This post was originally written for and published on the Ketchum Blog.
When it comes to blogging, creating and designing a blog is the easy part. The hard part is filling it with content on a routine basis, and in a corporate environment that can be incredibly challenging.
Why? Because people already have their normal duties and now you are asking that they add more to their workload.
Seriously, that’s exactly what people are thinking.
At a previous job, I was close to launching a new blog and word had gotten out that I was on the prowl to create a blog team (more on that in a bit). I made my way to a coworker’s office to try and recruit him, and right when I walked in, he pointed at the door and said (in a humorous tone), “Get out! I’m not blogging!”
Luckily that guy not only became a blogger, but he enjoyed the process so much that he started his own personal blog (add a check to the success column please!).
Over the years I’ve learned the ins and outs of corporate blogging, and there’s one tip that will help put you on a path to success.
Create a Blog Team
Your blog team should consist of five to 10 people that are interested in helping with the blog. Once you have this team, make it known that each person should contribute at least one blog post every one to two weeks (depends on the size of the team).
I prefer the 10-person route because it allows people to contribute once every two weeks but still have enough content to do one post per day. (Note: you can have more than 10 if you are with a large organization, but you still need to establish a schedule for the team.)
Now, if you are thinking, “I don’t want to create a blog team, but instead want to reach out to people at random.” That might work for a very short time, but it’s not a long-term solution and is destined to fail, or to be an unorganized mess.
Why? Because you don’t get people in a normal routine of writing and are constantly scrambling for content. Seriously, please don’t go this route.
If you are starting a corporate blog from scratch, once you have the blog team figured out, have everyone submit content two weeks prior to your launch. By doing so you’ll allow yourself to work on a buffer, and help ensure you don’t run out of content.
If you find yourself managing a corporate blog, hopefully this tip will help you do so successfully.
