| Why You Dont Need a Blog |
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It's time to rethink blogs. For those of us who provide professional services for a living, a blog probably does not make sense. It almost certainly won't make you more money.
It's time to rethink blogs. For those of us who provide professional services for a living, a blog probably does not make sense. It almost certainly won't make you more money. Business Week (June 2, 2008) revisited its big "Blogs Will Change Your Business" article from 2005. Current statistics show that only 25% of the US adult population who are online visit even ONE blog once a month. BW reflects on their now-dated article from three years ago: "blogs...are just one of the do-it-yourself tools to emerge on the Internet." The buzz I hear in the internet marketing world is lots of experts advising and teaching classes to help those who started blogs figure out what to do to keep them up. They've run out of things to say. I think these Blog Advocates think they've found the holy grail because blog software is easy and search engines can see the updated content. So what? ITS EASY TO BUILD AND UPDATE YOUR OWN WEBSITE AND IT WILL BE FOUND BY SEARCH ENGINES AND ITS WAY BETTER THAN A BLOG FOR MOST PEOPLE. Assuming that you are making your living by selling your services, your goal for internet marketing MUST be to attract new paying clients. Will blogging really make that happen more/better than a website? Blog vs. Website UPDATING You have to update a blog at least twice a week to keep it current. With a content management system for your website, you can update whenever you want, but once or twice a month is probably sufficient for the search engines. CONTENT Do you have something new and relevant to say about your area of expertise twice a week? You can post solid content on your website and then do monthly email newsletters, which people sign up for on your site and archive the old ones to create new site content. Permission marketing is great! WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS NEED TO FIND If you sell your professional services for a living, your prospects and clients need to see that you are a solid, reliable expert in your field. They don't need to read your online journaling to get that. What they need to see is that you are who you say you are and that they pick the phone up to find out more about you! IS THIS REALLY A GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME? Enough said. |
