First up — Nuts About Southwest from Southwest Airlines

The Nuts About Southwest blog from Southwest Airlines has been a blog to watch for years.  It’s written by Southwest Airlines employees who are given the freedom to write posts with their own voices and telling their own stories.  I’d recap what the blog is all about here, but you really need to read the About page on the Nuts About Southwest blog to truly understand what makes this blog stand out from the crowd and really connect with readers.

And second — Zappos Blogs

Zappos is another example of a company that does great things with its business blogs.  Zappos operates a number of business blogs, but the two you need to check out first are the main Zappos blog and the Zappos CEO and COO blog.  Even though the former Zappos CEO has left the company, his posts during his tenure (pre-May 2010) demonstrate a company executive who actually “gets” social media.

What business blogs do you read to benchmark as you develop your own?  Leave a comment and share your opinion.

Therefore, if you’re a U.S. business or using images on your blog owned by an individual from the United States, then you need to either have permission to use that image or pay to use that image.  Alternately, that image needs to hold a copyright license that allows you to use it on your blog without paying a royalty or asking permission.

That’s a lot to consider.  How do you find images to use on your business blog without violating copyright laws and without having to pay or ask for permission all the time?

Fortunately, there are website that provide free stock photography or images with Creative Commons licenses that allow you to publish them on your blog as long as you provide attribution with a link back to the owner (as well as any other requirements listed with the image).

Following are several trustworthy websites where you can find images that you can freely use on your business blog as long as you follow the requirements published with each image:

1. stock.xchng

Stock.xchng offers a variety of royalty-free images that you can use on your business blog for free as long as you follow the restrictions provided along with each image.  The site also offers a lot of premium images, but you have to pay to use those.

2. morgueFile

MorgueFile, like stock.xchng, offers a variety of stock images that you can use for free as long as you follow the specific requirements attached to each image (typically just providing attribution is enough).

3. Picapp

Picapp is a great solution for people who need images of celebrities or current events for their business blogs.  Images are published on your blog with a link back to Picapp where visitors can find more images (it’s like a form of advertising for Picapp and how it’s how they’re able to allow you to use the images for free).  Image owners are paid when their images are used by publishers and bloggers like you.

4. FreeFoto

FreeFoto offers a wide variety of royalty-free images that you can use for free as long as you provide attribution.  These images do include a small FreeFoto watermark.

5. Dreamstime

Dreamstime is another good source that you can use to find free images that you can legally use on your blog.  You can also access Dreamstime images through morgueFile.

Image: stock.xchng

With that in mind, you can use your business blog as a tool to collect email addresses.  But proceed with caution!  You don’t want the process of obtaining opt-in email addresses to damage the user experience on your business blog.  Remember, successful social media marketing stems from the removal of the gateways to content sharing and conversations.  The last thing you want to do is insist that people provide their email addresses and opt into receiving email messages from you in order to view your shareworthy content.  That content should be freely accessible without barriers.

Therefore, your goal in collecting opt-in email addresses through your business blog is to make the process not seem disruptive.  Here are 5 easy ways to do it:

1. Hold a blog contest.

People love contests, and a contest offers a perfect time to request email addresses and invite people to opt into receiving your email newsletter and marketing emails.  If you use WordPress.org as your blogging application, I recommend Gravity Forms to help you create the entry form to meet your specifications.

2. Include a message at the end of your blog posts.

The message can invite people to sign up for your emails for special offers and information.  Link the message to an opt-in form page on your business blog.

3. Include an ad in your blog feed.

Many bloggers monetize their blog feeds with ads.  Why not advertise your special offer emails with a link to your opt-in form page on your business blog?

4. Include an ad and link in your business blog sidebar.

You should already have links in your business blog sidebar for visitors to subscribe to your blog or follow you on Twitter, Facebook, and so on.  Why not include an ad or link to the email opt-in form page on your business blog or create a form that’s available directly in the sidebar rather than on a separate page (just keep it short).

5. Use an email opt-in plug-in.

If you use WordPress.org, there are a number of plugins that allow you to easily add a double opt-in form to your business blog.  Check out WP-Opt-in or WP Email Capture or conduct a search in the WordPress Plugins Directory.  For example, follow the link to check out the results for a search on “email opt-in“.

Image: stock.xchng

Today, I’m going to point you in the direction of 10 websites that are built on WordPress.org that will surprise you.  These sites come from large corporations, political organizations, universities, celebrities and more.

If you’re not sold on what the free WordPress.org blogging application can do for your business blog and website, click through to see some of these examples.  (Note: these are in no particular order.)

1. MTVU

This site is owned by MTV and uses a WordPress magazine theme to draw attention to a wide variety of articles.

