Posts Tagged ‘blogging’

I was very excited to see the responses and the conversation that my post on the 10 reasons you shouldn’t start a blog gathered. In addition to the great comments on the blog itself, it stemmed some awesome conversations on twitter and facebook. What many people asked was if these were the reasons not to start a blog, what reasons are there to start a blog.

After a lot of thought, and a few great conversations with followers and readers, here are the 10 reasons you should start a blog:

1. Because you have a unique view on a topic. If you can find a topic that everyone wants to know about and give it a unique spin, you’ll definitely find a readership.
2. Because you want an internally facing conversation. Blogs don’t always have to be written for the outside world – internal company blogs are great for communication!
3. Because you want to. Blogging just because is perfectly fine – as long as you don’t try to force the world to care.
4. Because you want to improve your writing. Writing is improved through p[practice, and forcing yourself to write often on a blog is a great way to do so. Just know you won’t have millions of readers.
5. Because you get a million questions about your business. FAQ’s are great for blog fodder. If you get tons of the same questions, turn the answers into posts!
6. Because you have a strong marketing strategy and want another way to talk to your audience. If you have a strong brand and a budding social strategy, a blog is a great place for your audience to learn more.
7. Because you understand keyword choices. If you have taken the time to research your keywords, learned how to optimize your writing and will be dedicated, then better SEO a blog will bring! (sorry, watched Family Guy last night, and have Yoda stuck in my head…)
8. Because you are the best at something. If you are an expert in an industry, share your knowledge! How to and learning blogs are great for people who have a thirst for knowledge! (self-proclaimed experts need not pay attention).
9. Because you just have a lot you want to say about a topic. This is like the writing and the want to…go for it, write about whatever you want, just be okay with the fact that others may not care and don’t force it on people.
10. Because you want to ignore the 10 reasons you shouldn’t just to annoy me (hey, I wouldn’t be surprised!)

The big “a-ha” moment I want you to take away? Blogging isn’t easy, but if you know what you are getting into, understand the limitations and aren’t trying to force yourself on the world, then blog until you are blue in the face. Of course, if you need help, it is just a click away

And for your participation points today: If you have a blog – why did you decide to start it? Is it the same reason you still have it?

A few months ago, I talked about the fact that bloggers are taking over the world…and shared some impressive statistics on the number of blogs and blog readers in the world. While these numbers are not 100% perfect, it is safe to assume they are pretty darn close to reality. Of those blogs that exist, I would guess that less than half of them are active 6 months after they start, and less that 2/3 are active after a year. When one goes inactive, another just replaces them…it is a never ending cycle of blog creation. Why do I think this is the case? Have you ever checked out wordpress.com and just clicked browse? A huge percentage of the blogs you will see will not have had a post within the last 3-6 months. Use stumbleupon to search through other blogs, and you will see the same effect.

Maintaining a blog takes a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of content. And while having a business or personal blog isn’t a bad thing, when they are started for the wrong reasons or with the wrong intent, they are almost guaranteed to fail. Luckily, there are a few telltale signs that someone is starting a blog for the wrong reasons, or without giving it serious thought. Here are 10 reasons you shouldn’t start a blog:

1. Because you think you will make money doing it. Do some people make millions from their blog? Sure. Will you be the next one? Doubtful.
2. Because your nieces friend told you your business needed one. If you are just doing it because you think you should, you won’t dedicate the time you need to make it succeed.
3. Because your want the whole world to read about your life. Unless you wrestle alligators and hunt unicorns in your spare time…a blog about your life will only appeal to some readers.
4. Because you want the whole world to read your business thoughts. Unless you’re…actually, it doesn’t matter who you are, you will never get the whole world to read your blog.
5. Because you sell a consumer product. Just because your product is consumer facing, doesn’t mean that the consumers want to read a blog about it. Think before you write.
6. Because it is easier than press releases, research groups and actual branding. No…just no.
7. Because you want better site SEO. While a blog can deliver this, it can only do so if the content is killer, optimized and consistent. Otherwise, it won’t help one iota.
8. Because your other marketing is failing. If you can’t market your business without a blog, a blog is not going to save it. You need a brand first.
9. Because it seems like everyone in your market has one. Do I really have to give you the “jump of the bridge” analogy?
10. Because you can. Starting a blog just because it is “easy” to start one, doesn’t mean you should.

While this may seem negative, it is only because blogging is not simple. It is not something you should walk into lightly…and what I want to point out is that it takes a lot of thought before taking the plunge. I want this to just be a time to take pause, to give you a chance to consider if you have really thought blogging (and all it entails) through completely. If you have, and you still want to do it, then I wish you the best of luck, and suggest you browse some of my blog management posts. If, however, these 10 reasons have made you wonder if your ready, then you are probably not. Take some time, do some more research, ask me some questions…and then decide.

Share your thoughts?

Blogs have two options: breadth or focus. General topics or specific topics. You simply can’t have both. For example, Brogan writes great general business blog posts and appeals to a large audience but if you are looking for advice within a specific niche, you need something different…something that is focused our your topic and only your topic.

