Assessing Your Blog’s Strategic Competitiveness
In strategic management, in order to have a sustainable competitive advantage in a resource based view, you need to have a resource(s) that are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and difficult to substitute. If your resource has all of the above mentioned characteristics, then you can be sure to have a sustainable competitive advantage, at least for some time. Because sooner or later your competitors will start to imitate. And if you do not keep innovating, your competitive advantage will be short lived really really fast.
How can we relate this view to blogging? Well, blogging needs a strategy too. And you can easily find where you are in terms of your competitiveness against the other fellow bloggers with this table. Based on your answers you can find your competitiveness level on the right.
Of course, you should be targeting for the all-red line - sustainable competitive advantage. In other words, if you are in all-red, it means that your posts are
- beneficial to the readers,
- they are difficult to find on other blogs,
- your writing style is unique (difficult to copy),
- you have a personality that is charismatic
- you have an expertise in certain field that nobody else has.
If you find yourself anywhere in 1 to 3, then you should identify where you are lagging behind, and then come up with a strategy to target that weakness. Of course, if anyone is in the first line (competitive disadvantage) then he is just wasting his time blogging. Because if you are in competitive disadvantage, you better do something really fast or just stop blogging.
That said, we also have to note that it’s really hard to have a sustainable competitive advantage in blogging. Only blog that I can think of that might have sustainable competitive advantage in the blogosphere is doshdosh.com. Any other blogs you think that have sus. comp. advantage?
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By reasonable robinson on Apr 3, 2008
At last! a post about succesful blogging that hits the ’strategic’ nail on the head. So many tips and tricks posts completely miss this point. I would also add that ‘differences’ need to be ‘differences that make a difference’ i.e. that they have meaning and value to the reader.
By How to make money online on Apr 3, 2008
This is great, should help alot of people improve their post quality. :]
By SEOrious Results on Apr 3, 2008
Succinct and to the point! ExSEOllent post, gives one a simple guideline to gauge the effectiveness of one’s blog, and insight into the importance of keeping ahead of the pack. Am currently doing research to start a company blog, and valuable snippets like these are truly treasured!
By seo blog on Apr 3, 2008
I have no idea why but i don’t have just one writing style. My blog posts vary quite a bit. This caused me a lot of problems back at college when writing essays.
By Dining Tables on Apr 4, 2008
Excellent application of classical Strategic approach to blogging. Great post. Very informative and inspiring. Thanks.
By Futon-Matt on Apr 4, 2008
I agree, your approach to blogging is very nice.
By Ades on Apr 4, 2008
Thanks guys! Glad you liked it.
By Nicole Price on Apr 4, 2008
Good to have it spelled out so clearly. All said and done, the post is very relevant, but it is so very difficult to consistently come up with content that meets all the requirements.
By Make Money Online on Apr 4, 2008
I currently blog for fun, so I guess I don’t overly hit those red buttons but I am starting to consider it more long term, thank you for the information.
By Elections photos on Apr 4, 2008
I prefer to write very common post while everybody discuss the topic. This way Ctrl-? of your post is useless.
By PS3 on Apr 8, 2008
But isn’t the point that a common post (I presume you mean one that is featured in various places across the internet) will have to compete with many others?
By Forumistan on Apr 8, 2008
Go ya Blogging…
By chinedu on Apr 9, 2008
i appretiate your approach
By Television on Apr 15, 2008
I agree with you Ades. For becoming and remaining popular among viewers, you have to be unique, valuable and competitive in the “battle” with other blogers.