2. Boston University Admissions

Several sites owned by Boston University run on Wordpress, including the official Boston University Admissions site.

3. Jay-Z

Many celebrities use WordPress, and if WordPress is good enough for Jay-Z …

4 . Forbes Blogs

I write for a Forbes blog (Work in Progress), so I can attest to the fact that Forbes blogs do run on WordPress.

5. National Geographic

This is a cool one!  The National Geographic site in the Netherlands is built on WordPress showing its popularity around the world.

6. Harvard University

Need to see an Ivy League school using WordPress to really be impressed?  Check out the Harvard Gazette.

7. Nokia – Now Playing

Want to see a well-known consumer products brand using WordPress?  Check out Now Playing by Nokia.

8. United States Mission Geneva

Even government agencies use WordPress.  Visit the United States Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva site to see an example.

9. Pepsi Refresh Blog

Another big brand using WordPress is Pepsi as part of its popular Pepsi Refresh campaign.

10. The Toledo Museum of Art

Even museums use WordPress!  Check out the Toledo Museum of Art site.

What cool business sites do you know of that run on WordPress or another popular blogging application?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Building a successful business blog takes commitment, persistence and patience.  Most importantly, there are a few fundamentals that you need to make sure you address if you want your business blog to thrive in the long term.

Five of the most important fundamentals are described below to help you take your business blog to the next level of success:

1. Unique design and branding

Don’t start a blog using one of the free templates that comes with your chosen blogging application.  Doing so does nothing to communicate your brand promise and makes your business look “small-time” because there are likely to be many other blogs of varying calibers across the web that use the same design.  Instead, invest in a premium theme or custom design by working with a freelance blog designer to make your business blog match your business brand and instantly communicate your brand image.

2. Well written About page

Take the time to write a concise yet compelling About page that describes who you are, what your business does, and what sets you apart from competitors.  Also, make sure that your About page communicates what value your blog brings to your audience.  Consider working with a professional copywriter to make this page really shine.

3. Contact form

Your business blog needs a good contact form.  If you use WordPress.org as your blogging application, check out the free Contact Form 7 for an easy-to-use solution.  If you use WordPress.org and are willing to invest a bit of money to get a powerful contact form tool that you can use for far more than just contact forms, check out Gravity Forms.  This plugin has a price tag, but it’s excellent!

4. Social links

If your business has a presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, SlideShare, or any other social site, make sure you promote those destinations on your business blog by including prominent links and inviting visitors to connect with you on those sites.  You can even include social media icons to cross-promote your other social profiles.

5. Subscription area

Take the time to create your business blog’s feed using a tool like Feedburner, and then include an area on your business blog where you can invite visitors to subscribe to your blog via feed reader or email, which gives you an opportunity to stay top-of-mind amongst an opt-in audience who has already made it clear that they are interested in you, your content, and your business.

Image: stock.xchng

The purpose of this series is to show all the amazing things businesses can do with WordPress.org.  Suffice it to say, WordPress.org lets you create much more than a blog!

You can submit your WordPress site for inclusion in the WordPress for Business Websites series by following the link and leaving a comment with your URL in this post.

Today’s WordPress for Business Websites featured business is Small Farm Design.

As Craig Kistler of Small Farm Design explained in his submission:

“I can’t recommend Wordpress enough. Even if my clients have no desire to update their own site, I’ll still build it on WordPress just to make my job of updating easier.  I use my site as an example of what is possible.”

One of the things I really like about the Small Farm Design site is the attention to detail applied to the color palette.  Notice that link colors, background colors, comment section colors in blog posts, and even image colors (such as the Twitter icon near the top of the sidebar) are seamlessly integrated.  Check out the screenshot of a blog post on the Small Farm Design site shown below.

Craig also explained in his submission:

“I recommend WordPress to many of my clients that want a CMS. It makes things easier for me as a designer. The code is pretty easy to design templates around as well.  My site is WordPress all the way. It makes it easy to add portfolio items quickly. I also love the easy Twitter and Flickr integration.”

A sample page from the Small Farm Design online portfolio is shown below.

Even the forms on the Small Farm Design site are clean and use the same color palette that gives the brand a unique image.

Small Farm Design demonstrates that WordPress can do so much more than enabling you to publish blog posts.  Whether you need a fully customized elaborate website for your business or a very simple design and structure, you can do it with WordPress.

To have your website considered for the WordPress for Business Websites series here on BusinessLogs, follow this link, and leave a comment on the Call for Business Submissions post with your company website’s URL.

Fortunately, business blogs built using WordPress.org can make it extremely easy to keep up with ongoing conversations on blog posts with the Subscribe to Comments plugin.

