Nate Riggs: Social Business Strategies; communication, social web strategies, & passion in Columbus, Ohio.

Lunch today with Eric Vessels was a cool experience.  We first met on Twitter and then through OWL.  Eric has been an internet entrepreneur since 1999, when he and a college buddy decided to start WhatTheyThink?, a targeted news and editorial website with content designed for the printing industry. Working right up the road in Delaware, OH, Eric and friends hold the top spot in their space.  It’s a hell of a business model (and maybe if I’m lucky enough, Eric will let me interview him on here someday.)

Aside from the yummy deliciousness of the vaunted Katzinger’s Reuben sandwich and a great conversation, Eric reminded me of something important enough to share with you.

Good Story
One of the things Eric and his partner did to build their business early on, was to produce daily newsletters.  I could tell by the way Eric tells the story that “daily” meant “every single day” – with NO exceptions.  They sometimes worked hard until 3 a.m. to make sure that the newsletter would arrive in the in-box of each reader the next morning.  No excuses.  They never missed a beat, and in ten years they only had two slips where the letter was not delivered, due to forces outside of their control.

The newsletter, full of interesting and transparent content on the printing industry, was consistent.  Their readers came to expect it’s arrival.  They formed somewhat of a dependency on the content that was being delivered.

Blogging and Dependency

Eric told me this story after I missed three blog posts last week and was kicking myself because of it.  I was sick with the flu.  Feeling crappy resulted in a lack of ideas and loss of dedication to producing content.  In this game, that’s a cardinal sin.

You can see the result of my slacking.  Site visits dipped immediately and in a big way.  I failed to give you (my readers) a reason to come back and see fresh content.  There was nothing new to help feed your dependency on NateRiggs.com.  And so I was forgotten.

It’s as simple as that, folks.  Forget about your readers, and they will forget all about you.

Eric and his partner built a business on being dependable with the delivery of their content.  Once readers were hooked (by quality writing and credible information), a dependency was created.  Their readers looked forward to grabbing coffee and paging through the newsletter every morning.  The content was then seen as a regular part of their daily routine.

How often do you write your blog?  How often are you willing to write, in order to become a part of your readers’ daily routines?  How do you balance creating content with everything else you have to do?