Packt publishing is pretty much known for creating the best books for Open source software such as WordPress, Elgg, and Joomla. They have done it again with WordPress for Business bloggers. This book is not about technical usage of WordPress. It doesn’t show you how to run an automated blog, and it does not tell you which plugins are the best for your WordPress blog. However, it does tell you how to get started with business blogging.
Business blogging is very much different than personal blogging., The rules of the game are very much different, and it’s not “everything goes” rules anymore. Think about it. If you are asked by HP to run their blog, you simply can’t talk about that silly picture that you took from your cat nor can you talk about how your Grandma’s food tastes awful. Depending on the nature of your company’s business, you will have to change your tone or refine it to reach their audience.
Business blogging is more about fostering solid relationships with your company’s customers and less about having fun and things like that. If you are working for a non-profit anti-AIDS organization, your goal is rally the troops behind your cause and raise the most money to support your cause. If you are working for a credit card company, your goal should be to address the concerns of customers about their rates or maybe answer some frequently asked questions, so you see, a geek like me wouldn’t have a chance at landing a job like that. But of course, I was offered to take on a project like that by a friend of a friend. Naturally, I was going to go in and go down with all guns blazing, but I picked up this book to give me the right mentality to approach the project. Now here is when I tell you that I read this book and became a master of corporate blogging. But in reality, I decided not to pursue the job because I find corporate blogging boring for my taste. The money is good. Don’t get me wrong, But I am not the type to follow a set of rules when it comes to blogging. I think the more limits you put on yourself, the more you hinder your innovative ways.
Nevertheless, WordPress for Business bloggers teaches you the basics about business blogging. It does have chapters on SEO and blog marketing, which I found useful, but in general, it suits business bloggers,
Verdict: I was going to give this book 4 out of 5 for costing me that job, but in reality, this is a good book for business blogging. Business blogging is too difficult for a lot of us, but for those brave souls who can handle it, this book can serve as a good reference guide.