment box)
6) Combine static website and "blog" on one platform (fixed page as 'front page')
7) Become known as "The Expert" (build trust by publishing good content in abundance)

No matter what type of business you are in, service or products, using a blog (or as I prefer to call it: a dynamic and interactive webpresence) is one of the fastest ways to grow your presence online in a sustainable and none-time consuming way. It depends on the amount of time you want to spend and your knowledge of IT, CSS and HTML which of the two most used blog platforms will suit you and your business best: "paid for" Typepad or self-hosted "free" WordPress.org.

Why Typepad?

Let's face it: Typepad (from Six Apart) is a "paid for" blog platform starting from $ 49.50 annually (+ £ 32.00) I normally recommend to opt for at least the Plus account for more functionality, although IMHO the Pro account gives you even more, such as creating you own template (without having to know much about CSS or html)
The software of WordPress.org is free to download, but you have to have your own domain, hosting and FTP access to set it up, the reason why I always place "quote marks" around the word free where it concerns this platform.

With a Typepad account the hosting is included where your account name is part of the domain name, e.g. http://woodyoulike.typepad.com/furniture/ From the Plus account on you can domain map any of your blogs on your own registered domain name (without the need of having FTP access) e.g. http://www.woodyoulikefurniture.co.uk/
Or "mapping" your blog to a subdomain of your main domain will change the http://woodyoulike.typepad.com/tips/ to http://faq.woodyoulike.co.uk/

Another pro for opting for Typepad is the included Technical Support that comes with any account type. Besides an extensive knowledge base you can submit tickets to the support team and it is my experience these are quickly and adequately addressed and answered.
WordPress.org is a free open source which has "how to" documentation on many items and forums on various subjects where you can ask for help from other users. However I found 2057 pages (x 31 questions) that received no answer at all. Fortunately there are many WordPress.org users who write blog posts and even training manuals for you, like my friend Martin Malden. (expert on all things WordPress.org)
"Free" is good, but in cases where you're stuck it pays to pay for support.

Speed and ease of creating your (first) "blog"

Typepad: 10 minutes tops from starting your 14 day free trial (by creating your account), editing your design and style of your (first) "blog" using one of the 1000 plus templates Typepad offers you to publishing your first page or post. I'm pretty experienced in setting this up, but all my blog-studio students never take any longer to do the same.

I've asked my friend Martin what his best ever time was to do the same with a WordPress blog (from downloading the software, uploading it to the server your domain name is hosted on to editing the css for one of the two standard templates and publishing a first page or post): 20 minutes (and he's very experienced in this). He does state that including searching, finding, uploading (1-click install on most hosting providers), editing a different theme and getting ready to publish a first post/page a "first timer" should allow for up to one hour.

Speed and ease of creating more than one blog on a single account.

Then there is the matter of creating a second (or third, fourth) blog (our business has two divisions: natural wooden flooring and natural wooden furniture - both with their own dedicated "blog" - and then there are various other subjects I write about - each with their own blog, our family blog plus the community blog we manage for our village).

With Typepad Plus account you can instantly create 3 individual blogs, with the Pro account it is absolutely "limited less" - limited only by bandwidth (10GB) and storage (1000MB). All individual blogs on your account can have their own specific design and settings AND share custom made side-bar items (the typelists).

Again, I asked my friend Martin Malden if you can manage more than 1 blog on WordPress.org account as easy as with Typepad. 'Fraid not: either you have to create a WordPress account per intended blog or download and install WordPress MultiUser. The readme text of this product starts with:

"WordPress MU is a multi user version of WordPress.
If you're not comfortable editing PHP code, taking care of a complex webserver and database system and being pro-active about following developments of this project then run, don't walk, to http://wordpress.com/ and sign yourself and your friends up to free blogs. It's easier in the long run and you'll save yourself a lot of pain and angst."

Third party widgets (plug-ins): one click only

Both Typepad and WordPress.org have standard widgets and allow you to add third party widgets to your blog (of which most will end up in your side-bar). Most third parties have "quick" install options to add their widget to the three most common blog platforms: Blogger, Typepad and WordPress. Clicking the Blogger or Typepad Quick Install options sends you to your existing account and the widget is automagically added to your side-bar items. Quick install = log-in - drag new widget to where you want it to show in the side bar (Design - Organise Content).

