I’m surprised how much forethought blogging actually takes. You have to decide a topic and a voice, which platform to use, what design and plugins to use, whether to have comments or not, and how often to post, to name a few. Plus there is a big learning curve to face. Then you have to find a balance between creating posts and checking stats and such…all potentially very time consuming (and addictive).
Blogging is certainly not for everyone. It is getting pretty popular though. Truthfully, I’m not sure if I am glad to be doing it yet or not. I’m sticking with it because I think it will pay off soon as I get faster at developing content and better at juggling it with my other projects. For me, the only downside has been the time commitment and the pressure to post. I’m not going too crazy about deadlines but I am striving to be consistent. The pluses for me have been that I enjoy learning about the technology and I now have a relevant reason to get my thoughts and ideas down on paper on a regular basis which really helps with my infopreneurial endeavors.
Yesterday, I saw a very good article about the benefits of building a content focused website rather than blogging. It was very convincing. From an infopreneurial standpoint it definitely makes more sense to think in terms of a content driven site rather than a blog mainly due to potentially improved page ranking to more easily connect to the intended target audience. Another reason is the higher level of control the infopreneur can have over their writing/production schedule with a content driven website. The big downside the infopreneurial blogger has to overcome is that the relationship building aspect of blogging is quite strained right from the start when you are so obviously trying to sell something. I mean it has to be done carefully because how many people would subscribe to a constant commercial? Here are a couple of infopreneurial website examples for you. The first is a content driven site, Love-of-Roses.com. This site is less than a year old from what I understand and has an awesome traffic ranking already. Next, here is one in the form of a blog, Seth Godin’s Blog. Seth has figured out the fine line that an infopreneurial blogger must manage to build traffic and sell his products and expertise.
Now, career blogging is a whole different story. I believe it to be a cutting edge career advancement technique. Your blog can become a showcase for your unique knowledge and skills. With small regular posts you can quickly build an impressive portfolio demonstrating more about your personality and quality of work while building your reputation at the same time. Plus, a blog can be an outstanding networking tool. This is just the kind of thing the blogosphere was meant for…sharing information, having a discussion, building relationships. Here is a fine example of a career blog to check out if you like the idea of blogging to advance your career - Publishing Careers by Lori Cates Hand. I love the way she has built the blog around the central theme of an informational interview for those interested in the industry. This instantly sets her up as an expert. It also leads to numerous ideas for topics to write about as she discusses her own career journey and daily activities. She also interviews others in the industry which greatly furthers her professional networking activities and exposure. Brilliant!