Blogging for your startup - a beginner’s guide
For those of you who already have blogs, you will find this article next to pointless - go and spend your time at johnchow.com and learn how to make some lovely cash. 
For the rest of you who just want to find out what a blog is, and what it can do for your business, read on.
I have been working for two dot-com startups recently, both founded by two very savvy individuals. Yet when I suggested to them that they may want to explore the idea of running a blog alongside their main projects, they both were stumped. I couldn’t understand how they had developed two very accomplished websites which I am sure will do very well (not least because of my input!), and yet weren’t up to speed with the concept of a blog. Blogs, or weblogs, have moved on from the common idea of simply being random lists of people’s thoughts. The two main pieces of blog authoring software, Blogger and Wordpress, have become very powerful tools for managing content, and many news and feature sites are based roughly around the blogging framework. Numerous sites out there will help you design and host what is essentially a fully fledged website, which you can fill with content ranging from industry news to specialist articles to company newsletters. The possibilities are limited by your imagination.
Why blog?
Blogging allows you to quickly and easily upload information you want to share with others, and this in itself is a fantastic revelation. If you are running a startup, then you may have employees scattered around in different locations that you wish to co-ordinate and keep ’singing from the same songbook’ . A simple blog can keep them updated with developments in the company, be a pool of resources and inspirational material, or be a forum for discussing ideas and building relationships. This can be done very easily by going to blogger, creating a free account and sending the address to your staff.
Blogging can also be a great way to keep in touch with your customers. Many websites have a link in the footer of the main page pointing to the company’s blog, which very often provides an insight into the company’s culture, whilst providing customers who operate in a similar industry with a resource of further information. A blog also offers another way for customers to keep in touch with you and give feedback on your products or service, and who wouldn’t want that?
Creating a blog, in some cases, can also result in a welcome additional revenue stream. If you populate your blog with advertisements using a platform such as Google’s adsense, it may be possible to make a steady amount of money (depending on traffic, of course).
Building a blog
As I previously mentioned, the primary platforms for building a blog are the Google owned Blogger, and my favourite, Wordpress. Both offer a quick and easy solution for getting a blog online. If, however, you want more from your blog than the simple designs and functions offered by these free services, there is an almost infinite bank of information on the internet on customising themes, adding widgets and monetising your blog.
When writing your first few posts, do not worry too much about what is coming out, you can always delete it later. The trick is to update your content frequently, to keep readers and stakeholders interested. There must be millions of blogs out there that have fallen by the wayside - find something that you like to write about that you and your company will find interesting and informative, and go from there. The general theme of your posts will probably change over time as you get more of a feel for what people like to read, but the important thing is to get started.
Resources
Blogging Platforms
Themes
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