Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants

A Blog for Consultants

Fiona Czerniawska, a global expert on the consulting industry, has launched a new blog (Source for Consulting) focused on all aspects of the business, and it is well worth reading. For example, her post, "Don't ask, don't tell," looks at how the recession could change the way clients buy consulting services, and describes a simple idea for using greater transparency to get better outcomes.

Another post, "The great divide?," argues that a schism is growing in the consulting industry, separating "staff substitution" from bona fide consulting, and challenging consulting firms to decide what business they are really in.

Fiona's work is always insightful, as her new blog shows. It's one you'll want in your RSS feed. You can find here.

Should Consultants Blog?

Maybe it’s beside the point to ask if consultants should blog given that so many already do—including this one. But when I recently read an article claiming that all professional service providers must have a blog, I was struck by the author’s all-or-nothing tone.

Hundreds of thousands of blog posts have dissected the power and benefits of blogs, so no need to rehash that subject here. But should every professional service provider author a blog? I don’t think so.

No offense, but some of the greatest consultants I’ve met are mediocre writers. They can work wonders with client executives, consulting teams, and even prepare snazzy PowerPoint presentations. But they shouldn’t try to write blogs.

And some consultants already create a high level of client demand for their services using other channels. They don’t need blogs to attract more clients.

In some industries, blogs just may not matter to clients. If the purpose of a business blog is to reach your targeted audience, it’s best to know someone out there would want to read your stuff. Any one of us could rattle off a number of industries where blogs are still an oddity, not a fixture.

And finally, to paraphrase Doc Searls, you need to be a good blog reader before you can be a good blogger. Even though anyone can have a blog running in minutes, that doesn’t mean everyone should.

I’m a big fan of blogs. But I believe every business and individual is different, with unique strategies, tactics, customers, suppliers, and employees. Black and white advice glosses over important nuances that can make the difference between success and failure.

I believe consultants should blog, just not all of them.

Visit Fast Company's BlogJam

To celebrate the second anniversary of its Blog, Fast Company is hosting BlogJam 2005.

I'll be guest blogging there, with many others, today and tomorrow.

You'll find two posts today "Why HR Can't be Left to HR" and CEO:Career Ending Opportunity

 

A Blob of a Blog

If you visited my blog today, you may have seen a mess. Six Apart, my blog host, scrambled the design features of their customers' blogs during an "upgrade."

Funny how those things never go quite as planned. The "fix" is underway, so hopefully my blog will be back on its feet soon.

At least it wasn't me who screwed it up--this time.

Enjoy the weekend.

MarketingSherpa's 2005 Best Blog Awards

MarketingSherpa announced the winners of its Readers' Choice Best Blog Awards for 2005, and my blog won in the B-to-B marketing category!   

A huge thanks to all of you who voted for this blog, and to those who take the time to read it. As a result, I'll be sipping my morning brew from an official MarketingSherpa coffee mug.

If you missed the other winners, here's the complete list of best blogs:

Individual blog on the general topic of marketing and advertising: Seth Godin's Blog
Group blog on the general topic of marketing and advertising: MarketingVox
PR topic: Media Guerrilla
B-to-B marketing: Guerrilla Consulting
Small business marketing: Duct Tape Marketing
Online marketing: Chris Baggott’s Best Practices in Email
Search marketing: Search Engine Roundtable
Niche marketing (a tie):
    Ypulse Media for the Next Generation
    WonderBranding  Marketing to Women
Non-English language: MarketingFacts (Dutch)
Top readers’ choice write-in vote: Easy Bake Weblogs

MarketingSherpa has a page devoted to the awards so have a look.

I'm honored to be in such great company. Guess I better get back to work.

Guerrilla Consulting Nominated for MarketingSherpa's 2005 Reader's Choice Blog Awards

Some things just make your day, like the email I received letting me know that my blog has been nominated for the MarketingSherpa Reader's Choice Blog Award. With so many great blogs out there, I'm thrilled to be nominated. Thanks to all of you who threw my blog into the ring.

Brian Carroll, my coleague from The Revenue Roundtable, also received a nomination for his blog, B2B Lead Generation. Nice work, Brian.

I'd be honored to have your vote, and it's easy to cast it. The Guerrilla Consulting blog is listed in category 4, "b-to-b marketing". Vote here.

Have a look at the other nominees too. The blogs on the list are outstanding.

If you have any difficulty with the link above, here's the direct one: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=333931095143