Why Blogs are Killing Your Business: Part 1

This is going to be a bold statement: blogs are not going to solve your problems – in fact, they could kill your business. Somewhere out there, a multitude of SEOs, writers, and bloggers have just decided to blacklist me and everything I write ever again. But I am standing by my statement.

Why? Even though I am a writer and work on an online – and informative – blog, I know that a blog can sometimes not be what your business needs. Furthermore, there are some cardinal sins that are a commonality across blogs worldwide, which on their own can kill your blog – and your business.

Here are a few of the worst reasons why your blog may be killing your business.

BAD WRITING

Sometimes, a blog – and, if the blog is fundamental to it, a business – can be killed by just bad writing. This covers poorly constructed sentences, an absence of logical thought, the indulgence in overly technical jargon, and a reliance on empty buzzwords. Whilst not all blog posts are going to be stellar, it is important to make sure you maintain a decent standard of writing.

So, keep your paragraphs short (under 4 lines is ideal); make sure you are writing at a level that everyone can understand; and get to the point quickly – or at least, provide a summary. If you don’t feel up to the challenge of writing well-thought out articles (perhaps you are too busy to devote the time needed, or can’t afford a writer), then avoid getting into blogging.

Bad writing kills the blog in the way all poor content kills websites – it drives people away, which is bad news for your company.

POOR GRAMMAR AND SPELLING

Something that will drive people away from a blog even faster than bad writing are rudimentary mistakes with spelling and grammar. Dotting the “i’s” and crossing the “t’s” may seem like something only school children have to worry about, but they’re crucial for appearing authoritative and trustworthy.

Whilst poor grammar and spelling can drive people away from a company, it can also damage any chance of a decent reputation you were aiming for. If there are constant grammatical and spelling errors across your blog – or worse, your website – then you could become a laughing stock, losing the ability for anyone to take you seriously.

IRRELEVANT BLOGGING

You may have been bullied, bribed, enticed, or even seduced into writing a blog by any number of people from professional digital marketers through to your friends and family. But now you’ve started your blog, you realise that it’s irrelevant to you – in fact, it is sucking up valuable time and resources that could be better spent elsewhere.

A blog may be irrelevant to you if:

• You control the market. If there is no competition, then there is no real need to bother highlighting the strength of your products or services.
• You have a better way of obtaining/retaining customers. If you are a masterful door-to-door salesperson, or have influence in your local community/government, then why would you need a blog? You already have ways of reaching your intended audience without having to worry about a blog.
• Your business is offline and will be offline for the foreseeable future. Whilst all of us in the digital world may find the concept unusual, there are plenty of businesses that have neither the need nor the desire to expand into the online world. They really don’t need a business blog to promote themselves.

CONCLUSION

The above reasons should highlight the problems with blogs on the internet. And there are plenty of blogs out there that meet at least one of these categories – if not most of them.

Stay tuned to see some of the other reasons why a blog can kill a business.