Can your business be too blog focused? An article on Forbes said that one of the biggest mistakes in creating a website for a business, is being too blog focused.
I don’t fully agree with this point on several levels and while there are 5 mistakes listed, I’m sticking to this particular topic. In fact, much of the article was weakly written and shows me how little the author understands blogging and social media marketing. I could write a long comment on that Forbes article saying what I’m about to say here, but I’m not going to waste time. AND…. writing it here is a benefit to everyone, more so than a comment.
My answer to whether your business can be too blog focused or not is that this actually depends on the website and the business. If your business revolves solely on content creation, specifically blogging, then your site isn’t really too blog focused. If your site is really active, and your readers are eager for constant content fed their way, then again, it’s not blog focused. If your site is not emphasizing on the core focus of your website, and you’re just blogging away, then yes, your site may be too blog focused.
The real problem stems with not using effective website conversion. You can blog all you want, but are you getting people to share your articles, subscribe to your feed and newsletter, or even buy something you sell or affiliate market? If not, then you need to go back to your business plan and implement a better marketing strategy.
Your visitors need to know what you want them to do. If you’re blogging:
- Do have social icons visible and working.
- Do write about your products or services.
- Do have a subscription form for RSS or newsletters.
If you want a return on investment, you have to make a clear path pointing your visitors in the right direction. You can still do this while even blogging, tweeting, and posting on social network sites to your heart’s content.
Now, I completely understand that there are people who are just getting into blogging and may not understand how to leverage it for their business, that’s why I teach people about blogging, WordPress, search engine optimization, and all the things between that help a business person create, maintain, and promote their website.
So, if you are feeling that your business is too blog focused, look at your site, or better yet, have someone review your site for you in order to improve your site’s chances of converting.
Do you sometimes feel your business might be too blog focused?
Truly said I think Author didn’t did his research or it also seems like a bought article from someone else and most of the things are going right above my head.
I agree on this comment.
But to stray away from this a little and the title. “Can Your Business Be Too Blog Focused.” Only if you are one of those writers that write blogs for SEO and not trying to engage with your customers. You know…keyword stuffing lol.
I’d have to say that it’s not too focused in that case… just poorly written content and social engagement.
I think so too. It’s really disappointing as the guy seems to have made a name for himself and he is also synidcated by Forbes. Maybe I need to seek out getting syndicated there too…lol
Well said Rohit. In fact how much being blog focused can be considered as too much focused ? I think this is something totally depends on business category and style/facility of reaching customers properly. Besides if blog works then being much blog focused wouldn’t be a totally bad idea! I would rather say, this is a hypothetical matter, trying to define an exact parameter in this case is not going to work much.
I guess the big question is: Wheres the fineline between blog and website.
That could be as a lot of people like to say “here’s my website”, and when you go to it… “it’s a blog website”. However, a website is really a broad term, while a blog is a type of website. The real question is how to balance your website if you are a business that does blog, but your main focus is getting customers to buy your products or services.
You must find who your business promotion is aimed at, and how to get to them.The point of getting the word out ‘scatter shot’, and hoping that someone sees it has died over the last few years. Even business blogging should be aimed at the people that will like what you write about.
Being ‘too blog-focused’ could be correct, if your prospects don’t read blogs. Thanks for the common sense article, Nile
Thanks for the great post Nile, I agree with you 100% it always about your business and your audience, internet was first defined as a free information source not as a business platform and still people come online seeking information more than anything else and blogs are the best information platforms.
I think its evident whether a site is more a website or a blog. It really just depends on the audience you are trying to reach out to.
That Forbes article is just generally vague and poorly written. It’s the sort of content you find on sites that blog too much without a focused business strategy. Maybe he wrote the article that way to set an example of what he meant.
Hi.
I think blogging is the best way to engage your customers, but it’s not the end for a company.
Produce (and optimize) great content, move your content in social network, be an actor of your niche, get respect, and sell your product.
Ben@DINO
Hello Nile! This is a great article and I do agree with you! You have done an Awesome job here giving value to your readers as well as engaging with them No Not Too Blog Focused! Thanks for sharing Chery :))
Great article Nile, and I agree with what you’ve said. The blogging needs to be carefully fitted into the overall content strategy of the business, so that it adds something to the web visitors experience, whilst still building the brand and its connections with their target audience. 2 common mistakes I see are businesses that blog too much about themselves (who really cares that you went bowling for team building!), and that they forget that their blogging is ultimately about building towards a SALE!
Well said and I must emphasize your point about adding social media share buttons. I visit a fair number of author blogs to support my fellow writers and it never ceases to amaze me when I find one that has absolutely no way to share anything – I don’t even get the point of having an author blog if it isn’t to build a platform and attract a list. Anyway, happy to share your advice.
