Is a Blog right for you?

In the late 1990s blogs came on the scene as a way to connect people as one of the earliest forms of online social networking.  No one could’ve guessed how wildly popular blogs would become as they now dominate the Internet as the most popular form of website.

Early blogs were largely personal journals and diaries. These days, as blogs have evolved into a form of business, many of them have transformed to more of a business language. Yet the personal networking aspect has been retained and is the cornerstone of why blogs do as well as they do.

The people reading blogs tend to be educated and from a higher income demographic; in other words, potential consumers or clients. So what do we know… blogs are popular, they are reaching a wide audience, and they are reaching a desirable target audience. There is little doubt that a blog can be a powerful medium.  Yet, does this mean that a blog is right for your business?

My advice to people is that following the pack is not good justification for starting up a blog.  Blogging takes commitment and, in fact, many countless blogs are left to die a quiet death.

Then how can you know if a blog is right for your business? You may start by first considering these few points:

Do you have a message to communicate that is strong enough to attract a following?
The reason blogs have become so powerful is this: €œContent Is King€. Through well-developed content a website has an opportunity to develop a following, a high-volume of traffic, and a strong search engine position. Yet, to succeed, the content must be compelling and of interest to your readers.

Some bloggers like to talk about their life at work, the family, and their own little world.  This might work for people with celebrity status but for the average business person€¦ forget it. Another mistake that I see is that some blogs will take an obvious marketing tone; it is likely you’ll find that hawking your product or services will cause people to quickly lose interest.

Your customers probably already know what they want and now they are looking for something with added value. They are looking for information and, through a blog, you do have the opportunity to market by demonstrating your knowledge and instilling a sense of confidence. The personality of your business can be reflected through your blog.

Can you commit to developing content for your blog or paying to have content developed for you?
It is important to determine if you have the time to update and maintain a blog; this can mean as much as three to five times per week.  Some people will take the approach of using free content or, in some cases, €˜borrowing´ content from other websites. Free content can be OK provided you give due credit to the author; though you will soon learn that the large majority of free content is very low quality. Another issue is that free articles will be recognized as duplicate content and will not be useful for search engine optimization. My advice about €˜borrowing´ is€¦ never take content from another website or blog without permission or at the very least offering credit and back-links.

Some people like to read blogs, others like to read newsletters, still others will read articles you list on your website. Regardless of the method, the common denominator is Content. Content can connect your business with your customers and provide a powerful marketing medium.

Does your existing traffic volume justify a blog and do you have a strategy to continue to build traffic?
It makes little sense to commit the effort required to maintain blog if you have only a marginal traffic base. A blog is really worth the effort only if you are already reaching a sizable audience with your website or have a plan to build a readership.

This is where the rubber meets the road. A business blog needs to work for you and this will not happen if you cannot attract readers. There are a number of strategies that are using in the blogging world and there is an abundance of information about how to make a blog successful.

Creating a successful blog is a skill.  The most successful blogs on the Internet are run by professional bloggers, it is all they do for a living. For a business this may suggest that there’s a need to bring in professional assistance. For sure there is a need to understand the technical aspects of operating a blog and you can expect that your blog will require lots of attention, sometimes on a daily basis.

There’s no doubt in my mind than blog can be very powerful marketing tool.  At the same time, there is no guarantee of success and no magic formula that you can buy. The decision to start a blog needs to be a cost-benefit business decision.

The decision to start a blog needs to make sense within your marketing plans and needs to fit with your client´s needs and your markets desires.  You will need to develop a niche and find interesting ways to communicate within that niche.

I hope some of the points I have raised in this article will be of help when you are making your decision about whether you are just following the pack€¦ or ready to lead the pack.

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Marlon McMartin is online marketing consultant, writer, and Director of WebMedia-Solutions.com.  Marlon is editor for several blogs and newsletters and has authored hundreds of articles and web-pages.