I subscribe to a lot of blog feeds. I think my current count is about 125 different feeds. Almost none of these are for companies. The reason is simple. They almost never have anything interesting to say. Most of them contain promotional information, press releases or self-congratulation (look at what we just did!). None of that interests me. What does interest me is information about your product and industry that is designed to help and inform me rather than sell to me. I already know that you want me to buy your product, and if I read your blog there’s a good chance that I already use at least one of your products. The only other reason I might be there is because you have truly interesting things to say. So, here are seven quick tips for getting me to read your corporate blog.
- Use real people with real voices. Whether you have one person writing your blog or several, be honest about who they are and provide me with an easy way to contact them. I have little interest in a blog that doesn’t tell me who is writing it or attributes everything to the CEO (unless that’s really who is writing the blog).
- Allow comments. I’m not going to trust you or take an interest in you if I feel like you are afraid of people’s comments. Yes, some of them will be negative. Live with it. It’s even better if you respond to comments, but at least allow them. One of the great things about comments is that people often ask questions. Those questions can lead to future blog posts.
- Say interesting things. Corporations have a hard time being interesting. Being the most interesting person at a corporation generally leads to getting fired. The problem is, if your blog isn’t interesting, no one is going to read it. I know I won’t.
- Keep at it. Don’t expect thousands of people to start reading your blog right away. It may take months or years to develop a solid readership. Be patient.
- Admit your mistakes. If your company screws up, blog about it. If you make a mistake on your blog, be honest about it. Authenticity matters.
- Don’t just talk about your products or your company. Talk about the industry. Talk about the future. Talk about the things you want your employees to be talking about.
- Pay attention to the details. Make sure you have a working RSS feed, an attractive layout and an easy way to share and bookmark your posts at places like Facebook, Twitter and StumbleUpon.
Seven ways you can get me to read your corporate blog
I subscribe to a lot of blog feeds. I think my current count is about 125 different feeds. Almost none of these are for companies. The reason is simple. They almost never have anything interesting to say. Most of them contain promotional information, press releases or self-congratulation (look at what we just did!). None of that interests me. What does interest me is information about your product and industry that is designed to help and inform me rather than sell to me. I already know that you want me to buy your product, and if I read your blog there’s a good chance that I already use at least one of your products. The only other reason I might be there is because you have truly interesting things to say. So, here are seven quick tips for getting me to read your corporate blog.