Business blogging: pros and cons

Maybe you’ve considered creating a blog for your organization, but aren’t sure if it’s right for you or not. Sure, it can be helpful, but it’s not a great fit for every business or nonprofit. It’s not all rainbows and unicorns. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons to having a blog.

First, here are three reasons it could be a good idea.

Pro 1: Website Visitors

Whether you’ve invested money, time, or both in setting up a website, it does you no good unless people actually visit it. Whether they find out about it through search engines, social media, or an email newsletter, blogging consistently can bring those website visitors. Of course, you want to have a clear next step (aka Call To Action) for them to take once they’re there, or website visitors don’t do you any good.

Pro 2: Demonstrate Value

Hopefully, most of your blog articles are helpful in and of themselves, without readers having to purchase a service or product from you in order to make use of them. If so, you’re demonstrating value early in the relationship. People are more likely to buy, donate, or volunteer if the organization in question has already provided value.

Pro 3: Establish Expertise

Although it’s not always the case, often when people invest time or money with an organization, they want an expert in that industry. If you’ve blog consistently, you eventually have an archive of blog articles that paints a picture of your expertise.

Of course, blogging is not for everyone. Let’s take a look at some reasons you may not want to blog.

Con 1: Staying Consistent

The single most challenging thing for most organizations when it comes to blogging is staying consistent. Perhaps you’ve visited an organization’s website, taken a look at their blog, and discovered it had not been updated in months or even years. Are they even still in business? Inconsistent blogging can cause huge perception issues.

Con 2: Coming Up With Topics

Even if you’ve scheduled time on a regular basis to blog, coming up with topics is challenging! The good news is that I’ve written a book to help with this issue. Blog A Week contains 52 weeks of blogging topics. The bad news? There’s still work on your part to come up with the topics!

Con 3: It’s Not Free

While the investment for blogging is far lower than some other marketing options, it’s not free. You may be paying someone else to blog for you or you may be investing your own time blogging. But even if you’re doing it yourself, your time is valuable. So blogging is an investment you should consider carefully.

Blogging can definitely be beneficial. But if you’re considering it, don’t go into it blind! Weigh the pros and cons for yourself and your organization so you can make an educated decision.