If you are in any way involved in a blog you know that positive comments are awesome, negative comments are…well, good for balanced feedback and spam comments are downright infuriating. Its the latter variety that this post is about.

You know them when you see them. Sometimes they are blatant, "Great blog! Visit my site www.bestsiteintheworld.com!"

Sometimes they are incoherent, "Greek should thy savage health insurance agents make light business contact manager windows mobile wheat." (Whaaa?)

But most of the time, they are a little sneakier than that (in response to one of my Valentine’s Day Trend Alert posts), "Its true! We sell more Heart Valentines Day Votive candles on blacktaisaltco.com months after V Day. The Pure Himalayan Salt Lamps and regular Crystal Salt Votive candle holders sell during valentines day… most people send them to themselves as presents and not to anyone else… we had a questionnaire…proves our point."

Yeah…so clearly, that’s marketing at work but because it was relevant to the blog post I felt inclined to allow it. And it didn’t make me feel very good either. It got me wondering if there is any sort of formal comment etiquette out there that would help marketers who are posting these comments to get what they want and not tick off bloggers?

My research led me to a SmallBusinessNewz.com article on the subject. The article’s author Chris Crum writes about how each blogger generally makes up their own policy regarding comments. There is quite a range from very lenient to very strict and not all of them are made known to commenters/readers. He links to Daria Black’s The Blogger’s Guide to Comment Etiquette which outlines guidelines the average blogger uses. Be sure to pay heed to number 1 on the list (it IS number 1 for a reason ya know…).

There’s no question anymore as to whether or not blogging is beneficial to businesses–it IS. Wait. Allow me to rephrase…GOOD blogging is beneficial to businesses. If you run your blog poorly, it becomes a waste of your time as well as the time of your readers (dare I say customers ?) and no one likes to be inconvenienced, especially not consumers. I know, I know…nothing you don’t already know.

Well, if you have decided not to pursue blogging due to time, money and/or resource constraints then I suppose you needn’t read on. But if you do run a company blog and are looking to make it worth your while, by all means, check out these 10 completely free guides to building a better blog courtesy chrisg.com :

1. The Blogger’s Guide to SEO – Written by Aaron Wall of SEOBook, learn how to optimize your blog.

2. Remarkablogger’s How to Start A Business Blog – 12 Step Business Blogging eBook

3. "Attention Age" – Web 2.0 Marketing by Rich Schefren

4. Forget Everything You Know About Making Money Online – Brian Clark’s free ebook shows you how to forget everything you know about making money … and start making some.

5. Blog Profits Blueprint – ebook about how to make money with a blog.

6. SEO Benefits of Press Releases – optimizing your web page with good content.

7. Authority Black Book – Social Media Marketing ebook.

8. Deep Secrets of Successful Blogging – Chitika’s ebook…also links to the BlogBash ebook.

9. Keyword Research for Bloggers – the title says it all!

10. The 4 Phases of Internet Marketing – This report provides you an overview of all the tactics you should be looking at building into your internet marketing strategy.

Do you find these helpful? Let me know so I can either keep trying to find similar resources or move on to different ones. Also feel free too add your suggestions to the list!

Shelly

A: No, blogging is not going away anytime soon.

And I can’t say I’m not surprised, because I am. When blogging first made its way into our consciousness a few years ago, I was as skeptical as they come. Was I really heard to remark, "It’s the CB radio of our time!" Yes, I was.

But, halleluiah! I see the light! I’ve become a convert. How much so? Yes, I have just launched my own blog, Business as UNusual.

What I get now about blogging is that it is a way to communicate with the world in ways that were unheard of only a few years ago. It is a chance to loosen the ‘ol tie and create a more personal, interactive, human communication with your customers, vendors, employees, and other people.

Prior to blogging, there were really very few ways to create that personal bond, especially with customers, both actual and potential. If you did not meet them one-on-one or speak with them on the phone, the only way they heard about you, typically, would be through your advertising and marketing.

But those are inherently impersonal vehicles.

