What does it take to start a blog today?

The blogging life used to be so easy. Just five years ago, a blog was still a novelty and if you started one, you would probably occupy a niche in your industry. But since then, the world has conspired to make blogging very difficult ... "Content marketing" also means "content overload," -- this is a crowded and noisy field for newcomers. The dynamic world of search engines and SEO has made it complicated for bloggers to become discovered. New entertainment alternatives and social media distractions have probably challenged blogging's role as the king of content. Even technology like smartphones has made blog consumption, sharing, and commenting more difficult. What's a blogger to do? That's the question Tom Webster and I tackle in our latest Marketing Companion Podcast. We explore the topics of: The challenge of information density The entertainment edge - Next big thing for blogging? Expertise and the content saturation index Content quality, optimization, or both? The most important blog metric ... perhaps the only one? How much time should you put into promotion versus content quality? This is a fascinating topic and we cover a lot of ground in just 30 minutes! I think you'll love the podcast and hope you'll also leave a comment below. Can't wait to listen? Of course you can't! Well here it is right now! There are several blog posts referenced in this podcast so here are some handy links if you want more depth on this subject: From Mark: How the physics of social media is killing your marketing strategy From Tom: When Content Marketing stops working From Marcus Sheridan: A discussion of Content Saturation Index