So how do you find those writers/blogs?

• Find one blog, find one more: If you find a writer that fits your niche, ask them for suggestions of other writers in that area.
• Use Alltop.com: You can search by very specific categories, allowing you to narrow down just what you are looking for.
• Ask your twitter followers: Most likely, you have followers that are in your niche, so ask them what blogs they read. It is always a great chance to connect and learn more.
• Search long tail keywords on Bing (yes, I suggest Bing, I don’t like Google): Instead of just searching for a one word keyword, try a longer term. For example, rather than search “blog management”, try “strategies for easy blog management”, this will help get you to the exact topics.
• Write a  niche specific blog: If you can’t find the blog you are looking for, why don’t you write it? Start something new, lead the revolution and let others find you.

Finding a focused blog will help you to focus your strategy.

What other suggestions do you have or tools you’ve used to find niche specific blogs?

When I was growing up, I was always told that if I didn’t know what a word meant then I either shouldn’t use it or I should learn what it meant. I firmly believe this lesson holds true for things too – that if you don’t know what something is, then you shouldn’t use it. Or, better yet, learn how to use something properly, then start using it.

Have you ever seen a 4 year old try and use the word facetious?? Unless the 4 year old is John Von Neuman, it’s not going to work well, right? What about a business owner trying twitter for the first time, without any idea what it is or what it can do? Probably not going to work well either.

Unfortunately, this is a lesson that  thousands of people who join social networks for business or start blogging for business have to learn everyday. Why? Because rather than take the time to learn what the tool is, how to use it and what it is for, they just join the trend and jump in. This is not only slightly frustrating to those who know how to use the tools effectively, but downright dangerous to your brand. First, it can be frustrating because newcomers tend to forget proper courtesy, and immediately start spamming everyone else with their business messages. With your brand, a social networking profile for your business needs to represent everything that your business stands for – from the look to the word choices. If you forget this, or worse, don’t even know this, your brand is at risk every time you log in.

Just like with words, when you understand what something actually means, you can use it more effectively. Do you understand the tools you use?

Want more on definitions? Rick Calvert wrote a great post about trying to define a blog to his daughter so she could write about what her Dad did for work. He found it difficult because there are so many definitions for what a blog is and what a blog can be. Rather than just give her the standard “technical” definition, he broke it down into what it is for him (which is a pretty good definition).

You woke up in the morning, tired, a little annoyed and not looking forward to what lie ahead. You wondered what crazy task your boss would ask of you, or which of your clients would have the strangest demands. You grumbled your way to the office (wherever that may be), booted up the computer and let out a huge sigh. It was going to be a long day. You poured yourself a big cup of coffee, and opened your email. You deleted, sorted, and halfheartedly responded to the important ones. You checked twitter, sent out a link or two and replied to a few mentions. You logged into facebook and updated your status, “is it 5 o’clock yet?” (or something like it). Finally, you dug into the work that you need to do for the day, desperately waiting for lunch. You enjoy a short break while eating, letting yourself think about anything but work. Back to the grind you head for a few more hours, and then at 5pm, you joyously shut everything down and call it a night.

Ever had a day like this? Are you having one now?

What you are experiencing is not business burn-out, what you are suffering from is the lack of focus. You are feeling unsure about what you are doing or why you are doing what you are doing. You can’t seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and you are beginning to think that a light doesn’t even exist. The good news is that the light does exist, it may just have moved from where you thought it was. Now, you just need to find where the light has moved to, refocus on it, and start working towards it again.

Have you given yourself a chance to refocus on the light?

What do you do to refocus when you are having a rough time?

For some more insight on refocusing and seeing the inner passion, check out “Lasik for the soul”, a great post from Steve Woodruff!

I hate blog titles.

Short ones. Long ones. Funny ones. Sad ones. Clever ones. Boring ones. List ones. Question ones. Poignant ones. Descriptive ones. Secretive ones.

I hate them all.

Okay, so I know that blog post titles are necessary for SEO (although this is debatable when the titles are ‘clever’) and they are supposed to give you a quick detail of what you can expect in the post…rarely do I find the title does the post justice. Or worse, the title is good and the post is not! (we’ve all seen this one!) Because of the short comings of titles, I would much prefer to just title my blog post with one word, rather than try and explain my detailed thoughts in just 3-10 words…

For example, on Thursday I wrote a post entitled “What is the cost of being fake?” which talked about the price of failing to be authentic in business. I wrote this title because that is the status quo – you are expected to come up with a catchy few word title that tells a bit about the post. But were I to ignore what should be and have done it my way, the post would have simply been titled. “Authenticity”. It gets the point across that it is going to be about authenticity but doesn’t skew your opinion with more text that tries to explain it. You have to click to learn more. Which gave me an idea…

I am giving up traditional blog post titles and instead, moving to just one word that sums up the entire post. I am moving away from what I “should” do, and trying it my way. Is it possible that it will fail? Sure. Is it possible that I will revolutionize the way that blog posts are titled? Probably not, but I am willing to try anyway.

