I often read debates on forums about whether you should have just a blog or just an ezine, with questions like,
“I currently publish an ezine and a blog, but I’m thinking of dropping the ezine and going with just the blog.”
My answer… you need both!
And here’s why:
Creating a blog post is much easier to do than going down the whole ezine publication route; however, as you do not know who is reading your blog you cannot begin to build a relationship with the reader in the same way you can when publishing an ezine.
Therefore you are missing out on building the like, know, and trust factor that is so important for a solo service business owner.
That said, a blog is also an essential online communication tool simply because there are some people who do not wish to subscribe to a regular newsletter, but will subscribe to a blog’s RSS Feed.
RSS Feed? Put simply, anyone can come along to your blog, and subscribe to your RSS feed thereby receiving any blog posts that you submit as soon as you submit them. By not publishing a blog you are missing out on this whole other target market reach.
My preferred tool for blogging is WordPress and I’ve been using this for the past three years. The main reason I use it is because it’s hosted on my website so each time I post to my blog, I’m creating fresh content for my website, which the search engines love, and all of this goes towards improving my search engine rankings.
A blog allows you to interact with your target market as readers can leave comments. However, as it’s not directly delivered to your target market’s inbox, it can be much harder to develop a relationship.
So let’s just take a look at some of the pros/cons of a blog vs. a newsletter:
Pros
* You can really show off your expertise by posting on a regular basis.
* Blog posts don’t need to be very long – approx. 200-350 words.
* If you have some important information to share, you can instantly create a post – no waiting for your next newsletter to make your announcement!
* If you use a blogging platform such as WordPress, this is hosted on your website. Each time you post to your blog you are creating fresh content for your website, which the search engines love!
Cons
* You need to post regularly – at least once a week – in order for this to be an effective marketing strategy.
* You need to feel confident that you will be able to write fresh content regularly.
* It can be difficult to build a direct relationship with your reader.
When And How Often To Post
Now, this can be a dilemma. It’s important that you post to your blog regularly in order to provide fresh content to the search engines; some experts say you should be posting at least two to three times a week!
Now that’s a big commitment if you’re not really a writer, so here’s what I advise to get your blog going…
Each time you publish your newsletter and write a fresh article for it, post that article on your blog.
And then try and make other posts throughout the month so you’re keeping your blog content continually updated. Posting to a blog is not as rigid as publishing an ezine so it can be difficult to create an editorial calendar or some other system. You want your blog posts to be spontaneous wherever possible. You also want to have in place a sign-up box to your ezine on your blog either in the sidebar or at the bottom of every post.
Some possible topics for your blog posts:
* Links to other blog posts of interest to your target audience
* Any new products or services that you’ve launched
* Any places where you’ll be speaking
* Events that are taking place within your industry
* An opinion that you have about something that is happening within your industry
* Links to resources that you’ve found to be invaluable
Conclusion: A blog + an ezine = more targeted traffic to your website, more subscribers to your list, and positions you as an expert within your niche!
6 replies on “Blog vs Ezine? How To Choose For Your Solo Service Business”
In some respects a blog can kill two birds with one stone. A business blogs posts can be subscribed to by email via the blog RSS feed. Therefore posts can double as ezine issues.
Subscribers to RSS would also be generally be be highly targeted to your businesses products or service.
Tracey is right — A blog + an ezine = more targeted traffic to your website and more exposure to your list. You should be creating weekly newsletters using articles that position you as an expert. You should be creating blog posts at least twice a week (every business day is even better.) And, you should be writing articles for submission to the top websites, ezines and article directories. And, if you have a system you can write your articles fast. My Instant Article Writing Templates will help you write your articles in less than 30 minutes. You can try 3 for free at: http://www.TryMyFreeArticleTemplates.com
Thank you for the article Tracey. I respectfully challenge some of your points.
“However, as it’s not directly delivered to your target market’s inbox…
There are many ways that I can have blog updates delivered directly to my inbox (Feedburner) as soon as they are posted. The difference is that I have very delibertely “pulled” those emails into my inbox. Send customers unwanted newlsletter emails at your peril.
…it can be much harder to develop a relationship.”
“It can be difficult to build a direct relationship with your reader.”
I’m sorry I dont follow your connection. You can track readers and commentors in a blog (followers, subscribers, commentors). I just read an article about a woman who was visiting a regular commentor on her business blog in person based on the replationship they created via the blog.
In fact when I commented here you have collected my name, email and web address. There is every opportunity for you to pursue a relationship with me. Feel free to email me for a friendly discussion Tracey. I did enjoy your article.
Creating a blog post is much easier to do than going down the whole ezine publication route; however, as you do not know who is reading your blog you cannot begin to build a relationship with the reader in the same way you can when publishing an ezine. Therefore you are missing out on building the like, know, and trust factor that is so important for a solo service business owner.
**********************
daisy
Business Opportunities
Instead of criticism advise the problem decision.
I personally can attest that blogging is very effective. My goal was to increase inquiries from new clients. So from mid Feb to late Mar (about 6 weeks), I began blogging about my assignments as an event photographer New York. When I had no new events to photograph for my clients, I pulled past events and wrote about the experience.
My website is hosted by Photoshelter and my blog by Visual Society. Both are very photographer and graphics oriented. By configuring small portfolio galleries of the events, entering metadata into the images and my work as a portrait photographer. I embedded images in my posts that link to my website from my blog. After about 6 weeks, my event photographer ranking was on the first page of Google. I continually verify from independent computers using the search term “event photographer new york.” I must admit my total exhuberance over my blogging efforts. If you are a staff of one in your business, I can’t stress enough about making the time commitment to get a blog up and running. Once you have it going, keep creating regular posts. Even if you have 5 topics to post in a day, I suggest you create them, then save as a draft. Post them individually about once a week. Having content in reserve will get you through those weeks when you haven nothing new to post.
I am now considering the ezine idea. I will let you know the outcome. Thanks for the insight and tips!
Jeffrey Holmes Photography
Event Photographer, Portrait Photographer New York