Is Your Blog Commercial?

**B* M* <c*@yahoo.com>**

First off, let me say I have no problem whatsoever with a blog being monetized aka being used as a source of income via ad sales or direct product sales any other kind of sales. It's also totally fine with me if one uses a blog as a public relations tool or as part of a marketing campaign for, say, a book. Successful monetization can be elusive in practice, so let’s step aside from that for a minute and talk about what commercialized could mean. 

I distinguish between a homegrown sort of personal blog done purely for pleasure and without regard to who might be reading and with no intent whatsoever to ever make any money with it or any kind of ulterior motive beyond love for the subject and an enjoyment of writing. While it may be polished and well done, this is a pure labor of love. 

Then there are blogs that are more commercial in nature. I suspect most can relate to this type of differentiation at one level or another. At one end of the spectrum might be a garden writer who is using the blog as a writing portfolio. At the other end of the spectrum might be a high budget big-time corporation using a multi-featured blog as a public relations and marketing tool within a hugely elaborate website.

The more commercial blog is offered by an industry professional with a certain level of expertise, often a writer or business owner or marketing pro. A more commercial blog is one that uses a variety of sources for its story ideas beyond what is happening in the proverbial backyard – including press releases, sample products, news stories, promotional events, and so on which serve to widen the radar screen.  This wider radar screen enables the blog to increase its appeal to a wider audience. The larger the audience, the wider the potential market when monetization occurs. 

The more commercial the blog, for lack of a better word, the more "professionally" done. For starters, this means frequent updates and a decent level of writing skill plus a sense of what is newsworthy and interesting for their audience plus improved presentation.

This could also mean as they say in the entertainment industry, it’s produced better and with a higher production value – it’s just plain more slick, or glossier, shinier, sexier, or whatever word means that for you. 

This could mean the blog is more clearly and deliberately branded. 

It could include being more invested in terms of the backend technical workings with a plan to accommodate future growth and expansion and incremental steps to increased monetization. 

It probably includes an awareness of search engine optimization, copywriting techniques, and other tools of the trade.

It might mean the blog offers a more consistent and precisely enunciated or focused editorial viewpoint for a specific target market. 

It could be that the blog builds professional relationships with significant movers and shakers and high end players in the industry/market being covered. 

It could mean working hard specifically to develop a bigger readership, a marketing plan if you will. 

A blog could develop the above facets organically and/or deliberately through goals-oriented planning. It could be done by a solo writer or by a powerhouse corporation or any entity in-between. 

As far as a blog being more or less commercialized, there is no value judgment intended as to good or bad. It is just an observation on my part. It is one of the distinctions I make when I look at blogs and evaluate them and the information they are offering, and think about "where they are coming from" -- just as when I look at web sites or books or magazines or any other information product. 

Barbara Martin
Latest Post: "Story of an Emerald"
http://reptitude.com/   

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