This is a Pop Post by Ben Lumley from 6Aliens.com. He’s a great writer and a very cool person to talk to. Check out his blog and get to know him, you won’t regret it. Over to you, Ben.
I’m Ben Lumley, a blogger from the UK who writes about self development at 6aliens.com. Why not connect with me on Twitter @benlumley6 or if you liked this article then why not subscribe to my RSS Feed?
We can all have our say now and reach a massive audience. 20 years ago, if you wanted to have your say and have everyone listen, you needed to be on radio, TV or on a massive billboard somewhere in the middle of town. Even then, you only had the potential to reach a particular geographic group of people, unless you moved on to better things.
Now if you write a blog post, it has the potential (without the need to take it to any other forum) to reach millions of people from all over the planet. That’s a massive thing if you think about it for a minute. Everything you write, or take pictures of, or video has to ability to hit a huge audience.
But there’s a funny thing about potential. It’s pretty useless unless you do anything about it. It’s like having a million dollars (something we can all relate to) and letting it sit in a box under the floorboards. It has the potential to change the lives of millions of people in either a positive or negative way but is useless unless you take some massive action with it.
Think of your blog as that million dollars.
Nurtured in the right way, it can positively affect the lives of people from all walks of life or it can lay dusty on the shelf.
How to make or break your blog.
Content
Make: With great content you can achieve anything. What was it the man said? “Give me a lever long enough and I can move the Earth.” You need to create stuff that you’re truly passionate about. It might be hard to come up with, it might take a while to put together, but by the end of it you should be so excited to publish it that you’re fit to burst.
Break: If you’re sitting down thinking, “I don’t want to write this” then don’t. You’ll end up creating something that makes people think “I don’t want to read this.” If you write in one continuous paragraph you’ll lose people’s attention. Focus on giving your readers a great article that they just can’t put down.
Comments
Make: Getting comments on your blog to start with is hard work. You can’t get your message heard if you’re standing on an island. Get out there and talk to other people. Commenting on other blogs has exploded my traffic. It’ll do the same for you.
Break: Make sure you always add value – just saying “great post, Dude” won’t get you anywhere. Just shouting your message on every comment page on every blog you find is just selfish and won’t make people want to come and visit your blog. Oh, and whatever you do, have the courtesy to reply to people who leave comments on your post. They’ve taken time out of their day to leave you a message, the least you can do is thank them (sorry rant over).
Promote
Make: Having a great post is one thing; telling people about it is another. Ever wonder how many people pay attention to cards you see up in shop windows saying that they have something to sell? Realistically, probably not many. What if your card was an advert but it was the one that came on TV just before your favourite programme, just after you sat down to watch it? You’d notice it then wouldn’t you? My friend James has this down. Write and promote, write and promote.
Break: The biggest things that will break your success with regards to promoting your posts are the fact you either don’t promote them (let’s just keep that box with a million dollars in it under the floorboards shall we) or that you promote it badly. Keep it simple. Don’t demand that people come to read your posts. Give people the choice and you’ll find that as your blog grows more people will choose to come and read or watch.
The making and breaking of your blog really comes down to one simple question… what are you going to do with your million dollars?
COMMENTS
25 Comments
Ben
February 8th, 2010 09:20 AM
Thanks for letting my write for you Eric!
Ben´s last blog ..Doing something because you think you should, isn’t the way to go
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BluePop13 Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Ben,
Glad to bro!
Take care and enjoy!
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Heather
February 8th, 2010 12:04 PM
To the point Ben, loved it. You’re right though, blogs (or anything for that matter) are potential… they’re not good, not bad, not anything really, til you take what they can be and make it into what it is.
How you do it is going to be down to individual preference, but what you do defines the form and ultimate success.
Thanks for pointing it out
Heather´s last blog ..The New Direction: Mission Plan
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Ben
February 8th, 2010 12:49 PM
Hey Heather
Glad you enjoyed it
Ben´s last blog ..Doing something because you think you should, isn’t the way to go
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Keith
February 8th, 2010 12:53 PM
Promoting my site has proved to be a huge factor in my initial traffic and getting plenty of comments on my posts.
Keith´s last blog ..Do-Follow Forum Just For Bloggers
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Ben
February 8th, 2010 01:25 PM
Keith you’re a great example of how to promote your site well!
Ben´s last blog ..Doing something because you think you should, isn’t the way to go
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Agent Deepak
February 8th, 2010 01:43 PM
Promoting is real important. With great promotion you can achieve great results. I always say Marketing is foremost.
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Ben
February 8th, 2010 01:58 PM
Yeah I think it’s Gary Vaynerchuk says that Content is King but Marketing is Queens and she runs the house.
