|
If you believe the media reports, just about everyone is either reading or writing a blog at any given moment. You don't have to join them. Here are the top 10 reasons not to start...
...a company blog.
10. You can't control every message on a blog. (But message control has always been an illusion.)
9. You'll have to decide when to respond and when to ignore comments
8. It's hard to build an audience. It takes time, effort, and skillful promotion to build an audience for a blog.
7. Dozens of other blogs probably cover the same information. To be successful today, you need to define a narrow niche for your blog and become an expert in it.
6. Everyone and her dog already has a blog. Even whores have blogs these days.
5. You need approval from legal before you can publish anything. Don't bother blogging if every word has to be vetted by legal or PR. You need an authentic voice.
4. It's hard to decide who in the company should blog. It's not always the CEO, who may not have the time or specialized knowledge, or the ability to be jargon-free that a blog requires.
3. Blogging is addictive. You might not be able to stop. It's also lots of fun.
2. Researching and writing is a complex and extremely time-consuming task. A blog that isn't kept up to date quickly loses its luster and its audience.
1. Writing something interesting every day is hard. Most people would rather have root canal than write something coherent, pithy and provocative every day. It takes talent, skill and training to write down ideas clearly and make them interesting to read.
Before you get swept away by blog mania, remember that a blog is nothing more than a database driven website. It's the content that sets one apart from another.
|
Comments
"Even whores have blogs these days."
What??
Posted by: what the | 03.29.06
BL speaks the truth. Here's a tame example: http://belledejour-uk.blogspot.com/
There are others -- but...I wouldn't want to drive traffic to them.
Posted by: Ann Handley | 03.29.06
BL, I enjoy your writing style. You often make me laugh.
Posted by: Susan Weiner | 03.29.06
La blogosphère commence en effet à se saturer ... ouvrir un blog n'est donc plus une manière pertinente de se singulariser car les entreprises pionnières qui ont ouvert un blog sont déjà légitimes et ont se sont fait une place au sein de la blogosphère. Néanmoins, je pense que c'est à partir de maintenant que le défi de créer un blog pour une entreprise est intéressant ;)) L'erreur à ne pas commettre est d'être conformiste et de recopier les modèles qui ont permis à d'autres de réussir. Mais si une entreprise refuse toujours de créer un blog une autre stratégie serait de faire parler d'elle dans la blogosphère : agir off line pour faire parler de soit on line ;))
Posted by: Christelle | 03.30.06
"It's hard to build an audience. It takes time, effort, and skillful promotion to build an audience..."
Wouldn't this be a reason not to go into business at all?
B.L., glad we have another oulet for your writing. Keep it up.
Posted by: Jeffrey Treem | 03.30.06
I think the fact that it's hard to build an audience is just one of the many things you need to be aware of if you have a realistic business plan. It isn't a reason not to even try a blog. There's plenty of room for new bloggers, but blogs aren't any kind of magic formula for fame and fortune.
and thanks for the kind words Jeffrey!
I'm happy to be part of this community.
Posted by: B.L. Ochman | 03.30.06
Whores, yes. I hear even the pondlife that infests marketing consultancies has been known to blog every now and then.
Posted by: Rob | 04.04.06
I've had root canal, it wasn't so bad. Do you want my dentist's details? :)
I agree though, writing everyday is easy. Writing something interesting, everyday, hmmm ...
Posted by: Bill Wallace | 06.21.07