Blogging: Get Your Feet Wet First

I like blogging. It’s fun, and my blog has generated new business, useful connections, and speaking engagements for me.

But it’s not for everyone. Before you launch your own blog, test the waters by participating on other blogs. Then you can decide whether to take the plunge.

The Downside of Blogging

As Michael McLaughlin points out in   Saying “I Do” to Blogging: Key Questions to Ask Before You Commit to Starting One  “Blogging is the perfect Guerrilla Marketing tactic. You can reach a large audience quickly, and repeatedly. The cost of blogging is low, and the technology is simple to use. It’s an excellent way to stay in touch with your existing clients and help prospective clients get to know you. “

Sounds like a no-brainer. But it’s not. Michael suggests you look before you leap. Blogging may not be an effective marketing tactic for you. Here are some of the issues to consider:

It Takes Time – I think you need to devote at least four hours a week to a weekly blog. This includes research, writing and editing, and planning upcoming posts. If you don’t like writing, a blog can be drudgery.

And guess what? You also need to build an audience. That’s an ongoing effort.

It Takes Patience – Finding appropriate blog topics requires research. You may research several topics before settling on the right one. And then you’ve got to think about next week’s topic.

It Takes Discipline - As Michael points out, “the initial euphoria” of blogging can taper off in a few weeks, especially if you get tied up on client projects. If you’ve got a weekly blog, you must post weekly. Period. 

Very few things look as lame as a website where the latest blog post is six months old. It undermines your credibility.

It Takes Diligence – You’re not Britney Spears. No one cares what you had for breakfast.

Your prospects and referral sources care about your ideas. Your blog posts can’t be off- the-cuff comments about trivial topics.

Your posts must provide useful, substantive information to your readers. That means well researched, well thought out, and well written blog posts – every time.

Get Started….Slowly

Elge Premeau in Using Blogs to Attract Attention (Without having your own) offers a way to enjoy many of the benefits of blogging without the hard work.  Simply comment on other blogs.

Here are the steps she recommends:

What Do They Want? –Understand the issues that are important to your target market. A good way to get started is to identify the publications they read and the organizations they belong to.

 Where Do They Hang Out? – Once you figure out what they want, then you need to find them. I’d recommend LinkedIn Groups as a starting point. LinkedIn offers a very wide range of industry and affinity Groups/ blogs.  And it’s a comfortable environment for LinkedIn members.

Elge suggests blog directories such as Technorati, Blogarama, and Blog Catalog to find the   best blogs for your market. She also recommends blogs on newspaper and magazine sites.

What Do You Say? – Your comments on blog posts should be relevant and helpful. Don’t promote. Educate. If the blog’s readers like your comments, they’ll connect with you.

The advantages of this approach include:

• Getting sufficiently familiar with blogging to see if you want your own blog
• Finding topics you can write about
• Developing useful connections
• Driving traffic to your site

It’s tough to jump into the deep end when you don’t know how to swim. Start in the shallow end.