Blogging for Non-writers

I’m working on a travel information site which has been built with a blog, but whose owner doesn’t feel comfortable writing. This doesn’t have to be an issue: I feel comfortable writing, after all, and I’m working on the site, so I can just blog for her. This is the obvious solution, and for most businesses, we could just stop there. If there’s something you need done in your business and you’re not the right person for the job, whether it’s bookkeeping, bartending, or blogging, it makes sense to hire someone else to do it.

Are there other options?

Sure. One possibility is not to have a blog. I wrote a while back on the question Does Every Business Need a Blog?, concluding that there might be some that didn’t. Mike Volpe of Hubspot disagreed in the comments. “Even for the shy person at a specialized business service, I really believe a blog can transform their business,” he said.”The whole point of the internet is very specialized content. Some day, there will be a hub where people from the liquid freight hauling industry hang out online. I would think your client would want that hub to be on their blog, instead of someplace else… I would say that even if they really are too shy, then they either need to change that or hire someone to create content (like you). I have not yet found a business that could not benefit from starting a blog.” Volpe knows whereof he speaks: Hubspot recently published a study finding that companies with regularly updated, established blogs can expect up to 88% more leads than those without.

The travel site needs to be able to share information about local events, special offers in the area, and other timely stuff. A blog is an obvious tool for them. So doing without a blog is clearly not a good option.

They could crowdsource their blog. That is, the site owner can solicit guest blogs from the community. The owner of a B&B on Cape Cod could write about their business and share a recipe. A local tour guide can list a great tourist itinerary. Cape Cod nightclubs could share their Top Ten Dance Songs playlist.This takes as much time as writing a blog, but doesn’t require skill at writing, since guest bloggers can be persuaded by phone. This may not work for your particular business, but for the site I’m working on, it’s a natural solution. The site owner has to keep on top of it, and may need someone to edit the posts and to fill in when no one steps up to the plate, but this can certainly work for the right business.

They could do a photo blog. If you’re handier with a camera than with the keyboard, take great photos of your goods and services, caption them clearly, and you’ve got a blog post. Don’t forget alt text. For this particular client, photos of the lovely scenery of Cape Cod would be perfect.

They could do a vlog, or video blog. In our experience, a good brief video takes longer than a good blog post and still requires writing, but we see plenty that are very casual and unscripted. For the right person, in the right business, this could be a great choice.

We also have a former blogging client whose blog is now entirely other people’s blog posts, reposted with a sentence of introduction. “I enjoyed this article from so-and-so,” it’ll say, and then comes the article. We can’t actually recommend this at your website — G+ and Twitter are the places for that — but it is an option.

You can get a conversation going. Folks who take this tack often use a poll or a picture to start. Get all your staff to comment so the conversation looks lively, and others may chime in. Our travel info site example could begin with something like, “Ferry or plane to Nantucket?” and end up with a great discussion of the romance of the ferry, the speed of the plane, the relative safety of the two, and the chances of seasickness. Some judicious tweeting can fan the conversational flames.

If you know you need a blog but you’re not a writer, these ideas might make blogging more achievable for your business. If you’re serious about inbound marketing at your website, be smart and hire a blogger. If you just want to get your toe in the water, though, give one of these alternatives a shot.