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Put Down The Mic! Let Your Content Do The Talking
- 04/19/2011
- Posted in: Blogging
- 12 comments
We’ve all been there. You find someone interesting on Twitter. You follow them. An hour later you receive a direct message, “Hi I’m Jen! Thanks for following! Check out my blog at “www.ImDesperateForReaders.com” Now imagine you meet Jen in person. You shake hands, she says, “Nice to meet you, Brittany, you should check out my blog.” Just that. Right off the bat. No further introduction, no prior building of a relationship. Would you check out her blog?
Now, I’m not going to get all judgy on you for wanting people to read your blog. We all want readers. It’s not a crime. But what we should want, is good traffic, not pity traffic. If I follow you on Twitter or add you as a friend on Blog Interact, there was something there that caught my attention. Something that I saw. On. My. Own. That’s where quality traffic comes from. When your content does the work for you.
One of the truest tests of engagement is how people will react to your content without being told. Now, that doesn’t mean you should sit there in dead silence, waiting for something to happen, because trust me, it won’t. I am NOT saying that content is the only factor. If you want to be seen you have to put something out there, obviously. But it is completely possible to promote your blog without standing on a bench in the middle of Central Park screaming, “EVERYBODY NEEDS TO READ MY BLOG” into a megaphone.
It’s not about TELLING people to engage. It’s about giving them A REASON to. Ask a question on Twitter. Post an article on Twitter. Make a comment about something. Give out advice. The first step is getting people interested in you. Getting them on the edge of their seat, making them WANT to know more, not feel like they have to. Think about your favorite TV show. If there were no promo at the end of each episode, would you still tune in next week? If it’s your favorite show, then of course you will! It’s the characters, the story, the content that keeps us coming back. We want to know: Are Ross and Rachel ever going to get together? Who is going to get fired this week? Are they ever going to get off this ???? island? Blogging is the same way. What will this crazy girl say next? What spectacular advice will this guy give away next week? What Photoshop technique will I learn today? If people like what you have to say, they are going to want to hear more.
If people really like you, they’ll usually let you know. If not, that’s where a call to action comes in. At the end of your post, ask questions, ask for advice, encourage feedback, be specific about what you’re looking for. But don’t force it. Don’t sound desperate. Again, it’s quality, not quantity.
So lose the megaphone. Focus on creating interesting and engaging content. Then you can work on promoting, sharing your content, building back links. To be horribly corny and cliche, If you build it [well], they will come.
So now I want to know if anyone else feels this way. Do you get annoyed by blatant promotion from people you barely know? As a reader what do you find to be the most effective and least invasive promotional techniques?
The Physios, Josh and Tom, demonstrating Rocktaping to RMIT Chiropractic students over the weekend! http://t.co/Cs8zruC1d6in 4 hours from web
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The Physios, Josh and Tom, demonstrating Rocktaping to RMIT Chiropractic students over the weekend! http://t.co/Cs8zruC1d6in 4 hours from web
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Linda Hewett
Tue 19th Apr 2011 at 7:16 PM
Hi Brittany,
This post made me think. I’m one of those people who sends a message to new followers on Twitter, and also gives a link to my blog.
I do it because it gives the person another way to get to know me. I hadn’t seen it as a blatant ‘I need readers’ signal’, that sounds desperate!
What does anyone one else out there think?
Do you give a link to your blog when replying to a new Follower?
I shall have to think about this some more.
Thanks for alerting me, Brittany!
Brittany
Wed 20th Apr 2011 at 12:43 AM
Linda,
In a lot of situations I think it does depend on the tone and who the person is. I don’t think it’s just the simple giving out of a link that makes someone sound desperate, it’s that impersonal tone where you can just tell that all they want is readers.
Thanks for your feedback!
~Brittany
Bryan P. Hollis
Tue 19th Apr 2011 at 11:50 PM
Hi Brittany (and Linda),
It depends on who I am responding to, what twitter address I am using. There are a certainly times that I am more subtle, especially with my personal twitter address. Take Blog Interact’s twitter followers…if it’s someone that just joined the site, I generally take quick note and simply thank them for joining. If not, I get on that mega-phone and shout so their neighbors hear…”Come join us!!!” Different approach with the red / steel “b” icon than with my smiling face. That’s my “two-cents”. Thought provoking post, Bryan
Brittany
Wed 20th Apr 2011 at 12:52 AM
It definitely is situational. It’s sort of just a personal preference that I like to see people’s reactions to me without any sort of direct influence.
