Golden Practices

Networking in the Age of Social Media

Just out is an article I wrote for Association for Accounting Marketing's bi-monthly newsletter, MarkeTrends, on the subject of the coolest way to build personal credibility and your business network.

Here's an excerpt:

Blogs, despite their silly name, are the “next generation” in networking. Without leaving the comfort of your sofa and jammies, you can simultaneously snuggle with your kiddos and connect with people who share your professional interests, namely referral sources, prospects, peers, and even media.

For many young professionals juggling work and family, online networking is a viable alternative to cocktail parties and evenings away from home. For shy professionals, it’s even more appealing.

Professionals are discovering how to leverage social media technology—blogs and networking sites like Linked In and Pulse—to meet good connections and demonstrate their expertise, mostly by participating in online discussions related to their practice areas.

Some (not many) CPAs are even starting their own blogs. If you have a blog or want to have one, the sort of networking discussed in this article is requisite for a blogger to build a solid readership base, gain respect, and have their efforts really take off.

But plenty of opportunities exist through this same sort of networking approach for non-bloggers, too.

Even if you never want to blog, ever, this is a way to skip those cocktail parties and still develop a social network that elevates your career.

Download my article (pdf)

(reprinted with permission from the May/June 2008 issue of MarkeTrends, copyright by the Association for Accounting Marketing, 14 W Third St., Suite 200, Kansas City, MO 64105; 816-221-1296)

Isn't Your Firm Blogging Yet?

According to LexBlog founder Kevin O'Keefe, 25% of the top 200 US law firms have blogs. From Kevin's report:

• 53 of the 2007 AmLaw 200 firms were blogging
• Those 53 firms were responsible for a total of 110 blogs
• 36% growth in last 6 months in the number of AmLaw 200 law firms publishing blogs.
• 49% growth in last 6 months in total number of blogs being published by AmLaw 200 law firms (some firms have more than one blog).

Kevin's excellent post features a link-love list of these blogs--check it out.

Blog growth is rapid among these big firms. But remember that lawyers have been blogging for years! In fact, the first to forge ahead were solos and small firms and we're seeing the same thing now on the accounting side.

A year ago, there were about 10 CPA or Chartered Accountant bloggers writing for the public (as opposed to each other. Today there are between 35-40 such blogs with new ones emerging weekly.

Wake up guys. Firms are doing this because it makes them more effective on the web. If your old website isn't generating "ROI" it's because it's old technology and dead end information. In other words, you get out of it what you put into it (energy-wise, not dollar-wise).

Social media is changing the B2B landscape. Lead, follow, or simply watch with envy...

Perks and Perils of Blogging

If you're thinking of blogging, you're trying to get your arms around all the pros and cons.

In addition to the ROB (Return on Blogging) benefits I listed out in my earlier posts here and here, there are a few other cool side effects that can be realized:

1. free books (from authors who want you to read their book and, of course, talk about it)
2. free software (same theory)
3. new friends
4. wider recognition as the expert you are
5. an infinitely useful collection of your intellectual capital over the years
6. frequent pick-ups if you're 'quote worthy'

But with all good things, there are usually some bummers. As a blog gains credibility and a decent following, some unwanted issues can occur:

1. getting pitched (see below
2. spam - both comment and trackback spam (from spam bots as well as shameless self-promoters)
3. content lifting, either by people pretending your work really is theirs or for purposes of a splog (spam blog)

Spam and Splogs are manageable and irritating at best. But getting pitched can be a real waste of your time. Don't get sucked in.

While receiving a pitch can seem flattering at first, don't believe all that you read when people tell you they value your work and because you are so "popular" they would like you to [fill in the pitch here].

Some pitches are really, really slick and would have you believe your stuff has been read when, in fact, the note to you is part of a mass communication. If you want to be able to identify pitches or are looking for sample "pitch policies" to post on your blog, check out these two great references for pitch-awareness and what constitutes a breach:

PR Meets Marketing's post "Pitching Bloggers" by Cece Solomon-Lee featuring a list of other resources.

And CK's Blog's "Pitch Practices" by CK (Christina Kerley).

Cool New CPA Blog

A cool new CPA firm blog by my friend, Mark Bailey, and his team out in Reno. It's called "Innovative Practice Management."

Mark is a recovering hourly biller. He converted to value pricing and I think he's been a little blown away by the depth of the changes that converting has invoked. Primarily with people who are pounding down his doors to come work there. Especially those desperately coveted laterals from Big firms.

