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‘Do I Need a Blog?’ - Five Questions to Ask Yourself

March 31, 2007

There are many pros and cons for having a blog on your site. I have seen too many developers insist that a blog/article database/forum is the only way to increase your traffic/boost your page rank/bring in new customers. This is completely untrue, as there is always more than one way to achieve your goals. There are, however, questions on both the user experience and the marketing strategy sides that you should be asking yourself before you go ahead and add that blog to your site.

I highly recommend asking yourself these five questions before deciding to add a blog to your site or to leave it off:

  1. In the context of my business, does having a blog make sense?

With some exceptions, it seems like service-based businesses have more need for a blog as a marketing tool, while product-based businesses would be better off with a events database and/or a product newsletter.

  1. Do the sales leads originating from the blog justify the time commitment of maintaining a blog and the expense of creating it?

Blogs require marketing themselves (in addition to marketing your business!), as well as frequent updates and engaging content. This all adds up to be a large chunk of your time every day. There may better and more cost-effective ways of marketing your products and services. When you create your marketing plan, keep in mind a cost/benefit analysis of each action item and consider each action’s ROI.

  1. Do I have the time and energy to commit to a blog?

Small business owners are BUSY PEOPLE. If you don’t have the time to commit to a weekly posting schedule plus blog marketing and participation, then blogging might not be the best choice for you as a business owner.

  1. How will a blog benefit me?

Think of this question in terms of personal goals, business strategy, and your marketing plan. Are there other, more cost-effective ways to get those same perks?

  1. Why do I want a blog?

There are many good reasons why you should have a blog, such as "to record and archive my frequently repeated responses", "to brand yourself as an expert", or to "create a viral buzz". If your analysis includes "because my developer told me it was the best way to [insert some claim here]", "the blog came with my website package", or "I’m not a good writer", you’d probably better skip it.

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