Seven things a blog post is not…

Posted By Frank Days on Mar 16, 2010 | 4 comments

A direct response marketing program – This means we need to avoid the urge to include conversation stopping things like hyperbole, canned benefits statements and a call to action.  Few things shut down a blog conversations faster than “act before Friday…” or some other type of offer.

A press release – PR teams have a very specific role as the “official voice” of the organization for the media and other third parties.  This typically means speaking of your organization in the third person.  In contrast, effective blogging works in the first and second person as you would in a conversation.  This also invites comments, both positive and negative.

An email substitute – Just because your house email list is losing its pop doesn’t mean you can blindly move your promotions to your blog.  Blogs with no obvious value to your audience are spam.  You need to get beyond the facts and tell me something new, fresh or surprising.

A case study – Blogs are great for telling stories but again think in the first and second person rather than the third person.  You have to interview your customer for the case study so why not take the time to capture the narrative as a Q&A or podcast?

Buzz – You are not stupid.  You can see through it when there is no substance.  It is no secret that the best blogs are full of fresh content and interesting ideas. Why bother blogging at all if you have nothing new, original or real to share?

Advertising – If you are a consistent blogger with a thoughtful SEO plan, you can crank up your pagerank and generate significant inbound traffic that can replace expensive paid media.  Again it starts with compelling content that your readers want to read, share and link to.

Viral marketing – Sure a blog post can “go viral” and get shared broadly but you first need to create something your audience cares about and is worth sharing.

– Mr. Tangyslice thanks you for joining us today and wonders which of these things you see most frequently and if he missed anything?

Related articles:

• Top 8 Mistakes Of Blogger Newbs (davidrisley.com)
• The Power of Being Personal on Your Blog (problogger.net)
• 8 things I wish I knew before starting to blog (shoutmeloud.com)