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Monday, August 31, 2009
Blogging for Business
Many businesses now have one or more blogs associated with their company (I personally have been blogging for my small business for the past three years). The questions entrepreneurs need to be asking is
However, there are also many reasons not to blog. Entrepreneurs are frequently strapped for time and simply cannot devote the amount of time necessary to regularly create substantive blog posts that will be useful to their target audience. If you cannot blog an average of once a week then it is generally not a good idea to start a blog. Nothing looks worse than starting a blog and putting up one or two posts then letting it slide. I have been to many small company websites where the last blog entry was posted over a year ago. Leaving me (and their potential customers) wondering if the company is still in business.
Another reason not to blog is if you do not have much to say on topics that might be of interest to your potential customers. You can only build credibility if you posts offer insights that benefit the people that may buy your product or services. Not having much to say is something that is difficult to fake. Some bloggers do post references to what other people say on a topic of interest, which is OK on occasion, but without original content of your own you are offering little reason for people to visit your site. If you do reference information from someone's blog or website cite it. Nothing can hurt your credibility more than if you are perceived to be stealing another person's ideas and trying to pass them off as your own.
If you do decide to blog choosing the topic for your blog is important. Ideally you want offer information in your blog that people will find interesting and that is relevant to your product or service. You can blog about company news, product releases, special offers, tips or present information relevant to your domain. It is very important that whatever you blog is informative and interesting and that it is not just an advertisement for your company. People read blogs for information and nothing will turn them off faster than flagrant self-promotion.
There are a number of very good how to articles on blogging. I personally found these atrticles very helpful:
See http://news.developingmindssoftware.com for my company blog.
- Should I blog?
- If I blog what should I blog about?
However, there are also many reasons not to blog. Entrepreneurs are frequently strapped for time and simply cannot devote the amount of time necessary to regularly create substantive blog posts that will be useful to their target audience. If you cannot blog an average of once a week then it is generally not a good idea to start a blog. Nothing looks worse than starting a blog and putting up one or two posts then letting it slide. I have been to many small company websites where the last blog entry was posted over a year ago. Leaving me (and their potential customers) wondering if the company is still in business.
Another reason not to blog is if you do not have much to say on topics that might be of interest to your potential customers. You can only build credibility if you posts offer insights that benefit the people that may buy your product or services. Not having much to say is something that is difficult to fake. Some bloggers do post references to what other people say on a topic of interest, which is OK on occasion, but without original content of your own you are offering little reason for people to visit your site. If you do reference information from someone's blog or website cite it. Nothing can hurt your credibility more than if you are perceived to be stealing another person's ideas and trying to pass them off as your own.
If you do decide to blog choosing the topic for your blog is important. Ideally you want offer information in your blog that people will find interesting and that is relevant to your product or service. You can blog about company news, product releases, special offers, tips or present information relevant to your domain. It is very important that whatever you blog is informative and interesting and that it is not just an advertisement for your company. People read blogs for information and nothing will turn them off faster than flagrant self-promotion.
There are a number of very good how to articles on blogging. I personally found these atrticles very helpful:
- Blogging Basics
- Blog Quality Guidelines
- 40+ Topics for Corporate Bloggers
- 6 Key Ways to Measure the Success of your Blog
- 7 Best Blogs about Blogging
See http://news.developingmindssoftware.com for my company blog.