The Internet generally, and a blog specifically, gives you an opportunity to show who you and your business are in a much more up close and personal way. This, in turn, allows you to you to create more of a bond, and thus more of a relationship, and that should create more loyalty.

So, to answer your question, there really are numerous benefits to creating a blog for your business:

* Blogs build a sense of community: By sharing your expertise in a blog, you connect with a lot more people. And as they respond to your posts, a community is created.
* They allow you to plug products and services: But importantly, you are not doing so in an abrasive way. Using the conversational style that is the hallmark of a good blog allows you to share business products in a friendly way.
* They boost your search engine optimization (SEO): By their very nature, blogs incorporate the hallmarks of good SEO: Keywords and links. And, as people respond to your blog, more keywords show up.
* Blogs help make you an authority: I can tell you that being published, even if it’s only your own blog, gives you gravitas.
* Blogs give you valuable feedback: By seeing what customers say about your posts, your blog offers valuable feedback.

So the benefits are numerous. If you want to make the most of your blog, here are a few tips:

Be frank: People read blogs to get an insight they would not normally have. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s blog does this well.

Be conversational: People like reading blogs to get a less formal view of the writer or business. The folks over at Duct Tape Marketing are good at this.

Be insightful: Try and give the people some information they would not otherwise have. Anita Campbell at Small Business Trends is good at this.

So, blog or get blogged down. The choice is yours!

Today’s Tip: What is the very first form of human community? Why, the tribe of course. That’s why the book Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization is such a great business book.

As the authors explain, tribes are natural occurrences, even in business. The trick then is to create or identify your most valuable tribe members (employees, customers, professionals, etc.) and work with them to build your business. What you can do together is greater than what you can do alone. Steve says check it out!

Online forum – Having an online forum is a great idea for bringing customers together to talk about similar interests or aspects of your business. For instance, if your website sells environmentally-friendly products, then some of your forum sections could be: Ways to live greener, Favorite green products, Backyard composting, etc. In order to keep the conversations flowing, one or more employees of your site should ask questions and post answers. You’ll be amazed at how much information you’ll learn about your customers’ interests and how you can incorporate that into your product or service lineup.

Blog – Having a blog not only works wonders for increasing your search engine ranking and bringing in traffic, but it’s a great way to interact with customers and establish yourself as an industry expert. While topics should focus on the industry of your website, they shouldn’t completely center around your particular business, products or services. However, it’s fine to occasionally mention new products or a new service if it is relevant to the topic and isn’t a blatant sales pitch. The most important things to remember if you start a blog is 1) be a regular contributor, 2) try to respond to as many questions as possible and 3) write quality content.

Interactive surveys – A fun way to get your customers involved with your site is by creating quick online surveys that they can take part in. This is not the same as a ten-minute marketing survey; it’s just a quick question like: "Are you interested in environmentally-friendly products for your pets?" Answers could be displayed in a graph so visitors can see what everyone else is saying. Anything that gets your visitors involved in your site will help to establish a stronger bond with them.

Social networking sites – More and more businesses are setting up pages on online social sites like MySpace, Face Book and Second Life, and why not? It’s a great way to talk with customers on a more personal level as well as gain exposure for your business. Getting started is easy and they’re a great place to have photos of employees, silly videos, special coupons and more.

Building relationships with customers not only helps you mold your business to their desires, but it’s fun too! Your customers will get to see the people behind the website and see that you share in their passion too. Using these online tools for your company’s advantage doesn’t cost much, but it will require a regular commitment of time, otherwise your customers will end up feeling abandoned.

Bloggers may not find Template Monster as useful as owners of websites, as WordPress already has many free themes available for use on blogs. The e-commerce templates are perfect for use when creating or arranging an online store, and templates are available based on three different e-commerce engines. The templates offered by Template Monster are compatible with nearly all hosting companies, and can be used for any type of online store or business.

Template Types and Selection

Templates on Template Monster can be purchased individually, and are separated into categories on their website. Purchased templates can be customized as needed and as often as you want, to create or update the content on your website. Template Monster offers a larger variety of format types than anyone else online, and they boast the largest selection currently available on the internet.

