Should Publishers Blog? An Age-Old Publication Thinks So, And Here‘s Why You Should Too

In 1857, a group of Boston intellectuals gathered to discuss an intriguing new idea: launching a literary and cultural commentary magazine. They called it The Atlantic.

Over the next 163 years, The Atlantic would go on to shape the national conversation, publishing original writing by luminaries like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Virginia Woolf. It exemplified the pinnacle of traditional publishing.

So when The Atlantic launched a new section of its website called Notes in 2021 to publish "first thoughts, running arguments, stories in progress," it turned heads. Notes was essentially a blog, and its goal was to "pull back the curtain on our writers‘ drafts and works in progress, letting readers in on more of the stories behind the stories."

In doing so, The Atlantic joined the ranks of many publishers that have embraced blogging in recent years. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vox, and many other household names in journalism have invested heavily in blogs as a way to build deeper relationships with readers and stay relevant in an increasingly competitive media landscape.

If these publishing giants see the value in blogs, shouldn‘t you consider launching one too? The answer is an emphatic yes. Here‘s why:

Blogging Is Essential for Audience Engagement

Fostering a strong connection with your audience is more important than ever for publishers. With so much free content available online, readers have endless options for where to spend their time and attention. To cut through the noise, you need to give them compelling reasons to engage with your publication.

Blogs provide the perfect platform for this. By their nature, blogs are more conversational, informal, and participatory than traditional articles. They invite readers to comment, share their own stories and perspectives, and feel like they‘re part of a community.

As Stephanie Losee, head of content at Visa, puts it: "The publisher-as-blogger has a voice, has a following, and actively engages with that following. When you have a two-way conversation with readers, they feel heard and invested in the media brand."

This audience investment pays off in concrete ways. According to a study by Demand Metric, 60% of people are inspired to seek out a product after reading content about it. Publishers with blogs generate 67% more leads than those that don‘t.

By blogging consistently and encouraging your writers to cultivate their own voices and followings, you can turn casual readers into loyal subscribers and passionate brand advocates. Just look at these success stories:

Vox‘s Explainer Studio blog helped grow its YouTube subscriber base to over 10 million while generating millions in ad and sponsorship revenue.
The Wall Street Journal‘s Wealth Adviser blog has been key to attracting young affluent readers to the Journal and driving subscriptions.
The New York Times‘ Parenting blog has built a highly engaged community of millions of parents passionate about the Times‘ evidence-based approach to child-rearing.

The common thread? These publishers prioritized blogging as a core strategy for deepening reader relationships and driving business growth. If audience engagement is a priority for you (and it should be), blogging is non-negotiable.

Establish Thought Leadership and Credibility

Another reason blogging is so valuable for publishers: it‘s one of the most effective ways to demonstrate authority and credibility in your space.

Think about it. When you consistently publish in-depth, insightful content on the topics your audience cares about most, you build a reputation as a go-to resource and thought leader. Readers start to see you as an expert they can trust for reliable information and analysis.

Publishing house John Wiley & Sons is a great example. On its blog, it publishes helpful writing tips, author Q&As, and roundups of interesting publishing industry data. This positions Wiley as an authoritative guide for its target audience of academics and aspiring authors.

Tech publisher IDG takes a similar approach. Its Blog Network features hundreds of niche blogs focused on different aspects of enterprise technology, from data analytics to cybersecurity. By going deep on these topics and featuring insights from its network of expert contributors, IDG has become one of the most trusted names in IT publishing.

The credibility you cultivate through blogging has a direct impact on your bottom line. A study by Edelman and LinkedIn found that 55% of decision-makers use thought leadership content to vet potential partners and vendors. On average, decision-makers read between one and four blog posts before reaching out to a company.

In other words, your blog is often the first touchpoint prospects have with your brand—and it plays a major role in whether they decide to work with you. Invest accordingly.

Gain Valuable Audience Insights

Aside from the external benefits of increased engagement and credibility, blogs also provide publishers with a wealth of internal insights that can inform everything from editorial strategy to product development.

By tracking which blog posts generate the most traffic, comments, and social shares, you gain a clearer picture of what topics and formats resonate with your audience. You can use this data to double down on your most popular content and inform your editorial calendar going forward.

For example, Slate closely tracks engagement on its blogs to develop new verticals and content franchises. When it saw that Dear Prudence, an advice column blog, was consistently driving high traffic and engagement, it expanded the column with more frequent posts, video and podcast adaptations, and live events. Dear Prudence is now one of Slate‘s most popular features.

Beyond informing editorial strategy, blog engagement data can also yield valuable insights for your sales and marketing teams. By understanding what topics your audience is most interested in, you can develop more targeted native ad campaigns, sponsored content series, lead-generating whitepapers and more.

Some publishers have even used their blogs to crowdsource ideas for new products and services. When The Atlantic noticed readers requesting downloadable audio versions of online articles, it launched a new audio articles feature. In doing so, it added a valuable new perk for subscribers while generating a new revenue stream from audio sponsorships.