That's all I really need to say...Mark and his team will say the rest.

Add this one to your feeds...and wish them luck with their new blog...

Why Small Biz is Slow to Web 2.0

An interesting post on Seeds of Growth/Small Business Trends: 3 Reasons Why SMBs Have Not Flipped For Web 2.0 discusses a recent study by Bredin Business Information.

[BBI] found that SMBs (small and mid-sized businesses) have not jumped on the Web 2.0 bandwagon just yet. The BBI study found only 14% of the 300 people surveyed believe blogs are and will be important, while wikis, social networks and webcasts faired slightly better.

Compare this to the 49% who think e-newsletters will remain important for the next five years, and you see how little love SMBs have for “the new stuff.” This comes as no real surprise. 

Although many of us small biz types do blog and wiki and twitter, the vast majority of non-techie, traditional entrepreneur types aren’t drinking the kool-aid just yet. Given the typical “fear of change” and “lack of time” arguments, here are a few reasons why.

Citing "silly names" and perceptions of social media as "silly kid stuff" as two of the reasons for shunning social media--and calling them excuses--author Brent Leary says that big tech companies have fallen short of their duty by being "silly role models." He writes (emphasis mine):

Until recently many big time tech companies really didn’t get Web 2.0. Some have been slow to use it themselves while others misused these tools to deliver traditional marketing messages.

Why use tools meant for collaborating and community building to deliver the same old tired one-way messaging? Web 2.0 is about conversations, exchanges and creating an atmosphere where people can freely express their opinion. Not to deliver marketing schlock.

I couldn't agree more. Over on Brent's Blog, he mentioned his article again and wrote:

...as my buddy Paul Greenberg pointed out...the small business folks who have bought in to Web 2.0 are true mentors, demonstrating to the big guys as well as other small businesses how these tools along with the right mindset can be extremely successful.

Using Blogs for Internal Communication and Collaboration

Time for a "best of" post! So many great blogs out there, so much good info to read.

Here's an excerpt from a can't miss post, How to Use Blogs in the Workplace, from Rod Boothby of Innovation Creators:

Do you know how to use blogs within your organization to help you get work done?

There are plenty of blogs out there that can tell you how to use blogs as a PR and marketing tool to communicate with your clients. But, when people actually think about getting work done within the organization, not a lot has been written.

IMHO, Boothby is THE authority on leveraging blog techology for internal infrastructure so pour over every word.

When you're done absorbing this excellent information, check out his Whitepapers, particularly the one on Turning Knowledge Workers into Innovation Creators (pdf).

Don't Ruin Your Blog

I read a good post today on Business Gears.

Ted Demopoulos writes a strong blog called "Blogging For Business" chock full of tips for B2B bloggers. He is a Business Gears contributor and his post, 5 Ways to Ruin Your Blog is what caught my eye. With perfect sarcasm, he defines some bad blogging behaviors.

IMHO, accountants, lawyers and consultants should especially heed numbers 2, 3, and 4.

1) Don't stay on topic!

Ahhh, you just had a baby -- please post a couple dozen pictures and blog on nipple soreness and whatever else for a few weeks. We won't mind, really. And if your college curling team or favorite NFL team is in the finals or Super Bowl, please post about it for days on end. If you care then we must care...What were you blogging on anyways?

This "don't" is why I seldom post on personal topics. (I sure hope it's not too much! If it is, do tell me!) He's right. As a blog reader, I can enjoy the very occasional personal or tangent post but, for the most part, it's a little disappointing when your fave business author begins to talk politics, sports, or hobbies more often than business.

2) Be insular.

Yeah, maybe they call it social media but you can be antisocial if you'd like. Don't link to others. Don't read, never mind comment, on other blogs. Your never ending soliloquy is enough for us to flock to your blog daily for the rest of our lives.

This is something that frustrates me with a lot of lawyers/accountants/consultants who start blogging. Unlike the one-way street of a firm newsletter, blogs are about connecting the dots between others' ideas and your own. This means using links, reading and communicating with others, and becoming part of the community of people who are reading your blog!

3) Write like traditional writing, not speaking.

Conversational, smonversational! We want perfect English, proofread multiple times and worthy of publishing in an encyclopedia (remember those?) or The New Yorker.

Remember that this point is delivered with sarcasm! Your blog post needn't be an article in your profession's Journal. That said, I have recently received a fairly scathing email from someone pointing out a misspelled word. Thankfully, blog software has spell-checkers (if we just remember to use them). But tone is another story. Be yourself and be helpful, not technically perfect.

