Of course I can’t find it now, but there’s an ad that keeps showing up in my Facebook feed. It goes something like:
“Start a business blog!” they said. “Write in it every single day or every single weekday. When you do, your customers will come pouring in! You won’t even know how to keep up with all the hits and clicks and likes and shares you’ll get. It’s the best advertisement you can get, plus it’s completely free!”
It then goes on to disparage what “they” say, lamenting about how poorly “their” advice turns out.
Don’t ask me what the solution was. I’ve never read down that far since the ad is probably 300 to 500 words long. And who has time for that kind of lengthy unsolicited interaction anyway?
But just because I’m not impressed by the company’s exact presentation doesn’t mean I don’t agree with its introductory hook. Starting a business blog or keeping a business blog isn’t necessarily “the best advertisement you can get.” And it’s not “completely free.”
Time is money, honey. In which case, if it doesn't pull in enough convertible views, blogging could bankrupt you.
Here’s the bold and blunt reason why starting a business blog won’t make your company an instant success.
It’s nothing new.
It used to be something new back before the 21st century hit and everyone had a computer and internet access. But now that it is what it is, there’s an enormous market to compete with, as described by Entrepreneur.
In just a few years, blogs have become a phenomenon. Every day, an estimated 175,000 new blogs and more than 1.6 million blog updates go online, according to Technorati, a blog tracking firm. As of late January… Technorati was tracking 63.2 million blogs.
That post was published in February 2007. As such, I shudder to think about what the number is up to today.
It must be massive.
That’s exactly why I don’t encourage everyone to keep a business blog – even if they’re willing to pay me to do it for them. Which, for the record, is something I love to do.
Even so, I want my paid efforts to make a positive impact for my clients. And there’s no positive impact to be had in disappearing into a never-ending vortex.
That’s not to say that starting a business blog or keeping a business blog is always a useless endeavor. Under the right circumstances, it can be extremely effective.
It’s just that the right circumstances are typically when you already have a network to work with.
If you’ve got a large, interactive following online to begin with… writing a business blog can be a great way to further engage them. After all, just because you’ve got them today doesn’t mean you’ll have them tomorrow.
But a blog can remind them that:
You exist.
You’re relevant.
You care.
You’ve got cool or interesting or fun or profitable or otherwise worthwhile “stuff” to share.
Starting a business blog could also be valuable if you’re planning on actively promoting it. This could be through face-to-face marketing or online advertising.
But bottom line? You can’t just build it and expect them to come these days. You need a whole lot more than that to make starting a business blog worth your while.
You not only need something great to offer… but also a great platform to market it on… and a great message to market it with.
Otherwise, I hate to say it, but don’t bother. There are better ways to spend your time.