Blog Don'ts #2: Don't create a character blog

A character blog is a blog written by a fictitious character. Think Homer Simpson with a blog.

You may be tempted to turn your blog into a character blog by writing it from the perspective of "an expert in your field," or a "spokesperson" for your company, or a branded icon. Don't do it.

For example, a couple of days ago the blog Paw Path was featured as the Small Business Blog of the Day. Paw Path is a character blog. Many of the posts are "written" by two cats, Bambi and Leo. In my Further Comments section I mentioned the disadvantages of using characters to write your blog. Juli, the actual writer of the blog, sent a nice email to me and wrote a pretty well-researched post on Paw Path about the "debate" on character blogs. She has taken the position to defend her choice of writing posts from the perspective of two cats. I totally appreciate her for sticking to her guns, finding other posts about character blogs, and sharing her view in a very respectful manner.

I'm concerned that my response may not come across with as much respect towards her views as she has shown toward my criticism. Just know that my opinion comes from a strong belief that she is losing revenue with her blog, and if that isn't the ultimate goal of writing a blog, I'm not sure what is.

The problem is that there really is no debate about character blogs. They don't work. And there isn't a single example that shows that they do work. The four examples Juli mentions in her post are all failing examples (see more below).

But why exactly is it such a mistake to use a character for the author of your blog?

It's a blogging cultural phenomena. Blogging is about truth and transparency. Many people new to blogging haven't learned this yet. This is a belief from the core of blogging, from the first days of blogging, and is coveted by bloggers more than any other aspect of blogging. This is the very essence of why I wanted to write this post, to tell it like it is, to dissuade any small business owner from the idea of getting cute with their writing. Be plain, be truthful, and be transparent.

The consequences of breaking this rule are huge for your business. You might think it's cute or funny or clever or helping to promote your brand if written by your company's mascot. These are products of ego from the decision makers of the company. Readers don't want to read cute or clever, they want the facts laid out in front of them in plain English from real people. When they don't get that, they hate you.

I'm not exaggerating. They really hate you. Blog readers have been trained by literally thousands of blogs that are accurate, informative, and written by real people. That's where blogs start. If you don't even have those three bases covered you might as well kiss any audience goodbye.

And as for the character blog examples Juli points out in her post, one of them no longer exists, one of them is no longer being written, one of them has a very harsh comment on the 'about page' criticizing the blog for not being real, and the other uses a fictitious character for no apparent reason that I can see. These are the blogs mentioned, please visit them and see for yourself:

   

Captain Morgan: no longer exists, I wonder why?
Barbie: appeals to children...the really gullible ones. This 'blog' has not been updated since June. Mattel isn't a small company which leads me to believe it has been discontinued.
Moosetopia: to quote the 'about page' comment from April, "A moose has to do the job? This makes me want ice cream or whatever you peddle? don't think so dude."
The Gourmet Station: The character T. Alexander (how pretentious) was created to be "our host." Here's an idea...how about a real person as "our host."

Finally, you're just making more work for yourself. Instead of writing something interesting about your company you have to think, "How would character X write about this event/product/service?" When you have to pretend to be someone you're not, your writing suffers and readers pick up on that. BS BS BS is what is heard and your message never reaches their ears.

This is a harsh post, don't think I don't know it. I'm putting this in the category of tough love because sometimes the facts are hard to swallow unless confronted with them directly and firmly. Feel free to debate and criticize.

So here's my challenge to you. Find me a character blog (for a company) that actually works. The first reader that suggests one in the comments to this post gets a new leather organizer.

Tags: character blog, fake blog, character blogs, fake blogs, ficticious character, paw path, paw path litter mat, juli paw path, barbie, captain morgan, moosetopia, gourmet station, the gourmet station, t. alexander, t alexander, moose tracks

Comments

[Jon Allen]

Don't agree at all. Sites like cuteoverload.com show that people like things that are perceived as cute or funny. Contrary to your belief, blogs are not solely about truth and transparency. Like many things on the web, they are also for entertainment. Your post, while an interesting opinion, fails to substantiate your claim that character blogs lose revenue. If a character blog generates repeat traffic, then it would appear that it is succeeding in its purpose.

[Brian Brown]

Jon, you're right. There is a place for cute blogs and they can generate real traffic including devoted fans who return for entertainment value. I would also agree that this blog qualifies as a great entertainment blog and I smiled several times reading the posts. But this doesn't work for business blogs (and we're not counting a blog that makes money through advertising as a "business blog").

Cuteoverload.com is not a business blog, but a traditional entertainment blog. Also, it is not a character blog. While some posts may have quotes from kittens, or dogs in them, it's clear that the author is simply providing a caption for the photo. A character blog is when the entire blog is written in the persona of someone other than the writer.

But that's not to say someone couldn't come along and create a character blog that might be successful. I have just never seen an example of one, business blog or not.