Was reading this article on the MarketingProfs.com website that give a cool six step guide to start a corporate blog. Here are the six steps, condensed.

1. Test the waters

Make sure you know what to do to start a blog first, go test out, get a spare domain and test your setting up the blog there first!

2. Understand the ways blogs can be used in your organization

Know how you want to use the blog. Is it for promotion of new products? Or a way to communicate with your consumers, or just to keep your customers updated about what you are doing everyday?

3. Identify a small, well-defined area where you’ll start

Now this is important, and I said this a while ago, targeting long tail searches are very important! Define what you want to be good in, and be the best in it!

4. Set goals for the trial and educate stakeholders

Let the people in your organization know about the blog, and if you require them to participant, tell them HOW and teach them STEP-BY-STEP! You need to know that while you are a computer geek, others are not as geeky as you :P.

5. Create a draft blogging policy

Again, especially if your organization is big, you want to set some rules of what can and cannot be posted on your blog

6. Set up a single point of contact for questions

There are bound to be people who are going to fire you some questions about that blog you put up. Appoint a single point of contact, or use a discussion group to manage these queries.

Do check out the full article anyway, it a good read and will take you 5 minutes.

Remember that once you allow your employees to blog, they essentially have control over what will be displayed on your website! One playful and disgruntled employee is all you need to tarnish all that reputation and brand image that you have built for your company. Get good writers who can write good stuff!