4) Don't let us know who you are!

No picture, no about us page, nothing personal.

I've found several great BUSINESS blogs where I can't determine who is writing it (especially on Blogger), what company they are with, or how to reach the author. If you're one of these authors, your blog isn't helping you like it should be! Make it easy for readers to see you, learn your name, and contact you.

5) Lots of colors, dozens of fonts, flashing lights, autoplay audio.

Make it look like a casino. Or even MySpace

Haven't seen this too often on biz blogs lately, but good advice...

Accounting Today on Blogs

On the topic of accountants blogging, I'm honored to have been quoted in the most recent issue of Accounting Today  (and WebCPA) in an article by Liz Gold called, "Blogging for Dollars." 

New Accountant Blogs

I've added a few new blogs to my Accounting Blog List and now we are up to 26 known industry and service niche blogs! I am so glad to be able to officially state that there are over two dozen accounting practice blogs.

Accountants are beginning to listen and really grasp the potential of blogs for humanizing them as prospective service providers. This is exciting! Accountants still have a VERY long way to go to catch up to the thousands of lawyer bloggers (or blawgers) out there.

Added to my list are two good new niche blogs:

• Good Loans by Linda Keith, CPA, for lenders, and
• The Accounting Onion blog by a retired accounting professor Tom Selling who is a Ph.D., CPA and consultant who does litigation support.

And a new listing for an insightful accounting-related news blog Skeptical CPA by George Weinbaum.

There are also some additions to the other blogs I list (by CPAs for CPAs, etc). However, I'd like to formalize my listing policy a bit here...

My purpose for the Accounting Blog List is to track and point you to blogs written by CAs/CPAs to expand their firm-related practices. If you have an accounting practice and have a blog, please do email me.

My intent is not to be a link factory to CAs/CPAs who are exclusively in the business of selling consulting services to other CAs/CPAs (unless they also happen to operate an accounting firm) therefore, I won't be adding those to my list in the future. Thank you for understanding.

Diving into the Blogosphere? Where to Begin.

Thinking you might want to blog?

In an interview today with a publication, I named 3 main things that are essential to consider before your firm starts blogging:

1) ID your audience(s). You have to know exactly for whom you are writing in order to keep it relevant.  Blog readers like relevance over general info, hands down. If you're considering multiple audiences, that's a big sign you should be considering multiple blogs.

2) ID your writers. If you're solo, that's easy. But if you're a larger firm, you'll probably benefit from having a small team of authors so that you can spread the wealth (i.e. workload). Also, it's extra fun to collaborate with others. If you're thinking your team doesn't always operate as a team, this can help in that direction. More important than having partners write blog posts is having people with a little fire in their belly about blogging. Hint: this probably means non-partners!!  Without the fire, the blog will no doubt fizzle. Why not tap into the generation that GETS social media and let them do what they do well and integrate it into their professional lives.

3) Authenticity and Trust are key. Recognize the requirement for authenticity and transparency in blogs (and all communications these days) and trust your people to "be appropriate." Don't create a specific "corporate blogging policy" but do revisit your whole "corporate communication policy" and make sure it applies across the board defining appropriate and inappropriate behaviors for web content, e-mail and telephone conversations, written correspondence, articles, speeches, etc. Don't single out blogs--they are just another form of communication.

Once you get past these three, you've got some prep work to do. "Don't dive in cold," says Amy Gahran, a conversational media consultant. Amy offers some great tips on how to prepare before jumping into the blog waters.

After you decide which groups you will engage through your blogging (or even to help you decide which), do the following to prepare:

Figure out where those groups already spend time online and go where they are.

• Search blog search engines like Technorati and IceRocket to find blogs that are already succeeding in attracting attention from your core communities.
• Explore other types of online media -- bulletin boards, e-mail lists, wikis, virtual environments (such as Second Life), and citizen media sites (such as YourHub.com) to find good matches. Web sites of local or regional mainstream media also can be useful to watch if they allow comments and foster public discussion in your core communities.
• Create a short list (just 3-5 blogs or other sites) that you should start reading on a regular basis.

Follow their existing conversations - don't just read the posts, but read the comments to understand the community, [see who the players are, and find more links to related blogs.]

Participate in these discussions. Take the time to leave comments on blog posts or forum threads, and respond to others' comments, always being positive and helpful.

