Best reasons to have your own blog — part 4
“My business has a website. We don’t need a blog.”
Well, it is true that no one “needs” a blog since blogs aren’t vital to human life like oxygen, shelter, or water. However, I cannot think of any reasons why someone wanting a web presence for their business wouldn’t at least thoroughly consider a blog.
Besides the fact that there are many great benefits you can attain by blogging (e.g., control your own identity, launch yourself into something new, champion a cause and serve the world, develop a community, learn, grow, become a better person), there are practical reasons for using a blog instead of (or as a complement to) a traditional website.
Common sense reasons to use a blog for your business
- Save money — Generally speaking, my clients spend $700-$1,000 for a customized blog, a year’s worth of web hosting, and domain name registration. Unless you’re hiring your web designer from Malaysia, or having your 8-year-old son build your site, I don’t know many businesses that spend less than $1,200 or so for a traditional website.*
- Save time — I’ve customized client’s blogs in as little as 5 hours, having them ready to begin serving their customers and sharing their message. One client, who was integrating her blog with her website, had her blog launched over a month before the traditional site was finished. Though I don’t recommend it for a business, using a hosted service (Blogger, WordPress.com, etc.) you can literally have your blog up and running fast (20 minutes to be ready to blog).
- Be independent – Many years and professional lifetimes ago, I worked in the marketing department for a hospital system managing our web presence. I didn’t have HTML skills then, so I had to contact our hosting company anytime I wanted a change to our site. So, when I saw a typo, I would email my representative a note like this: “On http://xyzlmnop.com/services/schedule. html, paragraph 2, sentence 3, change the comma between ‘us’ and ’schedule’ to a semicolon.” When he read my email, he would take 3 seconds to actually make the change I’d requested. Though I know it sounds insane and fiscally irresponsible to operate that way, our company did for over a year until I got properly trained. Though blogs do have learning curves, you’ll be self-sufficient far quicker by using a blog than you will if you opt to go with a traditional website.
What have been the greatest benefits your company has realized since having a blog? If you’re just starting, what benefit will be most appreciated in your organization?
Related posts which may interest you
1 comment shared so far. »
RSS feed for comments on this post.
| TrackBack URI
You can also bookmark
this on del.icio.us or check the cosmos
[…] Having a business blog can save you money and time. Your blog can also help you control your own identity, launch yourself into something new or even champion a cause and serve the world. Blogging may also allow you to develop a community, learn, grow, and generally become a better person. Perhaps you remain unconvinced, despite all these wonderful reasons for creating your own blog. […]
Pingback by Best reasons to have your own blog — part 5 — July 19, 2007 @ 12:00 pm