A blogger recently told me how his analytics software was unavailable for several days.
He went on to say how much more he enjoyed blogging and social networking his business during that period; without the pressure of checking ‘the numbers’ after everything he did.
Freedom to blog and connect
He kept saying how he enjoyed the freedom to really connect with his readers and those in his network; without the worry of whether his last blog post, tweet or facebook entry was driving visitors to his blog or not.
Although (like me) this blogger sells a service via his blog and not a product or advertising, he says he is obsessive about checking his statistics. It guides everything he does.
Like many service providers, I monetize jimsmarketingblog.com by attracting enquiries from people who read my work and then contact me, when they want someone to help them market their small business or boost their profits.
As a result, I only write posts if I believe people will find them useful, but I base the decision on what to write exclusively on whether I feel the post has value – NOT it’s potential to go viral or attract hits!
Because of this, you will see posts here like this one, which I know in advance will only get a small number of comments, next to the previous post, which currently has over 70 comments. You will see other posts here with over 250 comments, next to posts with 20 or so. The reason this happens, is that if I believe a post like this one, is offering a valuable message, I will write it – even though it’s not a sexy marketing topic.
Give everything you believe your readers need
I believe that it’s important for everyone, but for service providers especially, to write posts based on what we believe to be valuable to our readers; even if it’s not always going to be a viral post or get hundreds of comments. The irony, is that this approach has helped this blog grow from it’s launch a few months ago, to a couple of thousand unique visitors a day (often far more.)
The numbers are important for every commercial blog, but they should not be the only driver of what we decide to say! After all, some of your least populist output, can be the most interesting to a section of your blog’s community.
Jim,
every post I write is unsexy, they are very very sad a lot of the time as well.
Thanks. I needed some relief from the pressure.
I like the use of the word “unsexy,” haha. I’ll generally write posts that relate to the everday situation when it comes to running a business, so I guess you could say depending on my day, my posts are either “sexy” or “unsexy.” I think there are times when you just have to write for that smaller group, to solidify the readership.
Darren,
It’s in the eye of the beholder!
Corey,
I like the idea of solidifying the readership with inclusive content – nice!
If your post is valuable, it does matter if it is sexy or not.
Jim,
I can related to this. I find myself occasionally looking more at my stats and worrying about them rather than worrying about how valuable my posts are. This has really opened my eyes!
Thanks!
pfft if I wanted to give ‘em sexy I’d just post my pics!
This is the first time I’ve attempted blogging for dollars, so I know nothing other than I can smell BS a mile away and will run in the opposite direction.
Writing what you think they want to hear isn’t always valuable to the reader. If it isn’t valuable, I’m guessing, they won’t come.
DaleK,
I can’t rely on my pics
Good luck with the new blog Dale!
I have to say I am much like you. I write what I think my readers will need rather than always writing posts that will go viral or at least hope they will be.
my posts are totally unsexy but that doesn’t necessarily imply that I am!
i enjoy being unsexy~ as a woman having a means to an end attitude is very 20th century and boring.
using my blog like a bookmark site~and sharing with others what i think will be of value to them, is so much fun.
i am able to explore topics of deep interest to me, as well as apply the skills of facilitation learnt at uni.
sharing the joy
I know that looking at stats can be addicting but that behaviour really aligns with a person’s vanity. The challenge to all of us is, as you point out, to write what we are passionate about. Sometimes, that is not always compelling to a ton of people. On the other hand, if our writing is generally focused, it will appeal to those who share the passions we have.
how about desiring an audience? i get satisfaction from people reading and commenting on my writing. the numbers help me tell the audience size. currently rather small but growing fast thanks to google. im putting into practice a new style to attract people via google. so im all about the audience. thus it needs to be sexy.
Matt,
I think you may have misunderstood my point. It was simply that not every post you write, in my opinion, should be written ‘just’ to get traction.
Every commercial blog needs a readership (or if you are lucky a community.) However, I’m not convinced that you connect as well with your blog’s community – if everything you do is written just for ‘hits.’
Otherwise, every blog would be full of top ten lists!
I see online social media as an opportunity for businesses (and people) to connect one-on-one with others in a genuine and honest manner. People usually have a great built in bullsh** meter, particularly in this space. Keep writing about what you know and are passionate about and I think the ratings will rise by default. There’s nothing more likely to connect with an audience like a genuine conversation. And a genuine, honest person is a heck of a lot sexier than someone simply seeking to impress, parrot others or just write for the sake of statistics.
