Starting is hard. Doing something for the first time is hard. It’s supposed to get easier after that.
But the next toughest thing?
Starting again.
Particularly after a long break or absence, for whatever reason.
Why so quiet?
It’s been over a year since my last post. No big reason for not writing, but hundreds of small ones that many small business owners might relate to.
- Business got busy (very busy).
- I had some sudden slow months.
- I tried some other channels (100 days continuous writing on LinkedIn, dabbling with TikTok).
- I didn’t know what to write.
- I didn’t know if it was worth writing.
So, how do you get back on this particular horse? And in 2023, is it worth a business still having a blog?
Why we should ditch our business blogs
I was interested, was this one done and dusted? The death of blogs has been predicted many times, and yet you still see them. But are they relevant? What’s the downside?
As far as I can see, these are the drawbacks to creating a blog for your business
- It’s time-consuming to keep it updated with fresh content. Time is not necessarily a business owner’s friend.
- There’s so much competition for attention out there. How do you stand out and attract a loyal audience? And it not take up all your time?
- The damned algorithms. They keep changing all the time. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on SEO, something changes.
- It can be hard to generate enough reach to make the investment of your time worthwhile.
- It’s not video.
So the blog is dead?
It sounds bleak, doesn’t it?
But Seth Godin is still putting out a blog post every single day.
He’s pretty smart. There must be something still playing in its favour, right?
Here’s why I think it could still be a positive.
You get to tell your brand’s stories
Still a big one. You own the space. You decide what goes in it.
It feeds your mailing list
You know what I hate getting from businesses? Discounts and sales messages.
Not because there’s anything wrong with that, but when it’s all that I hear from them, then it makes me wonder if I chose the right business in the first place.
If your only story is today’s offer, today’s cutting of your prices, then that says you don’t value what you do.
So why should I?
Of course you don’t need a blog to send something better to your mailing list. But if you only send something interesting in a newsletter then it doesn’t have a very long shelf life.
Write once. Use twice. At least.
It doesn’t have to be all words
The world loves video.
Video has gone crazy, especially short form.
But not everything lends itself to a Reel or a TikTok.
Sometimes we want the depth, with maybe the 20 second video intro or teaser.
Write once. Video once. Use many times.
It’s on your land
If you own the website, no one can take that away (well, I guess the hosting company can if you don’t pay the bills, but other than that, it’s yours).
You might be smashing it on TikTok this week, and in the doldrums next.
Nothing you can do about it. That’s their land.
I’m not saying don’t rent from them. But build on your own land. Build your blog, and at the very least, build your mailing list.
Own your audience. Don’t rent them.
So, am I back?
I hope to be.
I can’t change somethings.
Things still get busy. Things still go quiet.
But building our own audience is definitely not dead. That’s something that’s always worth starting.
What are you doing?
I’d love to know. Still blogging? Still emailing? Is working or not?
Why do you think that is?
