Right now it’s not easy to determine the ROI of blogs but Charlene Li started to ask some questions and came up with a framework;  framework is sketchy right now.

"…..how do companies measure the value of public relations? We found one paper by Fraser Likel, et. al. “Perspectives on the ROI of Media Relations Publicity Efforts” that was helpful in this area. Likel, et. al. break down the ROI of PR into four approaches: 1) return on impressions; 2) return on media impact (akin to market mix modeling); 3) return on target influence; and 4) return on earned media

I currently suggest that companies start with metrics that they already use within the company so that 1) the metrics are familiar; and 2) it makes it easier to compare the blog’s value to other marketing and communication channels. So here’s an attempt at some of the ways intangible value can be quantified. I’d love to get your thoughts on how feasible it is to actually measure these things and also, how your company measures blogging’s benefits. "

Ok, return on impressions is going to be hard to determine - unless your selling something on the blog and your buying traffic.   I think Know More Media can do it because of the way a blog network operates but I don’t think your average business blog is going to fall into any of the 4 ROI measurements.

I wish Charlene Li were coming to the Emetrics Summit; I’d interview her - I thought she might be but when I looked at the speakers it was June Li, a different person.  

A better approach  - determine what type of blog your running (business, personal, thought leadership, etc) and for that type of blog, determine the value of a visit and pageview.  Then, add them up.   You’ll come up with an approximate value which will have meaning when you compare blogs to each other.  

BTW, I found out about Charlene Li’s Blogging ROI study from Micro Persuasion.