It's been 3 months since this blog launched. And the learning curve .... as for any new venture .... has been steep as Kilimanjaro....


Which was surprising. For some reason, I was under the ridiculous impression that launching a blog and building its traffic and profile would be little more than plug-and-play. I figured we had all the necessary components already in place: an established brand; a successful newsletter and busy parent Web site to help drive traffic; enthusiastic and talented writers; and the support of management. So let's pull up the shades, unlock and door, and open the bar–and get this party started!
There was some basis for my thinking. A new blog is being born every second of every day, and the blogosphere is doubling in size every 6 months or so. It's easier and more appealing than ever to get into the game, Time Magazine writes. All of this creates an impression that any monkey with an Internet connection and some software can publish a successful blog. As my pal David Armano says, firing up Typepad or Word Press is so easy that it seems like "the equivalent of getting hitched in Vegas!"
Only .... not quite. The blog's launch and growth has been significantly more of a challenge than I expected. (David had that realization, too. More on that below.)
First: there's the fact that blogs really aren't widely read by marketers. At least, the marketers who subscribe to MarketingProfs. And at least, YET.
Other than a few high-profile blogs, blog audiences are fractured and their readership is a relatively small compared to, for example, newsletter readership. Last summer, only about 30 percent of US Internet users visited blogs, according to comScore Networks.
I know, I know–I can feel your pulse quicken as you start to formulate an argument to the contrary. I'm sure the percentage of blog readers is rising, and quickly, too, especially as some excellent publications are produced on the platform.
But the truth is that we are the converted, and the rest of the potential readership of this blog and other blogs is only now beginning to drink from the font and see the depth of the potential that exists here.
Second, there's the technology issue. As BL Ochman confirmed, blog software is easy to use only if you have the geek gene. "But you still need a designer to make the blog share your company's or your personal graphic indentity. And you need plug-ins, fixes, coding to make stuff happen like text wrapping around photos," she said. In the end, "It's not really plug-and-play."
So I started to wonder, what other misconceptions are there about blogging? What have some other bloggers, more wizened than me, found to be the biggest lies? So I asked my friends and colleagues, "What the biggest lie about blogging?"
Steve Hall, Adrants
"I never thought a blog could become a business, yet, Adrants did. So, anyone who tells you a blog can't be a money-making entity is lying."
Alain Thys, futurelab
"Lie: Blogging will enable the masses to inherit the media.
"Starting a blog supposedly enables anyone to start his own medium and change the world. While exceptions exist and the 'long tail' effect is substantial, 'real impact' is reserved for those who take a professional view of blogging, or are sponsored to do so.
"Sure, anyone who opens a Blogger account instantly bypasses the editorial gatekeepers of traditional publishing. Yet writing is only half the battle. Being read requires finding an audience and keeping it. This means research, quality writing, promotional skills–which all cost more time than a non-professional can spare. And as competitive quality levels rise, money will force the table in favor of the 'pros'.
"Especially in video-blogging this is apparent as already today hit-shows like www.mobuzz.com and www.tikibartv.com are made by independents who are anything but amateurs.
"As the French would say, the more things change, the more they stay the same."
Tom Hespos, president of Underscore Marketing, who blogs at hespos.com
"Indeed, anyone can [blog]. But keeping a commitment to posting quality stuff often (and responding to your commenters) is the tough part. There are a lot of dead blogs out there."
Eric Frenchman, PardonMyFrench
"Two things [come to mind]: having good content isn't enough to drive traffic. You need links, links, and more links and time to spend making those links.
"Second: If you write more than just a few lines, you need somebody editing it for you. No matter how much time you spend reviewing it, you'll miss something because after a while it looks perfect."
Toby Bloomberg, Diva Marketing Blog and Blogger Stories
"It's not totally a non-geek medium. The more involved you become with blogging the more you want the bells and whistles included on your blog which takes some degree of tech/geek expertise. One of my biggest surprise-delights having 'geek' friends. I can not begin to tell you how kind and generous these guys have been to me."
