Expert Spreads Myths about Business Blogging

I just watched a video interview by Ralph Wilson of Web Marketing Today of Andy Beal on How to Get Started in Business Blogging.

Unfortunately, Andy perpetuates some of the commonly held myths about blogs. I just hate it when this happens. Here Andy Beal is an Internet expert: I'm sure many viewers assume what he says is the whole truth.

It's not that he lied - he told part of the story and omitted some important details that could cost new bloggers time, money and frustration. [See comments...]

The myths, as Andy proclaims them:

1. Blogging platforms are free - for example Blogger.com. Because it's owned by Google, it's search engine friendly.

The truth: (as Patsi proclaims it:)
           a) Just because something is free doesn't mean it's good and doesn't mean it's good for your business... Your business deserves a better blogging platform than Blogger provides.
           b) All blogs are search engine friendly, and Blogger isn't more search engine friendly than another.

    2. Wordpress is completely free -

The real truth...

a) There's no tech support. There are user forums and many experts so you can find help but you have to know what you're doing or pay someone to help you.
b) It may seem easy to Andy, but to non-techie business people, you'll have to pay a tech person to set it up, add features, and maybe even post for you...
c) You have to host a wordpress blog on a server so you do have server costs   

3. Blogger and Wordpress are the only platforms Andy mentions for starting a business blog. That's a huge error of omission.

        a) There are many options that should be explored before deciding which platform is best for your company
        b) Where's the mention of Typepad.com? This is one of the best solutions for non-techie people and it has tech support, only costs a few dollars a month and you get a variety of professional templates if you don't want to mess with customization.

In all fairness, Andy did get a couple of important tips right:

1. Don't start blogging for your business before you're really clear what you want to accomplish and that you're willing to devote some time to maintaining it.
2. Post 3 times a week
3. Share the word - let people know you've got a blog and why they'll want to subscribe to it
4. Comment on other blogs so you get known and get others in similar fields to come read yours

If you're new to blogging and want to harness the power of blogs for your company, get the whole truth first.

Related Post
TypePad We Love You, Here's Why

Comments

[Adrienne Graham]

Thank you so much for this! I am new to Blogging and have been giving it a try for a few months now. I am a Recruiter and Career Consultant and wanted to have blogs that cater to both. There seems to be so many blogs out there it's hard to tell which ones are valuable. My blogs are supposed to be a representation of my expertise as well as a place readers can come to be informed. I'm still learning the ropes but I'm hoping over time I will improve. I will definitely continue reading your blog.

Thank you.

Adrienne Graham

[Andy Beal]

Thanks for your additional thoughts. Keeping in mind that we only had a few minutes to discuss the topic on video, I would like to address some of your comments.

I mention that there are many blog platforms and that most will be drawn to Blogger - which is very true, Blogger is the most popular.

Wordpress.com is completely free and is the hosted version of the site. It is very easy to set up - certainly easier than installing Wordpress.org on your own server.

There are certainly many more things to discuss and I'd be delighted to do a video interview with you some time to discuss the areas that you believe are worth discussing.

All the best.

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

Thanks Andy, for your quick response. We'd certainly enjoy doing an interview with you soon - right now we are on hiatus from our Blog Talk Radio show but we'll contact you to set that up when we start it up again.

Thanks for addressing these issues at least partially. I recognize that in a short interview one leaves out important stuff - glad you are willing to clarify.

I just hate to see newbies mis-informed because they take away bites of information that are incomplete.

[Gordon Firemark]

I feel compelled to comment because you folks are always hyping Typepad.
I have often wondered if you're somehow SPONSORED by that platform.

I think Typepad is fine for some people, but there are plenty of us who find it easy to use other blogging platforms. In reality, it's NOT that hard.

Personally, I am a bit of a techie, so I PREFER hosting my WORDPRESS site on my own server, along with the email and web pages I ALREADY pay for. Nowadays, even the lowest-budget Web Hosting services provide a simple, easy to use control panel, which allows you to install Wordpress (or many other blog platforms), for free. If the control panel isn't available, most will do the installation for you (often at no additional charge).

Ultimately, it's not HOW your blog is hosted, or which software it uses that matters, What really counts is THAT it works. Content, is really the key. So many blogs are started and then languish for lack of attention from the so-called blogger. Blogging is NOT for everyone. If you don't give it the time it deserves, it will fail, and make you look worse than if you didn't have one.

While, generally, I agree with the recommendation of posting 3 or more times a week, I think it's important to note that posts have to have meaningful content. Silly posts about what you had for lunch, or where you're planning your next vacation are worse than not posting.

If you don't have anything meaningful to say... don't say anything.. spend your time LOOKING for something meaningful to say, and THEN post.

[Denise aka The Blog Squad]

In response to Gordon, no, we are not sponsored by TypePad and we receive no remuneration from TypePad.

We prefer TypePad for the clients we serve, as we've said many times. Our clients are generally NOT techie and TypePad is an excellent solution for those people. We do say, in many ways that if you are techie then wordpress.org may be a good solution for you. We do not object to wordpress, in fact we recommend it for some solutions.

However, your final point is really the most important. No one should have a blog just to have a blog. The blog should support your business and provide useful, valuable information for your readers.

[Rosalind Joffe]

Reading this thread only serves to remind all of us we live in a different world from what most of us (I assume we're all over 25)grew up with. It used to be that only celebrities and politicians had to hope -- and then worry about the press quoting them. Now, even if you don't blog -- but just get your name somewhere - it has the potential to "backfire". I was interviewed by a reporter yesterday and as we were speaking, I got this feeling that somehow she was going to quote me incorrectly. That's not "damning" in itself - but it's how someone could misinterpret that and so on. BUT, all said, the best we can do is to acknowledge our mistakes (because we all make them)if we make them and live with the reality that we will be misunderstood. Thanks, Patsi & Denise, for doing such a good job in transparently showing us why you do what you do.