Your blog readers may not realise they are reading a blog
As bloggers, we sometimes forget that our readers don’t realise that they are reading a blog or even care that the website they love reading every day is powered by a blogging script. It’s something I am guilty of myself from time to time.
Blog Blindness
One of my friends reads a football blog everyday and he is always asking if I read the latest rumour on the site and whether I agree with what the owner said. He reads it every week yet whenever he speaks about the website he never mentions the word Blog.
Likewise, when someone asks me what I do and I tell them I’m self employed via the internet they always ask what websites I own and I tell them that I have a few information based websites and a few blogs. When I mention the word Blog they usually ask how I can make money from posting about myself online.
You see, there is a large percentage of internet users who still think that blogging is limited to blogging about yourself. When the blogging platform first became popular this was true in most cases though nowadays there are more people using the blogging platform to talk about other things : their favourite sports team, their favourite band, products, news, views and much more. Essentially, many people today are using blogging platforms as a Content Management System (CMS).
Should you explain to readers they are reading a blog?
It’s tempting to want to educate your readers and explain to them that they are infact reading a blog. However, there is not any need and certainly no benefit from doing so. I don’t think there is any harm in referring to your website as a blog in your posts but I also don’t believe that you need to market your site as a blog, infact, it could be argued that it’s beneficial not to. Large websites like Engadget and TechCrunch do not stress the fact they are using blogging platforms (though the majority of their readers probably already know this) and instead market themselves as online magazines.
If many of your readers are not familar with blogs then one of the most important things to do is help them understand how they can subscribe to your posts using RSS. Even though every major site offers RSS updates for their content, most internet users are still not familar with the medium and therefore it is beneficial to write a page explaining why they should subscribe and detail step by step what they need to do to get regular updates from your blog. Infact, many people are suggesting that you should not use the word Subscribe at all when referring to your RSS feed as the word suggests that the reader has to pay to get updates.
Overview
It’s easy to assume that your readers know that your website is a blog but many of them may not so it’s important to walk them through key blogging features like RSS updates. The blogging platform is a fantastic way to publish your thoughts and ideas on the web but at the end of the day, it is just a platform, a way to communicate to others, so don’t feel you need to market your website as a blog as in some occasions it might be best not to.
kranjcarz | August 6th, 2008 at 11:40 am #
Nice article….
Thanks… 
Latest Post : Go Blog Reasons
David Bradley | August 6th, 2008 at 12:38 pm #
Telling everyone that you’re site is a blog kind of puts limitations on how much bigger than a blog it might actually be. My main site has a blog, but it isn’t only a blog, it’s a got a stack of portal-type pages and some news syndication sections (with permission). The blog is a big part of it (in terms of traffic and effort I put in) but it’s not the only part.
Link Building Bible | August 6th, 2008 at 1:07 pm #
Whats a better word than subscribe?
DLWarner | August 6th, 2008 at 1:19 pm #
Better word than subscribe might be “join” :D… Anyway I must add that the post title kinda freaked me out. At first I thought that people might be reading my content with their eyes wide shut!
Zackatoustra | August 8th, 2008 at 2:52 am #
About RSS :
). They’re all familiar with what a blog is, but that doesn’t mean that they are familiar with RSS.
I only have a couple of readers (a couple, litterally, I call them “good friends”
Actually, I’ve tried a couple of time to explain to some of them how “really simple” it is to be notiifed of updates. Still, even if I wouldn’t be able to live without RSS and OPML, that doesn’t mean that every reader wants or needs to realize that they are using RSS/OPML.
It seems that explaining what RSS is, and how it can change the world isn’t useful. The best way would be to make the process of “subscribing” or “joining” a step by step wizard, or to transparently integrate this into the browser (which is the only tool you know your readers use..!)
Sophie | August 8th, 2008 at 7:24 am #
Interesting thoughts! I think that if people believe they are reading a magazine it’s even better, isn’t it?
Magazines have a more professional reputation in the minds of most people than blogs.
Paula | August 9th, 2008 at 5:46 am #
I have to agree that it isn’t necessary to educate our readers that they are in fact looking at a blog. The only thing that may be confusing to a reader is the fact that the blog posts move down the screen so anyone trying to follow a post that has been broken up into parts may find it a little confusing that Part 1 is below Part 2 for instance.
I think that with the move to news style templates the traditional blog is looking more like a regular website anyway…at least that’s my opinion.
Codrut Turcanu - AdSenseProfitTips.com | August 10th, 2008 at 1:25 pm #
In my opinion, the best way to let your readers know the difference is to let them know, in their own words.
And remember, as long as they are interested in your content, it doesn’t matter if they think it a website or a blog.
Cargo | August 17th, 2008 at 10:08 am #
And remember, as long as they are interested in your content, it doesn’t matter if they think it a website or a blog.