I always feel that statistics never tell the whole story, and that you lose something if you measure value only in the number of hits something receives.
I think if you write about topics that you feel will be useful to at least a small segment of readers, you will provide value. If a topic is unsexy, chances are many people will not be talking about it, so when someone does, it will fill a missing need.
As I launch my own business, with the new year, I am struck by the appropriatness of this posting!
When I blog/twitter is has to be something interesting. But it doesnt have to be sexy. I am not looking for statistics or high numbers. I feel that by micromanaging posts & thoughts only to drive traffic leads to my publishing more “crap”, which we know there is already enough of on the net. To write for the numbers is like looking over your shoulder while running a foot race, only to trip, fall and lose.
Thanks Jim! another wonderful post.
Some great comments here – far more than I thought!
I think that ALSO makes a point; that a post CAN become quite popular even if it is intended to be populist.
Thanks also for the many kind words regarding what I am doing with the blog – It’s always excellent to get positive feedback.
Thanks!
Some of the most useful blogs, tweets and posts are also some of the least sexy. We use these tools to find resources and information connect with and help others and to market and promote our brand name, much of which has little to do with “sexy titles” or subjects.
By far one of the best blogs I’ve seen on one of the best blog sites I’ve ever visited. Absolutely impressive.
A lot of time can be wasted when you stare at your stats and wonder. Get out and interact, follow-up, offer value. Jim does all these things and it really seems to be paying off whether his posts are sexy or not.
I’m like you Jim, I care about the stats for my blog, but I care more about educating and putting out useful content. I tend not to blog as often as some because I don’t want to fill the blog with fluff.
Here’s an issue I often run into though, how much is too much free information? Where do you draw the line between what you teach for free and what you offer as a service?
As a career internet marketer for over 13 years, I can honestly say that very few meaningful results were achieved by staring at stats or worrying over metrics. Know your audience…give them something of value and most everything else will fall into place.
That being said, I am a big proponent of testing new methods and messages in order to better connect with your customer base. When you find something that really works, you won’t need a fancy analytics program to tell you.
If I had to worry about all the numbers and stats all the time, I would not get any post done. I blog because I like to do so and think I have something to say. In fact, There are people out there that like what I do. The stats? Well, let’s say I don’t financially depend on my blog yet. It’s a more relaxed way of doing things…..
I must admit that worrying about the stats when I’m writing a post distracts me. It tends to make be tense and tension restricts creativity. I guess a blend of both is important
Some times the Sexy Flashy blogs drive people away, they see them as just another ploy or something to pull people in.
I have never been a good or creative writer, but still have the desire to write and share with those that might be interested.
Thank you again for the way in which you are contributing to the online community.
Jim,
You’ve just given me a lot of common sense, very useful information. Thank you
Well Jim… The problem is that people have not time to decide if product/service/information is useful.
They need sexy title which lead them to the information (post).
I’m a woman of few words! Love it! I agree with a fellow that commented above, this is one of the best sites I’ve been on. The reading is great. Thanks for following me on Twitter. Sincerely, Tami
Some extremely generous comments above; thank you.
I work hard to ensure that what I post on this blog is as valuable as possible to as many people as possible.
Whilst all feedback is good, such positive feedback as you have given here makes all the work worthwhile.
Thank You!
You know, because my blog is designed to generate regional advertising, I take the long view and don’t worry too much if a post doesn’t generate traffic that day. We have these art reviews which don’t attract huge first-day hit numbers, but people find our blog by searching for reviews of these exhibits, and it’s a niche our blog can fill. My hope is these readers will keep coming back.
My main goal is keeping up to my every day posting schedule, without publishing anything that’s an outright embarrassment. And that keeps me busy.
This inspired me to go a couple days without looking at analytics. Sometimes it is a good idea to just take a step back once in awhile focus on other tactics.
Since I’m not very advanced when it comes to technology and blogging, I am not an expert in “checking the numbers” or even knowing how to capture them. I know this is important and I plan to continue learning, but for now, I’d rather just write about things that interest me that might be useful for someone else out there. Needless to say, I really appreciated this post.