Why Startups Need to Blog (and what to talk about …)

http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/27/why-startups-need-to-blog-and-what-to-talk-about/

by davidedicillo • 15 years ago

127 20 15 years ago

techcrunch.com

dami• 15 years ago

Its true, startups do need to blog more.

windsurfer• 15 years ago

Startups need to do everything more, one could also say.

fmkamchatka• 15 years ago

Yes, it is true.

turoczy3• 15 years ago

The most important part of blogging for startups seemed to be completely missing from this piece: historical record.

Startups need to blog to remember what they did and why they did (and this is the most important part) within the context of what was happening at that point in time.

We think we'll remember all of our brilliant moves and boneheaded mistakes. But we won't. And sometimes it isn't even obvious why we made them, out of context.

But a blog will provide an historical record of what we did when. So we don't repeat the same mistakes next time. And so lessons learned are documented.

random42• 15 years ago

I completely concur with you. On all the points, including,

so lessons learned are documented.

BUT, blogging should not be misunderstood as documentation.

you do not put all your learnings in the public view.. (well, may be in the social web 2.0 view of business, but not in a traditional business).

You create an internal repository of documents (designs/requirements/deals/legal etc.), and go back to them, when the need arises.

mrschwabe2• 15 years ago

Exactly. There's a distinction between information you want public and info that should be kept internal.

turoczy3• 15 years ago

Great distinction. I totally agree.

You're right that there are internal documents that the business is required to develop. Or ones that are necessary for the business to function. Those may or may not be proprietary.

I was thinking more along the lines of the ethereal thought process of the entrepreneur or maybe providing context for public decisions.

Thanks for making this distinction.

jdp233• 15 years ago

> you do not put all your learnings in the public view..

why not?

andrew_wc_brown• 15 years ago

Blogging is the git repos of your business. If you don't track it, you didn't do it.

turoczy3• 15 years ago

Well said.

mrschwabe2• 15 years ago

Blogging is good. But blogging to an empty void is a waste.

Mark Suster made a nice post. I'd like to elaborate on his points, "What" and "Where".

The point of a blog (in the context of making money) is to build a following of readers; qualified prospects for your product or service - who may ultimately buy your product or service. Ie- a distribution channel.

Yet there are other ways to build active distribution channels without needing to engage people at yourcompany.com/blog. Particularly if you have a 'company blog' that nobody reads...

Think laterally. You can leverage blogging, social media, and email marketing in other ways. It doesn't have to be your 'company blog'.

I recommend planting your 'media presence' with more strategical precision. If not at yourcompany.com/blog then at somesite.com. Where you can build a brand and market to a niche' that has the maximum potential to reach the highest amount of qualified prospects. And then build relationships with those prospects to connect the bridge to your business.

Don't waste time blogging about your company if nobody is reading. Mark Suster is a VC, he inherits followers by default - you have to try harder, think smarter.

rmason• 15 years ago

I think if you follow his suggestions you dramatically lower the chances that you will be blogging to an empty void.

However not everyone can write well. It might be one of your employees and not the founder. Or you could try a video blog or a podcast.

cdr• 15 years ago

Anyone can learn to write well, though. A company blog is maybe not the place to be learning, though - if you have the time, probably better to start with a personal/non-professional blog.

coolgeek• 15 years ago

Thanks for pointing out that that post was by Mark Suster.

I rarely click through to TC posts - there are far too many of them on HN - but I'll always read his posts.

PakG1• 15 years ago

Yet there are other ways to build active distribution channels without needing to engage people at yourcompany.com/blog. Particularly if you have a 'company blog' that nobody reads...

Think laterally. You can leverage blogging, social media, and email marketing in other ways. It doesn't have to be your 'company blog'.

Agreed.

http://www.allthingsdistributed.com/2006/03/naked_answers.ht...

amitagrawal• 15 years ago

Mark Suster has one of the best blogs for entrepreneurs out there and this post is a home run no less!

He gives a nice example about Mint.com - Mint used it so heavily in the beginning of their launch that (I read this somewhere) they made it a point to create a blog post for every important personal finance topic. And they did really well on that front!

One more important thing is to be consistent - I've had my share of blogging and let me tell you consistently blogging has worked better than creating art pieces every once in a while (except if you're pg!)

Why Startups Need to Blog (and what to talk about …)

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