When should a start-up start blogging?
At lunch the other day with a couple of serial entrepreneurs, questions came up about the optimum timing of product launches and web site debuts. Inevitably, the conversation turned to the value of blogging. Nobody denied the value. There was, however, disagreement as to timing. So when is the best time to pull the trigger on your new blog for your new company?
There are those who argue that, in the early going, time and energy should be devoted to customer- and product-development. Exclusively. That there are not enough hours in the day for everything. We won’t argue. Still, in the web 2.0 marketplace, a few minutes a day, or even per week, during which you crystallize your thoughts and share them with your ecosystem is to our way of thinking not a bad use of time. In fact, it can be a highly productive one. Why? It forces you to “stand down” for a brief period and clear your head and think about things in a different way. Yes, you can go for a walk or shoot hoops or jog or pound golf balls. Or any number of other things that puts you into a different gear. The thing about crafting a blog post, however, is that you can make that same shift AND get yourself published. This is no idle indulgence in vanity. It can foment discussions that serve your larger purposes as you prepare your count-down to launch.
Almost three out of four start-ups die during their first five years. We wonder, right along with successful entrepreneur Martin Zwilling how many of those failures had a blog.