Why every young entrepreneur should start a blog

Why every young entrepreneur should start a blog

 by Karl Goldfield

The last time I checked, and it was a while ago, there were over 70 million blogs and that number was growing by a couple of million a month. With that many in existence, the reasons behind starting one are too numerous to count. Here are some of the main ones:

1.      Add content to a corporate site in an effort to market through the blogosphere
2.      Affiliate and internet marketing to make money
3.      Deliver interesting commentary in the area of news
4.      Share ideas and concepts
5.      Write about your passions
6.      Have some fun
7.      Write about your expertise in a field of study

The list goes on, but what is clear is a blog gives people free or inexpensive ways to share their views. So easy is access that filtering through the noise of these billions of pages of content has become a new business in itself (Blog aggregators are popping up left and right). As more and more content goes up, the online community will continue to become less concerned with the blogosphere itself, and filter into the areas that matter most. We are in the early stages of a change in the way people think about information. Experts are being heralded by their message and its acceptance by the online community, not the network or newspaper they work for.

This is why entrepreneurs of the new global economy should care about blogging. For those that want to shake and rattle the cages of normality and reach out to new ideas and concepts, the first new forum of our 21^st century is the blogosphere. My own experience is a perfect example.

Ten years ago, at the height of the internet boom, a young woman I worked with, her husband, and I started www.videogameclub.com. I just clicked on it so you would not have to, and it is now a site for used and cheap games. What we had in mind was the same thing as a young startup named Netflix was thinking of for movies. We were going to charge a monthly fee for videogame rentals. We thought we could build a small customer base and then get some angel funding. We started getting some traction and then the bubble burst in 1999. We could not find an investor with $10 to spare let alone an angel with funds.

Obviously we failed, and every time I see a GameFly.com commercial I cringe. What we did not have then, that we would have today is a forum to find feedback and financing. If we had a blog and shared our ideas in the community our readers would have had things to say. These suggestions would have made the site stronger. If we had a blog and connected with other bloggers, our ideas would have been shared and the marketing monster of the blogosphere would have helped us get those first customers. If we had a blog and developed the customer base, financing might have been paying attention via RSS. Whatever the result, we would have had more of a chance today than ten years ago.

In my current role as a startup sales mentor, I was forced into my position by the blogosphere. In one year of writing, I am connected to over 50 of the best consultants in the world. In one year I am writing original content on over 10 sites. In one year I have signed a book deal. In one year consulting startups is my full time job. I was planning on this happening 3-4 years from now. The blogosphere had other ideas.

If you have ambition and want to see if you have good ideas, everyone in the advice department worldwide says….WRITE YOUR IDEAS DOWN. This should change to, BLOG ABOUT YOUR IDEAS! Now I am not suggesting you give up your intellectual property, or share the great new idea before it is ready. What I am suggesting is that you:

1.      Blog about the concepts and the value that your ideas offer.
2.      Clarify the message in a free environment with no expectations.
3.      Connect with other experts and bloggers for feedback.
4.      Develop a network of trusted advisors.
5.      Learn from the experience.

If you start writing and visualizing who you want to be, what you want to develop, how you want to achieve, and why people should care, you will be amazed what comes into fruition.

–- Karl Goldfield

startup sales mentor

http://salesblog.karlgoldfield.com