This is a question I get asked with some regularity… but the answer to one I’ve never put down on paper. So here goes. In short, while there are many potential benefits to be gained from blogging, it’s not necessarily a given that every company should put in the time and effort to build their own company blog.
First, the benefits… There are many potential benefits that blogging offers to businesses. A well-designed and well-written blog can help you improve your SEO rankings, attract new clients, communicate with your customers, and even contribute to knowledge base in your industry. It can serve as a center point for your companies’ community, as well as a fulcrum point to your companies’ sales mechanisms. That’s a lot of good things.
Next, the effort… It’s important to remember that even while blogging does have many benefits to offer your business, creating and writing a blog takes a good deal of time and effort. Quite simply, you only get back what you put in — I’d even argue that a neglected blog is worse than no blog — and the benefits of blogging are only available upon putting in this effort. Therefore, if you’re already overly busy (and most people are), I recommend you really decide to dedicate the time and effort required to blog, before you start blogging.
Plus, the fit… It’s also important to remember that while blogging offers many potential benefits to a businesses, they’re not a great fit with all kinds of them. Blogs work best when they’re direct and personal… offering a unique glimpse into the personality and message behind a business. If your business plan doesn’t call for this type of exposure, or you don’t feel comfortable putting yourself out there like that, I don’t recommend starting a blog. A tool, no matter how great it is, doesn’t work well when it’s not used to its full potential.
Hopefully after reading this post, you’ll have a better sense for what building and writing a business blog entails, as well as whether or not starting one is right for your business. By all means, if you think it is a good fit, I encourage you to start building one. If it’s not, well, that’s fine too; I trust that you’ll find other means through which to build your business. And of course, above all, don’t listen to the yahoos who always answer in the affirmative to the question that leads off this post.
YOUR INPUT: Anything I missed here, or anything you’d like to add? If you’re a small-business owner, do you have a blog? Why or why not?
by brianlburns on 10 May 2008
in blogging
This is the last of my posts on blogging (for now). Scroll down to see the others, and stay here if you want to be an expert on whatever it is you do.
What I mean is that blogs can be a place for you to position yourself as an expert in a certain field, or on a certain subject. It’s what paper-published authors and writers have been doing for decades - write enough good stuff, and people will start to look to you for your knowledge and opinions. Think Peter Gammons on baseball or David Broder on politics. Trusted names.
On paper though, it takes awhile to get there, and not just anybody can do it. Even if I were able, I couldn’t walk into the Washington Post and start writing their political commentary column. That’s why blogs are so cool. They allow qualified and talented people to establish themselves as experts, without having to convince anyone else they can do it. No newspaper editors, no climbing your way up the magazine staff… just content consumers. If you write a good blog, and if you give out good information, people will notice, and people will start to regard you as an expert.
Look at StartupWriting.com as an example. I probably can’t write a piece for The New Yorker, and I probably can’t teach a college writing course, but I can publish here. I try to publish good stuff, and try to publish helpful stuff. Hopefully people are starting to notice, and hopefully I’m on my way to establishing myself as an expert (or at least a knowledgeable person) when it comes to writing startup copy.
Why is this good (for me or for you)? Well, being an online expert will help nearly any business. A successful expertise blog not only brings visitors in, but it brings quality visitors in. The type that already regard you as knowing your stuff, and already regard you as someone producing a good product. It’s like the best referral and the best About Us section rolled up in one, and it’s what makes sales (which is the point, right?).
Now go find something to be an expert on (hopefully your company already has its’ niche), and go write one. Or, of course, you can pay an expert to do it.
by brianlburns on 7 May 2008
in blogging
As promised (in the last post), here are my brief thoughts on ‘blogging as community.’ What I mean is that a well-done blog shouldn’t only entertain, and shouldn’t only help build your company narrative, it should build a community of its’ own. It should be a place for people to not only go and get a piece of your company culture, but a place for them to participate in it. A place for you to share what you’re thinking and where you’re headed, and a place for them to give you some feedback. A place for them to comment, and a place for you to comment back. Hell, even a place for them to write their own stuff.
And more than building your internal company community even, a good blog can help you network into larger, Internet-wide communities. You can guest post on other blogs, and bring in guest bloggers to yours. You can link to other sites and other blogs, and add your own unique twist to their topics. You can meet people and start conversations, all which (eventually) give you and your product more recognition and a better name.
If you’re spamming, or just writing crap, none of this will happen - no one will like you. But if you do it right; you create a good blog (and put time into building communities around it), you’ll reap the rewards.