Seth Godin, Seth Godin's blog
"Oh for sure, it's this: That people care what you say. They don't. They care what they get.
Eric Kintz, VP of Global Marketing Strategy at Hewlett-Packard, who blogs at Marketing Excellence
"The hardest thing in blogging is generating the right traffic -- not only increasing your traffic but getting access to your target audience. For example, my most successful post traffic-wise was YouTube video marketing , but was I successful in addressing my target audience? Did I rather just get linked by a popular blogger or did I just reach many bloggers that are interested in YouTube? I just have no way of knowing and the comments are not reflective of the readership.
Was I maybe more successful with Key Takeaways from the MPM conference, although there was less traffic?
"It makes it all the more difficult to tailor your messages to your audience because you get the biased feedback of the traffic numbers and comments."
David Armano, Logic + Emotion
"The biggest lie: You can "casually blog." It's "fun."
"I didn't anticipate the commitment. Starting a blog is a lot like starting a relationship. When I first fired up Typepad–it was so easy that it seemed like the equivalent of getting hitched in Vegas. Now that I'm past the Honeymoon–sometimes I wake up to my blog and think 'who the hell are you'??
"Blogging–like relationships is a lot of work. I had no idea. It is fun (and rewarding), but once you get an audience–even a small one, responsibility creeps in."
BL Ochman, WhatsNextBlog
"I've read a zillion times that if you have great stuff to say people will find you. But you're a needle in a haystack until you know how to promote. All the top bloggers are skilled and artful self-promoters."
Mack Collier, The Viral Garden and Beyond Madison Avenue
"The biggest lie I heard about blogging before I started was that 'You have to keep your entries short, a few sentences at most, because people won't pay attention for more than a few seconds'. My posts and the fact that anyone still reads me, disprove that 'rule'."
–and taking it home:
Jeremy Wright, President of b5media and author of Blog Marketing
"Well, I'm not sure I had any preconceived notions when I started 3-plus years ago. So that doesn't really apply for me. But the biggest lie of blogging? –A friend of mine and I came up with a list of almost 40 items that are lies about blogging, not sure which one is the biggest though...
1. Blogging's just a fad.
2. Always maintain a hostile relationship with your audience.
3. Don't ever admit you did something wrong.
4. It's just a PR channel.
5. Don't have a personality if you're blogging for business.
6. I can't blog because I can't write.
7. Bloggers should let it all hang out.
8. Facts just get in the way of blogging.
9. Without open comments, it's not a blog anyway.
10. There are 10,000 new blogs launched every day.
11. I don't have time to blog.
12. Fast is better than right.
13. It's impossible to make money blogging.
14. Bloggers aren't professional.
15. Anyone can blog.
16. Blogs are basically just Web sites.
17. Only cranks with too much time on their hands read blogs.
18. Blogs are a great marketing gimmick, so I should catch the buzz wave and contrive one.
19. Negative comments will harm your brand.
20. A business blog is a stream of conciseness - you don't need a focus.
21. Only the CEO should blog (that's Mark Cuban's thought).
22. Competitors will steal your ideas.
23. You need to be able to write to blog.
24. Character blogs are bad.
25. Blogs are purely an external exercise.
26. Blogs give up too much knowledge to competitors.
27. Readers might find out your products suck.
28. Slushies are a summer-only drink product.
29. Blogging and podcasting are a zero sum game.
30. Blogs are unique.
31. Bloggers still live above their parents' garage.
32. Too many people are already blogging; you can't cut through the noise.
33. You have to be an A-List blogger or there's no point.
34. The best way to get attention is to attack, attack, attack!
35. Blogging's too difficult; I can barely manage my email.
36. Bloggers are good looking, funny, and are the life of any party.
37. There is no quantifiable ROI.
OK, your turn. What are the biggest lies about blogging you've discovered?