In the first two posts of this series, I asked Do Blogs Work? and What the Heck is Blog ROI? As I’ve mentioned, I think it is important to measure your Blog ROI, but there are difficulties with this since your “investment” is mostly in time rather than money. The other difficulty, which I want to cover here, is measuring the success of your blog. In short, what defines a successful blog?
Brian Clark at Copyblogger wondered out loud if RSS Subscriber Numbers Were Bogus. He states that the best way to measure the success of your blog is to measure the number of subscribers you have.
Now you’ll notice in the comments section that this brought forth a whole slew of ideas about what makes a blog successful. It boils down to these:
- Number of Subscribers
- Number of Comments
- Number of “Regulars” (Subscribers who actively read and comment on every post)
- Amount of Traffic (or “Hits”)
I’m going to add two more here that weren’t mentioned, but (in my opinion) should be:
- Number of Trackbacks (Most useful for measuring the success of an individual post, but could also be aggregated…)
- Number of Blogroll mentions and related links
Defining Your Own Success
Everyone, it seems, has a different viewpoint. But before you can measure the success of your blog, you need to define your end goals. If you derive ad revenue from your blog, then amount of traffic and number of subscribers will be important. If you are trying to create a community, then number of comments and number of contributing regulars is more important.
If you are trying to attract new clients, then I think traffic is best measure of a successful blog, with number of subscribers only a secondary measure. Here’s why:
Ultimately it is readers, not just “subscribers” who will become your clients — this, I’ll assert, is a theory and one that I will track in the future. But it is an educated guess, based on the following.
We know that SEO works. People search for certain keywords, find links to your website, and convert into sales. We also know that blogs help boost your SEO on several different levels: providing more content to be “found” in searches, increasing your relevancy, and others.
So it follows that no matter what you call your content, whether “articles” or “blog posts” or “web pages”, readers will find your content and in turn contact you about your services.
However this doesn’t mean that you should ignore building both your subscriber list and your number of comments. They are important perceived measures — a potential client who stumbles upon your website will likely be impressed with your subscription base and the number of comments your posts generate. You will more likely be seen as a thought leader in your field.
It also doesn’t mean that subscribers will not become clients as well. In fact, some very well may. And these will probably become your best clients, the champions of your services, and clients with whom you’ll build a strong, long-lasting relationship.
Another advantage of trying to build your subscriber list and comments section is that they are good measures of your own content. If you are engaging your readers enough for them to comment and subscribe, then your content will be more likely to connect with your potential client as well.
Lastly, it is also important to note that building your subscriber list, trackbacks, blog roll mentions, and other links to your site, will build your readership. It’s fairly obvious: the more links back to your blog and the more recommendations you get, the more people who will drop by to visit. So although these measures may be “secondary”, they are still important objectives that will help you reach your primary goal.
The Difference Between Blog Posts and Other Web Content
There is a difference between blog posts and other types of web content. The most important is the lack of a call to action. The better articles and web pages have a clear call to action — contact me for a quote, download this free report, etc. Landing pages of course are the ultimate example of this. But blog posts don’t usually have calls to action.
I think this is one area where there is definitely room for improvement. In fact, if we are going to use our blogs to attract clients, we need to somehow incorporate a stronger call to action into our blogs.
I don’t have the answer to this one yet, though I am developing a few ideas… Feel free to chime by leaving me a comment below!
So What Does It All Mean?
My conclusion: blog success for freelancers is ultimately about boosting your readership. Subscribers and engaging comments are also important because they help develop your own image as a thought leader. But just as SEO is about attracting visitors and converting them to clients, so too are blog posts.
However, there are problems with this in the way that we currently blog. With no clear call to action, blog posts will likely not be as effective as other types of web content like landing pages and optimized websites.
Am I wrong here? Is my logic warped? Let me know by leaving a comment below!
~Graham
Like this post? Tell the world!
Just read Kathy Hendershot-Hurd’s “Fast Track to Blog Success” — and I’m impressed. This PDF guide shows you how to identify the keywords you should be using in your blog to increase your traffic. It mixes tips on a little bit of everything including SEO basics for bloggers and keyword research techniques.