If you aren't living under a rock somewhere, you have probably heard that Bill Clinton has a new book out called "Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World". Although I have not read the book yet, it seems the whole idea is that each of us probably has something of value to offer to others. Hearing him speak about this made me realize that in the blogging world we all have the opportunity to make a difference. So let me ask you...
Are you a Giving Blogger or a Marketing Blogger?
A Giving Blogger provides a service. Perhaps it is to educate people on something that you are an expert about, and you do it because you love it. For a great example of a Giver Blog, check out my good friend Shannon. She writes about reading books. (Isn't that kind of a twist?) She give us great information about books that she loves and reads, and she doesn't charge for the information. She does it because it makes her feel good. I am hoping that she will read the book that Clinton wrote and then give us the cliff notes.
On the other hand, a blogger who is a Marketer neatly packages sales pitches into bite sized posts, with a call to action. As a reader, if you really want some good information, you will have to do something to get it. Your blog becomes more like an interactive sales page, and it's sole purpose is to generate revenue.
A few great bloggers have managed to combine the two, and they give freely of their information and then sprinkle a bit of sales and promotional posts throughout their blog. The Blog Squad does a great job of this. You can get a lot of great information from them, and they occasionally post on a new product or service that they have. But I will say that the content outweighs the sales-y stuff, and they have spent a long time giving information before asking for anything, so in my opinion, they have earned the right to do that.
When I started the Bulldog Marketing Blog, I started with a giving attitude. I wanted to give people information that they can use to cut through some of the confusion about this whole Web 2.0 thing. In the process I have gotten a great feeling of satisfaction from knowing that I have helped a few people along the way, and that is the reason why I do what I do. If I attract clients from it, so much the better, but doing this is a way I can give something back, and not expect anything in return.
If your blog isn't performing to your expectations, perhaps you have mis-judged your purpose. If you want to generate revenue, than do that, and do it well. If you want to educate people, then give them something that is truly of value, and do it well. Readers will be attracted to your blog if you can clearly deliver what you are representing.
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