What To Do About Your Naked Blog Syndrome (NBS)
Got Naked Blog Syndrome?
The big drug companies in America want us to believe they have a magic pill for every ailment. But when it comes to getting rid of that nasty virus called Naked Blog Syndrome or NBS, there is no pill and there never will be.
Naked Blog Syndrome or NBS hurts a business.
Here’s why …
- NBS reveals you are not creative enough to develop helpful content for your visitors. After all, that is the purpose of a blog; to educate and attract new visitors, prospects, perhaps customers, to your website, business or non profit. All websites beg for a purpose. They beg for someone creative to make them useful. Yet, most sit there, naked, void of anything helpful to the lowly visitor who lands on any single page. It is never the case that the content, articles, videos, interviews and infographics are created and approved, ready to go. Heck no. There is seldom any useful content unless there is at least one really creative person working on your team.
- NBS makes you look lazy or like you don’t care. “Hey, check this blog out, Marv. The dude hasn’t put up a blog post for six months. What’s up with that?” They click the back button on their browser. Remember the movie with Nicholas Cage, Gone In 60 Seconds? Well your visitor or mine is gone in 14 seconds or less, especially if you’ve got NBS.
- NBS costs you money, cash flow, revenue. Visitors who find you will leave with their questions unanswered. They will go to your competitor next and see if they can find there. The real costs are hidden in the form of lost opportunity which is almost impossible to measure. How much money is your naked blog costing you?
If your blog is full of fresh, highly relevant, engaging content that generates tons of leads and new business, congratulations. I’d like to interview you and share your story with my audience one day, if you’re interested. I assure you that having great content on your blog, integrated with a sound marketing plan of action, gives you a significant competitive advantage. But you probably already know this which is why your blog is never naked.
On the other hand, if you do have NBS, are you ready to do something about it? All it takes is a few clicks and a phone call with me and your problem will be solved forever. You’ll have great content when you need it.
The sad reality is that most blogs are running naked right now for a number of reasons. First, most business owners and marketing people can’t or won’t be able to get the consistently crucial creative work done to begin the process. There’s absolutely no way the average small business owner, marketing executive or person on your team can be creative enough to crank out everything you need. Nor can you unless you’ve love to write.
As Stephen King tells us in his prolific book, On Writing, “If you want to be a great writer learn to write and read a lot.” Pretty simple. And absolutely not possible for the average person.
The second big reason blogs run naked is most people don’t realize how powerful a well-crafted blog can be. Blogs are great for business when managed well.
Blogs, like trade shows, cold calls, direct mail, email or any other marketing medium never work really well. But they all generally work meaning getting a 3% conversion for every person who lands on a product page can translate to millions in revenue.
Here’s the bottom line. The source of all great marketing is NOT the software that delivers it.
It is NOT the medium such as Internet, TV or radio.
It is NOT the color of a website.
It is NOT the website designer or brilliant marketing automation geek you just hired to help you make all that fun tech stuff work so you don’t lose your mind and your all your money.
It is one thing only; creative thinking.
That’s it. Creative people are the key. And we are here, ready, willing and able to help you avoid NBS at all costs.
Without creative thinking all blogs will remain naked or empty in meaning. There are many blogs that have content sitting there with decent frequency, but it is crappy content of no real use to anyone. Research tells us that most prospects these days have clicked their way through 70% of their buying process before they are ready to talk or meet with us.
This means you have to have a worthy, high quality and relevant stream of great content to help them answer all the questions they will naturally have throughout the buying process. This also means you have to clearly define your prospect’s buying process and map it carefully to the marketing and content you deliver by web page, email, SMS, phone or by snail mail.
What can you do if you have a naked blog and realize it hurts you, your company and everyone who works there?
- Remove the blog. If you can’t or won’t step up and provide great content, nuke the blog. Easy.
- Commit to writing and publishing your own content. The minimum blog content must be at least one article per week of at least 500 words, keyword friendly, but mostly written for your prospect or visitor. Ideally you want to have three to five per week and if you can afford 1,500 word articles that may be even better in terms of getting results. Check out Hubspot’s amazing research on this.
- Hire a writer yourself. Being your own editor on top of the 15 other hats you wear every day might not be realistic. Great editors and writers are out there. They are quite affordable by the word or project, hired part or full time. You must make the time to source the talent, interview, hire, fire and manage yourself.
- Hire a content expert who will do it all for you. This person must love to write, edit and manage your projects. Make sure you get along with this person really well and that you are willing and able to climb a learning curve with this person.
It is no surprise that I happen to be the guy who does #4, both for myself and my clients. I walk the walk. I have published a blog almost every week since I read my first book on blogging in 2006. That’s just the beginning of my career as a writer. I have a long way to go! I love writing, publishing and helping my clients with great content that gets sales results.
This is what I love to do more than anything else when it comes to my job as a business, sales, marketing and technology adviser to small business owners, CEOs and marketing executives. (And I am the same guy who thought my dad was nuts when he made me take a typing class in high school way back in 1978. I thank him in Spirit every day for that advice!)
So if you feel like your blog is naked in any way, and you want to keep it going because you believe content marketing can be good for your business in terms of lead generation, prospect nurturing or customer retain and service, all it will take is a telephone or Skype conversation with me. It is very easy for me to help people with content and to generate a quote.
Content is affordable. Great content is essential to compete and win new customers and capital to sustain or grow any organization.
Great content is engaging and serves your visitor well, much like you would host any guest you welcome to your home or office. It’s the same when people land on your blog, or any page on your website, your slide deck and any element of your marketing that gives your prospect clues as to whether they want to do business with you or your 5,000 competitors out there.
Great content requires reliable creative talent with a track record of creating stuff that works. All you have to do is ask, “What have you created that made money for you or your clients?”
You want to make sure your content professional is the real deal. They have to be able to speak your language and connect with your audience on your behalf. They basically have to integrate themselves into the company culture and tap the “voice” of your brand when creating useful, engaging content.
You deserve to have the best content your money can buy. Otherwise, just take down that naked blog and do what you do best. Your NBS will be over.
I always appreciate your comments, shares and questions here on the Conversion Marketing Experts blog.
P.S. If you need and want great content, ask me how to save 50% on your first order for blog articles.
P.P.S. There is no such thing as NBS. Please don’t ask your doctor about it.