It’s been over two weeks since we posted on this blog. A short vacation and an over-abudance of urgent projects for our clients seemed to make the day evaporate almost before it had started. Sleep barely had a chance.
This latest experience — where there were just too many top priorities to complete in a day — got me thinking not just about prioritization and time-management, but about the dangers of blogging.
If you’re in a position of leading your business, blogging has a lot of positives, even if nobody reads you. A blog requires that you consistently improve your communication skills, whittling your ideas down to the core. To blog you must constantly research your real-time environment, printed media and the web for useful ideas for use or critique; you know what’s going on and what other people are thinking. In addition to all that, blogging requires you to spend time thinking about what’s really imporant and defining more carefully the basis for your own opinion.
So why shouldn’t you blog? B.L. Ochman’s advice in this recent AdAge article makes a great case for what your blog should do, and why you should spend your time elsewhere if you won’t be able to deliver. In her article, B.L. gives 10 reasons why you shouldn’t blog. For a taste of her advice, here are some favorites.
1. B-O-R-I-N-G. The blogs most companies want to create are b-o-r-i-n-g, and draw the readership to match.
2. Corporate droning. If you’re going to write like a corporate drone, you won’t attract many readers. Most blog followers are looking for a personal voice.
3. Original content. Your blog needs to add something different or unique, some content or perspective that’s not already out there.
4. Time. Blogging, even for good writers, takes two to four hours per post. At a few times a week, that’s a day or more. In addition to that, there’s the constnat research for the ideas, opinions and latest developments worth discussing. It’s a big commitment. Could you get a bigger payback for spending that time in other areas?
5. Marketing or Advertising? Blogs are not advertising, and they really aren’t even marketing per se. They’re a part of your larger communication plan, a way of building brand and connecting with people. If you’re thinking of your blog as a way to sell, don’t bother. You won’t be successful, and it’s likely you’ll create more antagonism rather than goodwill toward your brand.
6. Long-term Returns. Blogs require consistency, and give you returns over the long haul. If you expect fawning, responsive readers tomorrow, you’ll be disappointed. Blogs are for relationships, not summer flings.
Not yet discouraged? Good. Check out more reasons you shouldn’t blog here. If it still sounds like what you’re looking for, I’ll look forward to seeing your posts.