Once upon a time there was a man who started a blog. Day in and day out he read, thought and wrote. Some weeks he would blog daily, while others would only see a single post. He worked on it diligently, he built a brand, he built a community.
Then one day he started a company. Now he had two blogs to maintain and the subject matter was the same. Obviously, the company website needed traffic but he could not neglect the community that he’d worked so hard to build over the years on his blog.
What should he do?
No, seriously, what should he do? That he, is me.
Open Thoughts
I’m not the first person to hit this wall. Throughout the history of the web there have been individuals to build a blog and then start a company with a similar subject matter. The big issue lies in the web’s different of moving parts. There are communities, URLs, search rankings, domain authority, broken links and so much more to consider when trying to plan a cohesive strategy in this type of a situation.
At first I thought, I’ll take my blog (socialmediaphilanthropy.com) and just move all of the posts over to my company blog thus absorbing the content and community thus reducing the fragmentation of my efforts. Then I thought, some of the things I’d put on Social Media Philanthropy, aren’t quite right for True Voice Media. This is MY space to talk about whatever I want, that’s what it’s always been. So that idea is out.
Then I thought, I’ll just make the blog link off of True Voice Media come directly to True Voice Media. Again, same problem about the brand and voice of the blog, but then adding the additional problem of losing any search benefit that a company blog might have.
Finally, I resigned to the idea that, yes, I would need two separate blogs.
Writing versus working and how to eat your own dog food
So now I’ve got two blogs to maintain and less-and-less time to actually write. In the midst of doing work for clients, it is difficult to set side time for “yourself.” This is the exact problem many of my clients face. In the past I’ve even written off those concerns as a lack of commitment…and I may still be right. Admittedly, I could write more, I would just have to plan better and readjust my schedule to accomodate it.
In times like this I could also search for solutions to problems such as seeking out talented guest blogger to alleviate some of the pressure to create content myself and instead lean on bright minds to help populate this blog with valuable thoughts and perspectives.
But one thing I’m sure of is that to do it right, it takes two things:
1. Commitment
2. Planning
Planning is a product of commitment. I haven’t made an editorial calendar in months. I haven’t made the time to read nearly as much as I used to. In truth, I had other things to get out of the way but…
No excuses
A blog isn’t just a commitment to your readers, it’s a commitment to yourself. I write this blog not just to help others but to help myself. Writing this blog causes me to think. It causes me to consume, interpret and share. Every post I write makes better at communicating with my clients. My company blog needs attention, and so does this blog.
I vow to get back on track, not just for you, but for me.