WordPress.org account holders are directed to an instruction manual because the widget (plug-in) has to be uploaded to the plug-in folder of their self-hosted domain and from there it can be activated through the WordPress account. Quick install = download - upload - activate - drag new widget (plug-in) to where you want it to show in the side-bar (Presentation - Widgets)

Automated improvements - new versions

Another advantage IMHO that a paid for blog platform like Typepad gives you is not having to download, upload and activate newer versions than you first started with. WordPress.org is on stable release 2.8.4 at the moment and have improved the Automatic Upgrade but you still have to deactivate all your plug-ins.
I know that plenty of WordPress.org users are still on the version they originally installed because to the 'hassle' and time involved having to go 'through it' all over again. (Friend of mine is still on version 2.2.2 and told me he truly cannot find the time to upgrade).

Typepad is constantly evolving its features, options and possibilities. Once everything is de-bugged through the Beta-team everyone having a Typepad account automagically benefits from the newer version without having to lift a finger.

SEO ready

Both Typepad and WordPress.org platforms are SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) ready. To be honest the speed of how quick one of my new blogs gets indexed by Google and other search engines keeps amazing me. My latest project had one of the posts listed on page 1 within 2 days! (On a Google.com search that brought up 5,310,000 results).

Improving search results on both platforms are easy, add relevant keywords and/or tags to your posts and pages - besides of course your overall general keywords and key phrases that are relevant to the subject of your blog. Alt Text (text behind an image or a link on your blog) can be added easily too on both platforms.

Plus all blogs come with an integrated RSS feed (Real Simple Syndication): an standardised format to easily share headlines and content online. Regard it as a "What's new on your site" automated feature. It also means your blog content is picked up by many more online services and channels than just search engines.
Side-note: 'burning' your blog feed through Feedburner gives you plenty of more options to be picked up and shared than just relying on the rss feed on its own.

Integrating a blog with a standard site in one go

Many businesses already have a website - designed and managed by a web designer - over which they hardly have any control (at least that's the complaint I hear often). Adding new content to the site takes communication between owner and designer, time from the designer and money from the business owner.
You can add a blog to any existing website and start managing your frequently to be updated content yourself. All your designer has to do is add a link on your website to the blog.

There is however a more simpler way: set up your blog as if it is your standard website (with fixed pages) and use the 'blog-index' feature as integrated blog. Three big advantages here:
1) total control for the business owner on content, frequency of updating and layout
2) design and layout for both the 'standard' website and the 'blog' are exactly the same
3) both 'standard' website and blog profit from the benefits a blog platform gives you.

A few (IMHO) fine examples:

Plumbing & Heating Service in Glasgow (note how Tony informs his potential clients about every aspect that is involved in the works without any 'hard sell') - "Need to know" is the blog-index

Better Water Solutions (again note how Peter too informs everyone about issues and even news items regarding fresh water supply to your home) - "Tips, Advice & FAQ's" is the blog-index

Community website: Lovely Charing where "What's On and News" is the blog-index informing the village and the Charing Businesses there's always something going on. Using an AWeber blog-broadcast brings every new article straight to the inbox of everyone who subscribed to the so-called blog or news-alerts.

Conclusion

As said in the beginning of this article: both blog platforms have raving fans.
My own opinion is that if you are looking for:
a simple,
easy to implement and manage blog platform
that has standard 1000+ design templates to choose from (which all can be combined with 10 different standard lay-outs)
that comes with many added extras without having to upgrade to a newer version
and which gives you instant results
Definitely Go for Typepad

(For business owners I recommend to opt for the Pro account, or at least the Plus account.)

To Blog or not to Blog?

To Blog or not to Blog? What exactly is a Blog? Exactly what can a Blog do for me? These are amongst the questions that I hope to be able to answer after I have attended the “Introduction to Blogging” workshop. More specifically, I hope to know exactly what a “Blog” can do to promote my Wife’s Complementary Therapy practise and generate new business for her – she is after all paying for my workshop place!

I consider myself to be “computer literate” and I use the internet regularly. I have occasionally read Blog pages, but only when I have found them by accident. I have (like most of us I am sure) tried searching for family members (including me) on Google. Unsurprisingly or perhaps with some relief not much was found! By using blogging, will this change?

