5 Article Types a Business Blog Should Not Contain
Toma 
A blog is the most common social tool by which we try to connect with others or interact with our customers or market our products and/or services. Blogs can be personal or meant to represent our business in front of our clients. In this article we will concentrate on business blogs and what type of articles you should not write under any circumstances on your business blog. I have written a few weeks ago what types of articles a business blog should contain or may contain but as I gave it a more deeper thought I realize that it’s much more easy to make mistakes then doing the right thing.
5 Article types you should not write on a business blog
- Don’t write articles that talk bad things about your competition or a similar product from your competition – You have to realize that having a ProActive attitude will help you much more then an Accusing Attitude. You don’t have to trust me for this just look at what president Obama did in his on line campaign as opposing to his competition. There is an old phrase that says you are better then your enemy when he is forced to admit that you are good and he is bad. Don’t underestimate the power of writing good things. And if you don’t have anything good to write about your competition then don’t write at all or at least realize that talking bad things will not help you at all and might also lead you to some legal problems.
- Don’t write articles that start with “sorry for not posting lately” or “this is my first time when doing this so be gentle with me” – A business blog is consider to be your window to the world. This window lets people see inside your business and if you want to sell you have to look professional. Things like “sorry for not posting lately” transmits a message that you don’t really know what you’re doing and your posting with no plan ahead. You don’t want your customers to think you’re not organized. Much more damage can be achieved if you post things like “this is the first time I do this” because then you’re not an expert : your just a rookie. And nobody will buy from a rookie.
- Don’t write articles in which you are saying “my opinion on this is…” or “what I think of …” or “I think that…” – You have to understand that people don’t like to read about personal opinions unless you are a VIP or maybe Donald Trump then your opinion would be valuable. But you’re not. So your opinion or what you think might not be that important to others. People like to read things that everyone else accept and that are generally true. You also have to take risks and be ready to stand beside what you’re writing. This way, in time, people will learn to trust you as a viable source of information.
- Don’t write articles that depicts small talk – “what I did this morning and what I had for breakfast” kinda thing – A business blog is about your business and your products and your services. Small things like what you did that morning are important only to you – these things don’t add value to your business blog so you should not use it.
- Don’t write articles that are not related to your market niche - All that you write on a business blog has to have some level of connection with what you do – with your business. You can write about personal experiences or personal activities but only if you can relate them to your products. Otherwise your content will not add value to you blog.
What articles do you consider that are not suited for a business blog and why ?
A business blog should represent a company, its products and services and help the marketing process. It should not be about personal things and personal opinions. It has to be all about the company and what they are trying to sell.
So what do you think of these article types ? Maybe you can add a few of your own that you consider not to be suited for a business blog.
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12 Comments to “5 Article Types a Business Blog Should Not Contain”
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Ah, thanks for that. No. 3 is quite cool, hadn’t thought of that before and thought that’s why people read my stuff, for my opinion, but I guess if they weren’t interested in the first place they wouldn’t be there reading anyway, if that makes sense!
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today on5 Article Types a Business Blog Should Not ContainHere’s a quick excerptA business blog should represent a company, its products and services and help the marketing process. It should not be about personal things and personal opinions. It has to be all about the company and what they are trying to sell. … [...]
I do agree with most of what your are saying in your posting. Being assertive and direct about what you are good at is important, it makes you sound and project like the expert you want to be seen as. But I don’t agree with the blog being all about the company and the products and services they sell. I follow blogs because I value the knowledge and views of the people who write them, not because they can accomplish certain tasks for me.
Matt Nelson’s last blog post..Is your web site SEO Compliant?
@Matt – When said that a business blog should be only about the products and the services you are selling I didn’t meant it in such a strict way as it might sounded. I have an older article on What Article Types a Business Blog Should Contain( http://is.gd/eczD ).
The most important part of that article :
Here are a few types of articles you should use on a business blog :
* product and/or service showcase : the most simple and important type of article. Here is your chance to explain to your customers why your products are the best and how to use them properly. Don’t use this type of articles to write bad things about your competitors : it will turn back on you.
* upcoming products and/or services : you can use your business blog to make announcements, press release or any type of news about your company.
