In studying successful organizations, Jim Collins found that the best “fire bullets, then cannonballs”.
Basically, the best entrepreneurs, businesspeople, etc. do a lot of little testing. They have an idea and they test it. Someone around them has an idea, the test it.
And they do these tests pretty much all the time. Always keeping their options open. Always making sure that they have at least a little data before they make a big bet.
The same is true with business blogging. There is not a ton of risk to starting a full on blogging strategy where you’re doing one post per week or even one post per day. But it’s certainly possible to test a business blog or even a blogging service before you fire your cannonball.
Here are a few tips for doing that…
1. Test The Writer Fit
The first thing you’re looking for when you test a blogging service is the fit with the writer.
Many service providers or freelancers, will provide a first post on a trial basis. It’s usually 1,000-words or less. It’s a good way to see if there is a potential good fit.
One of the challenging aspects of blogging is getting the style, tone or voice to be the right fit. The style the business wants to portray and the style the writer can provide or adapt to.
With a trial post, there is the initial reaction to the fit. There is also usually some feedback and revision. Sometimes the trial may be a little off. A revision can further clarify if the writer is the right person to take on the long-term blogging for the client.
2. Test The Operational Fit
Whether you’re working directly with a freelance blogger or with an agency, there will be an operation. From the communication to the delivery of the post to the revision to the publishing process. The entire operation can be tested.
Again, the first post or the trial post can provide good insight into how the operation works. The operation can be subjective based on what your expectations are. That’s why it can be difficult to say that one is better than the other.
This relates to the reason why the best people in business are fond of testing. Many things are subjective. Many things are unknown. It’s best to try things out and see what works and what works for you before firing a cannonball…aka putting lots of money into the new strategy.
3. Test The Early Results
Blogging is a long-term strategy. The most successful business blogs have been around for years. The most successful personal bloggers have been around for years. That’s the reality.
Blogging is like compounding interest. You start with a consistent publishing schedule. The first year you don’t really see much, but after a year of doing it you start seeing early progress. Then it starts compounding every year.
But there are early results that you can watch…
You can share initial posts on social media. You can look at how your connections are engaging. You can read the comments. Even a few positive comments provide some data that people like what you’re doing. You can ask new inquiries and clients how they found you. Some may say that they read a blog post that you published.
You can also send your early posts to your email list. You can see how subscribers interact with the content. If the interaction and feedback is positive, the data can help you with your decision to invest more in the blogging.
4. Test Blogging Variations
You can test more than just one trial post. You can test weekly posts for a few months or a year. You can start with one type of word count, perhaps 1,000-word posts. That can be your regular baseline. But you can also do some shorter posts, 500-words, and some longer posts, 2,000-words.
Over a few months or perhaps a year, you can see how the posts compare against each other. You can see if there is something your audience prefers.
5. Fire Your Cannonball
After some time, a few months or a year, you should have enough data to make a decision.
Your decision may be to continue testing. To continue with the number of posts you’re doing while adding a few experiments. Continue doing this for a few more months or another year. Then review again and see if it’s time to fire your cannonball and invest more.
Or after a year and perhaps 50+ posts, you see the potential. You know the writer is a good fit. The operation is working well for you. Your connections are commenting positively on the posts. You’re starting to see some SEO benefit.
That can be a great indication that it’s time to double, triple or even quintuple the amount of content your’e publishing.
Conclusion
Most things in business are best when they’re tested. You can ask colleagues for their input, advice and experience with blogging. Each will have a different story. The reality is that they can’t tell you for sure that blogging will be right for you. That’s why it’s important to test blogging and/or a blogging service. It’s the best way to get the data you need to make the right decision.