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orion_joel
10-19-2008, 09:43 AM
Do you keep a few posts ready as a back-up if you really need to post on your blog but just cannot think of a topic to write about?

Even though i wrote 6 blog posts today (most of them ready for my new blog coming soon) when i went to my blog to write something i was blank. I tried looking at the categories i have, and playing with some ideas for titles. But i could not come up with anything to actually write.

Thank-fully i do attempt to keep a buffer of about 6 posts on my blog, which is now actually down to 4 as i was out of time and wanted to get a new post online the other day.

KristineS
10-19-2008, 10:53 AM
I try to have a couple of posts done so that I can have a back up if nothing comes to wind to write about on any given day. I'm not doing so well with that right now. I have my posts done for the week for A Frugal Housewife, but that's it.

Guess I have some work to do today.

vangogh
10-19-2008, 04:23 PM
My goal is to have a few weeks of blogs at the ready in case I need them, but I never seem to build up that store.

It's a good idea, though. I think ideally you would have blogs written a few days or weeks out in order to be able to keep your blog fresh even when you don't have time to write or can't think of anything to write. I do have a lot of posts in some kind of partial completion, but nothing close enough to be ready for publishing.

orion_joel
10-19-2008, 07:27 PM
Really for me 6 posts (which was my buffer) would do me about 2 weeks. I try and post a new post M,W,F. I have no doubt i will be able to get back to this buffer, but it sure is easier having the buffer there then just trying to force yourself to write when you are not having many ideas.

I am trying to do the same with my upcoming blog where i already have 4 or 5 ready, but would like to get this site up to about 10 or just over 3 weeks buffer.

KristineS
10-20-2008, 08:38 AM
I need to get more disciplined about this. I tend to write when the mood strikes me, which is o.k. if you're not too concerned about building up readership. It doesn't work so well if you want to have new content regularly.

orion_joel
10-20-2008, 09:01 AM
Actually Kristine i am quite the same and for a couple of months went anything up to a couple of weeks without posting anything new. However then i went for about 3 weeks where i managed to post every second day about 3 posts a week, and i my visitor count more then double, and i have been doing my best to continue this and it went up another 50% last month on the previous month. The readership seems to still be growing and i expect i will be up about 40% on last month. But still small numbers when you look at the actual visitor counts.

I am looking to keep the buffer bigger and try to get about 4 new posts each week on my new project coming soon, as i really think it has huge potential, maybe not so much for online advertising revenue but for some of the potential business it may be able to drive to my business, only time will tell though.

greenoak
10-20-2008, 09:56 PM
mine seems to be run by what neat pictures i got...like today, i put the fun art bugs on....

and my next one might be about a wild customer, i got her picture....she cut 4 fingers off with her power saw, ....and we heard how her hubby put them in ice ....she unwrapped it and showed us how great she was recuperating.....i asked her if i could put her on my blog.....
but i know i should be posting more about things that might be closer to my potential customers desires.....
ann

orion_joel
10-21-2008, 07:48 PM
Ann,

I don't know that it is to the largest degree that you need to post about things that interest your customers, of course this should be one of the primary things you do, however what the more important thing i would imagine is posting things that bring you closer to your customers, and connect with them. I would think that this could occasionally mean writing about a customer, however as you did getting permission is a good idea, and probably only writing about them in a good light. The way you write about your customers in your blog can be a big positive, or negative depending on how you write about them.

I think that especially if you have a lot of pictures and product's such as you seem to have it would be not to difficult to have a good stream of things to write about that would interest people. Especially with differing styles all the time. Where as someone like myself being in technology field, almost has to dig and search really hard to find something new or unique to talk about.

vangogh
10-21-2008, 08:56 PM
the more important thing i would imagine is posting things that bring you closer to your customers, and connect with them

Great point. That's really what blogging is all about when you're talking about a business oriented blog. A blog adds or at least can add a human element to a business entity. With so many choices trust becomes a big factor in who you buy from. Adding a human voice to your site through a blog goes a long way in establishing a connection with people and building trust with them.

orion_joel
10-22-2008, 08:17 PM
I think as i may have mentioned though, while it is what blogging is all about especially when you are talking about customers to connect with customer then you need to be very mindful of how you are connecting. At the same time as you are trying to connect you don't want to alienate another group of customers so it can be a good or bad thing depending on the circumstance.

vangogh
10-23-2008, 12:46 AM
I don't know that alienating some has to be bad. You can't please everyone and sometimes what alienates one group brings another group closer to you. A good example is politics. If you write posts that are extremely liberal you'll likely alienate most if not all conservatives, but at the same time you gain a loyal following of liberals.