Don’t be ‘salesy.’ That is, don’t blatantly pump your business or agenda. When you join the public conversation, your guiding motive should always be: ‘What value can I offer this community?’ Abject self-promotion almost always backfires.

If you do these things (especially the managable suggestion of following 3-5 blogs) you dramatically increase your chances of success when you begin your own blog. Test the waters and get to know your group. Not only that, but you'll learn a lot of good stuff and make good new contacts in the process! Amy says:

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have your own blog yet -- or even if you don’t have much of an online presence. The point is to start right now to build a constructive, helpful, credible reputation among your core communities. If these people get to know you first as “one of them,” they’ll be more likely to keep listening and talking to you when you launch your own venue.

Definitely don't be self-promoting on people's blogs. Frankly, you won't need to be. Just by contributing to the conversation, sharing your mind, you increase your credibility. Don't undermine it with a pitch.

Her post also links to advice on strategic commenting. Be sure to check it out.

Happy swimming.

Hat tip to Kevin O'Keefe for pointing me to Amy's blog with his post: Listen to Niche Blog Discussion Before You Start to Blog.

Why Does Social Media Work?

In my earlier post (and press release) about our award for a marketing campaign for a CPA firm that includes a blog, I used the term "social media" a couple times.

I even used the term related to recruiting. <gasp>

So what does social media have to do with professional services? Everything. With the exception of the very largest mega-firms who are hired for their "name," most people agree that law, accounting, wealth advisory, and other such services are relationship-driven businesses.

Toby Bloomberg on her Marketing Diva Blog had a short, sweet, and solid explanation of social media:

Many people don't understand how the internet works as a catalyst to build relationships which can lead to friendships which can evolve into a community.

Why is that important from a business perspective? Simple. People like to do business with people they like. (That extends to brands.) Building a business community is not necessarily about singing Kumbaya but expanding a resource network.

It's true that blogs lead to real relationships, friendships and business collaboration.

In the two years I've been blogging, I've shaken hands with, and looked directly into the eyes of, dozens of bloggers whom I follow and admire, as well as readers of this blog (of course I admire you, too!). Some have referred work (yes, the kind that pays), others have published my work or syndicated it, and several have shared their books, ideas and advice with me. And still others have become friends with whom I communicate daily or close to it.

Blogs and other social media give a glimpse into a person's mind and personality. And you can do this any time of day or night even when that person is on vacation. What better way to preview and select your next Intellectual Property attorney or your company's accounting advisor.

And what better way to be previewed and selected!? A self-selected lead who already knows he or she would want to do business with you. Nice.

Hey, We Won an AAM-MAA Award! (Some Horn Tooting)

My associate Sue Sassmann and I spent last week out in steamy Savannah, GA at the Association for Accounting Marketing conference. We had a blast catching up with old friends and meeting new people. I did a little presentation and we exhibited to launch our new project-oriented training for marketers. Great time.

The highlight, though, was winning an AAM Marketing Achievement Award for the niche-building campaign we've worked on over the last year with Tulsa CPA firm Stanfield & O'Dell.

Part of the firm's action plan included development of a blog...truly unchartered waters (see conference theme...) for CPAs. S&O's blog for ministries was the second "industry" niche blog by CPAs and the first by a multi-partner firm. These guys are true trailblazers and their results have been quite good and swift, too.

We're pretty excited to be part of their success as you can see from this picture (that's Captain Jack Sparrow between me and Sue--she's on the right).

Some snips from our press release:

At the recommendation of Golden Marketing, Stanfield & O’Dell became the first multi-partner CPA firm to launch a sector-specific blog (theministryblog.com). Innovative approach—and demonstrated results—were noted by judges in selecting Golden’s campaign from among several outstanding entrants....

The...campaign centered on growing the CPA firm’s practice specific to Christian ministries across the United States. The campaign included not only the blog written by the firm’s practitioners for national visibility, but also promotion of the blog by mail, trade-show appearances, and trade-publication advertising.

“We’re pleased with the visibility this award brings to the value of blogging for professional service firms,” explains Michelle Golden, president of Golden Marketing, Inc.

“When a firm gets out there on the Web, and demonstrates their expertise and commitment about a specific area of practice, it underscores their commitment and credibility. It also humanizes the firm and helps to create relationships. Stanfield & O’Dell are truly earning the results they are getting from this effort—I’m very proud of their willingness to pioneer this area that is completely new for accountants.”

Golden...notes that there are only 23 blogs authored by licensed public accountants for the purpose of reaching current and prospective customers. Of these 23 blogs, only four are industry-specific rather than service focused (e.g. general accounting, tax or other services). The Ministry Blog was the second of the four to launch.

