What’s the point of having a blog? It’s to make a connection. And that can be awkward at first. It doesn’t feel very businesslike (just because you have a CRM system in place, doesn’t mean there’s a real relationship there).
Setting up a blog, coming up with a plan and committing to a rigorous posting schedule all add up to a lot of work on the front end. I mentioned my initiation into the world of fly fishing this weekend. It involves a similar investment. Gear and out-of-state licenses don’t come cheap.
The learning curve can be steep, and, though the payoff builds steadily over time, in the short term it can seem insignificant compared to the work involved.
I fished for about six hours over two days this weekend. And here’s what I walked away with*:
Disheartening? Not really. Because I knew the cards were stacked against me going in. My primary goal was to try to get my cast down correctly.
The fact is, I got a few hits on the lure. And then I caught this little guy. Which means my lure was behaving passably bug-like.
Finding your voice on your own blog is a lot like this. Dropping the CorporateSpeak and achieving a sense of authenticity takes some getting used to. Writing for your audience instead of writing about your products and services takes a little work before it becomes second nature.
You’ll start with a few visitors to your main page showing up in your stats. Then you’ll notice a few people digging a bit into your archives. It’s a really exciting day when you get your first comment. And even more exciting when that first person subscribes to your feed.
But it’s probably a good thing it happens like this. Chances are, by the time you get those first few comments and subscribers, you will have found your voice and hopefully have content worth passing to their friends.
And THAT’s how you grow your blog. SEO and driving traffic to your blog can be very important. But if you don’t have a conversation worth spreading around, all that work will get you pageviews, but little conversion. And even less long-term relationship with your readers.
And that relationship appears to be growing more and more valuable, according to a number of experts (see here and here and here - I’m sure you can find more without looking very hard).
But it all starts with that first tiny little nibble.
*No, it wasn’t really big enough to “walk away with.”