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Back on July 30, Fredrik Wackå published an excellent article in Corporate Blogging Info about a common problem in the world of corporate weblogs: What do you do when the person who should be writing your company’s blog really can’t? See: Problem #1: The Person That Should Blog Can’t

The potential reasons behind that “can’t” usually stem from some critical lack – a lack of time, writing skills, interest, technical ability, or knowledge of proper blogging etiquette. Wackå offers pretty good advice for tackling this problem. I agree with him on some points, but have a different perspective on others…

Wackå suggested the following strategies to either get would-be corporate bloggers up to speed, or to support thier blogging activities:

• Training in writing skills as well as blogging software and style. Obviously, this can be useful – which is why I offer writing coaching services.
• Technical assistance, which apparently means tech help for getting your blogging software installed, operational, and integrated with your site or intranet as needed. Well, I think this would be necessary whether or not your choice of blogger presents any difficulties, so I tend to think this item is separate from the problem at hand.
• Use a ghostwriter. While admitting that a ghostwritten blog would be controversial, Wackå seems to think it’s an acceptable and feasible option. Here, he and I really part ways. As I’ve written before, I think ghostwritten blogs are an extremely bad idea. Blogs are all about the human voice, they’re very individual and personal. People have different expectations from a blog than they would from a corporate newsletter. I think if you try to launch a ghostwritten blog, you’re asking for a mountain of credibility problems down the line when that strategy inevitably comes to light. Don’t do it.
• Audio blogging. He lists this as a possible option, and it may work well for some individuals. However, I tend to think that most of the time this would yield remarkably low-quality content. I wouldn’t try it for a corporate blogger, personally.
• Editorial board. Basically, this would be a group of people who watch the field and select items for the blogger to comment on. I think this is a pretty good idea that would work, but then it would come down to making sure that those people are motivated to do their part on an ongoing basis.
• Group blogging. This is another good idea, there’s no reason why a blog needs to be written by just one person. However, whenever you have more people involved, the personal sense of responsibility often dilutes and motivation becomes an issue again.

MOTIVATION AND ABILITY ARE BLOGGING PREREQUISITES

OK, time for a reality check. Here’s the dirty secret about blogging: to do it well and produce quality content, you need someone who’s motivated and skilled from the outset. Of these two blogging prerequisites, motivation is the most important. You need someone who really “gets” blogs – who grasps how they work, why they matter, who their audience is, and what their audience wants. This person should have sufficient motivation and fodder for content to keep them posting not just a few times, but over the long haul. For years.

Yep, I said years.

That’s a HUGE commitment. No good blog is a casual sideline project. Anything that gets in the way of that commitment (such as lack of time), or that interferes with content quality (such as an inability to use the blogging software well or lack of writing skills), will probably cause the blog to deteriorate and ultimately fail. This could happen quickly or it could drag out, but either way it won’t be pretty.

For a blog to succeed, especially a corporate blog, it’s more important to pick a blogger who’s already sufficiently skilled and motivated to take on this long-term commitment than to try to turn someone “important” into a good blogger.

If the person who “should” blog “can’t,” then that wasn’t the right person after all. Your dream blogger may be ready for blogging someday – but for now, accept the reality of blogging and choose a blogger who will be a logistical and content asset, not an obstacle. Blogging is all about people, which means that you have to choose the people best suited for this medium in order to succeed in the long term.