Following this morning’s article, I have to say that blogs are not about competition. With blogs being the original new media tool for self-expression, can you think of a MySpace tween who started a blog hoping it would reach the top of a 100 list? Companies may have such aspirations, but the best marketers know that quality gets results.
In “The New Rules of Marketing & PR”, David Meerman Scott says, “Think of the Web as a huge city…and blogs as…independent voices, just like…that friend of yours who always recommends the best books.”
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Blog readers are discerning.
If they feel you are talking to them, they will listen. If what you say is relevant to them, they will stay with you (read: niche market).
Regarding Boutin’s talk of appearing on a Google search, I say that word of mouth is still the best form of advertising. I have yet to read a blog because I found it on a search, but I read The Egotist because my boss recommended it. I’ve started reading Denver PR Blog because a coworker is reading it. I even started reading Zach Braff’s blog (think Scrubs, et al.) because a friend told me about it.
Knowing other people participating in the blog far outweighs a Google return, because the people I know have some credibility to me. The end result for the blogs is that their audience expanded because they hit their target market and their target did the rest for them.
Boutin says, what was “once a freshwater oasis of folksy self-expression and clever thought, has been flooded by a tsunami of paid bilge.” So what. When paid programming hit the airwaves we didn’t throw out our TVs, we simply changed the channel.
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This is the time to improve blog content.
As in any market, competition increases with time, but blogs still work today the way they did four years ago. Readers just have more choices, which means your blog has to be more relevant and more focused than ever before. No more free passes people.
This is the mission of The Side Note. We will not be a blog-machine, pumping out endless amounts of posts to simply give you something to read. Without relevance, there is no chance for authenticity, and we will post what is relevant in the marketing, advertising and PR industries. Whether you offer the services or use them, we will act as your information supplement. Oh yeah, and we’ll have some fun too.
When you need industry news, get some on the side.
—Travis Parker
Tomorrow on The Side Note:
Find out if a blog is right for you.
And a blog about turkey.
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