Blog consultant extraordinaire Jeremy Wright of Ensight has a new book on the market, Blog Marketing, and he also has a related blog.

Wright is a master promoter. Last year he auctioned himself off on eBay and generated mad publicity for himself and his consulting business. Since then he’s spoken at business blogging conferences, gone on a speaking tour, written a book, and started a media company, b5media. This guy is on fire. He writes:

This blog is written by Jeremy Wright, a blogger, author, consultant and all-around business and technology die hard. Made popular for being controversial on the Google IPO, by selling myself on eBay, being accosted by US border guards, starting a blog consulting company and writing the book on blogging for businesses. Kept popular by readers like you.

And he appreciates his readers.

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According to a survey conducted by Blog Relations, 44 percent of PR people surveyed believe blogs “pose a significant threat” to the public relations industry and 64 percent say that dissatisfied customers and disgruntled former employees could use blogs to cause a whole lot of trouble for companies.

Without knowing the methodology, the types of PR firms surveyed, etc., it’s difficult to gauge what these numbers really mean.

(Via The Blog Herald)

That is the question, and my answer is, “Blog!”

To download a free white paper titled “To Blog or Not to Blog,” visit The Content Factor.

Stephen Baker at Blogspotting asks:

Now that we’re opening up the process and making things more transparent, is it OK to blog our interactions with PR? This would give more perspective on how companies are pitching their line and positioning themselves. My feeling is that blogging pitches is OK, but journalists should make it clear that the conversation is on the record. Otherwise it can look and feel like an ambush.

I rarely blog about companies pitching story ideas because I have enough ideas of my own. But if decided to write a blog entry based on a PR pitch, I’d probably disclose that fact.

Public relations companies are in business to make money for themselves and their clients, so they should feel no shame if a blogger they pitched blogs about the story and the pitch. It’s simply more publicity, and I’ve learned through my blogging years that there’s no such thing as “bad publicity.”

Unrelated Update: Friend and fellow blog consultant Paul Chaney is blogging from a conference called BlogAsia. The world of business blogging is becoming more interesting every day.

Wayne Hurlbert at Blogging Business World suggests several ways to increase blog traffic through offline sources: send hard copy press releases, network as a volunteer, offer Internet-only specials to offline customers, and generate word-of-mouth advertising.

Good advice.

Several months ago a guy named Jose Avila made furniture for his new apartment with FedEx boxes. He started a site called FedexFurniture.com and blogged about his experience. Instead of giving Avila publicity and using this to their advantage, FedEx sent him a cease and desist order and threatened to sue for copyright infringement.

Well, Avila’s made national news and FedEx looks like an uninformed, behind-the-times loser totally ignorant of the power of online marketing, especially through blogs. They could’ve handled the situation so many different ways. For example, if they’d made Avila (who had nothing but good things to say about the company) an unofficial spokesperson, they would’ve gotten a lot of PR mileage out of it. But the first thing they thought of was suing one of their biggest fans.

Truly clueless.

Blogging is so popular and prevalent, search engine Google created a specialized search engine just for blogs.

(Source)

Although we may have different blogging philosophies, bloggers usually agree on a few general guidelines. PR guy Piaras Kelly has written a post titled “Tips on writing content for your blog”:

1. Use catchy titles: As I subscribe to more and more webfeeds, I tend to flicks through content a lot faster. Short, catchy, tabloid-style titles grab potential readers attention and will ensure that your posts have a better chance of being read.

2. Be unique: One of my favourite blogs is Gaping Void. Hugh MacLeod’s cartoons are great and instantly grab my attention. Try to make some aspect of your blog unique. for example, I now open each post with a quote which tends to reflect the entry.

3. Make sure to credit your sources: Don’t plagerise! Never use someone else’s content without crediting them. You can refer to them in your entry and offer your own opinion on the story rather than be a copycat.

I agree. Read the rest.

Sprint has a blog titled Things That Make You Go Wireless. The telephone and broadband service provider’s blog “uncovers the stories, conversations, and inside tales of Sprint mobile solutions.”

For people still not sold on blogs, one of the great things about them is how low-maintenance and cost-effective they are. The same kind of information you’d e-mail to hundreds of subscribers or customers can be turned into blog posts, but with an added touch. Blogs put company employees “on the ground,” which makes them more accessible to customers, present and potential. For example, blogging for Sprint is Vicki Warker, Vice President of Product Management & Marketing. According to the bio:

After witnessing a very active blogging community of Sprint consumers, Vicki was very eager to participate with a blog of her own….Vicki is looking forward to a positive dialogue with Sprint users and any others just interested in communications. In the past, Sprint has been very open with their customer base about strategy, and in response customers have returned the favor with valuable feedback.

This information provides a personal, blog-friendly touch that’s desperately needed between customers and companies. If you’ve been caught in an endless automated telephone message loop, you’ll appreciate the accessible and transparent nature of blogs.

Blogger Darren Rowse calls out another blogger he says is using content without crediting the source:

Have a look at Blogger Tips (no follow tag used) - a blog that is filled with either posts that are ‘free articles’ or other people’s content. In both types of posts there is no credit given to the original author.

I’ve got nothing against using free articles (I don’t think its the smartest way to build a blog) - but this blog isn’t even crediting them. Free articles are able to be freely posted on your blog - but you’re obligated to include a signature with a link to the author.

Content stealing is probably more common than people realize.

(Hat tip: Blog Herald)