Have you been neglecting your blog? Are you spending time on social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter trying to “master” the way to make money and not spending time on your blog? Maybe someone told you that blog’s are dead and its time to bury it? @Markwschaefer wrote a blog post regarding this topic before. I took a short quote from Mark’s blog.
The most important reason for a sustaining a website was entirely neglected: This is the place where you ask people for their money.
I couldn’t agree more with Mark. Although twitter and Facebook are great tools, we shouldn’t neglect our blog just because they are the next big thing. I’ve never really seen twitter or Facebook as the money makers, but I see them as add on to my value meal.
Blog: Big Mac
Twitter/Facebook: Fries + Apple Pie + Coke
Combine them all I get my complete McDonalds Value Meal and a happy Aaron. (hungry now)
Alright maybe not the greatest example, so here is why I say you shouldn’t give up your blog.
1) Social Media Changes
Social media can change “just like that” and without you realizing it. They can take away your monthly income. I realized many people saying we don’t need to spend much time on blogs because we have Facebook or twitter. The thing is, we still need a blog. The blog or website is where we make build content. While social networking sites are where we spread the awareness of our blog.
When I was on Friendster, I heard a lot of people was making tons of money from Myspace. I’m not sure about what happened to them now.
2) Email Marketing is Holy Grail.
I learned this from Nick. Nick is the founder of Social Times Inc, and he spoke at the Social Ad Summit on Facebook’s advertising. He mentioned that email marketing is the holy grail of marketing. The reason behind so is, because “we” as marketers get people who are willing to give in their email so that we can contact them in the future. They are people who already have the interest and the trust that they have put in us.
If I give a person my email or subscribe to their newsletter, chances are that I already have an interest in them and what they have to say.
3) Conversation Rates
Here are the conversation rates from email marketing (the holy grail of course) to other forms of advertising and marketing.
Email > Blog > LinkedIn > Facebook > Twitter
I was looking for the facts behind this but was having trouble looking for it. Email works best because the people already have built a trust on us.
4) “Death” of social networking sites
I’ve been online for a while, and I noticed many social networking sites “dying” because they were unable to “cope” and change fast enough. Look at Myspace today. No offence to Myspace fans out there but Myspace is dying, and I think everyone knows this.
Friendster is not doing very well themselves too. I have a Friendster account that I used for two years and left it there. (Friendster is now owned by MOL Malaysia).
Digg is doing quite bad as well and rumors has it that Kevin Rose the founder of Digg will resign. Hi5 is another example.
However, a few of these websites are having a “comeback” like Myspace and Friendster, which had their redesigns. Hi5 has rumors to be the game version of Facebook, but is it too late?
5) Content Brings Subscribers
In my opinion, tweets and wall post brings readers, and content brings subscribers and maybe SALES. You can’t really get much from a tweet, unless they are engagements, or you’re helping someone out with a problem, but trying to make a sale? Perhaps its possible, after all recently, Mark Collier did just that with his weekly blog chat.
What do you think? Should we put all our eggs onto social networking sites?
Photo credits: by Frerieke
I really do feel that having a blog and focusing on that is an important factor. I know before I used to concentrate on social media more than having quality content but I realized that social sites gets built by the dozen and could be gone by tomorrow. I love the point that you made with Myspace as you are right. Myspace is dieing and in my opinion has been dead for about 1 1/2 yr now. But, having a “central hub” as my friend Craig Bivins says that you can share your ideas and thoughts with people is a very important factor. That is where you could produce sales and also engage with more people. Really Great post.
I really do feel that having a blog and focusing on that is an important factor. I know before I used to concentrate on social media more than having quality content but I realized that social sites gets built by the dozen and could be gone by tomorrow. I love the point that you made with Myspace as you are right. Myspace is dieing and in my opinion has been dead for about 1 1/2 yr now. But, having a “central hub” as my friend Craig Bivins says that you can share your ideas and thoughts with people is a very important factor. That is where you could produce sales and also engage with more people. Really Great post.
Aaron,
I like your Value Meal analogy. It illustrates the importance of a business (or individual) website and blog as “the main course”.
Like you, I also enjoy @markwschaefer blogs and learn something new with each article. Mark recently wrote an article where he shared a realization that one of his social media friends had a chronic illness he had not been aware of even though they had corresponded on multiple occassions. He felt bad that he hadn’t known this important aspect of this person’s life and wondered if the word “friend” had been cheapened by social media.
That recap is a long way of getting to the point I wanted to add and back to your Value Meal picture.
I don’t expect deep friendships or immediate business from social media. I look at it as a way to simply say hello with a digital handshake * or a friendly wave or comment or retweet. It’s like waving at people walking by my front porch.
And my blog and website are my front porch.
There are some comfortable chairs and even a swing. If someone passing by wants to chat a while to discuss or debate something we’re both interested in, then they are welcome to visit with me anytime.
If I end up selling them something or maybe buy something from them, then that’s ok too but my blog and website – my front porch – is more about getting to know people (in my case that’s often professional peers, prospects, current client and potential vendors I’m interested in) a little better and that’s good for friendships and business.
Your blog and Mark’s too are like that and that’s why I subscribe to you both. I discovered you both first through twitter though and wouldn’t found the blogs otherwise. We all need to make money and meeting Mark has actually led to several working collaborations on some very big projects.
f they haven’t already, one day soon one (or more) global brand is going to ask you to help them with their email>blog>linkedin>facebook>twitter business for a big fee. They will probably first find you through twitter and then discover you further through your blog. And that is going to be a very big Value Meal.
*The Digital Handshake is a great book by Paul Cheney
Quite sure I’m out of the norm. Being and old geezer I don’t have the inclination to put out a fire-hose of content like some “younger” folks. It seems: with social media it’s a matter of the rep and the numbers. Like some MLM programs it’s the people at the top that make the $$ Top blog or top dog. While I do believe that we all can have some success I don’t think everyone is destined to greatness and wealth. As someone said to me one time; somebody has to pay retail.
Not everyone has the tenacity to throw all their weight behind something and push. It probably has less to do with product and delivery and more to do with personality and style. As the saying goes, some people can sell snow to an Eskimo.
From my experience it would seem more prudent to find your destiny than high ranking on the web. Perhaps I’m just preaching to myself. Aaron I know you work really hard; and I am hoping it pays off.
Wow, I haven’t really updated my blog since last May, but I’ve been updating on my social networks almost daily.
Oh, you just convinced me to update my stale blogs ð
Now, finding those passwords hidden in 10+ email accounts and whose passwords I can’t remember and whose alternates I haven’t visited quite a while *facepalm*
I tend to find things of interest through facebook and twitter, but the true value for me as a reader and consumer is the blog.
Twitter is so much noise. It’s like being trapped in a stadium where everyone is jumping up and down and shouting “look at me!”
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Yes, correctly.
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Hello, From these findings?
great points aaron. being new in this realm i will heed your advice and continue with content. thanks, dt.
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