I spoke with a person yesterday about a new web site for their business.
One of the recommendations I made was for a blog – that is, a site where they update with news and information on a regular basis.
Like I do here.
I was just reading Scott Adam’s (the creator of Dilbert fame) excellent blog and saw where he says it takes him 2 hours a day for his blogging.
Whilst I don’t that long to blog here each day – may well explain why Scott Adam’s is a lot funnier than me – it still takes some time.
The Anatomy Of A Blog Post
- Thinking of what to write – sometimes this bit is easy, sometimes it takes a bit of thinking
- Doing some research – can be anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour
- Finding links to make the post more interesting, relevant and/or useful (took me 5 minutes to find the Dilbert graphic above, read the conditions of use to make sure I was doing the right thing, save the image and then upload to this post)
- Finding and/or buying relevant graphics (I buy lots of my graphics from istockphoto.com for about a buck each)
- Logging in to the software
- Writing the post and uploading it
Why A Blog Can Be So Valuable
It’s a fair bit of work. This post alone has taken me just on 25 minutes.
But blogging works well for a lot of business because it personalises your web site. And when people know a bit about you they build a bit of trust in you. And people buy from those they trust.
Then there’s the other angle that by sharing experience, expertise and just generally helping out – how I hope I do a bit – readers lives are just that little bit better.
Cheers
I completely agree. A blog really humanizes(is that a word?) a person/business.
Now, I’ve never met you in person, Brendon. I’ve never talked to you on the phone. I’ve emailed you once and you responded with your honest answer.
Would I hire your company to do something? Heck ya! Why? Because I’ve been reading your blog, and listening to your podcast and you make it very clear that on certain subjects you know much much much more than me about the web business. Which is EXACTLY why a company should have a blog. To show their potential clients that they are worth hiring/buying from/just giving money to. I’m starting to think that we should send our clients to Tailored, simply because of the public perception you provide as opposed to ours 🙂
Howdy Devon
Thanks for the comment.
I think the lack of personlization on the vast majority of web sites is a terrible waste of an opportunity.
People want to know who they are dealing with.
And yes, just shoot those clients over!
Cheers
Brendon