Really Believe in Your Content

March 5th, 2006

Kent’s been on a role lately with lots of thoughtful posts on a number of topics. He tries to outline the keys to writing more 10/90 posts (the 10% of your posts that generate 90% of your inbound links) and offers four:

Say something really right, Say something really wrong, Say something really funny, Say something really helpful

Amy Gahran, author of two blogs, offers a nice summary in the comments: Be really engaging, which then becomes be really real.

Kent wrote the following which I’ve also concluded after 2 months of fairly regular posting:

It’s very hard to predict what will be a 10/90 post based on how hard it was to write or how much effort was put into it. Just because I think I’ve written a 10/90 post doesn’t mean anyone else will think so.

There are times when I finish a post and rub my hands together anxiously awaiting the huuuuge conversation it’s going to generate. And, then, nothing.

But here’s where I’d like to add another really. I bet Kent agrees with me: Really believe in your content.

By believing in the strength and quality of the post and referencing it in future conversations it may still stimulate the discussion and conversation you thought it could. This is especially true for those looking to build their audience - you’ll have to work harder for the attention of eyeballs and ensuing conversation than those with an established readership.

Viewing 4 Comments

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    I do agree about believing in your content. Belief creates passion, one of Steve Rubel's Four P's.

    I also agree that referring to prior posts is a good way to generate conversation and develop your themes. I do that all the time.

    Where I get bored (and loss my belief/passion) is when I have to go dig around to find something I care about writing on. For example, I was completely uninterested in the ATT/Bellsouth thing until I read that some consumers groups were going to "fight" the merger. Then I had something to say.

    Although I am a huge fan and follower of Amy's theories on blog building, I don't know that I agree on posting less. I understand the logic of it, but there's also the argument that posting less could result in a loss of mindshare. It's something I need to think more about.

    I guess the real story is that a lot of bloggers (me included) are afraid to blog less. Sort of like sky jumping- it may work once you jump, but if it doesn't it's too late to go back.

    People read Dave because he is Dave (that's not a slight; he deserves it). He could write in pig latin and he'd still get a lot of traffic.
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    I do agree about believing in your content. Belief creates passion, one of Steve Rubel's <a href="http://www.micropersuasion.com/2006/02/the_four_p...rel="nofollow">Four P's. I also agree that referring to prior posts is a good way to generate conversation and develop your themes. I do that all the time. Where I get bored (and loss my belief/passion) is when I have to go dig around to find something I care about writing on. For example, I was completely uninterested in the ATT/Bellsouth thing until I read that some consumers groups were going to "fight" the merger. Then I had something to say. Although I am a huge fan and follower of Amy's theories on blog building, I don't know that I agree on posting less. I understand the logic of it, but there's also the argument that posting less could result in a loss of mindshare. It's something I need to think more about. I guess the real story is that a lot of bloggers (me included) are afraid to blog less. Sort of like sky jumping- it may work once you jump, but if it doesn't it's too late to go back. People read Dave because he is Dave (that's not a slight; he deserves it). He could write in pig latin and he'd still get a lot of traffic.
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    Great post, Fraser.

    Yes, I agree, I think believing in your content -- that is, that you're saying something that genuinely matters, at least to you -- is key. This is why I actually recommend that most people DON'T blog daily, and especially not multiple times daily, unless the purpose of their blog is specifically just quick tidbits.

    Quality is more important than quantity, most of the time. If you're just spewing random stuff to which you haven't given much thought, chances are most of it doesn't matter much, even to you.

    I know others disagree with me on this. For instance, many people love Dave Winer's blog, and he pretty much just lets you in on his stream of consciousness. So that's just my take on it.

    - Amy Gahran
    RightConversation.com
    Contentious.com
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    Great post, Fraser. Yes, I agree, I think believing in your content -- that is, that you're saying something that genuinely matters, at least to you -- is key. This is why I actually recommend that most people DON'T blog daily, and especially not multiple times daily, unless the purpose of their blog is specifically just quick tidbits. Quality is more important than quantity, most of the time. If you're just spewing random stuff to which you haven't given much thought, chances are most of it doesn't matter much, even to you. I know others disagree with me on this. For instance, many people love Dave Winer's blog, and he pretty much just lets you in on his stream of consciousness. So that's just my take on it. - Amy Gahran RightConversation.com Contentious.com
 
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