Posted by There’s never been a better time to start your own Blog.
If you’re keeping score in the social media landscape, you’re probably noticing many people bail on their Blogs and Podcasts for the conversations on Twitter or FriendFeed. I’ve Blogged about it before (others have as well). Still, when I look at the comment section of this Blog, I’m seeing many people with many bright ideas and yet they don’t have a space of their own.
The whole beauty of these social channels is that the cost of entry is next to nil, and beyond the personal commitment you have to make to keep it fresh, vital and personal (let’s be realistic – this is a serious commitment), Blogging enables you to get your voice "out there" and start the foundation for a solid digital footprint.
Start your own Blog today.
You don’t have to promote it (yet). Your thoughts matter. They matter to you. They matter to this community, and who knows who might traipse across them in the future and what business opportunities may arise from them.
Don’t be fooled by the few that are looking at the next shiny object. People still read. People are still looking for relevant content, and even if Technorati is tracking upwards of one hundred and twenty million Blogs, there are only a handful that each individual can wrap their head (and hearts) around. It’s not too late.
Blogging is still fresh and it’s still new.
How many people do you know who don’t read Blogs? There’s still a majority of people out there who don’t know what they are, how to subscribe to one or what a RSS reader is.
Don’t get me wrong, Blogging is big, but still has a ways to go.
Starting your own "anything" is one of the smartest moves a Marketer can make.
Here are some Blog ideas that you can run with:
– Get your company to Blog about the industry they serve.
– Start a Blog to discuss how marketing in your industry is working and where you think it’s going.
– Start a group Blog to comment on your industries latest news.
– Create a Blog that acts as an op-ed on pressing matters in your space.
– Start a Blog to post your thoughts about the future of your industry and use the comments section to brainstorm with your peers.
– Use a Blog as an online journal – documenting where you’re at (and where you’re going) as you grow your business and affect change in your industry.
Find an angle. Find your niche… and dig down deep.
So, what are you waiting for?
Never another podcast episode or article 
I think this is the key to any argument the naysayers may make against blogging :
Find your niche
.. because it really isn’t about high numbers, in the end. It’s about reaching out to .. and touching base with … the right people.
And in some cases that number might be 10.
It’s quality, not quantity, baby, so keep on blogging.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this week too, primarily because of the way the UK Kennel Club got kicked to pieces the other week when the BBC broadcast a very hostile documentary entitled Pedigree Dogs Exposed.
A number of people in the blogoshpere really went after the Kennel Club and breed clubs, but because the KC was so stuck in old school media, they really didn’t know how respond. As a consequence there’s a lot of high-ranking anti-kennel club pages across the Net now.
As a copywriter and basset hound breeder I actually offered to help out the basset club of the UK pro bono to get to grips with the blogosphere. But they decided silence was a better option than trying to put their side of the story forward.
I started seriously committing to blogging this summer (if you can call my blog serious). For a while, I have been discouraged because I felt like I was talking to myself. I was worried about who I was reaching and if anyone was listening.
The interesting thing is that I “googled” myself for “grins” and really saw the impact on my digital “footprint.” While I may have had 27 of 30 entries about me before, now there are over 12 pages of results.
It takes time and effort to create meaningful content. The search engines can be the first step to promotion.
I couldn’t agree with you more Mitch. Its been about 9 months now since I’ve been blogging somewhat religiously. To be honest with you, its changed a great deal for me. I have a channel now, somewhere I can flow and direct all my thoughts, my ideas, my vision.
Its stress relieved. It clears the mind. In addition to the opportunity to release and express, its entertained and been well receipted by family, friends, colleagues, customers and more.
I still cant believe the response I get from people when I tell them to check out my blog. “You have a blog!” Like its one of the craziest and coolest things on this planet. Heck maybe it is. I think it is.
Thanks for this one Mitch.
These are the same kind of the thoughts that floated through my mind when I started my blog 6 months ago.
How we manage our interpersonal relationships mattered to me and it wasn’t until I started writing about it did I realize that it really mattered to others as well.
It is a serious committment as you said.
Each time I get tired or feel like I don’t have it in me to go on. I reflect back to those that look to my blog as a source of strength and encouragement and my spirits become renewed.
Great reminder Mitch.
Who knows what will happen in a few years with social spaces like Twitter and Friendfeed, but there’s no doubt that investing in your own personal blog that you have complete control over is a sound strategy.
I’m only a 1 year veteran of blogging, but it has been the single most important professional investment I have ever made.
I’ve just started my new blog. I’ve been playing around with digital marketing over the last 5 years, and thought it time to start taking part in the conversation. Your blog is one of the ones that got me motivated to do so. Thanks!
thanks for this post… I’ve just finally started posting some thoughts on a blog and in the brief time I have started, I feel like the quality of my ideas has grown…
Hey Mitch, I just want to thank you. I attended the IAB social media seminar in Vancouver earlier this year and was thoroughly impressed with your presentation. It has actually changed a lot of my thinking and pushed me in new directions and expanded my thinking towards new marketing possibilities. Since i’ve gotten back from this day I started up my own google reader and have been religiously following your blog…and picking up great new ones you recommend. With relation to this post, I have now finally taken the time to start my own blog. So your teachings have done a number on this young grasshopper. Thanks.