Blogs for Business: 5 Tips

For whatever business you are in, writing a blog can be beneficial for showing your current and future clients what you are all about and what value you bring to the table. A few of our clients have asked us for advice regarding their company blog, which inspired the following list of 5 tips that can help!

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/3961/bbbtp2.jpg

Tip 1 - Determine who you want to read the blog, then write to them
Every blog needs to keep in mind who it's readers are, but for business, it is even more important to be strategic about who reads it. Is your blog for retaining current customers? Attract new customers? Once you pick that group, keep in mind that you are making the blog to give relevant information to the people whom you CARE about! It's not about you, it's about them.

Tip 2 - Pick a topic and stick with it
Keeping a consistent theme will help readers remember you as a resource for information. If they can rely on your free information to add value in their lives, they will remember you when it comes time to consulting you on whatever paid product or service you provide! The theme could be anything, as long as it has a purpose and meaning to the people you intend to read it.

Tip 3 - Write about something you like
One of our clients recently asked "How can I get my co-workers to contribute to the company blog?" and one answer is to make it fun! If the subject you have picked is entertaining for those writing posts, their enthusiasm will transfer into better and more prolific writing. It's a fine line to walk, but a successful blog both is useful to your readers and satisfying to the writers.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelogon/866701286/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Tip 4 - Encourage reader participation
The biggest benefit of having a blog is not to distribute information, but rather the ability to engage readers directly on a given subject. It's essentially a free focus group online. The most obvious way to accomplish this is to respond to them if they comment on your post. You might also pose questions in your posts for readers to answer, or occasionally offering prizes of some sort.

Tip 5 - Tell everyone about your blog
Blogs work a lot better when they have readers. You'll have more motivation to write and readers will have more people to interact with. Getting to this point is the hard part. You have to put the link TO YOUR BLOG on every bit of promotional material you have. Tell people about it, Tweet it, post on Facebook, comment on other blogs, and/or whatever brings more traffic to your blog.

cascade's New Project Manager

After a vigorous hiring process, cascade is welcoming Chris Hammond aboard as our newest project manager!  Along with fellow project manager Kyle Bridges, they will be the Batman and Robin, the peanut butter and jelly, the Corona and lime, or whatever other great combination you can come up with to describe their dynamic dual punishment of pending projects!!

In an interview to determine the origins and psyche of this newest force at cascade, Chris has the following to say:

Last movie you saw in the theater - The opening night showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - I’m not what you’d call a Harry fanatic, but I can’t resist a good story coupled with pop culture frenzy. 

Dream aspirations as a kid - I used to participate in lots of theatre as a kid, so becoming a performer was appealing. I started to become interested in politics as I grew older, and public service was and still is something that inspires me. 

If you could be any superhero, who and why - Batman is pretty cool. He has all the material wealth you could want, but has experienced firsthand what it’s like to be hungry. He relies only on his physical abilities and tech know-how, plus he gets to fight some crazy villains that challenge him both physically and mentally. 

Free trip to anywhere in the world, where and why - I’d love the chance to bum around Kauai for a while, geologically the oldest of the Hawaiian islands and full of unparalleled beauty. 

Ever been in a fight, if so who started it - My twin brother and I have had some epic battles over the years, and I think we’re probably 50/50 as far as starting them. He’s the best person to fight with, though, because the fights are over about as quick as they start and things instantly return to normal, often to the dismay of witnesses. 

Favorite restaurant in Portland - The late Doner Kabob, creator of the delicious sandwich that tasted “like a gyro, only better”... I hope it returns. 

Biggest fear - Neglecting to let those I care for know it.

Nickname you had growing up - When my brother and I were about three years old, someone asked our names and we replied, “Jeff and Bonk”. I was Jeff. He was Bonk. I still don’t know where we came up with that... 

What attracted you to working at Cascade - I appreciated the edge, vision and simplicity of the company. Cascade prides itself on creating long-lasting relationships with its clients, which was appealing to me. These guys work hard and have vibrant lives on and off the train.   

Career goals - I’d like to get into public service someday. I also intend to be a change agent that helps small businesses, particularly in the Northwest, thrive.

How to Sign In to Multiple Google Accounts, Simultaneously

Google has been making a lot of changes lately, and change is hard. We love Google for the most part, but with new improvements come new headaches! One issue brought by the new changes that has been frustrating for us is juggling personal and business accounts. Previously, you could have multiple Google Accounts open in the same browser, however now (after accepting new terms and conditions) it is harder to use multiple Google Accounts simultaneously. Given Google's responsiveness to user feedback, I'm assuming this account consolidation is still in BETA (at least I'm hoping this is true).

We came across a good how-to-guide to fix this problem, (See Reverse Symmetry) and wanted to share it with you in our own adaptation in 5 simple steps!

Step 1 - Click on your account name in the top, right hand corner. Select "Account Settings."

Step 2 - Go to "Security," and check status of "Multiple sign-in" field. If "Off", click edit.

Step 3 - On the following screen (below) select "On" and check all boxes below. Save.

You'll notice that Google currently only allows for multiple sign in for a handful of their products. Therefore, you will still encounter some difficulties when attempting to access several Google Products (i.e. Blogger, Adwords, Analytics) that you control via different accounts. Hopefully, they will add multiple sign in to the full suite of products soon.

Step 4 - Complete steps 1-3 for all necessary accounts.

Step 5 - Now, when you want to open another Google Account: click on your account name again, then "Switch Account". You should see a drop down with your multiple accounts. Select the name of the additional account to switch from one to the other OR right click the additional account you'd like to open and select "Open in New Tab" in your browser prompt.

That should do it! According to Reverse Symmetry, Google is now completing this process for you whenever you make a second account, but should you need to do it manually, this guide should cover you! Happy tab toggling! Hopefully, Google will soon improve this process...keep hope alive.

Page meltdown? Follow these 4 steps!

The dreaded email subject: “Page Not Working.”  This is a perfect time to call up your web developer, but to get the most help as fast as possible, be prepared to give them as much information about the problem as you can!

Source

Here is what you should give to your developer:

Step 1 – The exact error message.  Try not to leave anything out!

Step 2 – The day and time the error message occurred

Step 3 – Information on what the user was doing right before the issue and when

Step 4 – Any system information from the user (browser, operating system, etc.)

With these 4 steps, your developer will be able to help identify and solve the issue much more quickly!

For the last step, it can be hard to know exactly what information is necessary and where to find it.  Recently, I discovered an online tool that can help a lot in this regard called supportdetails.com.  It gives all the system information a developer would need to know quickly and in one place!  The best way to give this information to your developer is to create an email detailing steps 1-3, then download the supportdetails.com information by clicking on “Export PDF,” and include it as an attachment in your email.

Hope this helps!