CT Biz Blogs

Ok, I admit it; I don’t know all there is to know about blogs, marketing, PR, and small business issues.

But I do know where to find out: other blogs, of course. Here’s a round-up of some blogs I read regularly, and highly recommend.

Marketing and PR:

• Micro Persuasion Steve Rubel’s ground-breaking weblog. He’s VP of Client Services at CooperKatz & Company, a mid-size PR firm in midtown New York City.
• Church of the Customer Blog Ben McConnell & Jackie Huba write “All about word of mouth, customer evangelism and citizen marketers.” Check out their Essential Reading links on the sidebar.
• Duct Tape Marketing John Jantsch writes on a whole range of marketing ideas for small businesses.
• Seth’s Blog Seth Godin is a marketing & ideas whirlwind — thought-provoking books, essays, and ideas on the new way to market. This is the place to learn about the larger issues and how to use them in your business.
• Solo Business Marketing Blog Shirley George Frazier’s blog is a relatively new entry in the blogosphere, although she has been in business for some time, and has a “regular” website, too.

Blogs about blogging for businesses:

• Successful Blog is a lively blog with all sorts of good advice and thoughtful ideas on blogging. Be sure to read the comments for this one, because Liz goes out of her way to keep the discussion going. This is a model for how to build a community feeling in a blog.
• Problogger Darren Rowse’s blog is crammed full of information — he posts several times a day. It’s aimed more at bloggers who want to make money on their blogs, rather than small businesses who want to use blogging as part of their business strategy. It’s still worth reading for the great ideas and tips about such things as blogging, search engine optimization, and writing blog posts.
• Performancing This is another relatively new blog, although the bloggers (there are several) have experience on other blogs. Again, this is slanted towards using a blog as a business, but there is a constant stream of useful articles on all aspects of blogging. If you’re a small business, you’ll need a professional presence on your blog, and Performancing is full of articles on how to do that. (Note to self: read their article about customizing WordPress, ASAP!)

Small Business Blogs:

• Small Business Trends I check in regularly with this blog. Anita Campbell has assembled a very resource-rich site, so read the articles and check out the sidebar, too.
• The Occupational Adventure Last, but not least, is a site where I find inspiration and encouragement; something I think all small business owners need (along with the rest of the planet). Curt Rosengren’s site will give you ideas, reminders, suggestions, and the small push now and then towards your goal. What’s not to like about that?