“In contrast to the legal profession, accountants have almost no presence on the Internet,” says Golden. “There are thousands of lawyers who blog and are experiencing unexpected benefits from the relationships they are creating. Accountants are far more skeptical of this medium of communication and are far behind when it comes to understanding and working with social media.

"I suspect it will be many years before we see a large number of accounting firms with blogs—just the way it took years before the need for a website was understood. It’s a shame because the playing field is wide open for firms to be first-to-market with blogs in almost every industry sector save the three that exist now: ministries, health care and construction.”

To read the full release: Download aammaa_2007_media_release.pdf

Unveiling Mercer & Hole's New Website & Blogs

I'm thrilled to announce today's launch of a very rapid (3-4 month) website redesign of 100+ person UK Chartered Accounting firm, Mercer & Hole.

Incorporated in the firm's site are three, count 'em three(!), practice-related blogs:

1. Insolvency Blog (launched earlier by Chris Laughton and now integrated with the firm's site)
2. SME Plus Blog for business owners and managers
3. Tax Plus Blog (named for their former print newsletter) geared to lawyers and other practitioners and focused on complex tax issues of high-wealth individuals, land owners and such.

Plus they have a marketing department led blog, News & Views, and an HR department led blog called People Plus geared for a dual audience of job candidates and other HR professionals.

The three practice blogs are built and hosted by Lexblog and the other two are built in Expression Engine along with the entire site.

The site has additional functionality that will be available in a few days including translations into French, Spanish and Italian (even sniffs out the language preference of the visitor providing the pages, where available, in their language of choice).

We've thoroughly enjoyed working with Mercer & Hole's marketing team as well as the amazing development team at Airbag Industries (I cannot say enough about Greg Storey...) and the Lexblog team, as well.

The Mercer & Hole team (l to r) consists of Helen (who left us midway to become a teacher!), (me), Lynne, Costas, Lindsay, and Alan (e-marketing specialist who joined as Helen left). They are a terrific group.

Now I'm off to update the Accounting Blog List...

Professionals Get Publicity and Opportunity Through Blogs

We've mentioned it before as a by-product of a good blog, but it's becoming more and more prevalent.

News media, book publishers, and trade organization publishers are reading professional service firm blogs and like what they see. Accountants and lawyers are getting visibility they never anticipated.

Two accounting bloggers I know have been contacted by Wiley about working on books!

One is Tracy Coenen of Sequence Inc whose Fraud Files blog has been around for awhile and is excellent! She wrote me recently:

"Just wanted to let you know that all my blogging and marketing has paid off! I just got a contract with Wiley to write a book on fraud!

Who'da thunk that a little person like me would get a contract with a great big publisher for Wiley, for a book that I've not even written yet!!! The book is "Essentials of Corporate Fraud Management." It's geared for C-Level executives, attorneys, and other professionals who need quick knowledge on a particular topic.

I have been doing so much cool stuff. writing articles all over the place, getting involved in a high-profile investigation....business has never been better. (And has never been more fun too!)"

Another is Chris Laughton, a UK chartered accountant whose Insolvency blog is only a couple months old! With a born-on date of Nov, 2006, Chris' blog has already caught the attention of the reputable publisher.

Even for professionals who don't thrill at the idea of authoring a book, good blogs can garner solos, boutiques, or even big firms the attention and visibility needed to be a recognized expert on a subject of choice.

As Tracey Segarra of Citrin Cooperman reported in her comment to my recent post about her firm's SOX blog (that was recently halted), author Mike Rhodes received some excellent media attention.

"...his blog led him to being quoted as a corporate governance expert in many national media, including Reuters and Forbes.com.

Unfortunately, time constraints made it difficult for him to give the blog the time and energy he felt it needed to serve its mission as a clearinghouse of information related to corporate governance.

He is still regularly quoted in the media, and truly enjoyed the blogging experience."

This is real and exciting. Just a couple years ago, getting this kind of exposure and opportunity would not have been possible without spending many tens of thousands of dollars with a PR agency--or doing a LOT of legwork oneself.

Kevin O'Keefe (a recovering lawyer) of Seattle-based LexBlog (the blog development service for lawyers) wrote about the new phenomena in his post "Online newspaper journalists offer networking & PR opportunities to blogging lawyers."

"Over the years I've spent a lot of money for the services of PR professionals.

