Guy Kawasaki is wrong: You can make money directly with a blog for your business.

Recently Guy Kawasaki interviewed Darren Rowse, publisher of Problogger. While I found Darren’s interview refreshing and direct. I have to take exception to a statement made by Guy in the very first paragraph of his interview.

For most small businesees, making money directly from the blog is unrealistic…

I have to disagree and I think Guy Kawasaki is wrong in making such a statement. And I firmly believe he does a disservice to those business considering a blog as a marketing tool by making such a statement.

Monetizing a blog with ads and other items is not the only way to make money with a blog. Providing a paid for membership site on the blog and charging for an e-Zine is also not the only way to make money directly from a blog. Business can actually make money from a blog.

Darren mentions 8 items that are a benefit of blogging to a blogger. And I and others have mentioned them numerous times too. They are:

Establish brand and expertise

Give your business and employees a voice

Extend your marketing beyond a local area

Create loyalty and conversation with customers

Establish trust and build relationship

Level the search-engine playing field

Provide market research

Provide low-cost PR

All great benefits of blogging for a business. And they all can lead to making money for your business too. Blogging, if done right on a consistent basis. Where you provide relevant, up to date content to your readers. And maintain the blog and keep it up to date, will bring you direct income too. When I was working full time in my professional service firm, a law firm, I used a blog as my only print, Internet and targeted marketing. I made it a point to provide up-to-date, relevant content. I made it a point to engage my readers. And I encouraged them to get in the conversation about the topic. By doing that, and by taking advantage of all of the items listed above, I was able to get potential clients to contact me directly to hire my firm to handle their needs.

True, I was not receiving a check from Google Adsense or some other affiliate marketing firm. But, I was receiving fees as a direct result of my blogging efforts.

Don’t discount the impact you can have on your firm, home business, or small business’ bottom line by using a blog to market your business.

I am available to visit anytime about blogging. Drop me an email at grant@g2webmedia.com and we can set up a time to talk.

Grant

Carolyn- While that may be true as to Guy's position on blogs. His comment does not come out that way. That is why I felt it necessary to voice my concern. There are those who will listen to what he says and consider it gospel and for him to say a business can not make money with a blog is misleading. You can make money as I have shown by getting clients directly from blogging. Yes, I agree it is harder and harder to monetize a blog to make money off of ads and affiliate links. However, that is not the type of "making money" I am discussing. I wish Guy would have been more clear on his statement and not just come out and say what he did.

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Carolyn Elefant

I think that when Guy is talking about blogs as money makers, he's putting them in the category of the kinds of portal websites that were popular in the early days of the dotcom era. In that regard, he is right, because most blogs today will not experience the type of success (albeit fleeting) of an etoys.com or petfood.com

On the other hand, if you regard blogs as an alternative to marketing or advertising, well then yes, people will make money off them just as they make money off a Superbowl commercial or Yellow Pages ad. Do people make money off those forms of advertising? Yes - they get business or sell products, just as they may do with blogs.

Using a Blog and Social Media To Promote Your Business

Guy Kawasaki is wrong: You can make money directly with a blog for your business.

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