So starting today, and for the next 4 weeks, I will be writing blog post titles with only one word, studying how it affects my readership and responses and then report back on my results.

What do you think about blog titles?

Are you willing to break the status quo and try the one word title movement with me?

Blogging is a solo sport, while there are readers and participants of a blog, most blogs are written and controlled by one person. Normally that person is known, visible and takes credit for their work. But, there are some bloggers who choose to stay anonymous, writing like Mark Twain did, under the cover of a false name. This is done for a multitude of reasons, many of which I can only guess as I have never written under a false name. The most common assumptions are that anonymous blogging is done for protection from the press, to falsify a gender (male vs female writing), or to protect those who are being written about.

Which brings me to the questions of the day:

• Anonymity – it can protect you from a lot but when it comes to blogging, is true anonymity really possible?
• And if it is possible, is it possible to get the most out of your blog with no one knowing who you really are?

Thoughts?

*image courtesy of Warner Bros.*

Blogging at its root is simple: it is words on a (web)page, put together and reachable by anyone with internet and your blog address. There are life bloggers, business bloggers, mommy bloggers, pet bloggers, food bloggers, pretty-much-anything-you-can-think-of bloggers, and every single one of them is doing the exact same thing: putting words on a screen for their readers to see. Blogging is not segregated. There is no restrictions to whom can have a blog. It is not picky on what is written or how often. It doesn’t require advanced degrees and (judging by some of the posts I have stumbled across) doesn’t even require a firm grasp on the language it is written in. Blogging is open to the world, and because of that, bloggers seem to be taking over.

But, because there are no set rules for joining or leaving, and there is almost no limit to what can be done with a blog, I often struggle to explain what blogging really is about.

Everyone has their own ideas – Ask 5 people and you will get a different answer every time, depending on whether or not they have a blog, what type of blog they have, or the types of blogs they read. The only comment I hear regularly is that a “blog is a way to communicate quickly with a large group of people”. Which, of course, tells us nothing. Even my own explanation – “A blog is a means to communicate with an audience who is interested in you, your service or your products. It creates a 2 way communication, opening the conversation and allowing you and the reader to learn” – isn’t perfect because it doesn’t incorporate all types of blogs, only the ones I know.

So let’s get talking, I want your thoughts! No matter which type of blogs you read or write, your voice needs to be heard. So tell me…

What do you think blogging is really about?

*image credit to The Glamorous Life’s Shirts

If the only place you can work on your blog is sitting in front of your laptop at a location with wifi, you are missing out. Today, WordPress for Blackberry left the beta phase and entered full availability. iPhone addict? Check out WordPress for iPhone (wordpress for iphone)!

I’m using the Blackerry app…and just might be in love. Super quick to install, and set up, easy to use interface and overall really, really cool!

Do you have easy access to your blog?

The final post topic I gathered from my readers and followers was from Angry Julie (the first two were from @HealthOC and @Hagre). She is convinced the world is dominated by bloggers and wanted to know my thoughts.

I think I agree! Why you ask?

Let’s start by looking at the sheer statistics (stats from Techcrunch, Technorati, comScore and FutureBuzz):

• 133,000,000 – number of blogs indexed by Technorati since 2002
• 346,000,000 – number of people globally who read blogs
• 900,000 – average number of blog posts in a 24 hour period
• 1,750,000 – number of RSS subscribers to TechCrunch, the most popular Technology blog (January 2009)
• 77% - percentage of active Internet users who read blogs
• 81 - number of languages represented in the blogosphere
• 59% – percentage of bloggers who have been blogging for at least 2 years

Need more convincing? Let’s look at the State of the Blogosphere and who these bloggers really are:

• Two-thirds are male
• 60% are 18-44
• The majority are more affluent and educated than the general population
• 75% have college degrees
• 40% have graduate degrees
• One in three has an annual household income of $75K+
• One in four has an annual household income of $100K+
• More than half are married
• More than half are parents

If all the facts aren’t working for you, let’s look at facebook and twitter for a minute. Think about tweets, status updates and timelines…how many links do you see on a daily basis? How many of those sites are run on a blog platform? If you said “almost all”, you’re right. It is rare to see links to “websites” any longer, even if you are referring someone to a product, you tend to send them articles (blogs) vs static sites (websites).

But, it’s not just the sheer volume of blogs anymore, it’s the volume of the voices. People blog about products, whether they like them or not. For example, when the new iPad hit last week, there were articles everywhere about it…and the majority of those articles were written on blogs! Who does the iPad need to impress? Those bloggers! What about something non techie, like a new food item? Doesn’t need to worry about bloggers right? Wrong. According to Technorati, there are over 33,000 blogs dedicated to just food (and the statistics are the same for almost all genres). Bloggers are the new journalists. They can write from anywhere, say (almost) anything about you, and are easily accessible. And if the blogger is popular? Their blogs can often outrank the “normal” articles on any given topic!

But of course, this is just what I see.

What do you think? Are bloggers running the world?