They were good folks with a tough job. First, while not working inside in my law firms and companies, they had to learn as much as possible about me and what made my firms tick. Second, while being pounded on to make an unknown famous overnight, they had to beg and borrow to get me an interview or the company a mention in the press. Third, they had to do it on a limited budget.

But we needed those PR professionals because they had the needed contacts in the press. And they, not us, knew how to communicate with the media.

With blogs and social networks, you, as a lawyer, have every opportunity to make contacts in the press. Plus with user generated content and email taking the formality out of communications, you're certainly capable of communicating with the press.

You also have a the growing advantage of the press coming to you - to your online community that is. Per Brian Chin, our Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Senior Online Producer, 3.5 percent of the journalists working in the newsrooms of American newspapers now work online full time. "That's 2,000 out of the 57,000 in the American Society of Newspaper Editors' 2007 newsroom census."

Practioners are better able to develop media relationships directly rather than through an agency. Through blogs, they can earn the respect and attention of high profile journalists simply by talking (blogging) to their target audience.

Further, through blogs, professionals can even bypass the cutting room floor, and get their message out to their target audience on their own terms. It's exciting stuff!

A Running List of Accounting Blogs

Just when I needed to update a couple posts I made last fall and spring about specific accounting blogs I'm aware of, TypePad (my blog host) offers the perfect new way to share my list.

I've added a new "page" to this site (top left sidebar) that isn't a regular blog post so it's not part of my feed, but you can check it anytime for my current list of accounting blogs.

I've merged my two prior lists into one, added a couple, organized it a bit differently, and pulled off a couple abandoned blogs.

Sadly, it looks like one major firm that started a blog (Citrin Cooperman on SOX) has pulled its plug. I want to stress that this isn't a sign that blogging is going away, it's simply an indication that some of the necessary elements may not have been in place for that particular blog.

For a blog to be and stay successful, a blog needs:

• to be written by the right person or team (having a team helps with time issues)
• to cover the right topics (is the topic meaty enough to be sustained over time?)
• an authentic voice with transparency in order to draw readership (a PR department sanitized blog will be about as useful and popular as a static, brochure website), and
• corporate blogging policies and guidelines must exist to support the team, give them the autonomy they need in order to be effective, but also to protect the business' reputation and public impressions.

Failing to address these elements before beginning is a sure way to set a blog up for a disappointing outcome.

Blogs are about people and knowledge, not so much about marketing. This is why it's important to know and understand precisely how to make blogs work in a CPA firm environment, and to get the right people involved at the start.

So here's to monitoring and aiding the development and success of a lot more accounting blogs. Law sports thousands and yet there are still only about 18 20 PRACTICE ORIENTED blogs in the entire public accountancy profession.

The playing field is WIDE open folks.

Too Many Categories

Today I did a big clean up of something that was bothering me about my blog...duplicative categories and over-categorization (meaning one post listed in too many different categories).

I saw Daniel Scocco's post "Organize Your Categories: 5 Practical Tips" on Daily Blog Tips and it reminded me that my duplicate and unclear category needed to go. I also learned that it's not such a great idea to put a post into a zillion different categories.

Read his blog for details, but his five tips are:

1. Category names must be descriptive
2. Limit the total number of categories
3. Make sure [the list of categories fits] in 1 screen
4. Try to put posts inside one category only
5. Display the number of posts inside each category

I've seen quite a few blogs with so many categories, it seems like a new one is set up every time the blogger posts. And I've seen others where only a few categories, usually extremely general, make it too time-consuming to scroll through a category to find what I'm looking for.

If yours is like the former, consider consolidating. If the latter, be sure to at least have a keyword search feature on your blog.

I noticed that Seth Godin's highly popular blog doesn't have categories at all, or a keyword search. He just uses a date archive which is not very helpful. (Sorry, Seth, I understand dislike of clutter, but please consider helping us find all your really cool stuff...I can't remember what you wrote in June of 2002.)

Daniel reinforces that date archives are pretty useless for someone looking for specific information:

I am opposed to monthly archives and to calendars (because the time when the content was written is not relevant) so the only way my reader has to find posts is through the categories.

I can appreciate Daniel's suggestion to limit a post to a single category, but (like some of his commenters)I think that is very dependent on the your particular blog and the structure of your categories.

An example might be if you write for a couple different audiences (say two different practice groups) and a handful of different key topics/subjects--you might always pick one of your two audience categories, and one of your various subject categories. Especially if you offer a feed for each audience category.

