Blogging lessons from the New York Times’ public editor
When she started her job, Margaret Sullivan, public editor of The New York Times, set herself three goals that can also apply to advisors who blog for their firms:
- Put readers first.
- Encourage conversation.
- Promote transparency and understanding.
The goals need some tweaking for advisors because, as Sullivan explains in “My Turn in Between the Readers and the Writers,” “…the public editor’s job is to serve as an in-house critic as well as the readers’ advocate in matters of journalistic integrity.” To make her goals relevant to advisors, I put my own spin on each of her three rules below.
1. Put readers first.
A blog that focuses only on boosting your firm and its ranking in Google and other search engines won’t do you much good. Readers who aren’t engaged by your content won’t stick around. They’re not likely to become clients either.
Your blog should focus on providing useful information on topics that your clients and prospects care about. Write in plain English so they can understand you.
2. Encourage conversation.
Sullivan starts her section on conversation by saying, “Journalism, these days, is no longer a one-way proposition, with celebrated news organizations handing down the news like Moses with his stone tablets.” Advisors aren’t Moses either. Plus, they can gain from listening to their readers.
Encouraging conversation is a tough one for many advisors. Concerns about compliance spur many advisors to turn off the comment feature on their blogs. But even without allowing comments, you can pose questions that invite people to contact you.
If your blog allows comments, that’s even better. Try to get a conversation going. It’s not just a matter of posing questions. When readers comment, you should show your respect for them by responding. At a minimum, say “Thank you.” It’s even better if you react to some aspect of what each person says.
3. Promote transparency and understanding.
Advisors are used to the idea of transparency of fees and the like. Transparency in a blog might mean taking a more personal approach to some topics. Perhaps you can reveal something about your life that makes your blog post topics important to you.
Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
A friend asked what I meant when I said, “But even without allowing comments, you can pose questions that invite people to contact you.”
I could see raising questions such as “Do you struggle with [name of issue discussed in post]? Contact me for a free consultation/report/something else.”