Your blog is not your showroom

Obviously I am a believer in blogging as a marketing tool.

In this crazy mixed up world of penguins and pandas, blogging stands out as a gift from the SEO gods.

What frustrates me, however, is the distinction between editorial and advertorial in the blogging world.

Most of the bloggers I read have a background in professional writing and marketing.

Blogging, content production, article writing is what they do to earn a crust; they are spruiking their wares simply by writing.

I believe that blatant self-promotion has no place in blogging.

Find your niche, carve it out and sit there, using your words to prove your worth.

By all means use real-life examples and case studies to demonstrate how you helped solve a client’s problem with your mad skillz or insanely brilliant product but please do not hit me over the head with flagrant self-promotion.

If I wanted that I’d listen to commercial radio and be shouted at for 30 seconds of every 3 minutes.

To me, business blogging and content marketing is about demonstrating a solution to a customer’s problem, positioning yourself as an expert in your field and benefitting from the SEO goodness that comes from writing high-quality articles that are relevant to your market.

Not to mention building your brand (to an international audience), developing customer loyalty and respect and opening the door to real-life conversations with current/past/potential customers.

Simply producing content that is relevant to your chosen field will mean you’re writing about areas you’re passionate about, you (should) know a thing or two about and, therefore, can provide solutions to others looking for assistance.

I understand that the point of a blog is to promote your business but there needs to be a balance between self-promotion and editorial commentary.

As Joe Pulizzi (Content Marketing Institute) puts it, “Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent.”

So please, lay off the hyperbolic language, save that for your marketing collateral. Just talk to me, as if we were having a conversation in a café, not a showroom.