For the most part, I've reduced my posts to 1-3 categories. I was a bit category happy before...

If you're a reader looking for a category I used to have, the most impacted area was removal of a category called "Marketing" (duh, this is whole blog is marketing-related) that I broke up into other more specific groups: Marketing Budget, Marketing Professionals and Marketing Techniques. I got rid of New Marketer Tips (now it's just part of Marketing Professionals).

As a result of my clean-up, I had to republish my whole blog. If this cluttered up your reader today, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

Blogging Law

An excellent summary on current blogging laws in the US.

Aviva Directory has very nicely recapped 12 issues that can hang up bloggers such as comments, images, deep-linking and citing others (fair use).

Of course, these laws are continually evolving as precedent hasn't existed for a lot of these issues--so consider blogging laws a moving target. In addition to advice following discussion of each of the 12 legal issues, suggestions framed as "always" "never" and "consider" provide conservative guidance. After the 12 issues, you'll find a healthy list of resources for more info.

Hat tip to David Maister for mentioning this site.

2nd CPA Industry Niche Blog Launches: Geared to Ministries

I'm excited to announce that Stanfield & O'Dell, a CPA firm based in Tulsa, Oklahoma has launched a blog tailored just for Christian Ministries addressing their operational and fiscal concerns. It's called Transparency in Ministry and is found at www.theministryblog.com. The effort was led by Becky DaVee (at right) partner and CPA who serves clients including (per the blog):

• Joyce Meyer Ministries
• Fellowship Church
• Life Changers International Church, and
• Fellowship of the Woodlands

The firm's ministry practice group has been hugely dedicated to this effort and started writing their backlog of content last summer so their blog is already chock-full of information. They are launching now with a fanfare.

I believe that Stanfield & O'Dell's blog is only the second industry niche blog produced and actively maintained by CPAs/CAs. The other is a healthcare blog produced by Reed Tinsley. If readers know of other industry specific blogs, I'd love to hear about them.

There are about two dozen blogs that are authored by CPAs/CAs about taxes, business valuations, fraud, and technology services, but these don't focus on particular industries or sectors served. In other words, they are service-based and geared to a general audience.

In the interest of full disclosure, Stanfield & O'Dell is a client of Golden Marketing.

Accountants Round Up

Today is a very special day!

My associate, Sue (over there in the picture), and I are really excited to "unveil" our new blog: Accountants Round Up (pun intended!) that is aggregated accounting industry news. Shortcut URL is accountantsroundup.com.

Here's the powerquote about why we've created this:

"Accountants Round Up is created to introduce more accountants to the blogosphere. Skeptics by nature, they’ve been slower to understand and utilize this technology than many other industries, including law. While this is probably a result of information overload, we aim to show them how much more quickly and easily they can stay abreast of news for their own industry," explains Michelle Golden, president and CEO of Golden Marketing, Inc.

"Our hope is to also demonstrate just how useful RSS technology is for professionals who want to stay attuned to the industry news of the clients whom they are privileged to serve—specialized knowledge being a core element of high level service."

We won't claim originality, though. We were clearly inspired by the wonderful job Nancy Stinson does over at the Stark County Law Library blog providing similar information for the legal profession. If I have no other blog reading time in my day, I am sure to skim Nancy's aggregated news to be sure I'm catching the best posts of the day. The Stark County Law Library blog has been going strong for many years.

Maybe one day, Accountants Round Up will be that same sort of "can't miss it" resource for CPAs and Chartered Accountants, too.

Hope you like the new blog. We're pretty excited about it. Sue manages it and does a really great job. She posts a few items a day. There's about 2 months' worth of content out there now, so please go check it out! And if you like it, it's available by RSS feed or email through FeedBlitz.

Happy reading!

(See our press release on the launch: Download accountants_round_up_launch_pr.pdf )

Brilliant New Accounting Blog

Chris Laughton, a Chartered Accountant, has launched InsolvencyBlog.com.

Chris is a business recovery partner with Mercer & Hole in the firm's London office and he is a "UK licensed insolvency practitioner with a keen interest in European and international cross-border restructuring issues"

I met Chris in Dublin in late October when I presented on blogs and RSS technology to his firm and several other member firms of TIAG - The International Accounting Group.

Immediately grasping what a blog could help him accomplish, Chris jumped in with both feet. His blog offers useful and timely information and it's clear Chris is having fun as he learns about this new way to serve as a resource for clients and others interested in his field.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Chris! Wishing you many years of blogging success!

So, What's a Blog Again?

