If you’re new in business, you might have the feeling that everyone seems to be blogging. You’ve seen these a bunch of people promoting ‘master blogging’ and ‘how to blog’ courses – should you jump in and spend the money? Should you join the fray and get yourself out into the blogging world?
Consider this carefully before you jump in. There are 3 very good reasons to blog, but also, 3 show-stopping reasons why you shouldn’t bother.
Reason 1 – Huge Potential Exposure
Notice that I said ‘potential’. In a face to face environment, your viriality is largely as good as your word-of-mouth referrals, boosted by any advertising you do.
Reason 2 – Emotional Connection
In the blogging world, if you can open up and be authentic, a little bit vulnerable, and honest, people will read your words and connect emotionally. They’ll be engaged with what you talk about if you talk from the heart, and you’ll start building a devoted tribe.
Reason 3 – Profile Building
You become known for your values and the things you stand up for.
Communicating those strong, congruous messages in your LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, blog and website can help you build a recognisable profile in your industry.
Example 1 – Dawns Blog
I met Dawn on the Learn to Blog (Secret) group when I first started learning about blogging. We were talking in the Facebook group about strong engagement tactics – and she created this post called “10 Facebook Pages You Need to Stop Sharing From”.
Now, here’s the link to the post. You’ll soon see exactly why it went viral – it’s very opinionated. > http://dawnsbrain.com/ten-facebook-pages-you-need-to-stop-sharing-from. Notice that the comments are pretty startling. Some people love this, and others are vehemently opposed, including some arguments and criticisms.
Example 2 – Amber Rogers – Go Kaleo
I stumbled across Amber’s FB page a few years ago. What stood out for me was her clear conviction for real food, real calories, real exercise and real bodies – and some heavy diatribe against all kinds of popular diets and fitness trends. Amber shares her own transformation and methods. Some of her values are authenticity, truth, openness and justice. A lot of people love her strength of conviction and her passion – and some people hate her. But that’s ok, she makes it easy for you to choose her or not. And the people that choose her are totally into her message. It’s what drew me in, too.
3 Reasons to Blog
Reason 1 – Huge Potential Exposure
Notice that I said ‘potential’. In a face to face environment, your viriality is largely as good as your word-of-mouth referrals, boosted by any advertising you do.
But in the online environment, for example, a social media platform, you have the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of people…..if you have relevant, interesting content and some idea of how to market yourself.
Reason 2 – Emotional Connection
In the blogging world, if you can open up and be authentic, a little bit vulnerable, and honest, people will read your words and connect emotionally. They’ll be engaged with what you talk about if you talk from the heart, and you’ll start building a devoted tribe.
Reason 3 – Profile Building
You become known for your values and the things you stand up for.
Communicating those strong, congruous messages in your LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, blog and website can help you build a recognisable profile in your industry.
How? Use certain platforms and tactics to rapidly build testimonials, endorsements, referrals and recommendations for your work. These endorsements are known as ‘social proof’ which helps you gain credibility and trust – essential for building a tribe, or selling.
Reasons Not to Blog
Reason 1 – You’re Inconsistent
Let’s say you’re not really into the online gig, or you’re busy, or don’t have a clear plan (marketing plan, editorial calendar). If you don’t post blogs regularly, you won’t build profile and you won’t be seen.
People will see that you’re ‘hit and miss’ and that impression might imply that you’re the same way in your work.
Not a good look. With blogging, you’re either in, or you’re out.
Let’s say you’re not really into the online gig, or you’re busy, or don’t have a clear plan (marketing plan, editorial calendar). If you don’t post blogs regularly, you won’t build profile and you won’t be seen.
People will see that you’re ‘hit and miss’ and that impression might imply that you’re the same way in your work.
Not a good look. With blogging, you’re either in, or you’re out.
Reason 2 – You’re Too Vanilla
If your blogs offer the same information and perspective as every other blogger on the same topic, you simply won’t stand out. You’ll be vanilla – and you’ll potentially be seen as another ‘me too’ blog that offers no unique point of difference and blends in with the masses.
However, have an opinion and stand up for it, and the world will notice you.
Let’s look at two examples:
Example 1 – Dawns Blog
I met Dawn on the Learn to Blog (Secret) group when I first started learning about blogging. We were talking in the Facebook group about strong engagement tactics – and she created this post called “10 Facebook Pages You Need to Stop Sharing From”.
This post went viral within a few days. See Dawn’s post in the Learn to Blog group:
Now, here’s the link to the post. You’ll soon see exactly why it went viral – it’s very opinionated. > http://dawnsbrain.com/ten-facebook-pages-you-need-to-stop-sharing-from. Notice that the comments are pretty startling. Some people love this, and others are vehemently opposed, including some arguments and criticisms.
It might make you feel uncomfortable looking at the few ugly comments. But let’s face it – this girl:
- got shared, massively, virally
- put her personality and values out there, and in doing so, attracted her tribe
- helped people clearly decide if they’re with her or against her
- posted valuable content that got people thinking and talking.
I’m not suggesting you need to start World War III. But you get the point – stand for something, and your engaged tribe of like-minded fans will show up to hear you speak, and they’ll hang on every word.
Example 2 – Amber Rogers – Go Kaleo
I stumbled across Amber’s FB page a few years ago. What stood out for me was her clear conviction for real food, real calories, real exercise and real bodies – and some heavy diatribe against all kinds of popular diets and fitness trends. Amber shares her own transformation and methods. Some of her values are authenticity, truth, openness and justice. A lot of people love her strength of conviction and her passion – and some people hate her. But that’s ok, she makes it easy for you to choose her or not. And the people that choose her are totally into her message. It’s what drew me in, too.
You can learn a lot about engagement marketing, following a blog or Facebook page like this one.Here’s her page, showing a sample of what she posts > https://www.facebook.com/gokaleo. Notice the number of likes and shares on the top post. And also, notice how popular her page is. When I liked her page 3 years ago, she had about 5000 likes. At the time of writing this post, she has 72,836 likes. She built that following with consistent, daily posts, with a strong voice full of passion and conviction. That’s all it takes! The people who resonate with your messages will come on board. She’s good at using her FB page for promotion and marketing and has a clear strategy around those things.
Reason 3 – No Strategy
Random blogging with no marketing strategy behind it, is sure to fail. Each blog needs to have a goal and fit within a bigger marketing strategy. It needs to be on-message, and talk about the 3 – 5 topics that you will be known for.
Random blogging with no marketing strategy behind it, is sure to fail. Each blog needs to have a goal and fit within a bigger marketing strategy. It needs to be on-message, and talk about the 3 – 5 topics that you will be known for.
No strategy + no plan + no purposeful action = no results, and no point.
Want to learn about blogging? Free Try Out Opportunity.
If you’re read this far and decided you want to try, and if you’re the type who likes doing research and online reading yourself, I would highly recommend the Learn to Blog guys. I’ve done several parts of the Learn To Blog training, some free, some paid, and it’s been amazing.
So, here are two free offers that might be useful for you, which introduce the Learn to Blog courses. Note – these are affiliate links. I promote these guys because I believe in what they do. This is simply your chance to try them out for free, and see if you like them.
If you want to learn about how to build a business around blogging, you can register for a free webinar where the Learn to Blog guys go through their exact formula. Webinars are held regularly.
If you’re on a shoestring budget and lack IT knowledge, you might want to take up a free blog setup offer. This means they’ll organise the site and plugins for you. You’ll still need to add content yourself or get someone to do it for you, but the basic setup is done correctly (that’s the important bit!)
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