To Blog Or Not To Blog?

by | Dec 5, 2015 | Blogging

To blog or not to blog? It seems, that is the question!

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This is a question I’m often asked when working with clients or presenting on Social Media. So when I was asked to speak on “blogging” this week at the Dacorum Small Business Forum, a local networking group for small business owners, I decided to pose the question.

First of all, let me explain what blogging is, and the advantages. And then we’ll explore whether it’s right for you and your business

WHAT IS A BLOG? 

A blog is a “web log” or chronological series of articles sharing your expertise or opinions. Here are some popular and/or award-winning blogs as an example:

Smart_passive_income_pat_flynn_blogMilk The Pigeon

Get Rich Slowly

Smart Passive Income

Guy Kawasaki

Chris Brogan

Gary Vaynerchuk’s video blog (“vlog”)

Copyblogger

Richard Branson’s Virgin Blog

Ren Behan (food blogger and stylist)

And, it would be rude not to include my own MMSpark Blog!

WHY BLOG? 

There are many reasons to blog

  • Visibility
  • Credibility
  • Position yourself as an expert in your field
  • Build Community
  • Traffic
  • SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
    Fresh content
    Relevance
    Social proof

Google rewards websites that have fresh, relevant content so blogging is a good way to please the search engines. It also shows your audience that you’re an expert in your field, and the “go to” person for your specific topic or niche.

But First……

Before you start a blog you need to ask yourself two very important questions……….

  1. Do you like writing? Y/N (if you don’t, blogging isn’t for you). You might want to consider podcasting,  videos, Periscope, Blab or some other form of “live streaming” content sharing instead
  2. Can you see yourself blogging on your chosen topic, on a weekly basis for the next two years? Y/N

If you can’t imagine yourself still enthusiastically blogging on your chosen topic in two year’s time (or if you’re wondering what on earth you’d talk about or if you’d run out of things to say), then blogging might not be for you. If you look at the successful blogs above you’ll notice that they have hundreds of blog posts. Some, for example, Ren Behan’s blog, have been going for five years or more.