Community Publications Should Not Have "Blogs" - Updated May, 2019
WHAT?!? You're asking yourself, how can he say that?
Before you write me off you need to understand that we love blogs and for most businesses - though we hate the word "blog", they are incredibly powerful allowing you to share the character and values that make your business unique all the while enabling you to share insights with your community and garner SEO with every post.
It's "Blogs" in the context of local publishers that I have a problem with.
The Rule: If you're a content business you should not have blogs
If your business sells products, you should have a blog. If your business provides services, you should have a blog. If your business produces content for commercial consumption, blogs just don't make sense. We see food blogs and sports blogs and nightlife blogs. Tell me, what could go in those blogs that don't belong in the food, sports, or nightlife sections respectively? "NOTHING" is the correct answer.
As a local publication, your website needs to extend the content of your print product in new and interesting ways. The content contained within a blog is great, labeling it as a blog rather than the topic of interest and interspersed among content from other sources is simply a mistake.
There is one exception to this rule
If you, the publisher/editor/other employee personality, want to share your experiences as a publisher et al and want to write an inside account your business then a blog makes sense and is acceptable.
However, it should not be promoted as though it's on par with the rest of your site's content. It's part of your 'About Us' section... and still probably best written and categories on a post-by-post basis amongst the balance of your content.
If your publication can't easily post and distribute content or you're looking to monetize your efforts, we can help.
