Blogging can be a bad idea.
Business blogs are not the answer to everything.
I'll bet you never thought you would read those sentiments on this blog.
Not only are those anti-blog thoughts posted here, but Darren Rowse at Pro Blogger is actively seeking the case against blogging.
Along with providing the framework, for the discussion of blogging's downside, Darren's post has elicited many interesting comments. Be sure to read them too.
Like finding reasons to finally throw out a treasured heirloom or a comfy sweater, thinking about why a blog might not be the best thing for everyone, can be done. A business blog advocate simply doesn't want to do it.
Let's make the case against blogs in general, and business blogs in particular.
First of all, a blog is simply a tool. Like any tool, it can be used by a master craftsperson, or by someone who can't get a thumb out of the way in time. It's all in the way the blog tool is applied to the job.
A blog should begin a conversation and develop a relationship between blogger and reader. If that's too sappy and dripping with sentimentality for you and your preferred hard nosed approach to business communications, then a blog will turn out badly. If interpersonal skills are not your long suit, then interaction via blog posts, comments, and trackback are not for you.
Blogs can require a lot of work to maintain. More precisely, they take a large amount of writing to be successful. If you can't write, spell, or create even a rudimentary written sentence, then blogs are not the secret your business success. A blog that goes months, without any fresh posts, is not a good plan of action either.
Blogging takes time. If you prefer to spend your precious moments in the business trenches, then keyboarding a post will be more chore than reward. A blog should be fun. If a root canal is more appealing to you than writing a blog post, then I would suggest a different form of business communication. The pain of a root canal will go away. The pain of posting, for a non-writer, will linger for an eternity.
Blogs that do little but advertise a product are worthless. No one wants to read, let alone link to a blatant advertisement. If your only goal for the blog is sales copy, then spend your time writing your website's sales and landing pages. It would be far more productive for you. Little is worse than an entirely unread blog.
Blogs are often started without a plan or an overall concept for its existence. Simply having a blog, just because all the cool kids have one, is not going to make it a success. A blog needs a reason for being.
A mission statement is a good idea. A rambling series of entirely unrelated posts, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, won't help your business. It might give you a chance to quote the Bard though. Of course, even Shakespeare had to sit down and write interesting plays, that told a coherent story. So should your blog.
Starting a blog for SEO benefit is no way to run a railroad either. Hey, I don't get to criticize blogs often, so I thought it was a real opportunity to lay on the cliches, thick and heavy. Enjoy.
Anyway.
Good SEO is about providing interesting and informative content and links to your readers. Good content attracts inbound links from other blogs and websites. Bad copy is good for nothing. It's also bad for SEO.
No one eagerly reads bad copy. Your blog gets ignored by linkers. You get tired of blogging to empty seats. Posts decline. Google gives you the cold shoulder. The end.
As you can see, blogs are not for everyone.
Business blogs are definitely not for everyone.
Some people say there are too many blogs. Others (and often some of the same ones) say that blogs are simply another passing fad. They may be right about some blogs. They are wrong about all blogs.
New blogs are created every minute. Older blogs are abandoned at an alarmingly rapid pace as well. In the market place of ideas, good blogs will gain, and keep their readership. Less than stellar blogs will fade into the night sky. They might never even explode as supernovae. They will just turn into darkness; unread by human eyes.
Good blogs will last and stand the test of time.
Badly written, uninformative, boring, directionless, and blatantly hucksterish blogs will vanish.
All is right with the world.
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