Turn Your Blog into a Relationship Hub

May 13, 2008
20 Comments

“Marketing channel.”

“Public relations.”

“Get the message out.”

“Creative should handle this.”

Are you speaking the language of the dead? Your blog is not a marketing channel. It is not a one-way message delivery service. Blogs (and all social media) are two-way conversations. Public relations is a euphemism for corporate propaganda. Ever notice how in classic public relations there is absolutely no “relation” happening? No relationship at all. One way message delivery is not communication. Communication is an exchange.

Yes, I know, we call it marketing via blogs at first, because that’s more easily understandable. That’s how we lure you over to the Cluetrain side, where we give the red pill or the blue pill. Once you take the red pill, we rip the mask off and reveal that business blogging isn’t about marketing… exclusively.

Blogs are not commercials. A blog is not an advertising campaign. On a blog, you don’t have a “message.” Nobody wants to hear your message. Period. What people want is to engage in a relationship with you. And they want what they want, not what you want.

But they want to trust you.

They so desperately want to.

Give them the slightest reason to and they will.

Betray that trust and they will kill you.

Do not speak the language of the dead. Blogs are not marketing tools. They are communications/relationship hubs (which is better than a mere marketing tool). The defining paradox of this new age of business is that you market yourself best by not marketing yourself at all, but by relationship-building and engagement. And blogs are wonderful tools for that!

How are you turning your blog into a relationship hub?

Tags: ,
  • Hi Michael,Its excellent topic & good sharing.
    http://www.relationshipsaver.org/
  • :: just woke up from the pummeling that James gave him ::
  • Excellent clarity Michael. And it's so much more fun. Hi guys. :)

    Note to self: look into critical mass figures....and metrics...

    Thanks once again.
  • @ MM - my niche seem to be 'bookmarkers' as opposed to 'subscribers'. A tad frustrating...my feed count is LOW. My next move is an opt-in white paper, then ebook, then membership site...then world domination (but James will probably beat us all to it). :)
  • @J - Average comments per post, subscribers, typical visitor data, and backlinks (trackbacks, often) are all valid metrics. Do not discount or overemphasize any of them.

    @Karen - Good move. Think about what you can further do to build on that trust and turn those visitors into subscribers. Long term, build a base you can sell to on trusted terms. Not talking about "tricking" people in any sense -- this is genuine all the way.
  • *leaps on Mark D and pummels him*

    Steal MY readers, will you?!!
  • Much like Wendi, I'm not selling anything. But I plan on it in the future and my blog was the first step. I really want my niche's trust and respect and it is happening. I have a small but loyal group.

    Quick story. Just in the last few days there's been a big 'scandal' happening over at an animation site that had a contest. I had a banner for the contest (but I was not involved in any other way). Someone alerted me to what was happening at the site so I took my banner down and wrote a post about it.

    I'm getting traffic from their message boards because they put a link to my post. People love the fact that an outsider of that contest (and a professional in the industry) is 'with them' and I'm getting great feedback and new readers. I feel their trust and it's great.

    Word of mouth is huge and I hope it pays off later.
  • I'm trying harder to pose more open ended questions to facilitate a conversation. The common theme being my posts don't leave enough up for discussion.

    Going forward, I plan to measure my success by the # of comments; not # of visits or subscriptions.
  • @Barbara - Yes, the tools change but the relationships are the same!

    @Jonathan - Love your succinct observation! That is PowerPoint material, friend.

    @Mark - having a few great blogs to hang out at really helps -- it helps everyone, but it comes back to you.

    @Dave - it would be fantastic if you had numbers for that. My own observations have been that the more social I get (twitter, conferences) the more business I get. Basically, it equals money in the bank.

    @Wendi - Many people jump too soon and try to sell something or monetize before they've reached critical mass. Patience is the highest of virtues in this regard.

    @Daryl - It takes time to connect and build trust, and when you're dealing with technology, you will only connect with those who are tech-savvy, which may not be everyone in your audience. Offline work feeds online work.
  • I've had the goal of being a relationship hub from day one with my blog but I am still not there. Though I am learning.

    I have major changes in the works to go in this direction. Thanks for this post. I know I am still on the right course.
  • This is exactly what I've been trying to build at my site. A community of like-minded people.
    What makes it easy for me is that I'm not selling anything, I started the whole thing out JUST trying to build relationships and meet like-minded people and friends. And it's fun. Later, when I figure out my *working* goals, then I'll be ready to get back in the marketing world, but honestly, the best marketing in the world is business by referal so I never worry about that sort of thing.The trust and integrity are key.
  • This is why blogging is so much more effective than traditional internet marketing techniques. IM tends to penalize frequent communication (the list gets over-mailed), but with blogs frequent contact adds value, and people link to you more than IMers cross-promote you.

    In just a few months I've gained better results through blogging than in several years of IM.
  • I am turning my blog into a relationship hub by poaching, I mean borrowing, the readers of Men With Pens.. ;)

    Seriously, I've been trying to build up the comments section and engage in better conversations there.
  • Love it. Marketing 1988 - interruption, dissemination, get first, give second.

    Marketing 2008 - conversation, permission, access and engagement. Give first, get second
  • Oh this is an EXCELLENT post! Here's what I'm doing to build a relationship:

    *) Building trust by giving away one of my most comprehensive beginners ebooks for free, no strings attached...this way folks can see I walk the walk I talk

    *) Added Lucia's Linky Love to CommentLuv (my site is PR5 and I like benefiting folks who comment)

    *) Instead of asking folks to subscribe to my RSS feed, I wrote a whole page showing exactly what the benefits were and where targeted content resides

    *) I try to answer any html/SEO/design questions I see on Twitter.

    I've been making my living online now for 10+ years - the tools might change but the relationships never do.
  • @Mark - Thanks, buddy!
  • @James - I probably could've shortened this post even further by just telling everyone to go see how the Men with Pens do it.
  • My favorite post of yours yet.

    My note when tagging it on del.icio.us: "Michael throws a life preserver to those who don't yet 'get it.'"

    'Cuz they're drowning, ya know? ;)

    Really a gem.
  • In my case, the question should be, "How am I *not* creating a relationship hub?"

    And I don't think I have the answer.
blog comments powered by Disqus