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Laura Christianson Relationship Marketing
 
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Kurt Batdorf, Editor
kbatdorf@scbj.com
Published: Thursday, April 1, 2010

Develop a long-term business blogging regimen; blogging is an ongoing marathon, not a sprint

Marathon runners adhere to a rigorous training schedule. Six months before a race, they settle into a routine that lessens the possibility of over-training and burnout.

Blogging is similar to training for a marathon; it requires stamina and long-term commitment.
Many business professionals, however, mentally approach blogging as a sprint. They launch their business blog enthusiastically, posting new articles daily.

A month later, they experience that energy-sapping phenomenon known as “hitting the wall.” Their creativity well has evaporated. They have a strong urge to stop blogging.

The vast majority of blogs fall victim to the sprinter mentality; 97 percent of all blogs are abandoned after the first post.

Abandoning your business blog is like locking your store during business hours. It tells customers, “Go away. I don’t want your business.”

If you’re serious about building your brand through blogging, you need to develop a marathon mentality. You must set reasonable, attainable goals and train with temerity.

Step one in your training regimen is to create a blogging business plan.

Clarify who your target reader is and what you plan to accomplish. Specify 6-month, 1-year, 2-year, and 5-year blogging goals. Note how many page views you hope to achieve at each of those milestones.

List topics you will cover, media exposure you hope to garner, and the amount of money you plan to earn (if you sell products or services via your blog).

Step two is to analyze your calendar.

How much time do you spend doing each activity essential for running your business? What activities can you say “no” to in order to make room for blogging?

Keep in mind that blogging doesn’t consist solely of writing articles. You must build in time for responding to reader comments; for commenting and guest posting on other blogs in your industry; for creating profiles on various social networks, and for promoting your blog.

If you don’t have room in your schedule to accomplish essential blogging-related tasks, consider outsourcing some of these jobs to a local blogging specialist.

Step three is to decide how often you’ll publish new content.

To build a loyal following, you’ll want to publish at least one high-quality article each week; three fresh articles per week is ideal. At the end of each quarter, evaluate whether you’ve achieved your publishing goals and adjust your publication schedule as needed.

Note which weekdays you’ll publish articles and plug specific topics into specific dates on your blogging calendar. Many bloggers designate a particular weekday for a specific article format. For example, Mondays might feature reviews of industry products. Tuesdays might be devoted to a top 10 list. Wednesdays, to sharing industry news. Thursdays might be dedicated to commentary and Fridays to addressing customer questions.

Every marathoner builds rest days into their training schedule. You should, too. Give yourself permission to take two guilt-free days away from your blog each week.

Step four is to monitor
your blogging time.

Before you begin a blogging session, decide how many minutes you’re going to devote to the task.
Close down your e-mail client, text messaging, social networks, and other distractions that will prevent you from blogging productively.

Set a Web-based egg timer, your cell phone’s stop watch, or an old-fashioned kitchen timer. When the timer dings, stop blogging.

Lynn Jennings, one of the best female American distance runners of all time, said, “Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise.”

Start your blogging marathon at a reasonable pace — one that allows you to tone your mental muscles and finish strong.

Laura Christianson owns Blogging Bistro (www.bloggingbistro.com), a Snohomish-based company that helps businesses enhance their relationship marketing through Web sites, blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. Contact her at 425-244-4242 or laura@bloggingbistro.com.


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