5 Reasons NOT to Blog

A blog, or web log, is a regularly updated online journal or diary. The difference is that they often connect with other blogs through comments and linkbacks.

I frequently get questions about blogging from clients, associates and friends. Blogging is becoming something people think they should do, but they're not always sure why. It just sounds like a good idea, or someone along the way told them they should have a blog. (Sounds like the same reasons many people want a web site.) Many of them don't even understand what a blog is or what blogging is about.

I always caution people to think before they jump head first into the blogosphere. Sure, there are some great reasons to start a blog, but there are even better reasons not to.

1. Quality vs. quantity. You don't have to be a great writer to start a blog, so that's not what I'm talking about when I say quality. But you do need quality content. It doesn't matter if you write ten times a day if you're filling up your blog with useless information. You have to have something interesting to say; something interesting to write about that other people will want to write.
   
2. Afraid of commitment. Blogging well can be a huge time commitment. Your readers expect you to post regularly. Blog-tracking service Technorati is tracking more than 57 million blogs, of which it believes around 55% are "active" and updated at least every three months (1 post every 3 months isn't what I would call "active"). Analysts at Gartner have said that 200 million people have already stopped writing their blogs. Did they run out of things to say? Got bored? Didn't have the time? Couldn't make the commitment?
   
3. No time like the present. Blogs are current. If you're always behind and writing about topics that were hot a couple months ago, you're readers might not stick with you. Many bloggers spend hours each day surfing and researching topics(or have staff to do it). Be sure to factor this into your time commitment.
   
4. Everyone's a critic. Not everyone will love or agree with you, so be prepared for negative comments. The internet allows for a great degree of anonymity which emboldens many people to be nastier than they might be if they had to put their real name on their comments. Sure, you can restrict comments so that only the nice ones are displayed, but that may discourage some readers from posting at all. And if someone has a legitimate complaint, it's better to get it out in the open so you can address it.
   
5. Love the sound of your own voice. You may wonder if anyone is actually reading your blog. It's always more fun to write when people are leaving comments and talking back to you, but the majority of readers never make themselves known. Especially when you're first starting out, you have to love writing for yourself. If you set up some means of gathering statistics (like Google Analytics) you'll know if anyone is actually showing up. And give your blog time to gather momentum before you abandon it.

Blogging can be fun and interesting. There are a lot of great reasons to blog, but it's important to know what you're getting into. Let me know why you like to blog and what benefits you see; but also let me know what challenges you've faced or why you haven't jumped into blogging yet.