And right now, unless you're a Weight Watchers meeting leader, personal trainer, grocery store owner, or ice cream maker, or my husband, you are most likely saying: SO WHAT?
Which is my point exactly. There are all too many blog posts out there that simply have nothing of value to say to an audience larger than...well, one? Two? Immediate family? And that's okay if your blog is "The Smith Family Adventures", or if you just write it for a personal outlet, without intentions of either monetizing it, syndicating the content, or utilizing it as a business marketing tool. But (and there's always a "but", even if you don't eat a gallon of ice cream...) if you do have any aspirations at all toward a commercial use for your blog, I exhort you encourage you, BEG you: post when you have something to say, and not a minute before.
Nothing turns off a prospect more quickly than seeing an intriguing title, clicking to follow the link, anticipating valuable insights, and then...
In my case, this blog is meant primarily as a networking tool, and secondarily as an outlet for my desire simply to write. I don't intend to commercialize it in any way. But I still wait until I have a point to make before trying to make that point! Some food for thought, I hope.
That's all well and good but what I'm sitting here still wondering is, if you did eat a gallin of ice cream, what flavor would it be? : )
ReplyDeleteCynthia,
ReplyDeleteBrava! I've got to commend you for two things: first of all, the content of this post rocks! How many trial balloons have I floated on my own blog only to be rewarded with the ignominious crickets of maybe a single polite retweet or two (certainly from my Mom at that)? Plus you're funny. I almost spit up my coffee as I read this.
But the second round of props you earned is from not naming the offending blog or blogger that started our conversation last night. I made the cardinal sin of RTing a post from a friend's blog because that blog almost always gets mad props from my followers - I can add value by barely lifting a finger. This friend has numerous contributors on his blog, and one of those contributors missed. He should probably have thought twice about posting it, and I should have thought at least once about sharing it. But you were professional and you were kind. Thank you for that.
My take-away is, filter more actively before sharing. Oh, and don't write about my own predilection for excessive ice cream consumption when times are tough. (If you must know: Ben & Jerry's, pretty much any flavor).
Kory, good question! My favorite is cheesecake ice cream from Cold Stone, preferably with a lot of stuff mixed in. My reality is usually Edy's reduced calorie cookie dough :)
ReplyDeleteTed, thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! You were actually the inspiration for the humor in addition to the content, because you're the epitome of letting one's personality show through :) I hear what you're saying about the insidious "RT before reading" issue--in fact, I I recently wrote about that very subject! And thanks for acknowledging that didn't call out that blogger or guest poster. This was nothing personal, I just felt like "speak when you have something to say" was, well, worth saying!
your blog great!
ReplyDelete