Make it a priority to collect and analyze data from your blog on a regular basis. The insights you glean will more than pay for the effort.

Stay Nimble and Adaptable

Perhaps the greatest advantage to blogging is the flexibility it affords publishers to experiment and adapt to changing audience preferences.

Because blogs can be launched quickly without a major investment in design or development work, they provide the perfect testing ground for new editorial concepts, content types, and revenue models. You can launch a new blog in days, not months, and start learning what works (and what doesn‘t) with actual readers.

Take Pop-Up Magazine, a live journalism event series that also produces a print magazine. Facing the challenge of translating its signature live storytelling format to the web, Pop-Up Magazine decided to launch a blog called The Sidebar to test online versions of its stories. It experimented with different multimedia elements like audio, video, and animation to bring the stories to life on screen.

Reader response to The Sidebar was so positive that Pop-Up Magazine expanded it into a standalone digital magazine. The blog allowed Pop-Up to develop a successful digital strategy through low-cost experimentation rather than sinking a huge upfront investment into a new product.

Of course, The Sidebar is just one example among many of publishers using blogs to test and validate new ideas. BuzzFeed, Refinery29, New York magazine, and countless others have leveraged blogs to pilot new verticals that later became core to their brands.

Even beyond content, blogs provide valuable opportunities to test new subscription models, event concepts, partnerships, and more. Relative to the high stakes of changing your core product, blogs are a low-risk, high-reward way to innovate and future-proof your business. An essential capability in an industry changing as quickly as publishing.

Getting Started: Your Blog Roadmap

Now that we‘ve covered the key benefits of blogging for publishers, let‘s dive into some practical tips for getting started. Follow this roadmap to launch and scale a successful blog:

1. Define your blog‘s mission and audience

What‘s the central theme or value proposition of your blog? A clear content mission will help you stay focused. Example: HubSpot‘s blog aims to provide expert marketing, sales, and service tips to help businesses grow.
Who‘s your target reader? Develop detailed personas of who you‘re trying to reach, what their key challenges and goals are, and how your content will help them. The more specific, the better.
How will your blog align with and support your broader business goals? Have a clear vision for how your blog will generate ROI through thought leadership, lead gen, etc.

2. Develop your content strategy

Create an editorial calendar with a steady cadence of posts mapped to key content themes, target keywords, and campaign initiatives. Aim for at least 2-4 posts per week.
Identify the content formats and story types that will resonate with your audience. Industry trends and events? Practical how-tos? Data-driven research? Develop standards and templates for each to streamline production.
Don‘t limit yourself to just articles. Incorporate multimedia elements like infographics, videos, and interactives to bring your stories to life and appeal to different learning preferences.
Enlist your writers and internal subject matter experts to contribute to the blog. Empower them to share their unique perspectives and build their personal brands.

3. Promote your blog content

Leverage the power of email to notify subscribers when you publish new posts. An engaged email list is a high-value audience development asset.
Develop a social sharing plan to distribute content across key channels. Pull out compelling quotes and takeaways to turn into sharable posts.
Pitch guest posts on other high-traffic blogs in your niche to tap into new audiences and build your authority. Guest blogging is a powerful way to earn backlinks and expand your reach.
Republish your content on blogging platforms like Medium and LinkedIn to maximize visibility and engagement. Customize your posts for each platform.

4. Engage your community

Encourage conversation by always ending your posts with a relevant discussion question. Reply to comments to make readers feel heard.
Host Q&As with writers, behind-the-scenes looks at your stories, and other interactive content to deepen connections with your audience.
Look for opportunities to highlight and celebrate your readers. Feature their stories, feedback, and experiences in your posts to make your blog feel participatory.
Create dedicated spaces for your audience to connect with each other, like an active comment section or Facebook group.

5. Measure what matters

Track key engagement metrics like pageviews, time on page, bounce rate, comments, and social shares to gauge how your content is resonating with readers.
Pay attention to referral sources and top posts/topics driving the most traffic to understand what distribution channels and subject areas to focus on.
Monitor mentions of your blog on social media, forums, and other publications to measure your brand reach and share of audience.
Survey your audience periodically to collect qualitative feedback on your blog content, design, UX, etc. Sometimes the best insights come simply from asking readers what they want.

Commit to the Long Game

We‘ve covered a ton of ground in this post, from the benefits of blogging to key strategies for doing it effectively. But if there‘s one takeaway I want to leave you with, it‘s this: Blogging is a long-term investment that pays dividends to those who commit to it.

Like any good relationship, developing a strong bond with your audience through blogging requires consistent effort and care over time. Results likely won‘t be immediate. But if you show up reliably with original, valuable content, your readers will come to know, like, and trust you—and your business will reap the rewards.

So don‘t wait another day to start blogging. Outline your strategy, rally your team, and begin publishing. A year from now, you‘ll be glad you did. Your audience will thank you for it.