Jmpruitt
Thu 21st Apr 2011 at 3:28 AM
Thanks for this great post Brittany. I was using them for a while and finally disabled them myself. I really didn’t see much benefit from it, and probably ran off more than a few potential readers.
Generally I ignore the DM’s unless it is from someone that I have actually met already through other sites interacting with them on twitter.
Peppy
Thu 21st Apr 2011 at 12:51 PM
Hi Brittany,
I enjoyed not only the points you made in your article – but, the spirit in which you were making them. Clearly, you feel passionate about the motives of those who almost sound ‘demanding’ when it comes to having their blogs read … and I interpret your passion for genuine-ness.
I think so much depends on the “tone” that comes across . For instance, reading Linda’s comment I definitely got the feeling she does it more as a courtesy – and the link can be helpful for those who are interested in learning more about her ( I don’t think I would feel she was “badgering” me to read her blog).
You raise an interesting topic for discussion and, most importantly, you raise a good argument for the need to keep the focus on quality content.
Peppy
Brittany
Fri 22nd Apr 2011 at 1:59 AM
Yes I definitely agree. People definitely do have different motives when trying to promote themselves. That’s why I like the analogy of meeting someone in person. You should have the same respect for someone introducing yourself to them online as you would in person. The problem is, I get so many impersonal and automated messages that I often don’t bother to sort through them since so many of them give off that “spammy” tone, so I pass over the ones that may really be genuine. That is why I think it is so much better to promote yourself in other ways that make you stand out!
Thanks for your comment!
Linda Hewett
Thu 21st Apr 2011 at 5:29 PM
You’re right about my motives, Peppy. I do see it as a sort of ‘courtesy’. If someone has chosen to follow me on Twitter I leave a message telling them about my blog because I always look at the blogs of people I choose to Follow. I see it as a great way to connect with the person and find out more about them.
This is a great discussion!
Linda
Diana Simon
Sat 23rd Apr 2011 at 10:13 PM
Hi Brittany, I am glad that you wrote this post because I have always felt it’s too soon to beg others to read your log etc when you have just met them. One marketer once gave some advice where she told us to friend people on FB and when they become your friends, you send them a message to thankthem and to invite them to connect with you on your page or blog etc.
I personally held back from doing that because it just feels like blatant advertising. However, I am new online and she is the expert so maybe I may have to use that tactic in the future.
I guess the question that comes up is, when is the right time to begin promoting ourselves?
Brittany
Tue 26th Apr 2011 at 1:27 PM
Hmm. That’s interesting advice. I would too probably see that as being a bit too aggressive. But I also tend to use Facebook for my real-life friends so I don’t know that I would really do that anyways.
That is a good question that I don’t really have a good answer to. As I was talking about in the post, I don’t really like to promote myself too directly, I tend to be more subtle and let people look when they want to. Or I just kind of play it by ear. I think you’ll know when the time feels right and you won’t feel like you’re being too pushy.
RuanOosthuizen
Sun 04th Mar 2012 at 1:22 AM
Well written post Brittany! I have to agree with you on this. To me it’s a simple fact that I would want to know that the person I am connecting with actually does care a tick about who I am and also be interested to get to know me and not just connecting with me for what I can possibly do for them.
I have to admit that maybe I have been missing a few honest and human replies as I have been getting so many “one-toned plastic” DM’s that I have begun ignoring most of them. I know this is probably not the way to go so I really try and go back whenever I can to manually sift through to find the “beating hearts” amongst the growds.
I think the biggest challenge with these communication methods for me is when and how to use automated replies. As with any automated reply or auto responder like Aweber; let’s be honest, we just can’t get to everyone in person ALL the time, although I try my best. I do believe that you can still put a human heart behind an auto reply though, meaning my true sincerety can still be represented by the messages I want to bring across, whether it be automated or not.
What are you guys’ thoughts on this?
eganmedical
Tue 10th Apr 2012 at 12:27 AM
My suspicion is that this is why the Vitamin D3 Blog is by far the most popular of any site I’ve ever written content for. I put in the due diligence and conduct extensive research before writing each and every post appearing on that site.