One of the questions that many entrepreneurs ask me is: "should I start a blog?" Many say it with a bit of hesitancy. For those who don't want to blog, my advice is simple, don't. The days in which having a blog, any blog, could truly make a big difference to your bottom line are done. The truth is, most of the time, people aren't going to read your blog. These days people are less and less likely to visit smaller websites on a regular basis, most are getting their news through social media or news aggregators. The goal of a business website is probably not blog traffic. For many entrepreneurs, especially the real estate agents I deal with, a website is often social proof, an online business card. The most important feature is a good about page.
For those who want to blog, the answer is more nuanced. I still believe in the power of written communication, and in the power of the blog. I also continue to keep a personal blog simply because I like the ideas of having a home on the web that is under my control. But what I advise these days is that people take that energy they might have spent on a personal blog and spend it contributing to other blogs or website networks that have a built in audience and expanded reach.
Most people that encounter me and my writing online don't do it through my blog. They find me through group blogs such as Medium or Social Media Today or through other places such as Stack Street and Pursuitist where I am a contributor. The logins have also become part of my public relations strategy. When I can't gather press for a client, I have the option to make my own (although I am extremely judicious in how I use this).
There is a risk to this strategy. For seven years I ran a blog called Luxist.com, a luxury goods weblog that was acquired by AOL. When AOL bought the Huffington Post they shut Luxist down. Several years later they purged all the stories, over 17,000 posts, gone. Word to the wise, if you write elsewhere, keep a copy of your work elsewhere.
The internet continues to narrow. While I'm not ready to call it dead yet, I do realize that a small blog has little chance of being heard above the din. However the power of a larger group can end up lifting all.