Clicks 'n Conversions Blog

Three final questions to help you assess whether your company is ready for the blogosphere.

Blogger readiness assessment question #5: Who will be the voice in the blog?
The biggest benefit corporate bloggers say they get from blogging is recognition as an industry thought leader. Therefore, before you start blogging you’ll want to identify whom you want to serve as your thought leader. Often times, this is the company CEO, but the person you choose should reflect the type of audience you want to attract to your blog. If your goal is to attract technical people, then the CTO or CIO are suitable choices.

It’s fine to feature several people in your blog, but I recommend you limit the number of regular contributors to avoid confusing your readers with too many voices and opinions.

Blogger readiness assessment question #6: Are you willing to commit time and resources?
Probably the biggest hurdle to blogging success will be you. Most bloggers start out enthusiastic, but as time goes on their interest wanes and they find they have “more important things to do.”

Every designated blogger will need time to research, plan, and write content. For many professional bloggers, this equates to 10 hours or more per week. Factor in extra time and resources to review content and promote the blog.

If you can’t afford to have your blogger spend 25% of their time on blog activities, you can spread the workload by featuring multiple bloggers or guest bloggers (review my caution in question #5), or hire a ghostwriter to create the posts. Your blogger(s) will still need to make time to discuss blog topics with the ghostwriter, but over time, the writer can be a valuable addition to your blogging team.

Blogger readiness assessment question #7: Are you willing to commit to a schedule?
How many magazines and e-newsletters do you subscribe to that do not have a regular routine? Blog readers are no different. If they visit your site and see “the same old thing,” eventually they’ll stop coming altogether.

As a publisher (yes, you become a publisher when you start blogging), you should create an editorial calendar that covers three to six months worth of posts. The calendar will help you ascertain whether your proposed topic (question #3) is a good choice, but don’t feel locked into the plan. You’ll want to keep the editorial calendar flexible to respond to current news and events.

How many posts should you do each week? That’s entirely up to you. Some corporate bloggers post several times each week. Personally, I think that’s too much, especially when you’re starting out. I recommend setting an initial target of one to two posts per month, increasing the frequency once you are comfortable with the routine and time commitment. Here again, hiring outside expertise can help you stick to a schedule.

By now, I hope you have a better appreciation for what it will take to make your blog successful. It’s one thing to start a blog. It’s entirely different to keep it alive with fresh content.

Is it worth it? When asked, 53% of the corporate bloggers surveyed by Technorati say their 2010 plans include blogging more frequently; a sign that tells me it’s working.

Happy blogging!