There are thousands of blogs on the web that are read by a handful of friends or relatives.
In many of those cases, this happens because the blogger has no blog strategy.
Try thinking of blogging as carving words into digital stone - they will never go away.
For most people, this is ample reason to think before they blog.
It is a marvelous reason to never blog without a strategy.
Your strategy will give you focus and purpose to maintain the conversation with your readers.
Like any other strategy, a blog strategy outlines the basics about your blog.
Whether you ever share your blog strategy with other people is irrelevant.
The point of the strategy is to provide guidance to you as you create and maintain the public forum.
Your blog strategy should include the following: 1.
What is the reason for your blog? What are you trying to accomplish by writing a blog? This may be the most important element of your blog strategy.
You need a reason that is more than a momentary whim.
Blogging is a high-commitment, high-investment (of time) undertaking.
Without a good reason for blogging as the anchor of your blog strategy, you are not likely to last more than a few months and you are not likely to win a significant readership.
2.
Where will you locate your blog? (Some people refer to a platform.
) Will you place it on a free blog site like Google's Blogger or WordPress? Will you make your blog a part of your web site? If you are creating a blog to build your authority on a particular topic or to promote your products and/or services, you might find it a good idea to make the blog part of your site.
There is popular wisdom in support of this idea, but it is not essential.
In making this decision and building your blog strategy you will need to consider how easy it is to add items to your blog or to edit articles and track activity.
You will also want to think about whether you want the blog to "match" the visual character of your web site.
Finally, you should think about when you are likely to need technical support.
3.
The second question critical to the success of your blog strategy is "What are the goals for your blog?" Are you using the blog to demonstrate your writing skills as part of a search for work? Will you try to attract customers for your business? Will you try to get other authority sites to link to your writing? Set real, specific and measurable goals.
Can you measure success meaningfully in terms of number of visitors, number of links, number of people who contact you and hire you, or number of people who click through to your site? How will you know if your blog strategy is successful? 4.
What will be the topic of your writing? What is your interest? What do you know enough about that people would want to read what you think? What is your business? What products do you produce? Are you a recognized authority already? Do you have the credentials to be an expert but not the recognition? What do you enjoy writing about? This decision will shape many other aspects of your blog strategy.
5.
Who do you want for your audience? Are you trying to promote a business? Are you trying to share your expert knowledge with a specific group of people or are you trying to share your life wisdom? Are you writing for young parents or retirees? Are these people confined to a specific geographic location? Do you know the language these people use? Can you use it effectively? Knowing and defining your audience is a critical part of a strong blog strategy.
6.
What is your plan for dealing with common blog occurrences, such as: -- Reader comments -- Reader responses -- Reader questions -- Argumentative or hostile responders -- Reader suggestions 7.
How will you ensure that your readers have a positive experience when they read your blog? Think about the visual design, about how easy it is to find previous posts, how easy it is to post a comment.
This must be a major consideration in developing your blog strategy.
By working these elements into your blog strategy, you will have a better chance of launching and maintaining a successful blog, whatever way you define success for your blog.
Whether your goal is to share your knowledge or gather insights that will shape your company's product or service offerings, blogging is about a conversation.
Plan the kind of conversation with the right audience for your needs.
With a well-considered blog strategy, you will stay on course, gather a committed audience and accomplish your goals.
In many of those cases, this happens because the blogger has no blog strategy.
Try thinking of blogging as carving words into digital stone - they will never go away.
For most people, this is ample reason to think before they blog.
It is a marvelous reason to never blog without a strategy.
Your strategy will give you focus and purpose to maintain the conversation with your readers.
Like any other strategy, a blog strategy outlines the basics about your blog.
Whether you ever share your blog strategy with other people is irrelevant.
The point of the strategy is to provide guidance to you as you create and maintain the public forum.
Your blog strategy should include the following: 1.
What is the reason for your blog? What are you trying to accomplish by writing a blog? This may be the most important element of your blog strategy.
You need a reason that is more than a momentary whim.
Blogging is a high-commitment, high-investment (of time) undertaking.
Without a good reason for blogging as the anchor of your blog strategy, you are not likely to last more than a few months and you are not likely to win a significant readership.
2.
Where will you locate your blog? (Some people refer to a platform.
) Will you place it on a free blog site like Google's Blogger or WordPress? Will you make your blog a part of your web site? If you are creating a blog to build your authority on a particular topic or to promote your products and/or services, you might find it a good idea to make the blog part of your site.
There is popular wisdom in support of this idea, but it is not essential.
In making this decision and building your blog strategy you will need to consider how easy it is to add items to your blog or to edit articles and track activity.
You will also want to think about whether you want the blog to "match" the visual character of your web site.
Finally, you should think about when you are likely to need technical support.
3.
The second question critical to the success of your blog strategy is "What are the goals for your blog?" Are you using the blog to demonstrate your writing skills as part of a search for work? Will you try to attract customers for your business? Will you try to get other authority sites to link to your writing? Set real, specific and measurable goals.
Can you measure success meaningfully in terms of number of visitors, number of links, number of people who contact you and hire you, or number of people who click through to your site? How will you know if your blog strategy is successful? 4.
What will be the topic of your writing? What is your interest? What do you know enough about that people would want to read what you think? What is your business? What products do you produce? Are you a recognized authority already? Do you have the credentials to be an expert but not the recognition? What do you enjoy writing about? This decision will shape many other aspects of your blog strategy.
5.
Who do you want for your audience? Are you trying to promote a business? Are you trying to share your expert knowledge with a specific group of people or are you trying to share your life wisdom? Are you writing for young parents or retirees? Are these people confined to a specific geographic location? Do you know the language these people use? Can you use it effectively? Knowing and defining your audience is a critical part of a strong blog strategy.
6.
What is your plan for dealing with common blog occurrences, such as: -- Reader comments -- Reader responses -- Reader questions -- Argumentative or hostile responders -- Reader suggestions 7.
How will you ensure that your readers have a positive experience when they read your blog? Think about the visual design, about how easy it is to find previous posts, how easy it is to post a comment.
This must be a major consideration in developing your blog strategy.
By working these elements into your blog strategy, you will have a better chance of launching and maintaining a successful blog, whatever way you define success for your blog.
Whether your goal is to share your knowledge or gather insights that will shape your company's product or service offerings, blogging is about a conversation.
Plan the kind of conversation with the right audience for your needs.
With a well-considered blog strategy, you will stay on course, gather a committed audience and accomplish your goals.
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