4.09.2009

Reader Help Requested: An Association Blog Dilemma

In a PickleImage by bitzcelt via Flickr



Lindy and I were recently approached by a colleague in the association world who told us about a dilemma they were having with their newly launched blog. They asked if I would post their dilemma here and ask my readers to comment.

This is an interesting one! We gave her our take, but we're all curious to know what you would do, what your thought are about it.

Here's the pickle:

Our association blog is multi-author representing various industry topics from multiple perspectives. In our initial weeks, things are going very well. Lots of traffic on the site, etc. Two other industry blogs launched during the same month we did. The dilemma is that we all have the same authors who are supplying us with the same (or recycled) content. We are all participating on the same social networking groups, posting the same articles with links to our blogs. I’m trying to embrace the cooperative spirit of the blogger world. However, this just isn’t helpful to our readers. If they can read the same article on 3 different blog sites, we, of course, want our blog to win this competitive game. We want to be the best industry blog, with the best authors, with the best content. We have the same small audience subscribing to our blogs and participating on our social sites. You may recall, we developed a blogger application with a list of rules and guidelines, and a release form. We ask our volunteer authors for “original” content, but not “exclusive” content. The other two blogs are managed by supplier companies for the industry our association represents, however, neither are member companies. One of the managers of the competing blog has reached out to us to “partner” and cross-promote. We would approach this “frienemy” thing different if they were a sponsor, exhibitor, or advertiser with the association, however, we’re really not interested in “partnering” with a non-member company.

1) Are we turning off our readers by posting recycled content?

2) Do we go back to our blog authors to ask them to only submit to us “exclusive” content for our blog?

3) Am I silly to be worrying about sharing content with competing blogs?

4) Is this situation likely to resolve itself as we all gain wider readership and more folks in the industry begin to blog?


What do you think? Please post in the comments. Thanks!



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9 comments:

  1. Yes, you are turning off readers by posting reused content. As a reader, I don't want to see the same content reused over and over again at other blog sites. I would think, wow, doesn’t anyone at these organizations have a fresh idea or perspective?

    I do not think you are silly asking your authors for exclusive content. I think you should expect and demand it. Isn't it about differentiating yourself? Shouldn’t you want to make your blog site unique and not status quo? Isn’t it about providing fresh content and different perspectives for your readers? It's also in the authors’ best interest to create different content for different sites.

    No, I don't think the situation will resolve itself. It’s up to you to resolve the situation. And if you authors refuse, time to find some new authors! You are just frustrating your readers and looking unoriginal.
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  2. I can certainly see the dilemma here. I have a few thoughts:

    First, I think it would be hard to ask a blogger for exclusive content when your blog is brand new and is still building its readership.

    So, if they're going to post on all three blogs, how can you make yours the one they post on first ? That's one of the questions that you need to answer in my opinion, since it certainly doesn't seem as though you have an interest in partnering with the others.

    I think you should also ask yourself what makes your blog the place to be? What can you do to show the bloggers that yours is where all of the industry leaders interact and look to first? These are questions that would be necessary IF you decide to continue along the path you've already taken.

    Taking a different tact, I'd also perhaps think about changing the focus of your blog to hit a niche of your industry that is not being covered by the other two that are out there. Perhaps yours can be the place for young professionals to find everything they need to know about your industry, with some young professionals blogging about their experiences and questions they have. Perhaps you determine another segment of your industry that is in need of someone to talk about it, and determine who the right people are to talk about it that are different from those posting on the other two.

    Anyway, just a couple thoughts that came to my mind. I know I probably didn't answer any of your four questions at the end of the post, but I hope they help!
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  3. Great comments. I definitely think you need to distinguish yourself from the other blogs. One way to look at the issue is to ask yourself and fellow staff: "what can we offer in a blog that no one else can possibly offer?" Perhaps you have access to people that the other blogs don't have; interview those people. Whatever your unique advantage is, find it, and make that the focus of your blog.
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  4. Sounds like an un-winnable "arms race". You have to supplement the content in some way or find some other way to differentiate yourself. Either way, it's time to tell your authors to throw you a bone.
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  5. I bet your current bloggers are happy with all the visibility they're getting on three industry blogs, so aren't too concerned about your problem. The system as is works great for them. What if you give them some type of incentive for providing content only to your blog? I know this might be a bit controversial, but what if you offer them points for each exclusive blog post that you publish -- points that are good for a certain percentage discount or dollar amount at your conference, sort of like a frequent bloggers club.

