Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Welcome MarketingProfs readers

MarketingProfs has a nice weekly series where someone throws out a question, and the collective intelligence of MarketingProfs readers jump in and try to contribute their "know-how."

This week the question was about inexpensive ways to get the word our, especially for non-profits.

And a colleague, Andrea Learned, was kind enough to point to me as someone who blogs, and actually focuses on the non-profit world.

And once again the power and impact of MarketingProfs is clear, as I've received quite a few hits from it...far more than when I was mentioned on CNN in March I must say!

Blogs are a great option for non-profits, as long as they realize these few things:

1. There isn't much cost in technology (yay!) but you don't escape the human capital cost. Whether written by in-house resources or contractors...it's the time you will pay for.

2. Blogs are not a magic pill that alleviate any need to make decisions about who you want to reach and what you want them to do. In other words: you may build it, but they may not come, or they may come, but not follow through and do what you hoped for. So first step: know what you want.

3. Blogs are not something you try in the short-term and then toss aside if you don't see immediate results (especially if you're really not clear on what results you were expecting!) It is a long-term commitment to your audience to create a blog. And it is still a bit of an experiment to try to get tangible ROI from a blog. Don't worry, you can always be like the many reputable, successful organizations who want blogs for the qualitative (not quantitative) results.

Blogs can be a great tool, but the value of any tool is greatly determined by how you wield it. Blogs are no different.

Comments:
Amen, Elisa. Andrea Learned is a favorite of mine...as are you. It's exciting when we all begin to connect, via blogs or Marketing Profs of Marketing Sherpa. Your post is so on target...it should be written in blood for all to read!
 
Post a Comment

<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?