To Blog or Not to Blog… That is the Question!

Everyone wants to blog – and I get it. I want to blog – and I do blog, pretty actively. I read blogs, I write blogs, and I promote the blogs I read and write – it’s an endless cycle of blog content creation and consumption.

And I know I’m not alone. Blogs have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, spawning countless opportunities to publish and consume content.

Anyone can publish on platforms like LinkedIn and Medium, while sites like The Huffington Post, and countless other global destinations are opening their blogs to professional and amateur writers alike.

But while blogging has never been bigger or more ripe with opportunities, I’d advise against diving in headfirst, at least in the beginning. While I know that might sound counter intuitive, go with me on this one.

Because, like anything, blogging comes with some serious pros and some serious cons. If you don’t understand both sides of the coin, you could bite off more than you can chew – and that could take traffic conversions and commissions right out of your pocket.

The CONS of Blogging

Let’s get the big CON out of the way right now. Very simply, blogging isn’t a good way to drive traffic or new business period. Unless you already have some incredibly active, influential and well-trafficked blog, this isn’t going to be a big revenue source for you.

If you read certain posts or listen to some of the gurus out there, you’ll likely be led to believe that blogging works no ifs, ands or buts about it. If you have a new time-product, service or business, just write a blog post!

The search engine traffic will organically drive new leads to your page, and once they see your amazing blog posts, they’ll immediately click through to buy. Right?

WRONG.

Blogging on its own – as in, with no paid promotional support can drive organic search traffic, but that’s slow, at best. It can take months – years, even to get ranked. It’s just not a scalable way to build a business. Want to double traffic from one month to the next through paid methods?

Just double them – ouble the amount you’re spending on ads or email outreach or Facebook PPC, for example.

Search engine traffic, though?

It doesn’t work that way. And besides all of that, blogging is time-consuming, even if you’re a great writer. If you aren’t a great writer? It’s still time-consuming and you’re going to have to invest in a copywriter to tell your story. Not ideal.

The PROS of Blogging

So the big question: why blog? The biggest pro is also the simplest one you’ll be creating solid content that will stick around forever.

If you create a blog post over the next two or three hours, let’s say, it could live on your website or a third-party platform for the next 10 or 20 years, easily. It’s a very leveraged way of doing work always a plus.

Blogs are also a great follow-up tool, something many entrepreneurs don’t give much thought to. For example, let’s picture a typical traffic-driving campaign. You have a lead capture page, and to drive traffic there, you’ve set up Facebook PPC ads.

Leads come to the page, you get their info and you prep a follow-up that links to a relevant piece of content on your blog. Instantly, this new lead sees you’re a thought leader in the space which, no doubt, will elevate you in their minds.

And if they click through? You may have hooked your next great customer and/ or loyal reader.

Another perk? Once you’ve established your blog page, you can host a ton of high-value content videos, text, banner ads for your sales office, testimonials and more. The key, though, is not to rely on your blog as a traffic driver but, instead, to see it as a relationship-building tool once leads are in the mix.

What’s Next? To Blog or Not to Blog …

Your next step? Decide what you’re going to do.

Will you be all in with your blogging, posting the best possible content you can – content that’s useful, entertaining and actionable? Or will you take a hard pass on blogging, at least for now?

Because I believe there’s no in-between. You do it and do it well or you don’t. Too many people half-heatedly invest in their blog and it winds up being a total disaster a total disaster that’s totally time-consuming.

These “bloggers-post generic content, post infrequently and think they’ve got a solid strategy. They don’t. It’s just a complete waste of time!