Debbie Weil is a corporate blogging and social media expert, online marketing consultant, speaker and author of The Corporate Blogging Book (Portfolio). She consults with large companies, CEOs and senior executives on how to create blogs that connect with customers and attract media attention.

Finally! The Corporate Blogging Book will be published today and available through Amazon as well as bookstores. Order it through this link and help my Amazon ranking shoot up! Think of it as your tiny contribution to Web 2.0, the new participatory Web.

You can download a free 28-page excerpt here!

Amidst all the blather about blogs, there’s one e-marketing phenomenon that isn’t dead yet. Yup, it’s e-newsletters. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen has just revisited a study he did two years ago and has this to say:

“The average time allocated to a newsletter after opening it was only 51 seconds. “Reading” is not even the right word, since participants fully read only 19% of newsletters.”
- Jakob Nielsen

Ouch. So how do you make your e-newsletter stand out and become a must-read for your audience? Great content, appealing design, the right frequency, etc. There are lots of moving parts. Take a look at my award-winning E-newsletter Starter Kit for dozens of specific tips.

It’s a 149-page guide packed with screenshots and examples. It’s still one of the best-selling items in my store. Download it instantly as a PDF or order it as a binder with accompanying Audio CD and CD-ROM.

Is FEAR the operative word when you think about blogging? Let me demystify the blogosphere for you. As a corporate blogging consultant I help you cut through the jargon and the hype.

I clarify what you can achieve through an external or internal blog and what the specific steps are to get started.

I help you determine how a blog — or other social media tools such as RSS, podcasting, vodcasting and wikis — fit in with your Web site and other online marketing strategies.

Let me help you uncover your company’s story

I help you choose the topic and focus of your blog. Most importantly, I work closely with you on how to write your blog for maximum results, whether it’s to attract attention from other bloggers, mainstream media or the search engines.

Yes, there is a way to determine your ROB (Return on Blog). Learn more…

Technorati tags: corporate blogging, social media, the corporate blogging book, debbie weil

See today’s issue of WordBiz Report, the first in a series of 5 Key Tips for corporate bloggers.

Hint: it’s not about your widgets

Unless you’re GM and sell cars, your widgets themselves are rarely a good topic for your blog.

I’m moderating a Great Corporate Blogs panel featuring Pinny Gniwisch, VP, Marketing, Ice.com and Marc Schiller, CEO, Electric Artists at WOMMA’s 2nd mega WOMBAT-2 (Word of Mouth Basic Training).

Location: Hilton San Francisco

Time: Wednesday June 21, 2006 - 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM.

The Value of Blogs as Business Tools at IDC IT Expo & Forum ‘06.

The IDC IT Forum is for CXOs and leading IT and business thought leaders from Fortune 1000 corporations as well as non-profit, government and academic institutions. Jim Collins (one of my favorite speakers) is one of the keynotes.

Location: Sheraton Boston Hotel

Time: Thursday June 15, 2006 - 11:30 AM - 12:125 PM

Using Content to Sell Content: How Blogs, RSS Feeds, Podcasts and Wikis Can be Harnessed to Generate PR, Traffic and Sales with David Meerman Scott.

Newsletter & Electronic Publishers Association Annual Conference.

Location: The Mayflower Hotel, Washington DC

Time: Tuesday, June 6, 2006: 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM