The Top 10 Reasons You SHOULD NOT Blog

In our local area we're known as the Blog Twins, Tom and I. Everywhere we go we talk blogs. Often we're asked to talk blogs to some local chapter of some national organization. Sometimes we're put on the spot to explain what a blog is and why anyone would want one. Often, we just refer people to one of the many blogs we write in.

Truth is, blogging has been very good to us. It's connected us to a network we would never have been a part of, otherwise. I've met hundreds of new friends, via this blog and other blogs I write in, and many of them send me referrals. I try to do the same for them.

Because of our affiliation with all things blog, including Jeremy Wright's outstanding book on Blog Marketing (which I served as technical editor of), I've come up with 10 Reason You Probably Shouldn't Blog... for people who still have misgivings about using a blog as a business tool. I am citing them here, in my marketing to women online blog, because they apply to women and men, alike. And this blog is for men and women, not just women. It's mostly ABOUT women...so, I'll relate my 10 Reasons to the women's market, as much as possible.

10. Everyone already knows who you are and you have nothing new to tell them.
[Really? No news at your business that you care to share? Nothing going on that you can write about - that the ladies might find interesting, fascinating, or exciting? You're really that boring?]

9. You’re so busy you work 14 hours days and counting – blogging would just complicate an already overwhelming work week.
[So, what do you do to market your company to the ladies? You have a website, I presume... but is your website Web 2.0 enabled? Is it just a fancy online brochure... or is it a welcoming invitation to talk? Oh, that would be a blog...and a blog takes time. Websites, I guess, don't take time. Marketing, I guess, is done magically. Else, you'd find a way to fit in an hour or two a week, to use a blog.]

8. You think blogs and bloggers are crowding the Internet with useless chatter. Who wants to be  part of that?
[Amen! Useless chatter is not good for business. So, don't put it on your blog. A business blog should have a focus, a strategy, and a purpose. No useless chatter accepted.]

7. None of your customers or clients or vendors or associates or colleagues uses blogs.
[I especially love this one - because it's patently untrue. Many of your cusotmers, clients, vendors and associates are blogging. And...if you're right - that they aren't - WOW! You could be the first! First mover advantage, is that kewl, or what?]

6. Your website’s “contact us” page is as interactive as you want to get.
[I, as a woman, am frustrated by contact us pages. It means filling out a form or sending an email... that may be going off into the vast universe of cyberspace. On a blog, I know someone, somewhere is going to get my note...and might even respond in real time. If you still want to use that contact us page, well... ok. But, it's just not friendly and women really like friendly.]

5. You prefer to by anonymous online (i.e. BillyBob in a chat room…)
[So, BillyBob, what are you hiding? What's with the anonymity? Women don't like dealing with invisible people, men who pretend they are women, women who pretend they are men, and/or teenagers who are hiding what they're doing from Mom. If you can't be authentic...you can't blog. That much is true.]

4. You don’t have an opinion on anything.
[I bet you have an opinion on blogs. I bet you have an opinion on the environment (a fav women's topic), I bet you have an opinion on chocolate (who doesn't?), and I bet... you are very opinionated. So, why not share... Your women clients want to know what you think. As long as you limit yourself to valid content about your business or industry - see #1).]

3. You don’t need to learn new technology to be successful.
[That's what people said about the telephone - that it would never replace the telegraph. That's what some people said about personal computers - that people would never buy them. That's what people said about...the Internet. Are you going to keep your head in the sand forever?]

2. You’re afraid – of negative comments, of your competitors finding out information you don’t want them to know, of your employees giving away corporate secrets.
[So don't tell your employees company secrets. So, moderate comments. So, take control. It's your blog.]

1. You prefer to be re-active, instead of pro-active.
[React to this: hundreds of bloggers writing about you, and your products or services, on blogs you don't read...blogs read by hundres of thousands of others. Is it good content or bad? How will you know? Wouldn't it be better if those bloggers discovered YOU had a blog and they could write directly to YOU? Negative comments are an opportunity to learn. Promote interaction, don't refuse to engage in it.]

Comments

[Rocque]

I just found your blog by searching through friends at Digg. I have been blogging for over 2 years now. Maybe I invented them! Well, not really, but I do love to blog and I teach about it, too. I am always looking for information to add to my classes and this is a great blog!

[Matt Ellsworth]

great points. I just stumbled here - but you bring up some very valid points. I especially like your point about reacting instead of being pro-active

[talia]

I love your 10 reasons, they all are great. Blogging is not an instant money maker but it is a powerful tool to get your opinion out there and help people out there at the same time.

I am a woman and I have a ton to share about all kinds of topics. As you allude to: we all have opinions, some of us just don't realize it yet :)

[Chelle]

re: the CEO blogging comment.

I think I'm on the other side of the CEO blogging coin. Our president and CEO both blog on a regular basis. While certainly not the only voices on the blogs in our company network, they are two with the most to say and I think they each represent what our company is wanting to say in the best possible way.

But of course, I'm a bit biased on that point. ;)

[Eric Eggertson]

Too many people think that the CEO is the obvious person to be the main corporate blogger, when in fact they're often not the right person for the task.

I'm not convinced every company should blog (the corporate culture at some places would have to change massively before it was a good idea), but you've laid out some good anti-reasons why it can benefit many organizations.

[Troy Worman]

This is a great list, particularly for would-be business bloggers. Number nine, seven and two are my favorites.

For a personal or hobby blogger, I might add "My family and friends will think I'm a geek!"