How do I learn how to blog?

While there are a small handful of books available on blogging, the number of classes and workshops on business-focused blogging that are taught by well-known bloggers is surprisingly small. That's actually one of the reasons that I'm involved in a number of different projects where I'm trying to make it as easy as possible for people to come up to speed on business blogging.

Blog Smart Business Blogging Workshop

Coming up in less than two weeks is a great one-day business blogging workshop called Blog Smart! that will be in Denver, Colorado on December 10th. it's an all-day event with the morning focused on The Business Case for Blogging and the afternoon session a hands-on How To Blog Workshop. You'll walk out of the conference facility with a live business weblog and the expertise to continue your path to success, growing your actual business as you go along.

Here are a few topical highlights:

* What is a blog, and how does it differ from a business Web site?
* How to mine blogs for competitive and market intelligence
* Turning your customers into your extended sales force
* Establishing a true, credible voice in the marketplace
* Avoiding common blogging pitfalls
* Understanding findability, the future of business

And, in the hands-on workshop:

* How to sign up and configure your business blog
* How to write a blog entry (it's easy!)
* Good blogging style, voice and linking approaches
* Finding other bloggers in your market segment
* Publicizing your weblog

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of seats at this type of hands-on workshop, so if you're interested, please sign up now! Don't forget the Friends of Ask Dave Taylor registration discount too: use group code "blog" and you'll save a bundle.

Exploding Your Business via Blogs

Since not everyone can travel, and since many people prefer to learn something new over a course of weeks, my friend and colleague Brad Fallon and I are pleased to offer an 8-week teleseminar on business blogging that you'll be able to attend from the comfort of your own home or office.

Each week we'll have an hour group discussion via telephone (they'll be recorded and you'll get copies of the recordings too, so you can study them later), you'll have a chance to ask questions, and you'll get expert advice and insider tips on how to make your business explode by building and maintaining a weblog for your company.

Over the course of eight weeks, you will discover the following topics:

• Blogging Tools: Confused with all the jargon and acronyms in the blogging space? You won't be after this course...
• Learn how you can use other people's blogs to gain visibility... even before you have your own blog!
• Customizing the look of your weblog: learn which tools to use, what they are capable of, and how to do customize your blog to make you more money, faster
• Discover how to optimize your weblog for the search engines one time so that every new page you create will automatically be ready to be spidered and placed highly in search engine results
• Why writing for the Blogosphere is different than creating a web page or writing a good article... and why it's critical you fully understand the difference... How to effectively find good content online that will keep your readers coming back for more... without ripping off content Let us show you how you can not only generate traffic and interest in your products and services, but how to monetize your blog... Plus we'll reveal our secrets to producing thousands of dollars each month in Google AdSense revenue
• Get your questions answered about blog design, SEO approach, your business segment, learn how to connect with other industry folk who you've identified as important players, and more...

You can sign up for our teleseminar at Exploding Your Business via Blogging. I'm really excited about this one, actually, and look forward to building long-term relationships with everyone who has signed up. Again, though, there are very few seats left, so please don't delay if it's something that sounds like a perfect match for your needs.

Workshop at The Affiliate Summit 2006

If you're interested in affiliate marketing and are going to be in Las Vegas for the upcoming Affiliate Summit 2006 then I encourage you to consider flying in on Sunday morning and spending a few hours that afternoon in my Explode Your Business with Blogging workshop. It'll be a fast, darn useful introduction to everything you need to know about business blogging, followed by a terrific conference where you'll learn all about affiliate marketing, from both the merchant and Web site owner's perspectives.

Other Venues...

There are other classes and workshops on business blogging, and there are some terrific instructors too, but I encourage you to visit their weblog before you sign up for their class and ask yourself: is this exemplary? Does this weblog demonstrate the characteristics and features that I want to have reflected in my best effort too?

Good luck to you. I hope we cross paths on your blogging journey again.