One hour spent on the couch = 1, 2 or even 3 blog posts.
Photo Credit: Flickr Chris. W
Starting a blog can be a scary thing! On Tuesday, a blogging panel hosted by Loudoun Small Business Development Center, featured Ray Smith of W3 Consulting and blogging panelists Heidi Chappel of Heidi Chapple Flowers, Hannah Hager of LoudounTimes.com and NOVAExecutive, and Sarah Vining representing The National Conference Center. Participation and questions from the audience led to several conclusions – there are a lot of people who want to start a blog but are fearful of ‘failure’, are unsure of their mission in starting a blog and believe they lack time to dedicate to maintaining a blog.
If you’re contemplating starting a blog, here are 5 excuses and opportunities discussed between the panelists and audience members:
- “I have no idea what I’ll write about or who will even read it…” – Before you start blogging, know who you’ll be speaking to and focus in on WHY you’re blogging and your mission. Ray gave the example of an individual who might blog on Loudoun County small businesses and started blogging on ophthalmology – it just doesn’t make sense for the Loudoun County small business reader. Stick to what makes sense for your readership. For NCC, we gave the example of how we previously recipes from Executive Chef Craig Mason and although the community enjoys these, unless it has a tie to green meetings – the meetings and events audience enjoys our typical posts that are industry-related. Biggest advice: Don’t write a press release or a newspaper article – although a blog is meant to be informing, it should be written conversationally.
- “I don’t have time to dedicate to a blog…” As Hannah Hager pointed out, no one has less time than Holly Chapple who was a panelist, owns her own business and has 7 children (yes, 7). Every night, Holly dedicates time to writing a post which equates to one hour. Holly has gained national and regional media coverage and contributes it to her blog. You won’t know the ROI of a blog until you try! Ray pointed out studies show the more you blog, the increased chance of booking business from it whether weekly, daily, or multiple times a day. Once you decide how often you’ll blog, it’s about finding time to fulfill that goal.
- “But I don’t have any ideas…” Write 5 possible topics down that you believe your audience would enjoy reading and pertains to your objective. Compose the posts in advance and ta-da you have 5 posts for the next 5 weeks (or how ever often you decided you would blog). Other tips included an editorial calendar such as WordPress’s Plug-in or keeping a running list of ideas – Hannah Hager mentions always having a post-it note and jotting down your ideas, similar to an author or journalist. We did a “trial-run” of ideas with the participants such as the history of why you chose your profession, defining a word in your industry the general public may not know or challenges in the industry. The last piece of advice is to bring a camera EVERYWHERE – Holly says, “With a camera, you’ll find a blog post in the most obscure places.”
- “There isn’t enough manpower to go around the office to keep up with a blog…” Although Ray offers ghost-blogging at W3 Consulting for non-profits and small businesses, if out-sourcing isn’t possible he recommends dividing the work among staff members. For instance, one person serves as the editor, researches the ideas and manages the editorial calendar, another individual researches and generates the content (this can also be divided into 2 roles), and lastly, another employee handles the technical portion and “publishing” process. Blogging doesn’t have to fall upon the hands of 1 individual but having a consistent voice in the writing plays a role in branding and the voice of your company.
- “How will I choose a platform? And what should I avoid in my blog? Won’t competitors steal my ideas?” There are many platforms like Blogger, Tumblr, and WordPress, but whatever you choose you want to make sure it’s a platform you’ll stick with or you’ll run into many problems attempting to convert to a new platform. WordPress was a favorite among panelists who like it for it’s aesthetic potential and functionality as an independent site. Avoid politics, scandals, profanity, explicit content, and slander unless you’re a news outlet or hosting a blog on politics. From Ray’s perspective, “As a company, it’s wise to stay away from sex, drugs, and politics – it’ll hurt the reputation of your company.” As far as competition, your ideas are your own and no competitor can replicate them if you presented the idea first. Competitors also can’t replicate the same relationships you have with clients either. Transparency is key for companies! In addition, growing occurs through sharing – those afraid to share will fall behind in growth. The best article that addresses this is from Ready2Spark: Are You Afraid Of Competitors Stealing Your Ideas?
These are 5 tips to help you start your own blog or utilize your current one for professionally or for your business, whether small or large. Overcoming excuses is the first step to stop procrastinating and start blogging! One of the most valuable things mentioned on the panel from blogging was the connections made through blogging – Holly’s view on blogging, “it exposes you to a world of people you would have never met.” If you enjoyed this post, you may like Tips from a Social Media Panel in the Tourism Industry. What were other excuses you may have overcome to building and maintaining a blog?
