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Blood test for your blog?
Are you contributing to one of the estimated 36.1 million (and growing) online blogs? Be sure to publish the right type of blog for your type of business, or all that writing time will have been in vain.
The blood test blog
Just as there are different types of blood, there are many different types of blogs, and each one serves its own purpose. Doing a blood test on your blog will help you determine what type of blog is best for your business and what may be wrong with what you have now.Those who best use their blog to strengthen relationships with their customers spend a lot of time interacting with customers, answering questions, providing useful advice and keeping them informed of business events. These blogs focus less on the company's products and more on the culture and perspectives of the company. The objective of this type of blog is to generate customer loyalty and establish a constant flow of visitors interested in the website.
Blog Blood Type 2:
Sales - As you can imagine, most companies that blog do so due to the perceived benefit in their results. While very little quantitative research has been done regarding the real monetary impact of blogs on general sales, the ubiquity of sales-oriented blogs indicates some type of return on investment. Sales blogs focus on product developments and customer benefits. There is less online interaction with customers through the blog, as the goal is to move readers outside the blog to product pages. The goal of a sales blog is to encourage visitors to buy a product, service or information that the company is offering.Blog Blood Type 3:
personal web diaries: these blogs make up the bulk of the 36.1 million online web logs. Most are written personal accounts regardless of the size of the readers or the monetary value. Many have announced that free blogs are the greatest achievement of the Internet, allowing virtually anyone with an Internet connection to literally publish what they want, and all in a matter of minutes. There are as many purposes for personal blogs as bloggers. Perhaps the most common theme is the opportunity to be heard.I have done the blood test of the blog. Now what?
What category best fits your blog? Did you discover that you are writing one type of blog but want the benefits of another? If you haven't started your blog yet, what type do you think would best fit your writing skills and the desired result? Simply put, if you are not writing the best type of blog for the benefits you want, you will never get them, and you will lose a lot of time in the process.
If your current blog is doing exactly what you want, leave it alone. If you believe that some changes are necessary, consider the following questions:
Do I think I can generate real sales from the blog?
Do I prefer to spend my time writing interacting with customers (both positive and negative) or writing about my product? (Remember the blood test)
Am I the best person to create my blog or is there someone else who could do a better job?
Do I want to present the blog as a communication tool sponsored by the company or do I prefer it to appear as a kind of objective review by a third party?
I willing to spend writing?
How free do I want to be regarding the frequency of publication and response to customer comments?
Millions of people are already blogging, but don't let that stop you from starting. Give your company the blood test on the blog and see what type works best for you.
