Your Blog’s No Swiss Army Knife

Next time you’re taking the scout troop on a campout or playing Do-It-Yourselfer around the house, reach for a Swiss Army knife.  The Wenger Company sells one of the latest versions of this all-purpose tool-kit-in-one, called the Giant Swiss Army Knife. This gizmo boasts no fewer than 87 different pop-up attachments, including a flashlight, tire gauge, wood saw, golf divot repairer, and laser pointer.  It seems you’d be hard-put to come up with a task your Wenger super-knife can’t handle.

I remember my grandmother teaching me to learn from everyone, but then adding that sometimes what I’d need to learn is what not to do.  As a professional ghostwriter of business blogs, I think blogging might be one area in which Gran’s advice could come in handy. You don’t want your blog to be an all-in-one marketing tool that forces a visitor to spend a long time just figuring out the 87 wonderful services your company has to offer!  Your business blog is short by definition, offering just a “peek”, enough to convey to the individual browsing the Web that he/she’s come to the right place, and to invite him/her to move on to your website to learn further details.

On the other hand, what you can do with the blog is offer different kinds of information in different blog posts.  In a way, each time you post (or have your ghost blogger post), you’re pulling out just one of those attachments on your Giant Swiss, offering some valuable information or advice relating to just one aspect of your business. Another day, your blog post can do the same with a different “attachment”. 

So, thanks, Wenger!. Your Giant Swiss Army Knife is awesome, but, thanks to Grandma, I’m learning what not to do, at least when it comes to business blogs!