I was having coffee this morning with my friend and colleague when she asked me a perplexing question. “Would you suggest I get a blog or a twitter handle.”
My response was, “What are your intentions?” Let’s face it; how you plan to blog is as important as what you blog. Why are they going to read it, who’s going to read it and how many people would you like to be reading it? She didn’t really know. So, I put my #WhyGuy hat on and went to work.
Oddly, I was reminded of a the gorgeous 22 year-old female swimming coach who would hang out by the pool when I was in high school. Picture the scene – I’m 14 years old and 90lbs soaking wet when I decide to ask this blond beauty the most important question of the day, “What’s the best way to get great abs? Swim or do sit-ups?”
She looked at me and said, “why don’t you do both?” At the time I was outraged (and a little lazy)! What? Do both? I just want great abs! Nobody said this would be work!
Building your following (or network) on twitter and having a readership (Subscribers to your blog), it’s sometimes just as painful as working on your rock hard beach body. If you’re not committed to do both, why would you do either?
I gave her a simple strategy. Build genuine relationships on twitter and ask them to subscribe to your blog. When you don’t have time to tweet, post excerpts from your blogs (with links to your site) and when someone comments on your content, thank them and send them to your site for the whole story.
After that, she’s on her own – at least until she comes back with more questions. Sound simple enough? Let me know what you would have said. If you’re looking for a twitter/blog strategy, first ask yourself, “what are my intentions?”