* news on the market you activate : by this kind of articles you show to your readers and clients that you care about what is new and you are constantly preoccupied to improve your services to match the new standards
* customer success stories : this the perfect way to show to others, that might think of using your products or services, that you offer quality on everything that you do
* how to articles, tips, what to look out for when buying… : these article type are self explanatory how they can help you
* related interests : you have to realize that people don’t talk only about work. That is why you have to relate to your clients by sharing your hobbies, recent activities of team building and so on and so forth
* product stories : this depends on the type of market you are into but generally any product has some kind of story behind it; and if it hasn’t then maybe promoting it by using a blog is not the best idea
So, as you see, writing about your products or services is not necessary that strict as I might let the impression to be in my latest article.
Ahhh I see your point now, and agree with you. Sorry if I took your posting too literally, but in the end I believe the reinforcement of the issue here was well warranted.
Matt Nelson’s last blog post..Is your web site SEO Compliant?
These are interesting points. Basically, they can be summed up as (a) don’t post anything that can be construed as unprofessional (dishonest, derogatory, trivial, etc.) and (b) put yourself in your readers’ shoes and ask what they want to read about.
Great list! It’s sad that there is a NEED for you to write this post though. I mean… COME ON PEOPLE – THINK!!!!
Then again, I had a client who was blogging song lyrics on his business blog. He posted the lyrics to “You had a bad day” and then went on to bemoan how HORRIBLE business was for him. ACK!!!
Kathy @ Virtual Impax’s last blog post..Another “stupid” business idea that was anything but stupid
With all due respect, I think these points are obvious. So in that sense I don’t really have a problem with most of them — except for #3.
On one hand you suggest that a business blog should simply rehash accepted truth, while on the other you suggest that the blogger take risks.
The latter point is the key, and defines the real value of effective blogging. Blogging is an individual expression of insight and expertise. If your blog reads like a product brochure or a press release, it ain’t a blog. And it won’t garner much attention.
The power in blogging is that when done well it allows the reader to tap into the thought processes of the the bloggers – people behind the products or services a company provides. For that reason the content that appears on a blog must be a genuine reflection of the legitimate interests and passions of the blogger. That’s what will keep readers engaged. So it’s all about opinion, especially opinion that challenges accepted truths. In today’s rapidly evolving marketplace innovation is gold specifically because it changes that game by challenging accepted truths. Innovation happens by questioning those “truths,” by slicing and dicing accepted ideas and rearranging them, even ignoring them. From that process something new evolves.
Companies don’t blog – people blog. Companies are comprised of people, people who absorb and process information from what are often wildly disparate sources in order to make the decisions and take the actions that ultimately become products and services. Blogs are a tool for capturing and sharing that process.
The reason social media are so powerful isn’t because they provide new channels for the same tired old message. It’s because they operate on an entirely communication different model that requires an entirely different message.
The challenge is that not everyone of capable of that kind of communication. Someone who publishes song lyrics on a business blog in lame attempt to entertain readers is a dumbass. But someone who publishes line or two from a song and then explains the role those lyrics played in the thought process that resulted in a business decision or product feature is someone who gets it — a real blogger.
@Bob – Thank you for your constructive feedback. Of course that blogs are written by people for the people and many times an article will represent the personal opinion of the writer.
I respect your opinion but I also feel the need to also try and better explain mine. Almost every article I write represents my personal opinion but something like : “These are the steps you should take in writing your articles” is much more powerful then “I think we all should take these steps in writing an article”. If someone like for example Chris Brogan says the second phrase people will follow. Because Chris has built a certain reputation online and people trust him. As I said in my article : if you are a VIP then it’s ok. I hope that I’ve managed to better explain my point.
No argument from me on your point. Using the phrase “I think” in a blog post — which is nothing more than a personal essay — is simply a matter of bad writing.
But there is a distinction between blogging and writing. The bottom line is that good bloggers are good writers. The irony is that good writers do not necessarily make good bloggers. But that issue is beyond the scope of this discussion.
Bob Rhubart’s last blog post..links for 2008-12-24
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Hello Toma,
Your post is really interesting and I am only sorry that I could not see it until just today.
I would add a subject on which one should avoid discussing on a business blog: politics.
Just yesterday I had the chance to discuss this issue with a colleague and I really had not thought of it related to a business website until then. But I really think these two matters should not mix up.
Good job. Keep it up!