To Blog or not to Blog

egproductions

egproductions

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I've always enjoyed sharing information and knowledge. In fact, most of us are on this forum for that inherent reason. That being said, I've been torn whether its a smart business decision to take a blog further than simply sharing ones recent projects/shoots. When does revealing trade secrets or approaches actually hurt your business since you are essentially giving others your "recipe". Speaking of recipes, if you want to use a related sample, is it smart for a chef/cook to start blogging and sharing the recipe and secret ingredients to the food they make in their restaurant? Will it draw in more business than it will ultimately hurt them since their menu items could potentially loose their uniqueness? Is blogging short term thinking or is it actually a smarter move to draw in business through other channels?

Thoughts....
 
I think a lot of people just want the hit, like, or view numbers to pile up, without thinking about it any more deeply than that. It's a kind of reward, but in the end, it's not much of one. Very little tends to come from it, and when it does (like that makeup girl), it's a bolt-of-lightning kind of thing -- extremely rare.

I suppose, in some ways, it's not too different from street busking, putting on a performance in the hopes that people will toss money into your guitar case -- except you have better odds on that street.
 
One problem with blogs, is once you start one you need to spend the time to keep it up. I can't tell you how many video production, or ad agency blogs I have seen where the last blog post was sometime last year, or even further back.
 
David Jimerson said:
I think a lot of people just want the hit, like, or view numbers to pile up, without thinking about it any more deeply than that. It's a kind of reward, but in the end, it's not much of one. Very little tends to come from it, and when it does (like that makeup girl), it's a bolt-of-lightning kind of thing -- extremely rare.

I suppose, in some ways, it's not too different from street busking, putting on a performance in the hopes that people will toss money into your guitar case -- except you have better odds on that street.
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That was my experience. Most blogs are a waste of time. Unless you can make money with it…..that is a longshot.
Most of your clients might look at it a few times but most won't waste the time.
I have a producer friend who is religious about his blog and posting to Facebook, etc.
It's usually his friends who make a comment. Most potential clients could care less.
Unless you have hours in the week to do it - it probably won't matter.
Plus it could be more of a downside in showcasing your clients.
A liberal client may not like your conservative clients and visa versa.
And the biggest downside is your are telegraphing to your competition what
you are doing and who your clients are.
I have let my website go dark. I don't Facebook or Tweet and I have deleted most of my videos off Vimeo
and I am still busier then ever - weird……..
 
I approach my blog as a place to better myself by writing articles that help me think things trough/define what I want to do and be as an artist. Having my blog posts be something that someone might bump into gives me just a little more reason to write them. If no one ever sees them, I've still bettered myself, so I'm happy. That being said, I only write maybe one post a month.
 
Start with "why" you want to blog and make a decision to move forward or not. If your decision is to move forward, answer "who" (is your audience) and then decide if you still want to move forward. If your answer is still "yes" then move to "how" and "where." If, as an example, you're interested in writing personal stuff for your friends and family, put it on a personal blog. If you're interested in capturing the attention of your potential clients, blog accordingly and put it on your business site. I've seen very few film blogs that are actually useful to potential end-clients. But if that's not your customer (the one who pays your bills) then it might not matter. BTW, the "when" or "how often" answer is pretty easy. It doesn't really matter as long as you are consistent. Once a week. Once a month. Just do it consistently. Set expectations and meet them.
 
I think if all you're after is business, no one is going to care. There are so many professional websites that people don't read because it's seen as just a marketing piece.

On the other hand, if you are doing what you do out of passion and what you are making is something like an indie film, those things can be both interesting and beneficial to other filmmakers and potential fans of the project. Still not sure anyone will read it, but the chance is greater.
 
This is all great feedback, however, I think my original question kind of got lost. my question wasn't so much about a blog being a worth the effort/time put into it but rather if the exposure is ultimatly good for a business. I never really expected much direct business to come from a blog, however, a blog could help in increasing brand value/recognition. Thats where the question comes in as to wether the added brand recognition (being a forward thinker or trend setter) outweighs the dissadvantage of giving away your methods.
 
egproductions said:
I've always enjoyed sharing information and knowledge. In fact, most of us are on this forum for that inherent reason. That being said, I've been torn whether its a smart business decision to take a blog further than simply sharing ones recent projects/shoots. When does revealing trade secrets or approaches actually hurt your business since you are essentially giving others your "recipe". Will it draw in more business than it will ultimately hurt them since their menu items could potentially loose their uniqueness? Is blogging short term thinking or is it actually a smarter move to draw in business through other channels?

Thoughts....
Click to expand...

Look at Shane Hurlbut for example. He gives away a ton of useful information about cinematography in his blog, and does anyone think it actually hurts him somehow? I don't. Doing the odd review on a product, or showing someone how to do a lighting setup they can already research on YouTube by themselves isn't going to exactly hurt anyone.

I think for Shane at least, it helps maintain his brand value/recognition. For others while its true that a client may never come back to your blog after the first time they look at it - it's that first impression that counts isn't it? If you're already worried about how you will manage to write frequently or thinking what a pain it is to write, then a blog is probably not for you.

I post at least once a month on my blog and I certainly don't do it to make money, I partially use it to write down information I have learned or discovered so that it can be shared with others but also so I can also refer back to it myself. (Some research is in-depth and can be easy to forget months later.)

In the end everyone will have an opinion but mine is blog away baby, blog away.... :)
 
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I have a screenwriting friend whose agent told her to put up a blog. Whether to get more exposure or whatever, that's what she needed to do and she did. In order for blogs to get noticed by Google you will need to do what we call "feed the beast" by adding SEO content of about 500+ words every day. Blogs must be original, written well, and slowly you will climb up the ladder as an authority site of that niche.

You have to have DAILY commitment for it to matter at 500+ words. Power blogging is 3 blogs per day. UNLESS you are committed to blogging, I would advise against it. Takes time and you need to do it right from the get-go.
 
You could always blog without giving away your methods. That is, you go on a really cool event shoot, and your post is just generally about the experience, with few behind the scenes photos and a couple cream of the crop of what you shot. Future clients see that you're a vibrant artist with a lot of street cred, and yet you give very little away in terms of your technical approach.
 
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