Eventually, every blogger runs out of gas. The causes vary - could be writer’s block, or you’re too busy with something else - but the result is always the same: less quality writing, and less participation in the blogging community.
What you need is a little inspiration. You need a spark lit under your rear. You need a new goal to sink your teeth into.
No amount of effort with social media sites and tools like digg, StumbleUpon, MyBlogLog, Propeller, etc. can make up for a bad blog. A lack of focus, poor writing, over-advertising and a lousy design will sink your blog each and every time, regardless of how much effort you put into social networking and social media promotion.
The flip side is also true, in that you could have a focused niche, write well, limited advertising and a beautiful design, but still find it hard to build an audience. So you shouldn’t be ignoring the opportunities that social networking and social media provide.
In a recent post I wrote about linkbaiting and guest writing on other blogs, James Chartrand left a comment that got me thinking:
What about when you don’t have the time to surf all the social networking sites? It seems ridiculous. Just after I tell someone we have a LinkedIn page, they ask me if the business has a MySpace page. Then a Yahoo page. Then a Facebook page, a Digg page, and so on.
Not only am I expected to have a page on every social networking or media site or blog possible, I’m expected to surf and browse all these sites, comment, keep in touch and be active.
It goes on. I still have to visit relevant blogs to my subject area and target audience, reading, commenting, etc. Plus there is my own blog, of course, and I do have to work for a living as well…
Stop the madness is a phrase that comes to mind. What’s your solutions to this “be active everywhere at once” problem?
This is an extremely common problem. And it’s getting worse. James didn’t mention Twitter or any of the people search engines like Xing and Spock that have emerged recently.
Some days are just downright exhausting. Tough, emotionally draining. We all have days like that. They’re unavoidable. You feel spent, incapable of going on, angry, frustrated. Maybe you feel victimized, maybe you feel disappointed in yourself. Maybe both.
We all have days like that. Bad days. So what do you do?
Can a blog meme be resurrected after a month or so?
Perhaps not in its original format, but we can still extract lots of value from the original initiative. Chris Gray at SEO Ladder tagged me with the Blogging Tip Meme. At the time he had collected a nice list of blog tips. But it’s been awhile, and I’m not sure where the meme has gone. Really, it doesn’t matter.
In the spirit of Joanna Young’s tips on writing great link posts and Liz Strauss’s link post writing challenge (which I’m late for too!) here’s my attempt at bringing you some great blog tips from everyone else:
You can and should linkbait people. Try and get their attention, and hopefully they’ll link back.
Of course, you try that a few times, build up a bit of a relationship, and eventually you get a chance to do some guest writing.
With that, I’m very pleased to point people towards my guest post at Copyblogger: Are You Using the Five Types of Links Properly?
The post was spurred on by Brian’s own thoughts about the merits of using the anchor text, click here. Is he right? Is he wrong? You have to read the post to find out!
I'm Benjamin Yoskovitz, CEO & Co-Founder of Standout Jobs. I've been an entrepreneur in the Web for 10+ years, with a particular focus on blogging and social media for the last two. This blog covers my topics of interest, including startups, entrepreneurship, business, blogging and social media. You'll also find content on personal development, productivity and marketing.