I like this short description of blogging posted by Kevin O'Keefe (of LexBlog):

Talked to a lawyer from New York City last evening who had little understanding of blogs. After 15 minutes, she says, "I get it, blog posts are like emails to your target audience keeping them informed of things of interest in your area of practice."

More Accounting Blogs

I'm delighted to add to the list of accounting firm or accounting related blogs out there. I posted a list of accounting blogs back in June, but here are a few more general accounting related blogs:

Accounting for a Detoured Economist by Chris Silvey

McClelland by a Purdue Accounting Prof. on the Interdisciplinary Science of Accounting

The Anonymous Accountant Blog on the trials and tribulations of a lone Big 4 auditor

A Counting School making the world safer for those without a calculator (looks to be authored by an accounting student)

Neil McIntyre an accountant in Toronto

Taxalicious is a "community blog site about one of the least popular topics in the world — taxes."

AccMan Pro on innovation for accountants

Accounting firm blogs for recruiting, culture, etc...

PKM Off the Ledger - day in the life stuff for those considering a career at the firm. Aimed at those new to the profession (as opposed to laterals). I admit I was skeptical at first thinking that the format would lend itself to running out of steam quickly, but they are carrying on well and look to have really diverse participation from within the firm. It's a little formal/stiff still--as though posts are run through the PR dept first--but this may change as they find their individual and collective "blog voices."

PwC People - wow, talk about transparency and NOT running their posts through a PR dept (or "PC" dept) - this blog, also focused on day in the life sorta stuff, has some grit. I find it fascinating and engaging to read posts, written in their own raw voices, from those who are openly gay (a partner and director), several mommies, someone very new to the firm (from industry), and a few who've been there since before the Price/Coopers merger. This blog originates from the UK.

For clients:

Deloitte has a series of podcasts that are interesting...

hat tip to Chris Silvey whose blog roll pointed me to some of these!

Ways to Use RSS Even if you Don't Want to Blog

I've been speaking to a lot of audiences lately about using the web and blog technology to operate and market more effectively. I totally understand there is a lot of resistance to blogging, especially by people who are amazingly busy as it is (and who isn't??). Blogging does take a good amount of time.

But when giving presentations that discuss all the different ways RSS technology is useful, I've been observing that my audiences are genuinely surprised at what can be accomplished -- and in a very cost-effective manner.

It helps them see RSS in a whole new light.

There is a fantastic post by Vancouver Law Librarian that lists 10 uses for RSS. And only one of these is outbound marketing. Just one.

So if you are an attorney, accountant or other professional service provider scrunching up your nose at the mere mention of blogs because you think it's just a time-consuming method of marketing (that reaches only the My Space crowd), think again.

Lawyer Ad Rules and Blogs

Absolutely ridiculous! NY courts, through state ethics restrictions, are trying to impose a huge "Advertisement" label on legal blogs and ALL electronic communications by or about lawyers.

"This blog is false and misleading (in New York)" Read the post and note, at the bottom, that NY is accepting comments on their proposed changes in rules until Nov 15.

Another case of lawyers who don't "do" marketing and communications trying to stop those who do.

I know the late night ads, radio ads with sports figures, and the "we'll get 'em" yellow-pages ads all embarrass more traditional attorneys. But the way to fight it is not through Court restrictions, it's through demonstrating how you're different.

Those fighting blogs and the very essence of communication should recognize how effective these activities ARE at demonstrating that very difference.

Those who "don't" always jump in when they see marketing techniques that work. The good news is that it appears the verdict is in: lawyer blogs are effective and are posing some level of threat to lawyers who just won't market at all.

B2B Blogs to Become as Mainstream as Websites

While blogs are still considered a “consumer” trend, it’s only a matter of time before B2B blogs become as mainstream as Websites — once management understands their power and effectiveness.

This statement from Dianna Huff's B2B MarCom Writer blog in her post "David Scott is spot on about the power of blogs."

This is a "projection" that CPA and law firms--and many of their marketers--are struggling to accept. But it's not just the professional service firm audience. There were plenty of skeptics at the recent presentation we did for Int'l Assoc of Business Communicators, too.

And it's understandable. Dianna Huff, herself, admits having been skeptical of their value too, especially in PR. At all of the presentations we've been doing about the use of RSS related to PR and marketing, we have referred to David Meerman Scott's "New Rules of PR"  (see download in his sidebar).

Dianna says she didn't buy David's theories in their entirety. But now she does. Check out her post and David's e-book.