The New Rules of Marketing and PR, 8th Edition

13Blogging to Reach Your Buyers

Blogs are a mainstream vehicle for organizations to get their ideas out into the marketplace. The readers of blogs view the information shared by smart bloggers as one of the few forms of real, authentic communication. Audiences consume advertising with skepticism and consider pronouncements by CEOs to be out of touch with reality. But a good blog written by someone within a large or small company, a nonprofit, a church, or a political campaign commands attention.

Blogging is my front door. Since 2004, my blog has been where I post my ideas, both big and small. There's no doubt that my blog is the most important marketing and PR tool I have as a professional speaker, writer, and advisor to companies. Even after nearly two decades and some 1,500 blog posts, I'm always surprised at how effectively this tool helps me accomplish my goals.

My blog allows me to push ideas into the marketplace as I think of them, generating instant feedback. Sure, many blog posts just sit there with little feedback, few comments, and no results. But I learn from these “failures,” too; when my audience doesn't get excited about something, it's probably either a dumb idea or poorly explained. On the other hand, some posts have had truly phenomenal results, quite literally changing my business in the process. I'll admit that my ravings about the importance of my blog may sound over the top. But the truth is that blogging really has changed my life.

The first time I shared ...