Do Blogs Have A Limited Lifespan?

by Top Ten on April 27, 2009

in Business Blogging Methods

The other day I got to thinking about blogging and if there is ever a time when a blogger should just call it quits. Specifically, I started something of an internal dialogue about what would happen if there comes a time when everything has been said already and any future publications would just be redundant.

I’ll take a hypothetical situation here and expand a little on it.  Let’s suppose that Jane decided to start a blog about cats.  She publishes a few articles a week and covers topics such as feeding, health issues, behavior problems, etc.  Eventually she notices that all her knowledge and experience on this subject has been published on her blog, any related news stories have been covered, and she has nothing new to add.  What now?

Some may say to maybe  revisit older posts and touch on them again.  But even if you do this, how long would you want to continue in the pattern of repeating information that is already on your site?

With the exception of perhaps tech blogs, I am leaning towards the opinion that any topical blog really does have what could be termed as a lifespan.  You may have an incredible blog that is a virtual encyclopedia of information, but eventually your blog will become an exhaustive authority on the subject where nothing new of value can be added.  It would be a bittersweet moment if and when a dedicated blogger reaches this point.

What do you think?  Do you think that a blog can continue to provide new and relevant topical content indefinitely, or do you think that eventually they can become “complete” and maybe should be shelved?

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Using Twitter To Bring Visitors To Your Blog

by Top Ten on March 26, 2009

in Visitors

First off, let me apologize for my absence the past few weeks and for the dreary appearance of this blog.  It’s in a state of hiatus, but hopefully things should return to normal in the next week or two.

I know that there are a lot of blogs that are started that focus on very competitive topics.  Getting noticed in a field of thousands of other blogs or websites can be a very daunting task, especially if your blog is brand new to the field.  So what can a person do to help get a little exposure?

Try using social media, particularly Twitter.  Twitter is fast becoming one of the most popular forms of social media out there and it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if it became the social media leader in the very near future.

Using this blog as an example, if it weren’t for using services such as Twitter then the amount of visitors would be drastically reduced.  This site is centered on blogging with a focus on business blogging.  There are many, many other sites out there that are geared towards this topic.  These industry giants dominate the search engine results and so I would have to pursue ways other than search engines to attract visitors.  I chose Twitter.

Posting a blog update with a link in your Twitter stream can do wonders for your blog traffic.  Your new blog may be invisible in Google, but you can get the word out easily in the “twittersphere”.  As an added bonus, if other people like what you published, they may “retweet” your link which exposes your blog to even more people.

I have to add a word of caution to this: Don’t overdo it!  Promoting your website occasionally through Twitter is fine, but it turns people off when someone is tooting their own horn a bit too much.  Keep it in moderation and you should be fine.

So if you’re swimming in a sea of anonymity, look into using forms of social media like Twitter to get a little attention.

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Brand Your Blog To Your Business

by Top Ten on March 10, 2009

in Blog Themes

I’ve mentioned blog themes a few times already and I can’t really overemphasize the importance of using the right theme for your blog.  How you present your blog to others is much the same as how you would present a brick and mortar store to your public; appearances mean a lot.

Many businesses invest in a quality layout and design for their commerce websites but leave little consideration for their blogs.  They may just grab any free theme available that catches their eye.  Sometimes the color schemes match up with their business site, but most often they don’t.

What these business bloggers may not realize is that almost every website design can be converted into a blog theme for use by Wordpress.  For someone who knows a little web coding, it’s not too difficult to create a Wordpress theme that mirrors the look of your business site.  Some designers charge more than others, so it pays to shop around for this kind of service.  (Feel free to contact me for a quote if you’re in the market for a custom blog theme.)

I don’t know about you, but every time I’m on a nice looking website and click to their onsite blog and see the “Kubrick” theme I die a little on the inside.  When they mix up the site and blog themes like that they lose the overall seamless nature their website once had.

Even if your blog is hosted on a separate domain I would push for it to be branded with the same theme as the main site.  This creates continuity between related business sites and lessens the chance of any visitor not knowing who you are.

When it comes to your business blog, don’t settle for a theme that doesn’t match your company; get a theme that brands your blog to your business.

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