Blogging can be frightening because no matter the size of your organization, not everyone believes they are a writer. The allure of a brand-spanking new blog tarnishes quickly when everyone realizes you have to feed the beast.

As PR pros, we mobilize a company’s internal experts and find a way to help them turn their knowledge into dynamic and compelling content. Whether we write it, ghostwrite it or edit it, thoughtful preparation and tools go a long way. Here is a quick guide to creating a long-term strategy that works.

1.       Editorial strategy & calendar

Blog platforms today, from WordPress and Blogger to Tumblr and Posterous, are intuitive to use, and you can be up and blogging in a day. However, that day should include at least a basic outline of content areas of focus with a frequency goal – once a day, a few times a week or once a week, at minimum. Even better is a strategic plan based around a few key information architecture elements.

Combine your content plan into strategic groups. A tool like MindMeister is great for team brainstorms and collaboratively creating a plan with your team. Within each of your topical areas, pick out a few descriptive words or phrases. Your groups can become blog categories, and the rest are viable tags.

Lastly, a deadline calendar that you gently enforce, or even better, incentivize your staff with, helps everyone know what they are expected to do and when.

2.       Be a great curator

While brainstorming is great, sometimes you just do not have it in you to start completely from scratch. I remind my clients that they are constantly consuming great content and forming an opinion. Applying an expert eye to e-mail newsletters, tweets from colleagues and magazine articles, a good blogger just picks the most on-trend, compelling or controversial info. Flip it around, add your own spin and you have a new post. The ability to curate content and choose the most compelling to share and open for commentary is a cultivated blogging skill.

3.       Content isn’t just words

Pay attention to your blogging team members’ strengths. The most persuasive and prepared salesperson can turn to jelly at the thought of putting pen to paper. Find a way to capture that person’s voice through rich media. Put a flip cam in the table in the breakroom and ask the salesperson some questions – “What is the most common question you get asked?” or “What questions do you wish our customers asked you?” can generate fascinating “vlogs.” Even a quick audio recording using a microphone or headset can do the trick.

4.       Mobilize a team

Unless you are a sole practitioner or an executive blogging for the sake of your own reputation, payday or thought leadership, chances are writing for the company blog is not your only job. Find a team who can help you, and get buy-in from the top to support everyone’s involvement. A monologue is rarely as compelling as a conversation or symphony of voices and perspectives.

5.       Do what you do

When you create your team, do not limit it to your peers in communications. A favorite client of mine mobilized his school’s whole staff to post on their education blog. Everyone can bring a unique perspective.  Some of the most popular posts are photo-driven, created by the school’s facilities and maintenance manager showing events across campus. If your goal is to highlight the rich talent at your organization, allowing them to talk about their passions in relation to your industry and individual roles is a great starting point.

6.       Come packing

Rich blogs full of photography, infographics, videos and graphics do not just happen. Arm yourself with the gadgets you need to capture the moment when inspiration strikes. A flip cam, digital camera and smart phone are all helpful and affordable.

You do not have to be an expert to produce blog content.  If the content is thoughtful and compelling, it counts. If you have access to a design team or some skills of your own, enrich your verbiage with imagery.

7.       Make it recognizable

Not just any old blog will do. It is getting easier every day to create customized and branded blogging platforms. If you know enough about the web or HTML to be dangerous, you can tweak colors, add logos and imagery templates and designs. Template libraries like Themeforest can help you on your way.

8.       Simplicity & SEO

One of the most common questions I hear from my interactive marketing clients is how to keep a corporate website interesting and the content timely. Often times, competing priorities of an organization or the complexity of your corporate site technology prevent communicators from changing it up. A blog can be simpler to use and involve fewer hoops to jump. Google sees the recency of content and gives value to fresh stuff. Blogs today typically have all kinds of built-in SEO-friendly features like the ability to manipulate title tags, URL structures and heading tags.

9.       Make it sharable

In a social world, the best stuff gets shared. Plug-ins and widgets like Topsy, Share This or AddThis, paired with other direct interaction opportunities like Facebook or Linked In “Like” buttons, make it easy to pass along great ideas or stories.

10.   Create a voice

While communicators today often advocate for a clearly articulated brand voice, not everyone in the C-suite sees value in talking to your customers in a casual, non-journalistic or even friendly tone on your corporate site. A blog by nature is often more conversational and meant to elicit commentary and discussion. Writing about issues and trends affecting your industry, great corporate social responsibility initiatives or community action can often allow for more freedom – and more fun for those who are blogging.

Crystal Olig is an online content and digital marketing professional at Oxiem, an interactive marketing agency in Columbus, Ohio. She serves as the New Professionals Section Mentorship Liaison and is on the University Liaison committee locally, working with future PR pros through the Central Ohio PRSA chapter.