    Maybe that's not a good idea, since it's mighty close to paid content. You need to figure out what would make it in your bloggers' interest to be exclusive with you, that's the key, at least until you expand your pool of bloggers.
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  6. Wow, awesome comments - and not all have the same take.

    This was mine:

    1) you don't want recycled content if your blogosphere is really that small - however it is totally cool for the others to repurpose your great content.

    so, 2) you don't need to make it "exclusive", however you could go back to your bloggers and ask them to agree to post to your blog first, and maybe not to others for a couple of weeks after they have posted to yours.

    3) sharing is all part of blogging, but you definitely need to
    position yours as the best - nothing wrong with that!! You should try and make sure you comment on and link to other relevant more established blogs too - if there are any that will give YOU clout and traffic if they comment back or link back.

    4) yes, I think this will become less and less of an issue as the blogosphere grows!

    And Lindy's additions:

    You, as the association, can use your access to produce additional content that differentiates you. I'd suggest posting some interviews with influential members, conference keynoters, lawmakers--anyone you have a relationship with that the supplier members do not. Also, if you haven't already (you probably have...) make sure you have the creative commons license (or some equivalent) that explains you must be credited if anyone recycles your content.

    On the frienemy front, I'd just tell them that you're not ready to formalize anything, but you will, of course, link to any of their original content that you find especially valuable for your readers. You may find at some point that your relationship with these two other blogs is really valuable, even though they are not members (yet.;-)

    I posted this on YAP too - http://yapstar.org/post/an-interesting-blog-dilemma. More comments there!
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  7. I can appreciate your problem. A couple of observations:

    1. You have a number of natural advantages over your competitors from the supplier side. The biggest one is trust. You've already earned that among your members and probably non-members and other stakeholders as well. You also have a strong base of knowledge assets (other media channels, publications, research, committees, etc), as Lindy noted. You can much more easily integrate those other resources into your blogspace, making the experience richer for the user. Plus, since you have more control over that other content, it's not something your competitors will be able to duplicate.

    If you're like many associations, most of the industry's biggest thought leaders are already members of your association. Consider creating an electronic badge for your association's members -- "fill-in-the-blank" Association Member and proactively distribute it to your members and promote it. You might be surprised how many members use it and incorporate it into their own pages.

    If you aren't doing so already, highlight your blog in as many different ways as you can. Tie it in to your online and print publications, engage your bloggers creatively at your meetings. Don't just say the blog is there. Repurpose the content for your other publications. Engage staff content experts and thoughtful board members and other volunteers to blog. If you don't already have a strategy to integrate your blog into your overall communications and education, you should consider doing so.

    It sounds like you're already operating in a competitive space, so if you want to be seen as the best, you'll need to be prepared to commit the resources to buld and sustain your natural competitve advantage. Good luck!
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  8. I've been thinking about this since I read this post (yes, I am that nerdy) and haven't thought of anything as good as what all these other people have already said!

    I have guest blogged for publications that required the posts to be exclusive. It depends on how many readers a certain blog has; for me it was worth writing something brand new (rather than re-purposing something I'd already written) for the Washington Post because so many people would read it and hopefully check out my blog. So maybe you could emphasize that angle--ask for exclusive content in exchange for more exposure than the other two blogs could give them (of course worded more tactfully than that!).

    And yes to your question #4--I would think the situation would resolve itself as you gain wider readership and are able to attract more and better content than the other blogs.

    Let us know how it pans out!
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  9. There are two opposing differentiation strategies I could see you using:
    1. Be the aggregator - include all the articles published in the industry, so people don't need to go to the supplier blogs.
    2. Be the original - have at least some of your content appear only on your blog, so people who read the supplier blogs will also want to visit yours.

    As a reader, I don't mind occasional recycled content, but I won't keep reading two blogs that are mostly the same.

    In your position, I think I'd go to my authors and ask them to each produce one exclusive post per [time period], so they could reuse some of the content but not all of it. I like the idea of offering the authors some kind of incentive, whether it's as simple as featured placement on your blog (win-win, since you want people to read your exclusives) or as complex as some of the ideas others have mentioned.

    I wouldn't promote another blog unless it was more a complement than a replacement for mine. And yes, as there are more content creators in the industry, probably the situation will resolve itself: you'll all find your own niches.

    Good luck!
    ReplyDelete

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