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 I have been asked by a few people to upload my list of reasons why Blogging is Better than Print.

 

I shared it with the Talk is Cheap audience on Nov. 15 because I believe in the power of blogging -- but I think we all have to do a better job of selling other people (e.g., businesses and oganizations) on the value of blogging. It's so much more than journaling in public.

 

Feel free to use or adapt any of these points in your own work. Because I think a world where more people talk out loud is a better world.

 
1. People come to blogs because they are interested in the topic – whether they have deliberately targeted your site or arrived by accident through a search engine link.
(And keep in mind that search is everything today. Daniel Morel of Wunderman, a New York based direct marketing agency, recently bought a Canadian online marketing company, Blast Radius, because he was astonished at how his clients are moving their communication dollars into online. He expects that one day the history of advertising will be divided into "Before Search" and "After Search.")

 

2. People usually know how to find a blog again if they want to

 

3. Not only can they bookmark blogs they like, they can even subscribe to their favourites so they never miss another update

 

4. People can contact most bloggers directly with questions, comments, requests, and suggestions

 

5. Blogs are generally more welcoming of a dialogue than newspapers, ads, columns, etc.

 

6. Using standard web analytics, bloggers can see how many people visited the blog, when, and from where (country or city). That makes those readers more “real” to the writer/publisher than the thousands of people who read newspaper articles and ads – but leave no trail behind. And by checking web-search terms, the bloggers know what those people were interested in or looking for.

7. Blogs often link directly to references, sources of more information, and action steps, providing instant gratification for readers wanting more (e.g., if a blogger mentions a good book, they will often include a link to where you can buy it right now if you wish)

8. Blogs are generally more timely (no long production or distribution delays), thus of greater perceived impact

9. Readers can interact with other visitors around specific ideas or topics through comments (and sometimes emails)

10. The power to go deeper: if you like this writer or topic, you have instant access to their previous blog posts and can find much more about them or their ideas

My blog’s 40,000 visitors don't mean much compared to the circulation of my magazine columns. On the other hand, most of my magazine columns - which reach 100,000 people or more - attract no feedback, whereas this blog's 40,000 visitors have contributed hundreds of comments. That's called "dialogue," and it's why the Web will edge out print publishing in the end.

11. The ability to copy and paste means you can “own” that information yourself, by printing out or storing it as a digital file (which then becomes searchable on your own computer)

 

12. Bloggers often include links to their other sites, projects or products, making it very easy for interested readers/consumers to pursue deeper relationships with that information, that person or business. (And for many of us, that's the point, right?)

 

 

Please let me know if this has been helpful, or if you have any comments. I'm rick@rickspence.ca

My blog is Canadian Entrepreneur at http://canentrepreneur.blogspot.com/

 


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