According to the Push Institute, 73% of people have read a blog. According to Rich Brogan (social media guru, chrisbrogan.com), most people run out of things to say after six months. That seems to be the point when you hit a plateau. Thus, it is important to have a plan when you start out.
For a blog, I have found that it helps when you focus on a topic or an idea. You cannot just start blandly writing about what you are doing each day. How boring is that? I mean, would you want to read about someone else’s hectic juggling of 3-year-old, dog, work and grocery shopping? The answer might be yes, if there are some life lessons there that can apply to your life. It has to have a point. Each blog should be a little mini-essay. Think creative nonfiction. I cannot tell you how many blogs I have seen that are not even up to the standards of Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSrXpFb7jFo&feature=PlayList&p=D04D5AB6FB6546E9&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1
For business, pull in resources, examples, and case studies, as well as discussion of new techniques and technology. Help out your fellow businessman. If you hone in on something, you have a much better chance of pulling in people with similar interests, who also know other people with similar interests. Let them know that you are trying to reach new audiences.
I like the advice that when you have good ideas, just keep writing. You would not think that you would have to tell someone this, but apparently it’s not intuitive. Whenever you have an idea for a blog post, write it out. But don’t post them all at once, save some for later. If you can crank out five posts, then you’ve got something in the can for one of those times when you run out of ideas or are just too busy to put something together. This is an old trick that I’ve used many times when writing columns for publication.
You do not need to write every day, but you should write on a fairly regular schedule. Again, the tip above about keeping something in the can will help with that. Just make sure that the content flow makes sense. It might not be a bad idea to write up a brief “editorial schedule,” although you want to also allow for immediacy in responding to current events and trends. That, after all, is the beauty of the medium.
Some of the same things that make a good website will make a good blog, except for here it really is all about content. But if you have value-added content, a good track record of linking to reputable resources, and are not afraid of giving away a little bit of the farm every now and then, you will do well with a blog. Just stick with it more than six months…
Next: Strategy
You all might find this interesting - sent to me privately in response to this post. Copy whole URL: http://www.whitepapersource.com/socialmediamarketing/report/
Posted by: Linda White | May 30, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Wellll... you can start out with this one! As a whole, I mean. The Community Marketing Blog - Andrew's focus is marketing, but that ranges quite a bit so gives him lots of latitude. It is actually several blogs - if you consider that a blog would do well to focus on a given topic. Check out the April 14 post under the Recession Tips section. Note how he linked to a Wall Street Journal story and a Neilsen report and offers solid steps and advice ("include your URL"). Also check out chrisbrogan.com, bookpage.com (for The Bookcase) and marketinginprogress.com.
Posted by: Linda White | May 29, 2009 at 05:35 PM
Thanks for the overview and tips on blogs. Do you have some that you recommend checking out because they are really good???
Posted by: Kari LeMay | May 29, 2009 at 03:38 PM