When I committed to writing a monthly post for the Australian Businesswomen’s Network, there were many good reasons to do it. I was about to launch the happychild website; I thought blogging about starting a business could be good for me. I also value the ABN and wanted to give something back to it. But the last couple of months, I’ve been late in submitting my post – partly because I’ve been so busy with the website that writing another blogpost seemed one too many. I even thought about pulling out of my ABN blog commitment. But two things stopped me. Since starting this ABN blog, I have had at least two people contact me to say that something I’d written made a difference to them. For me, that’s the best reason to keep going. And then I read a blogpost on the Tech Crunch site called “Why Startups Need to Blog” and I felt re-inspired. So I’m going to urge you to start (or continue) blogging – on your site and maybe also on another site. This is what I get from my blogging experience:
- Time for reflection: the process of having to generate something worthwhile to say about what I am doing and why, is valuable in itself. I write a blog on the happychild website– it’s for parents and teachers to read. But each time I write a blogpost for the ABN it sharpens my focus on my business.
- Training my voice: all business owners need a ‘voice’ to talk about their business during PR opportunities, to explain their business to an investor and to communicate well with staff and contractors. Writing about my business and how and why I started it strengthens my message online and offline.
- Building my brand: one of the reasons I agreed to write for ABN is to build the happychild® brand; it’s something I’m proud of and passionate about. But at the same time, I am building my personal brand. That may sound conceited, but I think that startup business owners need to build their own brand alongside their business because, not only are we ambassadors for our fledgling brands, one day we may need to part company and launch our next successful enterprise.
They are my reasons, but the Tech Crunch blogpost which you must read adds these reasons:
- Accessing an audience
- Reaching customers
- Communicating your vision
- Reaching others in your industry
- Marketing your services
- Engaging in dialogue with others in your industry
Before you rush over and read the Tech Crunch article, please leave your footprint here in the way of a comment – the Tech Crunch article advises this: “you need to comment on other people’s blogs. First, it is a place where your comment will often link back to your blog where it can drive traffic. Occasionally, and not overtly, and only if relevant you can provide a comment with a link back to an article in your blog. Don’t do this often, don’t be blatant and make sure it’s relevant.” If you are a member of the ABN, have started a business and you’re blogging, please do let me know where. I await your relevant, not blatant, comments and links.
