Customer Reviews

Publish and Prosper: Blogging for Your Business

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This a great book for anyone thinking about blogging be it for business or just for pleasure. Even if you are just doing a personal blog, the point is you want people to see it, otherwise you could just write in a journal and put it under your pillow. They lay out in very detailed yet understandable terms how to go about getting it set up, what options you have, and where to go do so. Then once set up, the whole point is getting it out there. Thats where this book really shines. Lots of books and articles and yes, even blogs, have been written about how to blog. These guys take it to the next level and explain how to get it out to the masses.

All in all, concise, informative, and easy for people that might not be all that tech savvy. Just what I was looking for.

DL Byron and Steve Broback have really done an excellent job in writing this very thorough primer on blogging for business. The book, actually, is more than a mere primer: its breadth is surprising. They've managed to cover virtually every aspect of business blogging in a mere 180 pages. Quite an accomplishment and one the authors can certainly take pride in.

The approach is linear, beginning with an explanation of what a blog is, determining the focus of your business blog, the varieties of blog, design, tools for blogging, writing the blog, getting noticed, monitoring and managing and ending chapter on syndication and other fine points they refer to as "beyond blogging".

What is impressive is how much solid information the authors manage to convey without overwhelming the reader. The writing style is comfortable and spare. They avoid technical language and do a good job of explaining each point.

Overall this is one of the best books on blogging I've seen. It is practical, not theoretical and the authors left dogma and cant at the door. They are clear that blogs are not miraculous but can certainly help a company advance toward its goals.

Well done and a worthwhile read that will serve as a quick reference after you've read it.

Jerry

So many "blogging" books focus on the theory or social impact of blogging, but this is of little help to the business person who wants to find out whether blogging might have import for them.

Likewise, many of the business blogging books and online tutorials make blogging sound like just another marketing gimmick, which it is not.

DL Byron has written a practical guide to blogging for business, which is to say: he not only addresses the nuts and bolts of building business through blogging, but how one can be an authentic member of the blogosphere. This latter is an essential component of success--the blogosphere is incredibly sensitive to B.S.

In this fast-paced, easy-reading book, Byron and Broback tell everything you need to know to help your business thrive online. Just as importantly, they help you avoid the pitfalls that can turn a business blog into a negative PR fiesta.

Simple, direct, and filled with the wisdom of experience, Publish & Prosper tells how to write to be read, how to design for readers, and how to create the kind of honest, two-way communication that web-savvy readers demand. It's all told with gusto, from a commonsense, can-do perspective.

Even if you don't know much about blogging before reading this book, by the time you finish, you'll join the ranks of the digitally clued-in. More importantly, you'll be able to use what you know to promote your business -- and have a lot of fun doing it!

When used in the context of the Internet, blog is an abbreviation for weblog and refers to an online journal. The most advanced blogs allow readers to contribute to the journal, creating an inline discussion group. Many businesses have found blogs to be a valuable tool in increasing their internal and external communications. Internally, a blog can serve as an online discussion group between employees, where issues can be resolved and decisions made. By doing so online, the participants do not have to leave their offices and can contribute, even though they may be a continent away. The online community of blogs is known collectively as the blogosphere.

Externally, some companies are using blogs to maintain better communications with their customers. However, this is not without risk, in that the solicitation of feedback can lead to a great deal of negative expression. The fact that these negative comments will be there for all to see unnerves some people to the point where they are reluctant to insert their company into the blogosphere.

This book is not technical by any means, written at the level of the manager. It is also not evangelical in any way, the advantages and disadvantages of using blogs are clearly and completely stated. It is by now a cliché, but it is also true that blogging is like everything else. If you take the time and make the appropriate effort, blogging can return substantial rewards. However, if that is not done, it will be a disaster that will explode very quickly. Word travels fast in the blogosphere, which is an advantage if you are doing it right and a severe detriment if you are not.

There are signs that the blogosphere may alter marketing as we now know it. To many people, marketing is an area of loud hype and dubious claims made by people who really don't understand the product they are trying to sell. I am one of the many people, when I read a testimonial I wonder if the person being "quoted" really said that or meant it if they did say it. In the blogosphere, people who are users of the product can honestly state their experiences. It also gives the producer an opportunity to get more and better feedback from their customer. As the concept of blogging continues to develop as a marketing tool, the era of marketing by hype may begin to pass from the scene. I for one will feel no sadness if and when this occurs.

If you are a manager and have heard about blogs but don't know what they are or how they can be used, then this book is right for you. The messages are clear, complete and will prove invaluable if you are considering or planning an entry into the blogosphere.

I have already been blogging, but this book helped me focus my efforts in a way that may help my business. Lots of great insightful info, and common sense explanations in this book. I found it very helpful and easy to read.

Blogging isn't just for the chatty consumer: not with the appearance of PUBLISH & PROSPER: BLOGGING FOR YOUR BUSINESS. Here it turns into a viable approach for furthering business, coming from business owners who offer real-world techniques and ideas to blog to improve business. Learn how to start such a blog and build momentum and interest to promote a brand, products, or customer relations. The authors have extensive background in the blogging world and in business alike and have put their premises to the test, so this offers realistic ideas already applied to solid business pursuits.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

This book does have a lot of good info, unfortunately the formatting is so mangled in the Kindle edition it's difficult to read. The first indication of that is a mangled Table of Contents, and as you read further you're treated to occasional breaks in the text flow as you move between pages, indicating missing portions of text. Perhaps the most disconcerting error is that the highlighted "sidebars" (and there are a lot of them) are all unreadable. The text flows off the screen, and no amount of changing the font size would allow me to bring enough of the sidebar back on the screen to decipher this information.

I never take the time to write a review (this is my first), but I'm making an exception in this case, because this was not simply a matter of a few formatting errors, but an almost total failure to proof the product. Since the problems start with the Table of Contents, it's pretty obvious that no one bothered to make even a cursory effort at quality control. It appears that the authors (or someone) just dumped the text into some sort of conversion program and never bothered to check the results.

Interestingly enough, before posting this review, I attempted to find the authors' website or blog to report this problem. Guess what? I couldn't find one. That seems a bit strange for authors of a book recommending visibility on the web.

I am not discounting that there is good information in this book, but strongly advise readers against buying it in the Kindle format. Caveat Emptor Kindle Users!

If you know nothing about blogging and you got task to start your company blog, this book is good for you.

It doesn't cover any deep secret, just the basics, but it explains them in a very suitable and understandable way. It doesn't help you create some perfect TOP10 blog, but it helps you create blog at least at average level and avoid common mistakes even if you are inexperienced in this field.

This book can also help you decide if you really need company blog or not. It contains some good use cases and helps you find persuasive arguments for your CEO.

This is a great handbook for starting up a blog (corporate or private for that matter). There is a lot of great info backed into this little book. I would highly recommend getting it for your team if you are starting a blog that requires a lot of support and buy-in. Nice work Byron & Steve.

BTW: If you ever get a chance to hear them speak on the topic, take it.