Blog or Website: Which is better to have if you’re stranded on a deserted island?

Posted by Betsy Pruitt

If you were stranded on a deserted island, would you rather have a blog or a website?

I know what I’d choose in a heartbeat – a blog. Why? Because I’d get rescued a lot faster. The same is true if you’re starting a new business or looking to promote yourself as a thought-leader in your industry or community. Blogs will help you get rescued from anonymity a lot faster than a website. Here’s why…

Websites are Static. Blogs are Dynamic.

When you have a website, you get most of your content uploaded, and most likely any changes are relatively minor. You set it and forget it. Your web visitors do the same. They check out what you have to offer once, assume not much will change, and if you’re lucky, they’ll make a mental note to come back when they have a need.  Of course, they might forget you by the time that need pops up. Let’s keep it real…they probably WILL forget you before a need pops up.  Your website it static. Therefore, you only get one shot to ask your visitors to rescue you, and then you’ll never hear from them again.

On the other hand, blogs have new content on a regular basis. You tell people you’ll be blogging every day, every Wednesday (that’s me), or once a month.  There’s a reason for people to come back and see what’s new over and over again.  You don’t have to make them wait until a need pops up because you’re sharing useful info regularly.  You can even set up ways for them to subscribe to your info through RSS readers, email, or social media sites (hint, hint: check out the sidebar on the right for these options), so they don’t even have to remember to come back to stay up to date. Your blog is dynamic. Therefore, you get lots of opportunities remind your readers that, “Hey, I’m still stranded on this deserted island, in case you can come rescue me.”

More Content = More Opportunities to Get Found

Let’s say your website had 10 pages of  content, which is probably about right for a small business or personal website.  That gives you about 10 chances to show up in Google searches.

Now, lets say you blogged once a week for an entire year. You’d have 52 pages of content, resulting in 52 chances to get found in Google searches.  WOW, you just quintupled your chances! (By the way, I had to break open a dictionary to find that word, so I hope you appreciate it.)  Actually, your chances would probably go up by a lot more than that, but we’re using a simple example.  In fact, Hubspot states that “blogs generate 55% more website visitors, 97% more inbound links, and 434% more indexed pages.” (Indexed means available to show up in Google searches.) So, in this super simple example, you just multiplied your chances of getting rescued off that miserable island by at least five.

Hmmm…this seems fishy. Why would a deserted island have internet access? Quit thinking about it…stay with me!

Soft Sell is More Shareable

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about knowing when to use a hard sell vs soft sell when promoting your skills and talents.  Think of a website as a hard sell.  You’ve got one chance to sell your visitor on what you have to offer with your 1o pages of content. You’re going to hit ’em with your best shot…your best stats, your most impressive experience, and anything else that shows why you’re the best. But, what if you don’t explain your products and services very well or make a great case for why you’re better than the next guy?  Too bad! Or, maybe reading about how awesome you are is a little BORING, especially if I don’t particularly need what you have to offer right now. Just keeping it real!

A blog with dynamic content can help you overcome these inadequacies and matters of interest. A blog gives you more shots to impress.  The key is using the soft sell, though.  No one wants to come back on a regular basis to get an advertising message.  I really like the way David Siteman Garland puts it in his book Smarter Faster Cheaper – you have to market around your brand. Give helpful how-to’s, insightful commentary on trends, simple explanations of complex data, and real world use cases for why something is important – all related to your area of expertise, of course!  This is a practical way for you to help others while showcasing your talent.  And, when you help others on a regular basis, they want to tell their friends about how awesome your blog is.  And because you’re publishing more content regularly, you have more opportunities for people to find you.  AND, that further multiples how many people want to tell their friends about the awesome info on your blog. YOU ARE GOING TO GET RESCUED BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!

The person who reads your blog today may not have the means or need to rescue you, but they’ll share your helpful blog posts with their friends on Facebook. You’ll get a few more followers on your blog, and as a result, a fraction of these new people will share your post on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Pinterest. (By the way, have you noticed the share buttons at the bottom of this post yet?) It all starts to snowball, and eventually, you get to the person who has a yacht or plane to come rescue you from this deserted island.

Ideally, you’d have a blog and a website – a website to accomplish the hard sell and a blog to meet new people via a polished soft sell. They compliment each other very nicely, but if you can only choose one, I would 100% recommend a blog.  I promise you’ll get rescued a lot faster with a blog!