WSG Blog

At least three times in the last few weeks I've heard some version of the following sentiment: Blogging is an arduous pain in the...

Well, yes, it is. If you're not a writer, so is producing a white paper, a case study, or a column for a trade publication. The only quick-and-easy thing about blogging is hitting "post" and seeing your words immediately appear on the Internet. We've come to think of blogging as being quick and pithy -- like a sudden and brilliant stroke of genius tossed out for the world to consume. I think that's because the best bloggers make it look easy. They come off sounding intelligent, concise -- and, if you're lucky, amusing, entertaining and surprising. That kind of writing doesn't happen by accident. And it definitely doesn't happen like clockwork every other week without a lot planning and discipline.

A blog is just another channel for thought leadership development. Good writing -- whether it takes the form of a 1200-word trade journal article or a 300-word blog entry -- requires the same thoughtful strategy, the same ability to write an informative (perhaps even entertaining) and concise article, and the same attention to internal rules of branding and messaging.
One of the best ways to ensure that your blog remains a "going concern" is to treat it like a magazine that must go to the printer every other week.

• Create en editorial calendar matched to industry events or that maps the topics you'd like to cover throughout the year. For example, if you're a CPA, you have certain time-sensitive issues that you know will fall at certain times of the year.
• Keep a journal of ideas as they come to you so that you can tackle those topics at a later date.
• Why should you have all the fun? Assign the writing duties to more than one person in your organization.
• Designate an editor whose job it is to track down copy, proofread it, and post it.
• Define your editorial goals (e.g.: Who is our audience? How does this content reinforce our brand or further our business development efforts?) This will help reduce the potential for a "what I had for breakfast at the trade show" entry.