The research results are clear: people don’t read blogs. I was reminded of this the other night by a message from a friend on Twitter, a social media and microblogging site I use (a lot), who said this very thing. My response was that they are reading blogs, just don’t know it, and because of this, the way they read them is nothing like how you or I read blogs.
Research by Pew Internet showed people didn’t know a blog from any other kind of website. Alarmingly, when they were told a site was a blog, they grew irritated, as though a trick had been played on them.
Here you are, all ga-ga over blogging and social media–all excited about the prospect of having that Conversation (capital C) you read about. But you forgot something… your customers don’t read blogs. They don’t use Twitter or StumbleUpon. They get their news from television, not the internet. All they know is email and AOL.
You have a problem. The tool you want to use to reach your customers is one they don’t know or care about. What should you do? Well, you could always not have a blog. Coming from me, you’d think that would be blasphemy, I know. But I will be the first to say that blogs are not the answer to everything. Sorry, but they’re just not.
Before you brush that blog dust off your shoulder, however, let’s take a look at three winning approaches to using blogs for people who don’t read blogs.
1. Blog as a CMS
CMS stands for content management system. It’s how websites are done, nowadays. A CMS lets you create and edit web pages and content almost as easily as writing an email. WordPress, the world’s most popular blogging software, doubles as a CMS. You don’t have write blog posts at all, just create pages. Sure, it seems a little weird to me to use blog software to create a website that is pointedly not a blog, but it works. It works great. This creates a website that looks like an old-fashioned site, but it doesn’t behave or update like an old-fashioned site (and that’s a good thing). With some customization to remove anything even slightly “bloggy”, your readers will not know it’s a blog. It will look, act, and feel like a “normal” website to them.
2. Magazine-style Site
With the explosion of magazine-style WordPress themes, they are a classy option for a site with a lot of content that needs updating on a regular (but not necessarily frequent) basis. Think about the home page of MSN or CNN. Most magazine themes have a featured post area, which would be like feature articles in a magazine. Emphasis is placed on categories. Magazine themes often feature more space for pictures in the articles and design. After customizing it somewhat to remove blog-specific elements from the design, your perfectly normal, non-bloggy content-rich website is ready to rock.
3. News Update Site
I mentioned CNN above because its design (as of October 2008) resembles many of the magazine themes available for WordPress. But if you really want a new site, some customization to a the normal code of a WordPress blog can give you something that is meant for rapidfire updating. This is an awful lot like blogging, but the word “blog” need never enter into it–news alert or latest news will do just fine.
4. Debloggification
Debloggification is my made-up word for removing those elements from the design of a blog that give it away as a blog. These are things that people who “don’t read blogs” don’t want and don’t need:
- Comments
- Social media sharing buttons
- Prominent RSS icons (I’m not saying don’t use RSS feeds, I’m saying keep the icons very discreet)
- Blogrolls
- Post times (depends on what kind of site)
5. Oldschoolification
Since I’m making up words, let me make one up for what happens when you substitute your bloggy features with old school features: oldschoolification. For people who don’t read blogs, try these:
- Email-a-friend capability
- Email newsletter (use Aweber to send blog posts by email plus much more)
- “Bookmark this” links
- “Print this page” links
Tell me again why I need a blog?
Blogs are super-easy to administer and create content for once they have been created. Using “static” web pages and no CMS doesn’t scale very well, nor is it easy. Other CMSs besides those for blogs (especially WordPress) are much more complicated than blogs. This makes blog software the ideal tool for a site that most people would never read if they knew it was a blog.
8 Comments
I think the key, and correct me if I am wrong, your point too, blogs are so much more then what they started out to be. With all the things you can do with WordPress for example. And the way you can design a blog now to not even look l like a blog, does it really matter what they are called.
Maybe it is time we put to bed the term blog and just use “content management system” And as you stated, most people don’t even know when they are reading a blog or a Web site. At least if it is a well designed blog.
We all get so hung up on labels we sometimes forget the real purpose of what we are trying to do with our sites. I know for me, my mission is to provide as much information as I can to my audience. And to provide that information in a form and fashion they can use and understand.
And I am not so sure it is that people don’t read blogs, as it is people don’t care what we call them as long as they provide what they are looking for.
I think this is especially true when you consider only 12% of those using the Internet are actually using RSS. And that is why we have to do everything we can do to get our sites noticed and either bookmarked by our readers or saved in some other fashion so they come back.
Sorry for my rambling this morning. But the labeling of blogs vs. websites has been on my brain for a while now.
@Grant - Thanks for such thoughtful comment. You’re right. I know it doesn’t matter what’s on the “back end”. You know it doesn’t matter. But so many people do not have faintest inkling of this, or what it means. You and I live in a little “tech bubble” of a world where we all operate with a common understanding. We might as well be on another planet compared to much of the world.
It makes no sense to me why someone should be upset they were reading a blog and didn’t know it, but that’s the reality we have to deal with if we wish to serve people effectively and profitably.
And of course, if you choose to go “full on blog” then there are enough unique aspects to that which require the term “blog” be used… because these features do not describe anything else and nothing else has these features. I, too, have been thinking about this issue (and this isn’t the first post on the topic I’ve done) and I don’t see a way out of the word blog in the foreseeable future.
Your rambling is not only excused, it’s welcomed.
I agree with these points. This also tells the owner of the site they need to seriously consider the audience and then use the best tools to reach them.
Good post!
Here is another thought - instead of trying to reach people who do not read blogs, think about structuring your professional life so that you do not need to reach people who would be shocked to learn they are reading a blog.
Professionally, I chose my most recent consulting gig because they were impressed by my blogging and wanted to expand their reach to those discoursing online. Personally, I met my wife on Match.com.
In both acts, I was conscious in my choice to associate myself with those that enjoyed blogging and disassociate myself with those that give attention to local news or (gasp!) AOL.
And while it may be snobbish, I refuse to send email to anyone still using Hotmail. We all have to have our standards.
@Scott - thanks dude.
@Wayan - We all make choices about what market to serve. Unfortunately, many people don’t think too much about this and end up pushing blogs onto non-bloggified people. Instead of starting over again, some blog tweaks will help immensely.
This was a great post!
I have been seeing more and more websites which are actually edited WordPress themes. Besides the many things you list above, another huge benefit is usually the low cost of such templates. They usually require little skill to edit and make into a fully functioning website.
Another thing I found interesting was you comment regarding people not knowing they’re on a blog. I experience that with my food blog because I post tips and tricks, recipes and other related type information. My subscriber counts are very low but hits are decent. Then on my internet PR/social media blog, I have higher subscriber counts but lower hits than the food blog. I concluded this is because my food blog is open to a wider audience, many of whom probably don’t realize they’re on a blog. However, those that visit the internet PR/social media blog tend to be involved in that space and therefore typically understand RSS/email subscriptions.
This was by far one of the most cogent posts I’ve read on the non-blogging audience. You and Liz are two of the few people who recognize and are attempting to reach non-bloggers. I started blogging and followed “the rules” and then after the headiness wore off I realized I was doing nothing to capture my target market who are by and large not bloggers or social media marketers. Don’t get me wrong, I love that community and want to engage them as well but it cannot stop there. You have provided practical steps that I can take to reach out to the vast majority of people who cannot even define “blog.” Thank you.
@Justin - I hope you’re capturing email addresses, then!
@Karen - Thank you. We have to remember it’s a tool as well as a way of life and in some cases focus on the use of the tool in order to achieve a goal.
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