Is Marketing the primary focus of Blogging Blogs?

So the Top 50 Marketing Blogs was launched in B&T (p34) this week. One of the contentious points was the exclusion of Problogger..

The reason that I excluded Problogger and other professional blogging blogs (Skelliewag, Standout Blogger, JustMakeMoneyOnline) is due to the definition of ‘Marketing Blogs’.

My definition of Marketing Blogs is;

A blog that’s primary focus is on ‘Marketing’.

The reason that I did not include Problogger or the other professional blogging blogs on the list is that I thought that the primary focus of Professional Blogging was Blogging, and Blogging is a much broader topic than just Marketing although I do understand that they do post information about Marketing at times.

However, I do not think it is fair that I decide what is and is not a Marketing blog. Therefore I have decided to leave it up to the readers to decide whether the professional blogging blogs should be included as Marketing Blogs.

Should professional blogging blogs be classified as Marketing Blogs? Cast your vote on the left hand side!

I will give the poll 24 hours before I publish the full list (110+ blogs) of the Top 50 Australian Marketing blogs. If the professional blogging blogs are included in the Top 50 please give me a little more time because there will be changes to the Top 50 that will need to be made.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

good luck with this one Julian - I really think it'll be something that people are fuzzy on. From what I see many of the blogs in your list could be classified in numerous ways.

Is banner blog a blog about marketing or online advertising?

Is Laurel's blog a marketing blog or a social networking blog?

Servant of Chaos describes itself as a blog about branding, digital strategy and the art of storytelling.

Corporate Engagement describes itself as about public relations, social media and politics

Better Communication Results is a communication strategy blog.

I guess all I'm saying is that there's so much overlap there. From day to day the content on most of the blogs in your list could be seen as 'marketing'.

I can't speak for the other 'blogs about blogging' type blogs but while I don't see my blog as a 'marketing blog' specifically I know most days something I write about touches on the topic.

While I'd love to be included in a list with such quality blogs ultimately it's your list and you need to define how you want to use it - but it's going to be a tough one to work out where to draw the line - good luck!

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Laurel Papworth said...

I think a blog about how to do an e-newsletter is a marketing blog. An enewsletter is a tool for marketing.

And blogging - just like enewsletters - is just another marketing tool, in some peoples hands.

... actually, Darren said it best. We are all a mix.

I will say that I am a social network person first. And marketer second, and only sometimes, and a PR person sometimes, a customer service person sometimes, a virtual world techie developer geekgirl sometimes :) Heh.

Anonymous said...

I think Darren does a great job with Problogger, but I never thought it qualified as a Marketing blog. Its primary objective is to talk about making money from blogging (and in turn make money talking about it). That's fine, but its not really a blog about marketing in the sense that Marketing Mag and now B&T address.

If there was a list of blogs about blogging and making money from blogging then Darren would be a deserved leader.

Otherwise, congrats on a fine effort in trawling the Aussie blogosphere.

Anonymous said...

First of all thanks for putting me in the same sentence as Problogger and Skelliewag! I am not to sure about whether I would classify my blog specifically as a marketing blog, but I would classify a blog as a marketing medium...so it's a bit of a grey area! Nice list thought!

Unknown said...

This is definitely a grey area and it may be hard to group all "blogging blogs" in the same basket.

In my view blogging is one of many marketing tactics and therefore it could be grouped into the broader marketing category. However blogging can also go above and beyond marketing and become more about sales or a whole range of other topics and less about marketing.

I think it comes down to the content of the blog on an individual level. If it includes detailed information about how to use a marketing tactic (regardless of the tactic) then yes it is a marketing blog.

Also, an unrelated question, how does one get their blog considered for the list in the first place?

Louisa.
http://www.onlinemarketingstuff.com.au

Anonymous said...

Maybe the question should be "What is the purpose of the top 50 list?" If it is designed as an informal directory of blogs within the broad sphere of marketing then I think an 'allow all' rule should apply.

If the purpose is to provide material for B&T to publish then I fear already there will be too many motivations, egos and agendas at play in the future.

My vote (because there are so many subjective elements) is to keep the list simple, fun, lighthearted and above all useful so people can find stuff they might be interested in.

:)

Gavin Heaton said...

Darren's blog is a clear global leader in the field of professional blogging. Skellie's blog is great for understanding how to create content. Both are clearly great marketers. However, I agree with Craig, that neither have a primary focus on marketing.

B&T clearly have a specific readership in mind ... those working in the advertising, marketing and PR industries. With that in mind, the current list provides a great way for marketers to begin engaging with blogging (and yes, strategy - digital or otherwise).

Most of the blogs on the list are written for a business audience. Individuals may find some value in marketing blogs, but most will gravitate to Problogger and to Skelliewag where they are more comprehensively catered for.

Thanks for the hard work you put into the list, Jules!

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Anonymous said...

I was going to say include them but after reading the comments I agree they might be best left out.

The list is for people interested in marketing and advertising. Problogger (while great) doesn't really interest people in our industry.

Also means I get to keep top spot! YAY!

Anonymous said...

Jules I think Darren gets it in one - it is a list that you've created, and you need to decide where to draw the line in the sand. Nobody started doing what they're doing to make it onto a list of any description, so we should take it for what it is and then get back to what we're here for.

As I'm fond of saying, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

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Anonymous said...

Hi Julian. In your original list you made it clear that marketing could include a number of niches: advertising, social media marketing, public relations, marketing research, etc.

Anyway, well done for getting two print magazines to acknowledge the emergence of blogs as a legitimate medium. Let's see who wants to publish the list next!

Anonymous said...

Hey Jules,

Firstly I think this is a decision you need to make a call on, not decide by a poll. For sure ask the community for advice, but in the end it's important to retain some form of ownership over the list, and in doing that you need to make these sort of judgment calls, otherwise it's value is decreased.

So on to the actual topic. I think there needs be a consideration of the audience of this list, and what they plan on getting out of the blogs on it. If it's for the wider marketing community and the brands they represent to become more active in blogging, then perhaps blogs about blogging aren't relevant. But at the same time does that mean BannerBlog perhaps isn't relevant as well? I love BannerBlog, but perhaps the value it is offering the audience of your list is far less than the value it creates by being in a "Top 50 Creative Advertising Blogs" list. (particularly as your list is currently sitting out in the cafe's/kitchens/lounges of myriad agencies this very minute).

I would go so far as to argue that your judgment (the Pioneer rating) should account for around 50% of the score, so that you can make these calls about value that aren't necessarily measurable in a simple metric. The reason your list has traction is because it is a unique offering, I think you can grow this value by clearly understanding your audience and refining the quality. And the best way to do this is to really trust your judgment in quantifying the intangible value of each blog on the list.

Keep up the good work mate.

Cheers,
Nic.

Anonymous said...

Brim over I acquiesce in but I about the brief should have more info then it has.

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