It’s very easy to get it wrong though
Ben´s last blog ..Doing something because you think you should, isn’t the way to go
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Karen
February 8th, 2010 03:17 PM
Interesting article, Ben
Not sure if I can relate to this – “It’s like having a million dollars (something we can all relate to) and letting it sit in a box under the floorboards.” but I sure would like the opportunity to be sitting on a million dollars
The one thing that I definitely struggle with is promotion of my blog. Do you have any specific tips around this subject? Sure, we all comment on each other blogs and try to respond to our readers, but what specific tips do you have (or are following) to promote yourself?
Thanks,
Karen
Karen´s last blog ..Are Books Worth The Money?
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Tanner @ Life Destiny
February 8th, 2010 04:00 PM
Running into you again Ben, good stuff!
“Nurtured in the right way, it can positively affect the lives of people from all walks of life or it can lay dusty on the shelf.”
This part rang up what I just read over at Chris Guillebeau’s The Art of Non-Conformity on his post about empowerment.
Good stuff, I need to interview you sometime soon.
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TheInfoPreneur
February 8th, 2010 05:01 PM
Hey Ben, Eric How’s it going guys?
Ben top post brother commenting is a fantastic tool to getting comments yourself.
You are right though, you need to add value to each of the post you comment on other wise you are just adding to masses of great post comments.
Anyway ‘great post’ lol Eric my guest post will be with you soon, just been busying sorting the forum out.
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Aaron
February 8th, 2010 10:20 PM
Great Post Ben!
All the points you mentioned are key for successful blogging. The analogy and examples that you took to illustrate these concepts are brilliant! Great read!
Aaron
Aaron´s last blog ..Passion vs. Enjoyment
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Jeffrey
February 8th, 2010 11:35 PM
Hi Ben,
Don’t you worry about my million dollars …….. I’m sure some banker or lawyer will get it!
Jeffrey´s last blog ..Super Bowl Fun! Bloggers Market Bowl
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Ben
February 9th, 2010 12:32 AM
Hey Karen
What’s worked for me is regularly post frequency (every 2 days for me), commenting on other sites, regularly RT my posts to help them be seen in all timezones, writing for other blogs, and using things like digg, stumble and Facebook to raise the profile.
Hope this helps
Ben´s last blog ..Be a beginner
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Ben
February 9th, 2010 12:33 AM
Hey Tanner, fancy seeing you here lol
Glad you liked it man!
Ben´s last blog ..Be a beginner
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Ben
February 9th, 2010 12:34 AM
Hey James
As always buddy you’re right, you always need to add value when commenting on some else’s posts.
Looking for you post here
Ben´s last blog ..Be a beginner
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Ben
February 9th, 2010 05:17 AM
@Aaron – thanks for the lovely comment, glad you enjoyed the post.
@Jeffery – yeah when you see either the banker or the lawyer, ask them where my million dollars has gone!
Ben´s last blog ..Be a beginner
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Jeffrey
February 9th, 2010 07:46 AM
Oh Ben! Say it ain’t so. You too?
Jeffrey´s last blog ..Super Bowl Fun! Bloggers Market Bowl
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Bryan aka TheDigitalDoctr
February 9th, 2010 01:12 PM
Nice Post Ben,
Good words and solid advice. These are the issues that I’m focusing on as I work to launch my new blog. Content,Comments and Promotion. These three things are so important to the life of any blog. Striking the proper balance among the three seems to be the biggest challenge. Gives me a lot to think about! Thanks.
Bryan aka TheDigitalDoctr´s last blog ..Does Your Small Business Have a "Digital Identity"?
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Ralph
February 9th, 2010 05:21 PM
You can’t know if you are adding value until you get response and you can’t get response unless you market. And it’s tough to market until you feel confident about providing value. It is tough to get that going.
Ralph´s last blog ..The offensive ‘HE’
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BluePop13 Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Ralph,
As I just tweeted today: If your first step is failure you’ve done something right, only if you get past the first step.
I thought that fit in well with what you said here.
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Justin Matthews
February 9th, 2010 05:29 PM
Great Post Dude!
Really I love the if it doesn’t work dont write it idea. I have a few posts I have started that ended up sucking. I just saved as drafts thinking that maybe the idea was good and I would have more inspiration for a good post at a later time. Great to see you guest posting on here, I found BluePop13 from your blog! Both now in my RSS…
Cheers
Justin
Justin Matthews´s last blog ..Groundhog was wrong, It’s time for Yardwork!
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Ben
February 10th, 2010 01:52 AM
@Bryan
I think you find your natural balance. Once you’ve seen how other people do it you’ll start to find a way that works for you.
Ben´s last blog ..Be a beginner
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Ben
February 10th, 2010 01:54 AM
@Ralph
You just need to start. Don’t worry about confidence or whether you think you’re adding value. Just start. You’ll soon find from the feedback you get whether or not you’re adding the right kind of value. But you won’t get that feedback unless you start.
The first step is always the hardest – the rest are just about learning.
Ben´s last blog ..Be a beginner
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Ben
February 10th, 2010 01:55 AM
@Justin
Thanks for stopping by. Glad you found Eric’s site – he’s a great dude.
Ben´s last blog ..Be a beginner
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