It was love at first sight from the moment you met.
You called your mom to tell her about it.
You emailed everyone you know, inviting them to visit. You’ve launched your organization’s blog. Exciting, isn’t it?
Yes, it is. But launching a new blog is like bringing home a puppy. Let’s consider the similarities.
1) Housebreaking
Puppies are adorable, except when they’re having accidents on your newly purchased Persian rug. As puppy owners know too well, the first few weeks (or months) are all about teaching your dog to do its number one and number two in the backyard or on the sidewalk.
With blogging, your first ten posts help you learn the features available in your blogging platform (e.g. image upload and placement, tagging, taxonomy, etc.) and master assorted blogging tactics (e.g. keyword usage, title selection, hyperlinking, etc.).
2) Frequent Walks
It’s 6AM and you’ve barely slept, but you need to walk the dog. Later that morning when you’re ready for a nap, the puppy wants to play. Your blog is not as persistent as your puppy, but a consistent posting frequency is important.
A consistent posting schedule builds a relationship with your readers. Whether you post once a week or once a day, readers will return at a frequency you’ve established. Your puppy, on the other hand, will return at random intervals.
3) Socializing Your Pet
It’s important for your puppy to be comfortable around people – and, for it to be well socialized among other dogs and pets. That’s why you bring it to family gatherings (once it’s house broken) and set up “doggie play dates” with friends and neighbors.
You’ll want to socialize your blog posts (I’d start with Twitter and LinkedIn, then Google+) and connect with influencers to make them aware of relevant posts. If you can get influencers to read and share your posts, then you’re doing something right with your blog content.
4) Regular Visits to the Vet
A puppy needs to make frequent visits to the veterinarian. The vet will examine your pup to give it a clean bill of health (along with some immunizations). With blogs, I like to ask friends and colleagues to review recent posts and give me feedback.
I ask folks inside and outside the industry, as I like to hear both perspectives. You can also hire consultants or content strategists to perform an audit and provide recommended changes. It’s great to get independent perspectives about your blog.
A Man’s (and Woman’s) Best Friend
Blogging really can be your organization’s best friend. You’ll achieve awareness and thought leadership. Over time, you’ll be able to connect your blog content to revenue. In other words: the puppy you used to walk each morning will now bring you the newspaper instead.
Visit the DNN website to have a look at the blog that I manage. After you visit, use the Comments area below to let me know what you think. Thanks!
Note: I originally published this post at LinkedIn, but thought I’d share it here as well.
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