Nile, I’m so glad you addressed this article on your site. I started my business several years before I began writing my blog and doing social media sharing and I’m so happy I started blogging and doing social media! Blogging and sharing my blog posts on social media has made a big difference in exposure for my business and it has helped many people who I can’t work with in person to have the opportunity to get help with healthy eating and holistic living and learn more about my business and services. I agree with your advice. Thanks for sharing!
You’re right – when it came to this point the guy was out to lunch – thinking that WordPress sites are build strictly for news or blogging…. when was the last time he looked at a WordPress site? Doesn’t he realize the possibilities are endless?? And how does he figure that just because you can blog that your site will become too blog focused? It’s like he thinks that once you’ve got a WordPress site that the blog witch takes over and you can’t do anything but blog …
Hey Nile,
Any type of business needs full dedication and attention . And also agreed with you points you describe above. Blog must be users friendly and content should be worthy otherwise you can’t sustain more . Great article.
Thanks and regards
Ritul Gangwar
My business is most certainly not too blog focused.. What I need to do is more focus on my blog.. But i’m not sure i’m quite ready to take it so online and less off line.. But I know who to see when it’s time!! Thanks, Nile!
I agree with everything that you said here and so glad that you’ve decided to write about it here instead of commenting on Forbe’s website. I do think there’s a fine difference with being blog focused and focused on blogging, where the latter is purely inflexible when it comes to marketing online because it’s just focused gaining traffic on you blogsite.
My business is not that much blog focused . I am a student by profession now and blogging is my part time . But your post is really nice and informative here. Thanks for sharing the nice one.
Nile,
my blog is just a blog.. not sure what else to call it hahah 🙂
I sometime promote some affiliate product, sometime tell a story, sometime I tell someone else story.. so not certain what this “to much blog focusing” so as the saying go, out of sight out of mind.. and that is just fine.
Mind you, I know that if anyone is looking for a ROI.. he or she must do their diligence to make certain their blog is in line to have some… and as you suggested, having social media buttons visible, and a direction to what they need to do after reading the info on your blog is essential.
Thanks for your great info.
_nickc
Hello sir,
Thanks for sharing your guide. I always love getting freebies and this one will definitely help me out with my own blogs.
Great looking blog you have here!! Great stuff as always. Looking forward to giving it a read. I always found here awesome posts and i always enjoyed and gained a lot after reading your posts. I personally love these wonderful suggestions.
I’m sure these will help me to improve my skills and knowledge. I am really happy to go through these points and i know they will help me in future.
Thanks – and it’s nice to come visit again.
Hmmm… I do think you and other blogging experts think blogging is the be all and most fabulous thing…and I have to put my blogging coach to touch on this too, as for many of us it is part of a marketing mix…and it is not about turning everyone into technical blogging experts,… for some it is the way forward to be blog-centric but not for all and I think that is down to marketing strategy – but I guess it is like video people think video’s are the ultimate blogging tool, it would be weird if they said it wasn’t…so for me I think you and the Forbes article are somewhere close to the truth… 🙂
I agree, Nile, that it makes little sense to put intensive effort into a blog that does not clearly move people toward some clear action goal, like joining your mailing list or buying your products or services.
There is a period, however, when you are just learning to blog and finding out what internet commerce is all about, that you’ll probably need to spend a lot of time and effort in establishing your blog. It helps you clarify your own direction, and craft a clear path to walk down. The problem is if you get stuck for too long a period of time, in blogging just for the sake of blogging. Blogging is not an end in an of itself, it’s a means to other ends which vary for different bloggers.
I think Author didn’t did his research or it also seems like a bought article from someone else and most of the things are going right above my head.
Nice post
I guess blogs are very important. Being blog focused depends totally upon the website business and the audience we are targeting. Blog acts as a great medium for targeting the wider audience and providing information. It helps in providing great traffic to our website.The blogging will be just focused on the type of website and business we are working on.
The above post also explains some points like having social media buttons which are active, RSS subscriptions and writing about the products and services.
Thank you for sharing.
I am one of those that mostly been using my blog as a backlink resource, keyword stuffing and all that. Hard part with a blog is that it’s good to have something relevant to write about. Not that easy to find the motivation to do it regularly.
According to me our business shouldn’t be too blog focused. We should consider other things too. Other marketing strategy should be used also.
It is all about the vision, and how you want to grow. The Forbes author seriously have no knowledge about the blogging and its awesome control on the audience.
Thanks Nile!
I have to agree with you in terms of disagreeing with the so called blogging expert.
You made several valid points to support your position. But I really like what you stressed about informing your visitors on what specific action and or actions you want them to take!
Successful business on or offline is about pro-active, not reactive! Meaning; you don’t wait or just expect your visitors to figure what action t take!
Great points and thanks for sharing them!