My Wife runs her therapy practise from our home and as a consequence relies on networking, word of mouth, local advertising and her recently commissioned web site to generate business. It is the web element of this that we are hoping to enhance to attract more patients and to raise her web profile. We are both hoping that by learning about blogging we will be able to achieve this. My Wife is hopeful that blogging will eventually enable her to share her wealth of knowledge about many areas of Complementary Therapy with a wider audience – whether patients or not.

On a personal note, I too am hoping to commission a web site. In contrast to my Wife’s site, this will be more of a “hobby” than a business, although in the fullness of time I hope that it too will be able to generate some income. I am an amateur photograph with a vast number of captured images. My images are mainly of a nautical theme, including numerous ship photographs. I would like to be able to put these pictures onto a web site, where they can be enjoyed by a wider audience, who may, in time be able to purchase (or at least order) a copy of any image they particularly like or need. I am hoping that by starting to blog I may be able to promote my idea and turn it into reality.

Most of the blogs that I have read (and there aren’t many) seem to be on-line diaries, without the “Dear Diary” introduction. I am sure that there must be more to it than this - surely nobody would want to read the diary notes of an amateur photographer?

Have I got completely the wrong idea about Blogging? I hope that with Karin’s help I am about to find out…..

Chris Lye 16^th

January 2008

tree appeal

I am the owner of the Ashford branch of printing.com, we are based in the Park Mall Shopping Centre. Printing.com are a fast full colour printer with a chain of nearly 200 stores across the country.

We produce business cards, stationery, brochures, booklets, flyers and all manor of promotional items.

We are trying to make a difference to the way we work by obtaining the ISO 14001. This is the accreditation which looks at our Carbon Footprint. Things we are doing to obtain this are: Recycle all our waste paper into 16 distinct streams, use vegetable based inks pumped from large drums rather than smaller cartridges in wasteful packaging, recycle our plates and dispose of our chemicals responsibly, all our paper is obtained from wood pulp from sustainable forests, just like farming wheat!

We planted 10 000 trees last year through the ‘Tree Appeal’ charity and are on schedule to plant 15 000 this year. We’re hoping that a couple of local schools will be helping us to plant them with us this year in their grounds and by the children that go there.

Danny Clements

How our blog-studio bloggers are faring so far

Almost two months after our first  "Introduction to Blogging" workshop our bloggers bring us the following figures, facts and news on their blogging 'adventures':

Company Doctor Richard Calderwood's blog has been quoted to from three different long-established blogs:

• Bad Debts: Sitcom article on Kent Blumberg's Executive Coach blog
• A Cup of Coffee - Caffeine Related Business Building on Liz Strauss at Outstanding & Successful blog(gers) weekly category: Connecting dots with The Idea Dude
• Maintain Attitude, or you will surely crash on Robyn McMaster's Brain Based Biz in the category "Intrapersonal Intelligence" of the regular Fly High! Tap More Intelligence series.

Plus Richard is testing the 'blog'waters with a different blog platform (Wordpress) which offers more flexibility for his specific purpose than typepad at the moment:
bizRichard (since 18.11.07 the former Company Doctor's blog is redirected to this new blog)

Where there's a Will - Jaci Godman Irvine, after publishing three posts and three pages so far, definitely feels her blog will help her to have more and professional conversations with (potential) clients.

The "Healthy Water for Healthy Skin" from Flowsoft - BetterWaterSolutions receives hit after hit from all over the world from (sometime desperate) web searches.
And blog-owner Peter Allen is on the verge of launching a new blog on one of his other expertises "Nutrition for Life", so stay tuned!

Jamie O'Connell with his Credit Control Solutions blog - "Making your cash flow" reports increased traffic to his normal 'static' website after the launch of his blog. Jamie dedicates Tuesday evenings to blogging - reading, searching, studying and of course writing!

Catherine Velge of Hand Picked Wines got off to a flying start with her "What's in your glass" blog: two posts and two pages published in one day!
(And her blog is hardly 1 week old - so keep up the good work Catherine, go for it! Educate the whole world about your wine.)

