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The prospect of business blogging can terrify the inexperienced blogger. They may wonder: "What if I do it badly?" "What if I somehow manage to damage or destroy my or my company's reputation?!" Scary thought! But once you start blogging, I think you'll find those fears just melt away....
Having a "safe haven" where the newbie business blogger can experiment with their new craft can be just the thing that eases their initial fear and insecurity. By "safe haven" I mean a private blog on their intranet or extranet, or a blog that's password-protected where access is only granted to a select audience. Then they won't have to worry that all of their customers, competition, and the media will be watching their every move as they find their feet.
Practicing a speech is quite a different thing from giving that speech in front of a live audience of a thousand people. So too is blogging on a private test blog versus crafting blog posts that you know will become public as soon as you hit the Publish button. Thus, don't be surprised if the posts published to the sandbox don't pass muster. They won't serve as a very accurate indication of the blogger's potential either. The exercise of blogging to a private test blog is really only meant to build confidence, nothing more.
There is another important aspect to getting acclimated to the blogosphere that is sometimes neglected by newbie business bloggers. That is the practice of commenting on others' blogs. The number of comments that the newbie blogger posts to others' blogs should far exceed the number of posts published to the sandbox. If that isn't the case, then that blogger is not adequately engaging in online conversations during their training/residency. Toby Bloomberg of blog consultancy Bloomberg Marketing makes a strong case for the benefits of commenting:
"As with any relationship, the more you interact with a person, the stronger and faster friendships form. So it is with joining the conversations in the blog-world. The more consistently you reach out to new colleagues, through value added comments, the sooner and stronger those relationships are built. Within a short time something interesting happens. You find you are part of a community of people who have similar interests. You've extended your resource network ... the lines of online and offline begin to blur. There is a light bulb moment. You realize that blogs are one more medium to foster and manage communication among friends."
A blog is a conversational medium, not just an opportunity to 'get up on one's soapbox'. It's through comments that a blog blossoms into a community. Comments are key -- both on the bloggers blog and out in the greater blogosphere.
Go forth and blog!
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Comments
Thanks Stephen. In many ways commenting is more important than our posts I think. In commenting we support our blogger community, and we are letting others who may read our posts see us in another way. Commenting is a good way to let readers get beneath our skin.
Posted by: Lewis Green | 11.22.06
Thanks Stephen. I read many blogs but have always been nervous about posting comments for the very reasons you mention. The same about creating my own blogs for others to see. So, now, after reading your post, guess it's time to actually get out there and participate!
Posted by: Amy Ware | 11.22.06
The first time I posted a comment I 'previewed' and rewrote many times. It was as important to me to 'get it right' as a post on my own blog .. I was a 'visitor' and a new one at that so I wanted to be sure I did it 'right', my opinons would be well thought of and I would be accepted.
Creating that safe welcoming environmet is very important. Hats of to Ann for the awesome job she's done establishing community at Daily Fix.
Amy - looking forward to reading more of your comments :-)
Posted by: Toby | 11.23.06
Great post, Stephan, as always very informative. Participation is very important in the blogosphere. It not only helps you to network with your peers and share your ideas but commenting also provides your ability to drive traffic and backlinks for your own site. Commenting on other blogs within your niche is an essential element for newly launched blogs.
Posted by: REBlogGirl | 11.23.06
My company recently started blogging. Being a "newbie", I've been dipping my toes in by launching a weekly social media series covering tips & best practices -- this helps our company learn the ropes as much as it does me...and I'm hoping it will encourage other businesses to dive in, too. This series is a way of teaching myself & learning by doing as well as hoping to pass some valuable info to others. So far, I've published 3 parts to the series & each one is getting easier & more fun (the most recent is at http://blog.jaduka.com/archives/23-Social-Media-Series-Honesty-is-the-ONLY-Policy!.html ).
As a matter of fact, the subject of next week's segment is participating & commenting on others' blogs. I've had a tendency to be a reader & a lurker in the past, but now I'm venturing out & making my own comments -- and this is one of my first! It is a little nerve-wracking at the beginning but, like anything else, the more you do it -- the more comfortable you get.
Through each "edition" of the series I reference other great posts that have educated & inspired me, so I'll be referencing this great post next week...so thanks!
Posted by: Karen Rynes | 11.28.06