Blog With The End In Mind

I am putting this post up during a presentation I am making to a group of aspiring bloggers from Morrisville, NC through its Chamber of Commerce. Morrisville sits directly adjacent to the Research Triangle Park (RTP) outside of Raleigh and has long been recognized as a center of technical advancement. It’s a good place to be. I hope someone walks away today with a desire to start telling the world who they are and what they know.

I have been doing this blogging thing now since March of this year and it has gone well. I continue to write posts for my blog and I now am able to contribute to other larger and more well read blogs like Marketing Pilgrim and Biznology. Admittedly, these types of opportunities come more from who I know rather than being discovered for what I know but I’ll take it.

Ok, ok….I’ll get to the point. While I am starting to see some success through my blog I wouldn’t say it has come to me because of a well thought out plan of action that was designed to guide me from one point to another. Rather it has come from my desire to write about the things I know and to connect with new folks through that desire. Oh and if I am able to drum up some business for bnr marketing along the way then that’s cool too.

The way I am doing this is probably not the way any blogger should do it. Stephen Covey tells us in “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” to begin with the end in mind. He also has 6 other really good ideas which you may want to look into but for now let’s apply this principle to blogging.

If you are considering starting a blog, take Mr. Covey’s advice and do begin with the end in mind. What are you trying to accomplish with the blog? You should give this some serious consideration. I say this out of my own experience because a more well thought out plan other than “I’m going to start blogging” will help you get further faster. I would seriously consider the following when considering this venture:

1.    Determine exactly why you want to blog. Are you looking to engage your existing customers in a new dialogue? Are you looking to establish thought leadership in your chosen field? Are you simply looking for an outlet? How you answer this question will have profound impact in how your blog develops.

2.    Decide whether the blog will be a part of your existing site / business or will be independent. I chose to go outside of my existing business so I could expand the scope of what my company does without making it look haphazard on my company site. There is a level of freedom that comes on being removed from the confines of your corporate sites in many instances. In addition, I can establish an individual voice that hopefully serves to give folks a better feel for who I am and what I do.

3.    Pick content related “high points” to concentrate on initially. This simply means that you should work to have some depth to your content so you can establish credibility rather than appearing to be a “mile wide and an inch deep.”

4.    Think about writing for 3 solid months before you publicize your blog. There is nothing worse than going to a blog that has 3 posts in total. You may feel like you’re the last person on earth but you don’t want to waste your first impression with a new visitor. God only knows how many people I have scared off thus far.

5.    What are your exact business and personal objectives for blogging? If you are going to invest this much of yourself into something give yourself some kind of goals to shoot for and to determine if you are doing something useful or just spinning your wheels.

6.    Understand the time commitment. This will take time to do and manage. If you can’t project ahead to see the real value in making that kind of investment you may need to seriously consider not doing this.

There is so much more to consider but I think this is a fair starting point for the “Blogger-be”. This is my lame attempt at coining a phrase. You get it right? A blogger “wannabe” is a “blogger-be”. Never mind. Check out one of my older posts for additional thoughts on this blogging thing.

Comment Starter: For you experienced bloggers tell the rest of us how you did or didn’t begin with the end in mind and what the result have been. For blogger newbies share your initial experience and thoughts. Maybe someone can be of service and help a fellow blogger.

SMB Takeaway: As with anything in business it is wise to begin with the end in mind. Blogging is no different. There are many elements to look at but if you have no target or mission for your blog you will do this in a vacuum and potentially waste valuable time and resources.  If you know where you want to go with your blog you may find there is even greater reward in the end as well.

Thanks and have a great day!