BroadVision Marketing Blog

Since I have been talking about what works with blogs and what doesn’t, I want to add some ideas based on Michael Stelzer’s recent remarks in Social Media Examiner July 22, 2011 at http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/top-7-reasons-blogs-fail-and-what-to-do-about-it/.

Michael talks about business blogging mistakes that can cause a blog not to get enough traffic or views.

Mistake: Writing about yourself

Have you looked at some of the tweets on Twitter and passed them by because they are selling their business with the same tweet over and over? Did you feel guilty for passing over them? I’ll bet you didn’t give it a second thought. So why would you blog about your products, your services or yourself? No one is interested in that to start with.

What people really want is help solving their problems, getting useful information or feeling like they are recognized. Can you see that if you focus on giving them what they want, they will come to see what else you have?



Mistake:  Adding advertisements

Have you ever had to turn down the television during the commercials? It’s just too much noise. Filling your blog site with so many ads that people can’t find the content is the same kind of noise.

Blogs that give people valuable information are the best kind of advertising. Yes, it’s very subtle, like Michael says, but the whole idea of a blog is to hold conversations with your prospective clients, not yell at them. If you still want to do some advertising, offer white papers, newsletter subscriptions and other free things.

Mistake: Being the only expert on your site

Today I am drawing on Michael Stelzer’s expertise because I don’t want to be the only one on this site that is an expert.

You can get help from people what have already been where you are and share the information with others. Ideas for this include interviewing authors, people working at familiar companies and even your peers. This will actually increase your views as well as help you partner up with the experts as they get to know you.

Mistake:  Producing information no one is interested in

I am sure we are all worried about doing this. If you run a cleaning and supply service, you could write a blog titled, “Questions to Ask a Prospective Maid”. That would interest people who had already decided that they wanted a maid, but what about people who hadn’t made up their minds yet?

What if you wrote an article instead titled, “House Cleaning from Top to Bottom”? This would be useful for anyone who wants to do a thorough cleaning. My guess is that she would try to do what you suggested and then decide she needed some help. She might even come to you for that help.

Mistake: Leaving out easy ways for someone to share content

These days there is no excuse for not having the kinds of button on your site that will allow people who like your content to share it with others.

One such suggestion is that you make it easier for people to comment without you previewing each comment or without tiresome captcha letters.

Mistake: not engaging your followers

Have you even gone to an exclusive department store and been warmly greeted at every turn? On the other hand, have you gone somewhere and no one even looks up and smiles? Which place do you think you will go back to?

If the idea behind blogging is to have a conversation, you want to reply to comments left on your blog post. That is the equivalent of holding up your end of the conversation. Next thing you know you will have that conversation going.

Mistake: Not giving people motivation to return

Most people who visit a blog are there for the first time and then only a few return.

If you want to encourage people to come back, you need to find ways to encourage them to want to come back.  You can offer free tutorials if they sign up for email from you or you can show that many people are coming to your site with some of the new buttons available.

Michael ends by saying, “I’ve been blogging since 2006 and I’m guilty of every one of the mistakes listed. So don’t worry—it happens to all of us. With a few fixes mentioned above, yours could become a top blog.”

What mistakes have you made and how have you corrected them?

Related articles

• Marketing Must Change: A Q&A with Michael Stelzner (mrbenandrews.wordpress.com)

• Marketing know how: Blogging - why it matters to your company and how to do it (premierlinedirect.co.uk)