I was looking over the release of the revised “New Rules of Marketing and PR” and hit a section on business blogging that struck a chord with me.

David Meerman Scott stated “I always ask the audiences I present to, via a show of hands, ‘How many people read blogs?’ I’m continually surprised that only about 20 to 30 percent of marketing and PR people read blogs… When I ask how many people are writing their own blogs, the number is always less than 10 percent”

When I read that, it blew me away. That is a shockingly low number in my opinion, and surprising due to the fact that blogs are everywhere. It seems like every business and every site I hit seems to have a blog attached to it. The mass of information on the web gives a false sense of participation.

I’m not sure of the exact reasoning behind why most people don’t participate in business blogging. I’m almost certain it’s due to a lack of time but it can be other things like a certain measure of insecurity or a perceived lack of something relevant to say.

I think for many, it just comes down to a time and knowledge issue. Many business owners aren’t as plugged in as mainstream “webinites” so there’s an unseen tech barrier that is holding some back. I know the first time I wanted to setup a business blog I sat there scratching my head wondering where I should start.

Thus, I’ve compiled a nice list because I know you’re out there. I know you’re reading blogs, but you don’t have one. I know you think about wanting a blog, but haven’t motivated yourself to do it yet. Use this list to help you get things started.

Now this isn’t a nitty gritty step by step on installing and configuring the blog. Leave that to the WordPress codex. I’m here to discuss the things you do in the pre-setup phase to put your best foot forward.

Andale!

1. Ask yourself why you’re starting a blog in the first place. What’s the reason you want to publish online? What’s the purpose behind it and how does it relate to your business?

2. What exactly do you want to get out of the blog? There are many different purposes for establishing and updating one: Lead generation, building visibility, branding, content production for syndication, testing theories for white papers and eBooks, etc. Where do you fall into that?

3. Who do you want reading your blog? What’s your ideal reader, and who do you feel like you will be writing for? Who do you want to write for? This is probably identical to your existing clients or customers, so if you’ve already got a buyer profile on the “shopping cart” side, you can mirror that in many cases to establish your target audience.

4. What feelings are you trying to evoke in readers? I know we’re not talking about writing a drama novel, but emotions play a key role in inspiring, motivating and changing the perception of the people you’re reaching out to. Tapping into this side of things will help you focus your content to better connect with your reader.

5. What exactly do you want the reader to do once they have read your business blog? With clearly defined goals, and a direction for building your blog, you’ll find that the content production comes much more easily and will be more appropriately targeted.

6. Set a schedule and examine how much time you can devote to your blog. You’re now landing right in the bulls eye of what blogging is. A certain commitment is necessary and if you blow your schedule, then you’re doing a great disservice to those who are reading it.

The most successful blogs contain content that is fresh and posted at least two to three times a week. There are a lot of ways to create content, so remember that you don’t always need to generate the content on your own. Consider the possibility of having someone else blog for you.

7. What message is at the heart of all your content. This speaks directly to the topic of your blog and the niche in which you operate. What exactly are you trying to teach? What message do you want to instill?

Brian Clark, publisher of Copyblogger.com, recommends creating “cornerstone content.” This is a series of posts that articulates your core message and provides new readers with an introduction and overview of what they can expect to learn from you.

8. It’s a good idea to come up with an editorial calendar. Since your blog is all about content, the last thing you want to do is stare at the computer when blog-post day comes around, struggling to find something to write about.

A good blog should have 7 to 10 keyword rich categories. With those categories decided, you can begin planning your content. If you’re set on posting three times a week then setup post ideas for each of your categories that includes 5 topics within each category. Fill in your calendar with those topics. When you’ve got 5 topics across 10 categories, you’re sitting on 50 blog posts just waiting to roll.

9. You can’t do business without knowing your competition, and blogging is the same way. Find out which people are blogging within the niche you operate in and look at what they’re writing about. Use some of the most popular blog directories like Technorati.com, alltop.com and blogs.com to find relevant blogs with strong content. If you find a lack of competition, you have a golden opportunity to dominate in the search engines.

10. Now it’s time to build it. The research has all been completed and you’ve got a beautiful blueprint for how things will run. Now the hard work starts. Decide whether or not you’re a DIY kind of person or you want someone else to put the blog together for you. If you’re not a techie, considering bringing someone else on to construct a custom blog to match your business or persona. Check out setups like Joomla, WordPress and TypePad to get started blogging once you’re ready to roll.

There’s a lot more to business blogging than most people consider, but it’s not difficult as long as you put a plan of action to it. Everything can be managed in order, just like in business. Once the prep work is done and the blog is completed, you’ll be sitting behind the wheel of a powerful vehicle for marketing that will allow you to build a highly visible presence on the web.

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