Recently, I directed readers to a self-promoting article urging them to hire me to write their blog entries. Almost immediately I received an inquiry from a designer I admire. She wanted to know the price range of my blog writing services. I answered $75 to $250, depending on how much time was required. (Some people need just editing and polishing. Others provide just a topic, which can require extensive research as well as writing.)
She responded with a question: “Do your clients easily see the value in that? I think a lot of people just think ‘well, I can write a blog post. I’m not going to spend $75 to $250 on it.’”
Which is exactly what many people think. People who are not going to hire me.
“There are lots of things people know how to do themselves, but still hire an expert to do for them”
I tried to address this issue in the original article by employing the slant, “Maybe you can do this yourself, but guess what? You’re not.” I’m offering to do the job for them.
There are lots of things many people know how to do themselves (or could learn how to do), from household repairs to fitness routines, but they think it’s worth it to hire an expert to do it for them.
So the bigger question has to do with the perceived value of blogging itself. I know businesses that swear it increases sales and others who aren’t sure. (It’s worth noting that those who value blogging also tend to do it regularly while those with reservations tend to blog infrequently.) I come from the world of advertising, so I’ve currently reconciled myself to the concept that promotional blogging is simply another medium, not all that unlike television or radio, except that anyone with a computer and Internet access can create their own “station.”
At the risk of repeating a cliché, it’s content (and, to a lesser degree, frequency) that determines value. The ubiquitousness of blogging upends Marshal McLuhan and makes the message, not the medium, more essential to generating interest and action. If you’re going to blog, make every effort to make your content interesting and valuable.
And if you can’t do that yourself, let me do it for you.
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