How to be a great leader
We asked the brightest minds in business how they do what they do – and how you can cash in on their advice in the year ahead.
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Fred Wilson
Fred Wilson
Managing Partner, Union Square Ventures
Build a Blog That Builds Your Business
Blogging has become a critical piece of my business. I am an early-stage investor in Internet-delivered services and the co-founder of a venture firm. At first I really didn't know what to write about. So I wrote about things I was passionate about: work, family, music, politics, New York City. I still post about all of those things, but today my blog, called A VC, is mostly about my work and music. I started writing at least one post every day and have done that ever since. When I go on vacation, I write a bunch of posts in advance and then autopost them on a regular schedule. I've found that having something new on the blog every day is the single most important thing to building an audience.

I also like to use a sensational headline. Many people read blogs in aggregators, which generally show only the headline. So you have to give people a reason to click through. Blogs need to be real and personal. Reading it should be like hanging out with you. I play music for my readers. I show them videos I like. I tell them what I did over the weekend. And I tell them what is happening in the technology, Internet, and VC markets.

And it works. About 50,000 people come to my blog every month. The site brings in about $30,000 a year now in ad revenue, and I donate it all to charity. Most important, I'm getting to know entrepreneurs of all kinds - in India, Australia, England, China, and Silicon Valley. They read my blog, correct me when I'm wrong, pound the table when they agree with me. I get to know them, and they get to know me. When it comes time for them to raise money, they know who to ask. And for me, the blog acts as an amplifier and a filter. I see many more opportunities, but they are also way more relevant. It makes me a better investor.
 What do you think it will take in 2007 to succeed in business? E-mail the editors here.
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.