As mentioned in the previous blog entry, setting up corporate blogs involves solving certain issues that need to be addressed. Many companies seemed to be bogged down on how to provide a positive splash on their blogs

To increase the likelihood of success, check out these great tips.

1.  Define and focus on a theme that your writing team will follow. Select a blog name and theme that fits perfectly with your business. It should offer relevant information to consumers who are interested in your area of business. Once the theme is chose, formulate an editorial guideline that your writers will adhere to for uniformity. Guidelines should include appropriate verticals, clear topics to cover, and a comprehensive style manual.

Dogstuff, an online shop for dog toys, gifts, and supplies, has a great blog that follows this tip. It is simple and to the point. The theme is made evident that the blog is about dogs.

2. Select a team of core bloggers. These individuals should be knowledgeable and comfortable in writing the areas that you want to cover. Of course, you need people who have a good command of the English language, but most importantly, you need people who are passionate about writing.

Establish editorial guidelines and decide on the writing and editing process that you need to put in place. For instance, you may want your bloggers to publish directly or have their entries go through the scrutiny of an editor. This tip allows you to have a proper workflow on your blogs to ensure that you are publishing quality material.

3. Make your blog “human.” Throw away that “corporate” and “marketing” idealism out the door. Consider your blog as a conversation between people, not between a business and a person. Thus, give your writers the freedom to express themselves—having their own online personalities and writing styles. The more diversity you have, the lesser the monotonous tone that your blog projects.

4. Do not make your blog a marketing or PR tool, staying away from a sales pitch. Remember that you are conversing with them, not selling your products or services to them. Done right, your blog becomes a storehouse of real analysis and opinions of your employees as well as tips. Your writers’ (or your) opinions are priceless, and they add great value to your website.

An example of a company who executes this tip superbly is Lululemon Athletica, a yoga-inspired apparel company. It provides interesting topics such as how to do a handstand, how to protect your lower back, how to explore a new city, and views on published yoga techniques. Thus, readers acquire a massive amount of information from the site, not a bombardment of sales pitches.

5. Welcome criticism from readers. View criticisms as data that can be used for improvement and feedback. Too bad that many companies do not allow interaction, afraid that criticisms may harm the business.

6. If you open your blog to interaction, be prepared for a variety of comments—complimentary, constructive, hateful, or even spam. It is best to create a comment policy that your team can follow. Place a comment guideline, outlining the types of comments that require a response, deletion, or forwarding for follow-up.

7. Take advantage of share tools such as Twitter, Digg, and Facebook. These tools allow your users to pass along your content, promoting your blog to further reaches. Take advantage of social media. In addition, increase your blog’s social presence through backlinks, buttons, and widgets that link to your social profiles.

8. Do not leave off offline promotion. Even in the age of digital and online advertising, traditional offline marketing still has a strong hold. Thus, include your blog and website URLs on your business cards, packaging material, print ads, posters, etc. Of course, you also need to place them in electronic media such as e-mails and social networks.

9. Track down the pulse of your blog. There are various ways to do this such as setting up Google Alerts for your brand, blog name, and keywords that may be relevant. For Twitter, you can set up columns such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or CoTweet, which will update you in real time. Check the Internet for other analytics and monitoring tools.

Launch your corporate blog to success with these useful, easy-to-follow tips.