Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Business Blogging - What Are Your Experiences?

Posted by Chris Blackman on 9/22/2006 at 12:17 AM ET 250 Points
I'm thinking of abandoning the traditional e-mail newsletter marketing approach in favour of a shorter, more frequently updated, business blog.

I feel that writing and sending e-mail newsletters into a business segment is tough, the e-mails often get stopped by corporate firewall policies even if my address is well-known to the recipient, and the timing of e-mails has to be extremely fortuitous for it to hit a chord with the recipient. With an open rate around the 40% mark it's been doing OK, but the level of business arising from it is, well, insufficient to justify the effort.

So I'm thinking about blogging as a means of staying in contact with prospects. The idea is to raise a contemporary issue and deal with it in a way that encourages conversation with prospective clients.

What do KHE experts see as the potential risks in doing this?

When implementing a blog, what's the best way to go? add it into my website? Or use one of the outsourced blog providers like Blogspot?

What are your experiences? Have you found blogging to be a better business-building tool than sending e-mail newsletters?

Look forward to your views...

Chris
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by darcy.moen on 9/22/2006 at 2:40 AM Accepted
    Multi-media baby!

    Email marketing brings the message out to your people. Sure, it gets caught in spam filters, it may not be read, etc, etc, etc.

    As for a Blog, it sits there....waiting....and perhaps some folks find it. Blogging the field of dreams...if you build it, will they come? Next question is: if they come once, will they come back?

    Now, combine the two media and put them to work. Send an email message driving people to your blog. Use the blog to build focused email lists. Who says you can;t have a Widget list, a blue widget list, and a few snarflebong lists?

    When traffic to the blog slows down, you use the lists to build traffic back up. People forget, they get bored, you lode touch, they lose thier book marks....send a reminder!

    Its about two way traffic. There is no reason why a web site or blog has to sit there waiting...DRIVE IT!

    My two cents.

    Darcy Moen
    Customer Loyalty Network
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 9/22/2006 at 2:56 AM Author
    Hmm, so I should do both? OK.

    How does a blog differ from my existing website? The idea was to use e-mail marketing to drive traffic to the web to drive enquiry etc etc...

    Isn't the blog just a fifth wheel in that process?

    Who's using e-mail, website and blogs to their advantage?

  • Posted by darcy.moen on 9/22/2006 at 9:58 AM Accepted
    For some folks, a blog IS their web site. See: www.gapingvoid.com

    For some corporations, a blog is PART of their web site, as in when an executive is blogging views about an industry.

    Email allows you to send your message out, but where does all your writing accumulate? On your reader's hard drive and in box...where as with a blog, your archives are out for the world to see. Visitors can go back through your posts and read your words and 'get to know you'.

    I see a web site as a more formal sales process. Its a place where potential clients go and see what is on offer. Blogging is more informal and relaxed, and is the place where potential clients go to learn more about your opinions, mindset, attitude, and realy get inside your head to see if they connect with you on a morals and personality level. Email is a tool to convey information and can also be used to 'reach out' to people who are not coming to your blog or web site.

    Darcy Moen
    Customer Loyalty Network
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 9/22/2006 at 8:50 PM Author
    Amy

    Yes, I too use ConstantContact for e-mail newsletters, the stats are very useful indeed. It's a great system.

    Chris

  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 9/24/2006 at 2:10 AM Author
    KHE-ers

    This is all valuable and interesting stuff. Thank you all so much for your opinions and ideas.

    I get that the blog is an online record of opinions and puts my values on display for the world to see, and I'm comfortable with that.

    And maybe blog items can seed the newsletter and avoid the writer's block cuased by a blank screen.

    Plus, I get that both newsletter and blog can provide a platform to get people to my website.

    So what are examples of good business blogs that work well for their users?

    ChrisB
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 9/26/2006 at 1:35 AM Author
    Kathleen, Amy, Darcy, and everyone

    Many thanks - this has been an excellent thread which has helped and enlightened me no end.

    When I have blogged I shall come back and get your opinions!

    (That sounds weird)

    Cheers

    ChrisB
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