Find out more about our bloggers by subscribing to their blog feeds, join in the conversation there and if you want to start your own blog adventure see our dates for the next workshops.

Happy Blogging!

The Tolson Family Blog from My 1st Blog Workshop.......

I'm sitting in a Blog workshop, run by my friends Karin Herman of Wood You Like and Lesley Perk of Ashford Computer Training.  As part of the exercise I have to create a Blog.....

.....so this then will be my attempt to produce a vehicle to enable my scattered, immediate, family to share their thoughts and activities.  If I look at the immediate family, geographically we are really well scattered, from Folkestone to Vancouver and from Baltimore to Northampton and loads of other places in between.  In addition a quick tour of the "world-wide-web" for "Tolsons" shows they are scattered across the world like a rash, and this means that we are, perhaps, genealogically interesting.

Another thing that I find fascinating, and who knows, others might too, is the range of activities and interests we cover from long-distance marching to rebuilding vintage cars and from sailing to riding horses. Also how we make our livings, from cooking food to landscaping - from building to selling utilities - from being retired to being educated from primary school to university - from administering business to looking after old racing cars - from teaching to audio visual - and all the rest.

Of course a blog is only as interesting as the participation it draws from those who contribute so - contribute - all you Tolsons out there - tell us all what you're doing - what your plans are - your latest planned project - successes and failures - any details of your day to day life.

Geoff Tolson

Why Blog?

I've got to say that the whole concept of blogging is alien to me.Why would anyone feel compelled to write about themselves on line? And even more of a mystery why would anyone want to read it?

I thought that a Blog was purely an on line diary, this is probably because I had never read one (an absurd but not untypical boast) I am always the last to to embrace new technology,computers in general have remained a mystery to me. I have a very old computer at home that I only use to go on the Internet. The finer points of Word Excel PowerPoint have eluded me thus far.

Recently my Luddite views have seemed more and more ridiculous,especially from a business point of view when so much business is done on line.We have recently  become almost fully computerised at work, although we are still learning how to get the best out of it,I can already see the tremendous benefits that it will be able to offer.

So why have I enrolled on a Blogging workshop?

I have joked that every time I go to Ashford BNI as a substitute Lesley Perk seems to be doing the 10 minute spot,for someone so heavily involved with computers she has an easy going not over technical manner. On my last visit the slot was about blogging. As Lesley explained further I realised that not only was this a potentially interesting thing to become involved with, it also offered a tremendous business opportunity. By now my appetite had been whetted and I signed up for the course.

So here I am writing my first post!!!

 

Trevor Fitzgerald - Fitzgerald Jewellers

The Power Service (Kent) Ltd

The Power Service is an Electrical Testing Company we work in both Domestic and Industrial markets

We are CORGI Registered and N.I.C.E.I.C. approved and we cover all of Kent.

The Power Service (Kent) Ltd  is a member of BNI Ashford.

We are agent for all of the district councils in Kent to conduct there Part P certification this allow all

un-registered electricians and the D.I.Y home owners can comply with the law in getting any electrical work that has been carried out oin there homes registered.

The Power Service also conducts all types of NICEIC testing  including "Periodic Inspections"

"Installation Certificates" and "Portable Appliance Testing"

We also do minor remedial work in domestic property

For any electrical not carried out by a registered electrician the job must be registered with the local authority before any work is carried out.

After the work is accepted by the Local Authority you will be contacted by The Power Service and arrangements made to visit the customer to carry out 2 inspections.

The first inspection is undertaken during the 1st fix stage of construction, this will satisfy the inspector that the wotk is being installed to comply with the 16th edition of the Electrical Regulations.

The final Inspection is undertaken on the completion of the work. It is important that the job is complete including all decoration,when this is complete the local authority will issue a completion Certificate,and record the work at the Land Registry.

Nick Osborne - Safety is our Business

The reason I Like Bordeaux wines

Hello!

I'll start with a tiny bit of background:

First off, what many people should realise is that Bordeaux wines were marketed by the English tradesmen who invented modern day marketing by announcing the arrival of the new wines for the season, ahead of time to the buying public at home. The trip was treacherous over the channel up to the early 18th century and wine was preserved with great difficulty in small tuns made of French oak. But realize that even if you hate the French, you have in fact contributed to the fortunes of Bordeaux directly or indirectly through your English ancestors, who simply put, had a passion for "Claret". For more historical facts please refer to the wine god Hugh Johnson's fabulous book The Story of Wine.