You have to be careful, since you could end up alienating one group without actually bringing the other group closer to you. Still if you try to stay in the middle you might not alienate anyone, but you might not motivate them much either or give them a reason to come back.

orion_joel
10-23-2008, 12:49 AM
I just think it needs to be an area that you tread lightly and be sure if you end up alienating anyone you try and make sure it isn't your main demographic.

vangogh
10-23-2008, 01:02 AM
You certainly don't want to alienate your market, but not everyone is in your market. It's a way of creating a common bond by finding a common enemy. It just depends on what your blog is about, who your market is. I was watching the World Series tonight so I'll use baseball as an example.

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have a very passionate rivalry. Fans of the two teams often hate each other for no other reason than rooting for the other team. If I was writing a blog about baseball in general I wouldn't want to offend either group of fans since both would be in the market for my blog.

If my blog was specifically about the New York Yankees I would absolutely knock the Red Sox as often as possible. Sure that would alienate Red Sox fans, but they wouldn't be reading a blog about the Yankees in the first place. The topic alone alienates them so there's really no danger in alienating them further. However it would probably make your readers want to read you more. You're fighting the common enemy. You make your own readers more passionate without really losing any potential new readers.

KristineS
10-23-2008, 08:52 AM
I write two corporate blogs for two radically different groups of customers. One blog is written for an outdoor company and is aimed at hunters. Hunters tend to be a largely conservative, mostly male group. The other blog is written for a machine embroidery supplies company. It is aimed at machine embroiderers who own their own businesses. This group is primarily female.

I definitely take a different tone depending on which blog I'm writing. There are some things I would say on one blog that I wouldn't say on the other. I think the trick is having enough knowledge of your potential audience through forums or research or simply industry knowledge to know how the majority of them think. You're not going to get it right every time, but most customers will cut you a little slack if they know you're trying.

There are also some subjects I think most corporate blogs should avoid, politics and religion being two. Corporate blogs are not outlets for the personal beliefs and feelings of the writer, they're about promoting the company and the company's products.

greenoak
10-23-2008, 10:10 AM
i sure agree about being careful...
we are also a stable responsible corporation....but i want my blog to be authentic and different and a little outside the box, and maybe fun...and im happy with the blog being more spicy and maybe more messy ... ,,.i dont want to look like a homoginized corporate creation of a store presented by a good pr person... .... ... ..
. we need to be an outside the box kind of place, a real destination, and i want to project that with words and pictures.......believing thats maybe why they would drive 2 hours to come see us instead of going to the mall...
so i hear you on being middle of the road....but maybe not for here...i wear an obama pin to work.... they probably know anyway....and i do the blog mostly for my pleasure......and i sure dont have a corporate board or a boss over my head .... ...just my family and our financial future.....
i think my way might be a good way for any business to break thru the pack into a good profitable place....

im so thankful for the internet , im sure i wouldnt have discovered blogging or a whole lot of other good things without it..

vangogh
10-23-2008, 12:07 PM
I think it all comes down to offering something other blogs can't or don't. It doesn't have to be the kind of thing that alienates one group in favor of another, but it should be something to set you apart.

KristineS
10-23-2008, 03:32 PM
I definitely agree with that. The blog has to have a personality and something that draws people to come back and read again. A lot of corporate blogs do make the mistake of being too bland. If there's nothing there to hook the reader, they won't come back and see what you might have to say tomorrow.

vangogh
10-23-2008, 04:33 PM
In many cases that blandness arises from a desire not to offend anyone, which is why I say it's ok to alienate some if overall it helps improve your blog. No matter what you do most people aren't going to subscribe. It's ok to offend some of those people who aren't going to subscribe if it means others become more likely to subscribe as a result.