What’s so hard about blogging?
So, you’ve probably read a lot here and there about blogs being one of the best ways on the Internet to not only establish your expertise, but even grab some search engine traffic. I talked about blogging as a foundational tool for thought leader’s / subject matter expert’s personal brand.
Over the past month or so, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with a number of folks looking to get started in the blogging world and wanting to get some input on how to get started and what it’s all about. Just last night, I helped my sister set up a blog to promote her private counseling practice.
In talking with such a wide range of individuals, and watching fellow bloggers over the years, there seems to be a handful of “surprises” when people first get into blogging. Just like anything new, there’s no way to really know if it’s for you until you dive in.
So for those of you out there who may be contemplating starting a blog, here’s my list of “surprises” I’ve overcome along the way.
You need some basic technical acumen or a friend with some
Unless you let your blogging platform provider host your blog for you (e.g. wordpress.com), you will be “self-hosting” your own blog. This means signing up with a hosting company. It also means getting your fingers dirty from time to time updating software, uploading files, managing domains, etc. While many hosters offer tools to help automate some of these activities, without a basic understanding of what you need to do you may find yourself a little nervous just clicking a button.
When it comes to your blog, I’ve found very few new bloggers who don’t eventually want to start tweaking the look, feel and functionality of their blog. There are many tools, plugins and developers available online to help you. With a basic understanding of some of the technology involved (or a friend that does), you can perform many of these tweaks yourself.
Your blog is a business…
…and for it to be successful, you need to treat it like one. The number one critical success factor for a blog is consistent, meaningful content. If there is one thing I typically see people underestimate when it comes to blogging, it’s the amount of time and effort that goes into publishing content. Once you get past your first ten posts or so, do you still have something to say? Will you take the time to publish something, anything, at least a couple times a week? Are you a decent writer that possesses basic grammar skills?
When I’m consulting with a potential new blogger, I challenge them hard on their writing skills, their passion for the topic they intend to blog about, and their commitment to the blog. If it still feels like a blog is a good fit for them, then I strongly suggest they formally create a “syndication schedule” for themselves. Other folks call this an editorial calendar, so someone correct me if I’m using confusing language. Such a schedule would involve how many times a week they will post on their blog, a balance of long and short content, and the spread of topic coverage. For instance, your syndication schedule might be something like: two posts a week, with two featured posts per month and coverage of all my five basic categories at least once per month. The key is aligning the schedule with the goals for your blog. The second key is formalizing the schedule into your life schedule. For example, if this is a work blog, then add a recurring appointment to your schedule for post writing.
It’s bigger than you think
I think the last big surprise for a lot of people is that it doesn’t stop with simply creating and posting to a blog. If your goals revolve around anything that sounds like growing your business or attracting lots of traffic, then simply writing content, even if it’s great content, is not enough. All the successful bloggers spend copious amounts of time commenting on other blogs, participating in discussion boards, etc. etc.
As a blogger, you are part of a larger community. A large part of your online success will be tied to how effectively you engage that community. Don’t underestimate either the time or difficulty in developing that engagement. I think it’s also easy to think you don’t need the community either. An in-depth look at this topic is beyond the scope of this short post, but suffice it to say becoming involved in the online community is just as critical to the success of your blog as regular content is, and could well take more time.
Okay fellow bloggers – your turn!
So I know there are some regular bloggers that stop by here. What are your observations on blogging? What “surprises” did you have when you first started up and what do you consider to be critical success factors for a thriving blog?
For those of you thinking of starting a blog, what’s holding you back? What are you most afraid of or feel unprepared to handle?
UPDATE 6/14/09 – ProBlogger’s take on the topic.
UPDATE 7/2/09 – If you make the decision, here’s some thought-provokers on how to write a strategic blog.
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Comments
You’ve hit on something important, Dave, about treating your blog as part of your business.
If you really want a blog to work for your business, it can’t be neglected for months on end. Any marketing or customer service technique that you only do sporadically will not deliver much value for the business.
– Anita
Thanks Dave for an practical, insightful post on blogging. I just recently set up a new website for our church and a blog to go with it. I’m also contemplating setting up a business blog, so this is timely information for me. I especially appreciate your suggestions for setting up an editorial calendar. http://centraliafbc.org/blog
Susan, I’m glad you found the article useful. You are starting on a very fun journey and I wish you the best. Feel free to stop back here to ask questions or send me a E-mail if you want some help.
Maybe one thing to think through right from the start is what your goals are for the blog. They must be different than a “business” oriented blog that is trying to sell something to prospective customers. So what are you trying to accomplish? Some call that your “call to action” for your blog. Once you decide what it is, then you need to reinforce it and highlight it. For instance, if what you are trying to do is get your members to signup for the blog to keep them in the loop on church activities, then you should prominently display a signup icon on the blog, probably in different places. Assuming you have lots of adult and senior members, I would also suggest making it super-simple to signup, maybe even have a signup page that explains what RSS is, what to expect, and different ways to do it.
Good Luck!
YOur point about making your blog a business is HUGE. So many of my clients ask why blog? When they realize that it can be a successful part of their business strategy, they then need to think about the blog itself as a business.
Great post Dave. I don’t think that many people realize the commitment involved with creating a blog. When deciding which aspects of social media to pursue for a business, I think too many people get on the “shiny new toy” bandwagon without considering the long term consequences of not following through with what they start. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Hi Dave
I strongly believe bloggers blog according to their personality and desired outcome. I prefer to write about what is important to me at the moment, and so my blog is very much about my personal brand but not necessarily according to a grand plan (or editorial calendar).
I don’t expect to earn significant cash from my blog but I use it more to make connections and network with other bloggers and folks in my niche (I have connected with many people!).
Perhaps one day I will re-state my intentions towards creating a business and ‘media outlet’: right now I am happy to continue down this path as it pays off in many ways other than cash.
Simon
Good point Simon. There are lots of uses for a blog that don’t require the rigor and attention I spoke of in this post. You and I are good examples of people who use the blog to reinforce their personal brand and expertise, as you said. Until such time we choose to turn the blog itself into a business, or the front door of a business, then we can approach it a bit more leisurely.
I think the important thing to keep in mind is that as a reflection of our brand, then we still need to display consistency and dedication. Nothing reflects on someone worse than those blogs you see where they started up a year ago, wrote a lot of posts for a couple months, and now haven’t posted in weeks. So we may not need an editorial calendar, but we do need our blogs to adequately reflect our personal excellence.
As always – a pleasure to hear from you Simon.
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