Blogging for your business is like playing tennis: you read the environment, deliver key shots, get ready for the next post, respond to feedback, and try to stay on target.
I play tennis with an “excuse champion.” Every time she misses a shot, she blames her racquet, or her strings, the ball, the sun, wind, or some body part. She’s quite creative.
I often wonder what would happen if that creativity were channeled into focused attention to the ball and her strokes. If you’re thinking about all those other things, surely you can’t be ready for the next shot…
I’ve got clients who are excuse champions. The biggest excuse they use for not blogging enough is they don’t have enough time. While that may be true, (who does?) but it’s also true they don’t blog enough because they don’t have a journalist’s mindset.
A journalist is curious about people and events and can’t wait to share information with others. I just read a fabulous article over at The Content Factor and here’s what they wrote about why some professionals stop blogging and why they shouldn’t:
It’s also fair to say that the “bloom is off the rose” when it comes to corporate blogging. It’s no longer viewed as a panacea. Customers will not be flocking to your door just because you are blogging (or Tweeting for that matter). But blogging does have some advantages:
- A blog writer can say things quickly and less formally than might otherwise be the case with your website or other corporate communications vehicles. Blogs have the benefit of immediacy (with no requirement for a webmaster’s help) and alacrity.
- It can be a great “rapid response” vehicle, allowing you to quickly react to an industry, corporate or competitive issue or statement
- It can help your search rankings and drive traffic to your site
- It allows for feedback and interactivity, so you can get a sense for what your readers (or customers) think
- It provides a forum for repurposing content that you may have used elsewhere, thereby getting additional “mileage” out of it
Just like there’s a world of difference between an average tennis player and a champion, there are defining distinctions of a great blog (also from The Content Factor):
- The best blogs are personified. Readers like to feel like they know the blog writer and feel some of the blog writer’s personality and humanity come through. One good way to do this is via the slice-of-life approach; what happened to you today that relates to some business insight you can offer?
- Blogs should not be looked at in the traditional sense as corporate communications. If you just regurgitate press releases, or take very little risk with your blog posts, you will not attract very many readers.
- Blogs have to be kept up. Once you fall behind, you are dead. We should know. We struggle with our blog as well.
I struggle with keeping up with this blog too. Especially right now when I’m working with so many excuse champions, I find I’d rather be helping them with their blogs than taking care of my own.
A while ago I wrote an ebook about how to use content marketing on your blog and get results. I reviewed it the other day and it’s still good. You can download it here: ContentMarketingwithBlogs.com. I think it would help many people stop making excuses and start publishing at least twice a week.
Here’s hoping your next blog post will be an “ace!’
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