Duration 2 days

Objectives
Our hands-on interactive blogging course teaches you how to set-up and write your very first blog for your business or personal use. We guide you to write relevant and enaging blogs that help forge a stronger presence and relationship with your customer base or target audience. At the end of this course you will have set up your first blog and you will have learnt how to:- - Quickly set up and brand your own blog - Write your first blog post, handle comments and include images - Identify a writing style to connect with and inform existing customers - Use your blog to attract visitors to your website and support your sales process - Create links and implement keywords and keyphrases to your blog - Develop your blog over time

Requirements
This course is for anyone wishing to get started with blogging. No specific entry requirements other than a desire to get started on writing blogs.


Course Outline

What is Blogging all about?
• What exactly is a blog anyway?
• Why are they so popular?
• Types of blog
• Who reads blogs and why

Benefits of using Blogs
• Blogging to promote your business
• Differentiating your business
• Building an audience and a discussion
• Adding a human dimension to your service
• Your blog as an SEO marketing tool
• Building your online presence and brand
• Media and PR benefits

Setting up your first blog
• Getting an account
• Setting up and branding your blog
• Styling your blog with a suitable template
• Creating your first post
• Adding an image
• Add keywords and tags
• Edit your posts
• Manage comments
• Additional pages
• Using block quotes

What to write about
• Identifying suitable topics
• What writing style to use for your brand
• Understand your market and what will interest them
• Encouraging comments and feedback
• Blogging frequency and quantity
• Integrating Keywords and tags
• Using suitable images and copyright issues
• Pitfalls and common mistakes
• Establishing yourself/your company as an authority

Promoting your blog
• Keyword strategy
• Being relevant and readable
• An element of (appropriate) humour!
• Connecting with relavant blogs

Working with Search Engines
• Writing for your niche
• Keywords and phrases
• Integrating keywrods and phrases in your blog
• Using the "long tail"
• RSS feeds

Blog Linking
• Why you need links in your blog
• Reciprocal linking and partnerships
• Using anchor text effectively
• Cross linking your blog
• Getting people to link in to your blog

Developing your blog over time
• New services and products
• Subtle selling techniques
• Timing issues
• Budgeting time and money for blogging activities
• Responding to negative feedback and comments
• Blogging rules and legal issues
• Building trust with your customers
• Adpating to changing market conditions