Nobody Reads Agency Blogs- Or Why You Need Skin in the Game
Thanks to Jason Falls, I just read this post about how many marketing agencies are closing down their blogs and tweeting and Facebooking instead.
“Nobody reads agency blogs, and there are so many out there it’s impossible for people to keep up anyway,” said Sam Weston, director of communications at digital agency Huge.
Nobody Reads ANY Blogs- If They’re Boring
I’ll tell you without even having to look why nobody reads a blog: because it’s boring. Because it’s poorly written. Because it’s utterly self-referential.
Nobody has time to read junk. Why would you? There’s so much great material out there.
What Should An Agency (or YOU!) Blog About?
An agency should blog about the space it serves, in some regards, but along with that, an agency (and YOU!!!!) should blog about those things you’re passionate about. My dad is passionate about poker. My mom is passionate about proving you can do it if you try. I’m passionate about keeping “human” in the digital business channel.
Write about passion, but write it in service to others.
If you did only this, you’d get more attention, more readers, more connections via your blog. What people want is to feel lit up, to feel like you and they are on the same page, like they can run with what you’ve shared, or they can add to it, or they can bask in it and feel it.
Mom blogs are so successful because there are billions of moms (actual number) who can commiserate when their kid will only eat beige and orange foods. Tech blogs are successful because nerds and aspiring nerds always want more ideas and information and new shiny things to touch and/or covet. The blogs that stay lit up, people like Mitch and Julien and Chris and C.C. and others, are based on working from a core of passion.
Keep At It
It took me 8 years to get my first 100 readers. I have several friends in this space who remember me from the way old days, even if their “way old days” starts back about halfway into that (around say, 2005). They saw me transition from someone writing about myself to someone writing ideas that would equip people around me to be successful. That was the nugget. That’s when things started taking off. That’s when I realized that I could write almost every day and have something to say, because people are always noodling over some part of the problem.
You want 5 quick things to make your blogging better?
- Brevity. Cut posts to sub-500 words.
- Structure. Write something others can USE.
- Simplicity. Big words are pretty. Help people understand the point, instead.
- Positivity. Writing angrily only works if you want to attract angry people.
- Outward-facing. Write more about others than you ever do about yourself.
If you did just those five things, I bet your blogging results would improve after a few months. This isn’t how to get seen. How to get seen requires another whole other set of skills.
Want to learn more about blogging? Here’s a whole huge best advice about blogging post for you.
Stay writing. Don’t abandon your blogs. Get better at it. This kind of media can change your world, if you work to change the worlds of others.
View full post on chrisbrogan.com
Chris, when I write for my blog I do it for myself (practice writing) and I do it for others to learn from. I’m trying to create an experience that I think many will find useful. Take my day-to-day experiences that I’m quite certain a great deal of people share and express them in words. I wouldn’t say that my writing is there to promote myself or sell something to anyone, I do it for YOU, I do it for US as I try to find and establish a tribe or become part of one. I talk about MY experiences and MY thoughts that are not unique to me…many of us share them. Where is this fine line between writing for and about others, and oneself?
I think the folks writing agency blogs are often “forced” to do so.
You’ve got it. : )
BLogging about blogging is like talking about sex. ; )
Heya Dave– I think that SOME folks love a 2500 word post plenty, but if you did the math, it’d be like 1% or fewer. Just the nature of the consumption beast. Ian Lurie is great, isn’t he?
Thanks, Paul. I agree. Well, obviously I agree. : )
Nice post, Chris. Several years into the Social Media era, I personally sense a change in the Zeitgeist. Besides mere oversaturation people are tired of not-just-boring but completely insincere “content” that was obviously just created to fulfill some “social media strategy blueprint.” Because I work in the more technical side of marketing (internet marketing and website development) I tend to favor two types of posts:
1)Snarky, from-the-hip observations on my world from guys like Ian Lurie and2)Well-researched insights or “how-to’s” on new tools. What’s interesting to me is that brevity vs depth is really not an issue for me personally. I’ll read a 2500 word post if I’m learning something and I’m reasonably patient with long posts because, after all, “the sh*t we do for a living is dang complicated…” But brief, revelatory posts written by smart folks who pull no punches also get my attention…
dave
Give more value and try to solve problems on the community, that was the key, right?
Thanks for your writing tips Chris, I find them all in this post
When I stop to think about the blogs that I really enjoy, they all seem to have the qualities you mention with a big, bold, all caps emphasis on PASSION for their craft.
Thank you for this post today Chris!
Respectfully,
Paul Castain
Yes, in this day of instant gratification (or at least, the expectation of such) writers/bloggers/producers will all do best if they speak directly to their audience. I’m surprised at the amount of agency blogs that still don’t understand this (seemingly) simple step to success. Do you think it’s just a lack of realization? or do some bloggers/agencies just think they can preach about their products and readers will be engaged?