By Alan Graner
Blogs are hard work.
First, you have to keep finding relevant topics.
Let’s say you’re a widget manufacturer. The first five or 10 blogs are low-hanging fruit. You talk about the importance of quality, of on-time deliveries. Maybe you write about your latest innovations or the latest industry regulations.
But after a month or so the topics stop flowing. It becomes harder and harder to find something that a) you know about, and b) is interesting to your audience.
Writing blogs is also hard work.
Most businesspeople aren’t natural writers. Words don’t flow, they dribble out like a clogged faucet.
Now one of the subjects you hated most in school—grammar—becomes extremely important, and you don’t know the difference between a comma splice and a dangling participle.
Sure, you’d like someone else to write your blogs, but no one on staff has your knowledge and expertise, and besides that none of them can write either (“Dammit Jim I’m an engineer, not an English major!”). And naturally you can’t afford to hire a professional writer.
However, publishing your blog is just the first step. Now you have to promote it via email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn groups, customer lists and other distribution channels.
And all of this takes time, which is something you have little of.
Excuses, excuses
As the day approaches to write another blog, you start finding excuses not to. There’s a big shipment to get out. You have to go over the financials. There are new business meetings to attend and tradeshows to prepare for.
You feel guilty for not writing your blog, but hey! there are more important things. So you skip writing today.
Then a week goes by. Two weeks. A month. Before you know it you realize your last blog was six months ago.
And you think, “Aw, hell, who needs a blog anyway.”
And that’s why many B2B blogs fail.
How to you avoid failure?
Image: CC0 Public Domain license via Pixabay
Alan Graner is Chief Creative Officer at Daly-Swartz Public Relations, an Orange County, CA business public relations and marketing content firm. For content that makes you stick out from the crowd, email Jeffrey Swartz at jeffreyswartz@dsprel.com. Or visit www.dsprel.com.