If you are looking for a web template for your website or business, Template Monster has many different web template options available for download. Available ready-made designs include Flash templates, Flash Intro templates, SWiSH templates, and Dynamic Flash photo gallery templates. All of these website templates are customizable, and come with stock photos, clip art images, a font collection, and a month of included web hosting. Template Monster also provides customers with 24-hour support when they purchase a Flash website template.

If you want to arrange an online shop, the e-commerce templates from Template Monster will be the perfect fit for your website or business. Template Monster offers osCommerce templates, CRE Loaded templates, and Zencart templates, all of which are fully customizable. Template Monster’s CRE Loaded templates allow you to easily add or change items sold through your store, and make it easy for you to upload images, text descriptions, graphics, and process credit card payments.

The corporate design section of Template Monster’s website contains many products useful for businesses that are seeking graphics to assist in their branding campaigns. This section offers logos, logo sets, icons, and corporate identities that are all fully customizable and can be easily changed to fit any specific brand or business. The corporate identity template consists of a set of pre-designed objects used to determine the style of a business, and includes a logo, business card layout, envelope, and standard letterhead. This set is ideal for a newly established business that might not yet have the financial resources to spend on a professionally designed and managed corporate style.

Templates for blogs are available all over the internet, but Template Monster offers a stunning selection of CMS (content management system) and blog templates. Even if you are new to HTML, using a CMS template will give you a professional looking blog that is easy to manage. Blog and CMS template types available through Template Monster include WordPress themes, Php-Nuke templates, PhpBB templates, Joomla templates, and Mambo templates.

Special Features and Ease-of-Use

The Template Monster website is easy to navigate, and the system for browsing and purchasing templates is simple and straightforward. You have the option of either narrowing your search results by using drop down boxes, which allow you to sort your results by product type, category, and style, or by searching for a specific HTML editor.

Most of the templates offered by Template Monster use unflattened Adobe Photoshop PSD files, but some are fully coded HTML templates. Template Monster accepts payment by credit card, and templates are delivered quickly – sometimes instantly. One negative point to keep in mind is that Template Monster’s markup is not the greatest, and the templates load slowly for users without broadband. This may be an issue you will need to consider, depending on your business and site traffic.

Template Monster provides users with email and chat support, makes available a comprehensive user’s guide, FAQ, and a searchable archive of submitted questions.

For those running their own template store, Template Monster allows you to establish your own chat system that connects your website visitors directly with their live chat support.

Affiliate Program

Besides providing your new business or website with an enormous variety of template designs, Template Monster offers an easy way to monetize your website with their affiliate program. Template Monster’s affiliate program includes a detailed commission statistics program that enables you to track your earnings and monthly traffic statistics for your template store. There is also an ad campaign tracker available, which is an analytic tool that allows you to gauge the usefulness of your advertising channels. You need only include a modified link in the promotional ads or banners that you use on other websites, and the tracker also monitors the number of clicks and conversions each ad generates.

You earn money through Template Monster’s affiliate program by referring visitors through your affiliate link to the Template Monster website, or by setting up your own online store with the ready-made store templates and scripts that Template Monster offers. You can also refer other affiliates to Template Monster’s affiliate program. This allows you to receive 25 percent of whatever they earn as commission. Affiliates earn 20 percent commission on all purchases made via their template store or affiliate link.

An important feature of Template Monster’s affiliate program is that it uses permanent cookies. This enables you to earn commission from purchases made months after one of your visitors is referred through your store or link. You can also choose any template from the Template Monster website and pay for it using your commission, while receiving a 20 percent discount.

Overall, Template Monster is the best source for templates if you want something professional, attractive, and easy-to-use for your business or website. Other sources of templates online offer a greater number of features than Monster Template provides, but those competitors have only a fraction of the template selection that Monster Template has. Plus, you can earn money through their affiliate program, and your templates will pay for themselves.