7 Sure-Fire Ways to Bring a Company Blog Back from the Dead

It seemed like such a great idea at the time...

Awesome. You've sold the idea of blogging to your client or company. Now what?

It's this critical question that ends up hounding most company blogs. What do you do after the initial glow wears off? Who takes ownership? Why isn't anyone commenting?

Rest easy now.

Follow these steps and you can inject new life into your company's blog:

1. Focus on interesting individuals. Not corporate communications.

Personal branding may not be in favor with current thinking, but when it comes to an agency/company blog? This kind of mindset needs to be at the forefront.

People simply won't do something unless they are rewarded for their efforts. Harnessing this mindset is key to building a vibrant and interesting blog. It's far more interesting to read a variety of perspectives (from different levels in the agency/company) then read a single voice.

Get away from the mindset that the employee is writing on behalf of themselves. More often then not the author is writing from this perspective: Stuart Foster, The Lost Jacket/Mullen and not Stuart Foster, My Job Sucks Please Hire Me Now.

2. Use compelling original or license-free imagery.

Want to know the fastest way to get me to click something? Tie a relevant dynamic image to the article. Great imagery makes a great post that much better. Bad imagery drags the post in the other direction. Nothing is worse then seeing great content languish because of an inability to format and design effectively.

3. Add utility, not fluff.

Want to win my business? Demonstrate your knowledge on a subject, not just your business development skills. I want actionable information (preferably scalable) that I can forward in an email or print out and show a colleague. If you provide value on a regular basis? Count me in as a dedicated reader and potential customer.

4. Write about awesome things, regardless of where they come from.

CP+B created Pleasehire.us last week. It rocked and inspired me to give my feedback. Could this be construed as being supportive of a rival agency? In the past, absolutely. However, today the impetus is on helping people and surfacing the awesome (where ever you might find it).

5. Use it as a staging platform for larger ideas.

It's great when a blog post can be the seed for a great idea. I've learned something from every single one I've written here. Writing and thinking about larger concepts are a natural fit with blogging and can serve as a strong discussion point internally. This becomes even more relevant if the subject being discussed is spurred from a pitch or RFP.

6. Be consistent.

Traction and traffic comes from consistency. Don't deviate from a posting cycle too much or you will end up confusing and losing readers. Be there everyday or twice a week. It's your call, but stay on target.

7. Relax. It's a blog.

Your content doesn't have to be perfect. The idea of a blog is to incite conversation and thinking around the topic you wrote about. It isn't to solve the larger issue (this is occasionally a nice side effect though). Thus, don't focus on complete thoughts but rather the conversation that results from your thinking. You'll prefer the results AND you'll end up having people actually comment.

Have any other suggestions? Or disagree with my assessments? I'd love to hear your input.

Photo Credit: poisonbabyfood

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tagged as blog fixes, company blog success, company blogging wins, corporate communications blog, fix your company blog, hack your company blog, public relations blog, quick blogging fixes