{"id":4911,"date":"2016-07-25T08:56:27","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T08:56:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/charlesavemktg.com\/blog\/?p=4911"},"modified":"2017-04-12T05:19:16","modified_gmt":"2017-04-12T05:19:16","slug":"whats-point-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlesavemktg.com\/blog\/whats-point-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s the Point of a Blog?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I’ve started many personal blogs… started<\/em> being the operative word. But I failed to follow through with what a blog truly is \u2014 a commitment.<\/p>\n

The grand irony of course, is that content marketing is one of my specialties at Charles Ave. I’ve strategized, contributed to, and edited blogs for years. I’ve recruited writers, formatted posts, forged content partnerships, and promoted articles. In the midst of doing that, I also made excuses: I was so busy managing other companies’ blogs, I figured, how could I\u00a0possibly maintain my own?<\/p>\n

Well… no more. I’m hoping that this<\/em> blog, being my own company’s<\/em> and all, is the one that breaks the cycle.<\/p>\n

But as I tell every client who launches a blog – it won’t work unless you work at it. And working at it requires long-term dedication to the blog’s objectives. So, you have to ask the basic question: what’s the point of a blog?<\/p>\n

Why blog?<\/h2>\n

Any internet marketing hack will tell you that “content is king” and throw out buzzwords like thought leadership. And obviously, beneath any marketing initiative is the intention to build sales. But you can’t start a blog and expect the needle to move immediately. The needle might not even move a few months down the road. In fact, your blog might never generate a lead or make a sale… unless you do it right.<\/p>\n

The basic point of a blog is to build a community that is interested in what you have to say. And no one is interested in listening to an overly aggressive salesperson.<\/p>\n

Instead, a blog is an invitation, and your website is the party.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ain’t no party like a blogging party<\/h2>\n

Let’s see how much I can torture this party analogy, shall we? When you host a party, you carefully consider the guests: who are they, and, knowing them, what would they enjoy? Should you prepare a fancy multi-course dinner or simply order pizza? Are there ice breaker games or do you leave it more freeform?<\/p>\n

In the same way, a new blogger should define the kind of people he or she wants to attend, and then consider what those people would like. These profiles are sometimes called personas<\/em>. For the Charles Ave blog, for example, I’m most interested in readers who are<\/p>\n