One Reason to Blog. And One Why You Can’t Rely on It.
By Tom Chandler on Jun 26, 2007 in Blogging, Business of Freelancing
One benefit of blogging is visibility. In my case, that visibility translated into a client or two, though even clients who find me via my “static” copywriting site mention my copywriting and engagement marketing blogs.
After all, credibility and visibility are critical elements of the sales process. Blogging helps with both.
It’s how Chief Marketer magazine found me when they wanted to interview a business blogging “expert” — which went well enough that I was asked to write a regular article touching on engagement marketing and business blogging.
Frankly, it’s little different from writing blog articles. But it exposes me to a whole new audience. That’s desirable for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which reflects one of my concerns about the blogosphere.
It can get a little incestuous. After all, the universe of non-blog-reading potential clients is huge. And — given my fascination with engagement marketing — I want to talk to the businesses who aren’t blogging or reading blogs.
Who do you want to talk to? And are you sure they’re reading your blog? If not, what are you doing to talk to them (instead of hoping they’ll find you)?
[tags]copywriting, blogs, business blogs, chief marketer, engagement marketing[/tags]
“Who do you want to talk to? And are you sure they’re reading your blog? If not, what are you doing to talk to them (instead of hoping they’ll find you)?”
Good point. What do you suggest doing instead?
Thanks,
Katie
Katie Cummings | Jun 26, 2007 | Reply
Katie: Same as always. Pick targets (a market, a company, or a geographic area), make a plan detailing how you’re going to reach them, and fire away.
For example, design and PR firms can be excellent sources of work — especially if you can find a couple nearby. They’re unlikely to read your blog, but you can easily call them up or better — put together a lumpy mailer and follow it with a phone call.
Tom Chandler | Jun 27, 2007 | Reply
Tom,
I read this piece by Tom Friedman and thought of your “visibility” notes.
TimesSelect The Whole World Is Watching
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: June 27, 2007
Three years ago, I was catching a plane at Boston’s Logan airport and went to buy some magazines for the flight. As I approached the cash register, a woman coming from another direction got there just behind me — I thought. But when I put my money down to pay, the woman said in a very loud voice: “Excuse me! I was here first!†And then she fixed me with a piercing stare that said: “I know who you are.†I said I was very sorry, but I was clearly there first.
If that happened today, I would have had a very different reaction. I would have said: “Miss, I’m so sorry. I am entirely in the wrong. Please, go ahead. And can I buy your magazines for you? May I buy your lunch? Can I shine your shoes?â€
Why? Because I’d be thinking there is some chance this woman has a blog or a camera in her cellphone and could, if she so chose, tell the whole world about our encounter — entirely from her perspective — and my utterly rude, boorish, arrogant, thinks-he-can-butt-in-line behavior. Yikes!
….
“We do not live in glass houses (houses have walls); we live on glass microscope slides … visible and exposed to all,†he writes. So whether you’re selling cars or newspapers (or just buying one at the newsstand), get your hows right — how you build trust, how you collaborate, how you lead and how you say you’re sorry. More people than ever will know about it when you do — or don’t.
Timothy Colman | Jun 27, 2007 | Reply
Timothy: Thanks for the article. I can’t really allow the full posting of a copyrighted article on my blog (partials are OK under fair comment & criticism), so I edited the column down to two significant bits.
And you’re right — that visibility works both ways.
In fact, I recently deleted a blog feed from my RSS reader because of an extremely intolerant attitude — expressed online.
You are what you write.
Tom Chandler | Jun 28, 2007 | Reply
Anyone who comes to my website can’t help reading my blog - it’s the front page.
Nearly a year on from taking the decision to give my site a blog front end, I’m still trying to decide whether it was a bright idea. The plan was to attract both regular visitors *and* the “blogerati” (yuck, horrible word). I’ve always relied on my network, rather than my blog, to deliver new clients. However, I’ve noticed that since I put the blog on my landing page, the number of project offers I receive, cold, through the website has decreased slightly.
I think that’s a price worth paying for fun and satisfaction of writing the blog and having it read, but it goes some way to proving your point that blogging is an incestuous business. It’s a great medium if you want to advertise to other bloggers, less so if you’re after a less Web 2.0-savvy demographic.
Bill Hilton | Jul 15, 2007 | Reply
Bill: I’m having a slow-motion discussion about some of this with Matt Ambrose (a UK copywriter), and the same questions keep coming up.
For example, how customer-facing is your blog? Is it aligned with your business? Is it being read by potential customers, or other bloggers?
I think this is a topic worth further discussion (and I’m wrestling with the issue myself), so expect to hear more about it soon.
Tom Chandler | Jul 16, 2007 | Reply
Good questions.
One of the interesting things about blogs is that they tend to grow organically. I think riffing and tangential discussion enriches blog posts - and if you love the medium and you like to discuss ideas, it can be hard to stick to a particular line. Blogs evolve over their lifespan, if you like.
It can be difficult to square that with a marketing plan, especially over a long period. If I were writing my blog from a purely business perspective I suppose it would be much more focussed and I’d be considering things like keywords and brand values more than I do. I think the fact that I don’t consider them too deeply when I’m writing makes the writing more fun, and the blog (I hope) more fun to read.
I think this is a real flashpoint on the border between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Like, am I bothered if my clients don’t read my blog?Perhaps not as much as I should be from a business perspective.
Bill Hilton | Jul 16, 2007 | Reply
Hey - I just noticed you’re on vacation. Have fun!
Bill Hilton | Jul 16, 2007 | Reply
Bill: Yes I am on vacation, and to make matters more interesting, I’m connecting via a 26.4K dial-up connection. Life (and the Internet) move slowly out here…
Your points are well taken, and in fact, I’ve voiced some of the same concerns. Stick around — we’re going to figure it all out… 8-)
Tom Chandler | Jul 16, 2007 | Reply