Writing a blog is a tough gig. Deadlines come around very fast, even in relatively gentle schedules, such as publishing one story a month.
It’s great if you have lots of ideas – and generating these is an art in itself – but it still takes time to write quality content that is trusted, timely and relevant to your customers and prospects.
So, surely it is a wise idea to hand the project over to a professional (like me), who is experienced and quick and who can take all the pain out of the process for you?
My recommendation to most people is NO: do not give up writing your blog – even when you are internationally famous, and have the world at your feet, and can afford to pay a professional 10 times over.
I suggest your money is much more wisely invested in finding out how to save time writing your blog regularly, and how to build a schedule that is regular but not too demanding, rather than outsourcing the work.
Here’s why.
Purple cow
You are unique. The ideas you have and the way you express them are your very own and to succeed in the modern world of marketing, you need to be the purple cow standing out in the field of black and white ones, as blogger Seth Godin says.
Pink sheets
In the world of thought leadership, pink sheets are used to capture intellectual property. Your blogs do the same thing. Each blog can capture an element of what you know, from your experience, to be important: things that work to save time, to make money.
You can use the process of creating pink sheets – capturing your ideas in a slogan, with an explanation and then putting that idea in context – to develop blog posts. It makes them much richer.
Blue sky
While we are on a roll with colourful subheads, I believe blogs are your “blue sky” – the term used by investors and entrepreneurs to define a project with infinite possiblities – and the biggest returns.
Blogging is a blue sky activity. You never really know where it will take you. There is no doubt a good blog will establish you as a leading thinker in your field, it will keep your customers loyal and attract prospects, and make you a media magnet for journalists.
But there might be more – a speaking gig at TED talks, or a connection with someone you have always admired. Imagine if they got hold of you and said they loved a blog you hadn’t actually written. A great opportunity would be tainted.
There is an exception to my be-your-own-blogger rule, and it is this – it’s fine to get a ghost writer.
I work with thought leaders from time to time who have zillions of great blogs running around in their head. I type while they talk about their ideas for 20 minutes or so, asking occassional questions, and then craft the interview into a blog post. I try to keep as much of their actual phrasing as possible because this reflects their personality and perspective. If your ideas are well formed, a ghost writer can help you to capture them.
For the rest of us, however, our blog is a powerful and valuable discipline that will make your stand out from the crowd, keeping your ideas flowing and lively, and taking you places you never imagined you might go.