Don’t Start Blogging: It’s Not Worth the Guilt

the lonely blogger

Warning: Herein lies heresy: Not everyone should have a blog. In fact, 95% of the blog owners shouldn’t have a blog. Blogs may increase search engine rankings, build communities, establish expertise within a given field, provide a human side to your brand, engage customers, and becomes the vehicle to build loads of content. So, why do so many bloggers jump ship? Blogging is hard work.

So, you have permission to say “no!”

Let’s face it:
• Blogging takes time (more than many admit)
• Many thoughtful blog posts go unread
• Establishing expertise requires, well, expertise
• Your audience doesn’t read blogs
• Your #1 keyword referral will not be what you expect

When the new wears off, your blog will go months before it is updated. After carrying the unnecessary, blog-imposed guilt of not posting any new content (which is something that you never wanted to do in the first place), you’ll sit down and write a post that says: “Betcha wondered where we’ve been?” or “I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted,” which will only be read by exactly two people. You and the customer that you’re trying to close who checked to see if you really update your blog. If blogging isn’t a part of your content strategy from the beginning then save yourself the time, money and most importantly the added and unnecessary stress of not keeping your blog updated.

On the other hand, there is probably no better way to tell your story than through your blog. In addition to the benefits listed above, blogging is a powerful tool for growing international awareness through content alone. Blogging coupled with effective use of social media tools has led to the meteoric rise of net celebrities like famed marketing writer Seth Godin, wine connoisseur turned social media consultant Gary Vaynerchuk, sales and marketing executive turned international rockstar social media consultant Mark Schaefer.

Many companies don’t care to engage with their customers–they just want the sell their service or product. As Doc Searls says in the Cluetrain Manifesto, “everything that happens in a marketplace falls into just three categories: transaction, conversation, and relationship. In our First World business culture, transaction matters most, conversation less, and relationship least.” For companies that understand their role as content publishers and their potential customers as consumers of that content, blogging becomes a natural starting point for conversation that in some cases leads to a life-long, loyal relationship.


Jeremy Floyd

Jeremy Floyd is the President at FUNYL Commerce. Formerly, he was the CEO and President of Lirio, Bluegill Creative, a marketing and communications firm in Knoxville, Tennessee. In addition to managing the digital strategies, Floyd was an adjunct professor for the University of Tennessee Chattanooga MBA program teaching digital strategies and social media. Floyd blogs at jeremyfloyd.com and tweets under the name @jfloyd. Jeremy is licensed to practice law in the State of Tennessee and holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from MTSU in English and Philosophy.

  • Is this post supposed to make me feel more guilty about my erratic blogging habits or less guilty? Thanks for the insights, though. You are spot on as always.

  • I’m trying to absolve some of the guilt, my friend. It’s okay not to post regularly…it truly is hard work, and few can write with the consistency of Mark Schaefer. If you do though, the rewards can be huge.

  • Wow. Thanks Jeremy, I think. I’ve been feeling guilty for not starting a blog even though I’ve had a word”de”press page for a while. Maybe I should learn to play guitar instead. That way at least one person will “like” what I have to say. I hope to see you at SoSlam this year.

  • 🙂 Ha! There are so many benefits to blogging, but it’s not easy work. I don’t publish nearly enough. It takes a great deal of discipline and inspiration to post with frequency.

  • Alice Gold

    The one thing that you failed to mention which is the most important reason one SHOULD blog: you cannot possibly share ideas so eloquently via twitter or facebook or google+. Blogging is where idea sharing happens on a larger scale. As a longtime blogger I’ve learned that it’s my blog. I post at the frequency that my life can manage. I blog because I love to write and share ideas. That being said, it’s not like I have a religious following or anything so maybe my philosophy is wrong: if I blogged for a religious following.

  • Alice Gold

    And people who really like you will follow your blog no matter how infrequently you blog. My google reader brought me here today.

  • Alice, you one-percenter! Of course, there many reasons to blog, and I will follow this post up with one quite the opposite on why it is important to blog. If for no other reason, the practice of writing changes our brains and helps us to articulate ideas more clearly. I’m not dissing on blogs at all, and ultimately, I believe that it is the foundation for anyone’s/business’s communication strategy.

  • Pingback: If You're Going to Blog, Here's 10 Steps to Better Blogging | Jeremy Floyd()

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