So the wine we have today is the culmination of many different and painstaking trials to get wine to your table in a stable form. Bordeaux wines are all bottled in tall straight bottles which are distinctly different from the Burgundy bottles which often resemble the New World bottles, tapering to a slightly larger bottom.

My opinion is that Bordeaux's distinctive characteristic can be expressed in three words: blend,blend and blend. It is blending the grape varieties the way they do in each and every vineyard which is the secret of their centuries old wine-making method. Most winemakers will tell you that their product is unique and they would probably be telling you the truth.

With 10,000 different vineyards in the entire Bordeaux area the choice is vast and should you wish to taste them all, there is little doubt that the average non-professional  wine amateur would probably take an entire lifetime to do so..After all there are so many hours in a day.

However, not all Bordeaux are created equal. And not all the more famous ones are necessarily much, much better that the wines made by a very dedicated wine-maker in an unknown vineyard, struggling to be known and doing everything, save the harvest, on his/her own. Not all budgets or starting capitals has ever been created equal either. This, the wine market, although not yet mature is extremely competitive..

But I digress. I am partial to wines from Bordeaux, not obviously because I do trade in them but for the following reasons, which I know you will appreciate:

• they are blends of up to 5 different grape varieties
• they are always lower in alcohol than the other French and other regions for a same vintage.
• the French oak used for its ageing is an essential part of its refinement and gives off essential aromas for subtlety and distinction.
• they are very natural, short of organic, due to very strict laws retricting the use of strong chemicals during the growing and wine-making.
• this makes them easier to "process" in the body and wake up refreshed rather than poisoned

But the main reason for me is the subtlety of taste and aromas which makes each wine a complete "package".

So, what can you do with this information?

• Just try Bordeaux wines. Anywhere and everywhere.
• Sign up to a wine tasting event: Many pubs and restaurants will promote their establishments and wine list by inviting you to such an event to get more customers interested in them, charging you a minimal fee and without any purchase obligation to the wine merchant.
• Or sign up to an informal class in wine-tasting at the many events available accross the country specializing in Bordeaux
• Go visit Bordeaux!
• Or come as a guest in my networking group in the BNI

I hope this helps seduce you to the wonderful world I live in, with, through and by: Bordeaux.

Happy tasting!

Catherine

Hand Picked Wines

"If you have a nose for wine, make sure yours is hand-picked!!"

Yes why am I here...?

Yes why am I here...? I love taking on new ideas and love doing new things. I must admit I keep hearing people talking about blogging and for some strange reason I have not really understood how they work. I have seemed to shut off when any one talks about one. Initially like many others I have associated them with my space and face book and keep resisting the temptation to join in those. I don't really want people who I went to school with 'poking me' out of the blue!

But I keep hearing you cannot afford to close your eyes to blogging, because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself and they're going to shake up just about every business.

I presume I associated it with computer geeks but now mainly through Lesley and Karin I see 'normal people' talking about it, so I must find out what it is all about.

I heard that through blogging you can raise your company profile and increase your hits to your website. That can only be a positive thing. And blogging is FREE!!

So I am hoping that through my introduction into blogging I can help raise the profile of my Promotional gift and clothing company.

Daryl Carter - (making "you" stand out from the crowd)

Blog learning

At last I am becoming excited about "blogging", what I thought was a basically  on line ramblings of people who have nothing better to do with there time than put their personal thoughts and opinions on line. Then the "Penny" dropped with a sudden flash of inspiration the dawn of a new way of marketing my company gently rose on the distant horizon and shone brightly in my face like the first ray of sunshine on a summers day, Eureka!

Thanks to the Blog Workshop and my good friend Karin I am now on my way to becoming a "Blogger" to help me in my business and to promote my website www.betterwatersolutions.co.uk and that for me is the main reason for me to blog but not the only reason, what I have learnt over the past few years about nutrition, diet and supplements to help in the fight to ease the symtoms of Eczema (there is no known cure) I can now share with many other people and to receive feedback from sufferers on ways that have helped them and to also share with them my knowledge about the positive effects of water quality.