Bad Blogging Advice?
June 4th, 2008 by Bob Bly
In an interview with DM News (6/2/08, p. 23), Andrew Trent, director of Web content for Journyx, gives advice on using blogs as a marketing tool that seems — to me, anyway — to be a tad off base.
Specifically, he says: “Your blog should provide the same content as any direct marketing pieces you send out.”
(He does add that your blog can include “so much more” than your promotions … such as “links to relevant materials.”)
Andy, are you serious?
Blogs are supposed to be conversations and content, as I understand it — not sales pitches for products.
Do you take copy from your e-mail marketing campaigns and direct mail packages … and post that same sales copy on your blog?
I cannot believe anyone would do it, or that if someone DID do it, his readers wouldn’t flee from his blog like rats abandoning a sinking ship.
What do you think? Can sales copy be recycled in a blog? Or is that cheating your loyal blog readers?
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 5:26 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 4th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Wow.
What a limiting statement!
Your main website pages, fly catcher pages and squeeze pages should replicate your marketing pieces, but your blog is a completely different medium.
A blog is a ‘different medium’ that lets you say so much more that ‘just’ your marketing pieces.
Share your knowledge through your blog and ‘give’ to your audience, not just ’sell’ at your audience.
Fiona Fell - The Profit Maximising Web Geek
http://www.FionaFell.com.au
June 4th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Sounds like yet another industry expert commenting about blogging, without actually blogging or understanding the culture of the blogosphere.
I write my own blog and contribute to a number of top-100 blogs and if I ever slapped my marketing copy up, I’d get smacked down and see my subscriber numbers dive.
In fact, a few months back, I posted about a seminar I was leading and linked to the sales letter and a handful of my regular readers were annoyed that I wrote the sales letter in a different format and tone than the blog.
Simple rule to live by - know before you speak
June 5th, 2008 at 10:40 am
No, it is totally true. But don’t stop at blogs. All verbal statements you make to strangers, friends or family should also be the same content of your direct marketing letters.
Really.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:23 am
The character portrayed by Alec Baldwin in the movie Glen Garry Glen Ross would have agreed completely with Andrew Trent. Remember his formula “ABS” — “always be selling?”
But remember — Baldwin’s character also left us with this admonition:
“Coffee’s for closers.”
June 5th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Your blog should be all about providing solid content and building relationships.
This is not to say that I wouldn’t let my readers know if I was doing an event or had a recommendation to make. Most of my readers expect this from me.
June 5th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I agree with Mark
and add to that all birthday and Christmas cards should include a call to action. It is also always a good idea to figure in some back-end sales when you give birthday and Christmas gifts.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:15 am
I just read a book by someone about freelance writing. The title was something about “secrets of a freelance writer.” I can’t remember the author.
Anyway, in a section about working a room/networking at group events in order to generate leads, he strongly advised readers to remember that they are not there to sell things or close deals but to introduce themselves and meet prospects.
It struck me that this advise applies to blogs as well.
June 25th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
I agree with Mark and Sean Deminski. You should also name your children after your brands and products. It creates a lifetime of free exposure; from the day they say “Here” in their first class role call to the day they get arrested.