In her monthly column, Working Mother magazine’s CEO, Carol Evans, explains how challenging it was to build a virtual community where the magazine’s readers could connect—until they started blogging.

At workingmother.com, they added a MomBlog, where they set up working moms with their own blog so they can share stories, tips, and advice.

Carol’s blogging, too (sporadically). She writes:

I thought blogging was going to be another layer of work on top of everything else. But it doesn’t feel that way. It feels like I’m sharing with a friend…

…I’m blogging a lot right now, too. I wake up in the morning and have this urgent need to say something to you through the ether. Then I find out about your needs and ideas through your blogs.

I checked Carol’s CEO Mom blog to see what her definition of “blogging a lot” is. Turns out her blog hasn’t been updated since March 31. Tut, tut, Carol! You have to update your blog more than once a month or so if you want people to keep reading it.

To give her credit, Carol is a very busy woman. She probably wrote her April column in January, when she did manage to write five blog posts. And the MomBlogs area of the site includes a dozen other momblogs that have been updated recently.

While Carol’s time-crunch appears to have dampened her initial enthusiasm about posting “a lot,” Carol appears to “get” it. She understands that:

• Businesses need to focus on building a healthy virtual community with their customers.
• Blogging is a convenient means to build that community.
• Blogging teaches business owners a great deal about the needs and interests of their customers.
• Blogging shouldn’t feel like work; it should be fun. Whether the muse beckons every day or every other month, bloggers respond to the urge to blog in the same way that they’d respond to the urge for, say, a giant bowl of double chocolate chunk ice cream. Which I have a hankering for right now!

Also in this series:

• Doggone Bloggy: Glenn Close Starts ‘Lively Licks’ Blog

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Tags: Blogging, Carol Evans, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, MomBlog, virtual communities, Working Mother magagzine

Blogs have gone to the dogs. Literally.

Actress Glenn Close, who launched a pet supply business called fetchdog in October 2007, created the Lively Licks blog.

On Lively Licks, Glenn interviews celebs such as Martha Stewart, Debra Messing, and Ted Danson about their dogs. She also responds to reader questions about dog care in a “Dear Abby-esque” manner. If you want to learn more about dog smell, dog hair, and dog sleep issues, Glenn has the answers!

Glenn’s blog is fully integrated into her fetchdog Website, and contains handy links for subscribing via e-mail or RSS feed. An attractive photo banner pictures her with her dogs, Jake and Bill. My only critique is that the type size on the blog is too tiny for my getting-older eyes.

Glenn is going to strike gold by enhancing her Website with a blog. Dog lovers, Glenn Close fans, and curiosity seekers alike will check out her blog, maybe leave a comment, and feel a part of the doggone community. Of course they’ll be tempted to purchase a $145 Crypton couch cover for their pampered pet. Or maybe an $8 tug toy.

This is the first article in a continuing series that examines how blogs are transforming the way we do business.

Next up: a magazine editor who recently “converted” from traditional publishing to blogging.

Tags: Blogging, fetchdog, Glenn Close, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com, Lively Licks blog

Every week on our blog, we highlight posts from our clients’ blogs, to give you a taste of the compelling content available on today’s business blogs.

Puget Sound Sewing & Craft - A partnership between Quality Sewing & Vacuum and Pacific Fabrics & Crafts, this new blog is packed with how-tos for the sewing, quilting, embroidery, and craft enthusiast. Check out the little ditty about Elena, a 3-year-old sewing whiz.

Alderbrook Properties - This beautiful golf course community on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state sponsors a blog that keeps the entire Olympic Peninsula informed of the latest happenings in their area. This week, we learned about The Page Turners Book Club, sponsored by the North Mason Timberland Library in Belfair, WA.

Northwest Flower & Garden Show - Gardening’s going to the birds on Flora’s blog, as she discusses the fine feathered friends with whom she shares her garden.

Rich’s for the Home - If you’ve got a small balcony or patio, you’ll find plenty of tips for how to dress up your balcony and how to create mood lighting for your patio. And don’t forget to try out the delicious pasta salad recipe!

San Francisco Flower & Garden Show - Jasmine tackled a variety of gardening projects this week: How to create a sunflower hideaway with your kids, How to solve squirrel problems, and how to interplant your vegetable garden.

Tags: Alderbrook Properties, Blogging, business blogging, Northwest Flower & Garden Show, Puget Sound Sewing & Craft, Rich's for the Home, San Francisco Flower & Garden Show