Blogging vs. Networking: Which is Best for Business?

As an introverted writer, there’s no doubt that networking has boosted both my confidence, and my ability to communicate with actual people, face-to-face.  I’ve got a lot to thank it for.

Not that it’s been an easy ride.  In 2019 – three years into my freelance writing career – I wrote an article for Introvert, Dear that outlined my “top tips” for getting through a networking meeting.

I wrote that article because I’m just not the kind of person who can breeze effortlessly and energetically into a roomful of people.  I need to know how to protect myself from the draining after-effects of networking, because my ‘social battery’ is only ever charged to 30% at most.

When that charge has run out, it’ll feel like someone’s reached inside my head and wrung out my brain.  This means I won’t be able to do much with the rest of the day, even if my to-do list is carpeting the floor.

(Delicate little flower, aren’t I?)

Regular blogging is a gift for introverts

For me, blogging picks up where networking leaves off; helping me ‘speak’ to people without… well, actually having to speak to them.

That’s essentially what my article did.  It spoke to people who feel the same pain of unrestricted networking, and it explained some of the uncomfortability introverts feel to those who might not have understood it.

Blogging regularly also ‘feeds’ my website with words.  As well as helping visitors get to know my style and approach in detail, this increases the possibility that I’ll be found in search-engine results.

(If you Google a random question – other search engines are available! – note how many of the answers have been taken from blog posts).

Use the Pareto Principle to decide on the best approach for you

I’m currently mid-way through a fantastic online course, Mental Fitness and Wellbeing.

You might already be familiar with the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, which states that 80% of results come from 20% of effort.  This rule can be applied in most areas of life, so in business terms, 20% of your customers generate 80% of your profit.

In ‘life’ terms, it’s likely that you wear 20% of the clothes in your wardrobe, 80% of the time (I know I do!)  You probably also spend 80% of your time at home in 20% of its rooms: the lounge, the bedroom, and if it’s got one, the home-office.

I could go on.  But because I respect your time and sanity, I won’t.

Part of my course involved doing an 80/20 audit, so I could ferret out my most valuable tasks – or, the ‘20% list’ of sacred doings that make the greatest amount of impact.

If you can’t decide where time is best spent in your business (or your life, for that matter!), this type of audit can be illuminating.

For me, blogging is at the top of my 20% list, for all the reasons I’ve already mentioned.  My blog takes minimal time to maintain, it helps potential customers decide whether they’d like to work with me, and I receive a healthy number of enquiries from it.

However, if you’re an outgoing type who can magically transform innocuous stranger-chat into paying work, your ‘20% list’ should probably heave with networking meetings, instead.

The best of both worlds?

I’m not giving up on networking.

In small, scattered doses it works well for me.  Not just in speaking with interesting people up close, but in encouraging me to step away from the laptop every once in a while.

Knowing that my time is best spent on blogging actually helps me relax and enjoy networking more, because I’m not pinning all my business hopes on it.

If you’re a die-hard networker who’d like to achieve the same effect with blogging, you can.  Just set yourself a non-intimidating target – once a week, fortnight, or even month is fine – and take it from there.

Along with making you more visible online, your blog will help people get to know you in-between meetings, when they look you up (because most will!)  Maybe it’ll even spark an interesting conversation the next time you see them.

But don’t worry if you’re the kind of person for whom writing one paragraph takes all eternity.  There are plenty of trusted people who can write your blog posts for you, in your own natural and engaging style.

(I’m one of them, if you’re interested!)