In simplest terms, this WordPress plugin is a must-have for business blogs.  One of the most amazing parts of blogging as a marketing tool is the ability it gives you to create a community around your blog and build relationships with the members of that community.  Comments turn your blog into a two-way conversation, and the Subcribe to Comments WordPress plugin makes it easy for that conversation to continue.

Here’s how it works:

1. You install and activate the Subscribe to Comments plugin from your WordPress dashboard.
2. Once activated, visitors to your blog will see a check box followed by the message, “Notify me of follow up comments via email” after the comment form at the end of all of your blog posts.
3. Visitors who complete the comment form and leave a comment on one of your blog posts can check that check box to subscribe and be notified when more comments are published on that post only.
4. Once subscribed, visitors will receive an email message each time a new comment is published on that post.

The image below shows what the comment section looks like at the end of a blog post (along with the Subscribe to Comments check box and message).

The Subscribe to Comments WordPress plugin is one of the first plugins you should add to your business blog.  It’s extremely easy to set up and use, but it’s effect on your blog’s growth and interactivity can be significant.

What’s your favorite WordPress plugin for your business blog?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Find more WordPress plugins for business blogs.

Images: stock.xchng and WomenOnBusiness.com

According to the April 2010 study:

• 33% of Twitter users talk about companies or products at least once a week.
• 32% of Twitter users make recommendations about companies or products at least once a week.
• 30% of Twitter users ask for recommendations about companies or products at least once a week.

But that’s not all this study reveals.  Nearly 1 out of every 2 Twitter users recommend, talk about, or make a purchase from a company that they have connected with on Twitter.  Check out the breakdown below:

• 55% recommend the company or product
• 55% talk about the company or product
• 51% purchase the brand or company’s products
• 46% link to an ad for the company or product
• 43% attend a promotional or sponsored event by the company

It’s important to understand that Twitter isn’t for everyone, and small business owners with limited staffs and budgets need to strategically choose where they want to spend time on the social Web to best engage with their target audiences.  If you don’t like Twitter and can’t get into it, then blogging, Facebook, online video, or other content publishing or community tool might be better for you.

The point is to make sure your business is participating on the social web.  Your audience is already there, and they’re talking about products and companies (as this study supports).  Don’t miss out on the opportunity to interact with them where they’re already spending time!

A business blog can be a great core of your branded online destination strategy.  Keep an eye on Business Logs to learn more about creating branded online destinations and surrounding consumers with your brand on the social web in an upcoming post!

Do you use Twitter to engage with your target audience?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

I’m happy to share the news that I’ll be taking over the helm at Freelance Writing Jobs as the managing editor.  I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to follow in Deb’s footsteps.  She has built an amazing community at Freelance Writing Jobs, many of whom I know well having worked with them and interacted with them over the years across the social Web.

I’m confident that Splashpress Media will keep the spirit of Freelance Writing Jobs going in the way the audience has grown to expect from the brand, but I’m equally excited to see how the community will evolve as part of the phenomenal Splashpress Media publishing network.

Freelance Writing Jobs has helped to launch many freelance writing businesses as the comments on Deb’s post announcing the sale to Splashpress Media clearly demonstrate.  I won’t be taking over Deb’s duties at the site until July 1st, but in the meantime, take a moment to visit Freelance Writing Jobs, and poke around to see what the site has to offer.  I’d imagine it will get a facelift when it moves into the Splashpress Media family, but the content and community will remain the same.

Let me start by saying this is not a how-to book.  You won’t find page after page of screenshots walking you through the specific steps you should take to create a Facebook page, Facebook group, or Facebook profile.  Instead, this is very much a why book.  It clearly and concisely explains why businesses should be using Facebook to market their products, services, and brands to the social web community on a site where consumers are already spending time.

Here is the chapter run-down:

1. From Dorm Room to Boardroom: The Growth of Social Networks
2. Getting Around Facebook: The Basics
3. Establishing a Corporate Presence
4. Extending Facebook into Interwebs: The Power and Reach of Facebook Connect
5. Facebook Advertising: How and Why You Should be Using It
6. Extending the Experience with Facebook Apps
7. Addressing Privacy Concerns
8. Developing a Facebook Marketing Strategy
9. Using Facebook to Develop Communities
10. Best in Class
11. Shaking the Crystal Ball: What’s Next for Facebook

I would recommend this book for small business owners who need to learn why a Facebook presence is important and what it can do for them as well as for corporate executives who are out of touch with the popularity of Facebook and the opportunities their businesses miss if they’re not actively engaging with consumers on Facebook.

What is your favorite book about Facebook marketing?  Leave a comment and share your opinion.