Your blog thrives on content. If you have an online business of any kind (including promoting your art or writing), you need fresh content so that Google, and potential fans, can find you. But writing it all yourself is tiresome and you have to think of new ideas and catchy headlines, and hiring someone to write articles for you doesn’t usually pan out.
For the past year or so I’ve been seeing bloggers take a third option: they post interviews. The first time I saw this done it was interesting.
The blogger, who ran an editing company, posted interviews with lots of big names in writing, publishing and self-publishing.
It made him immediately look like someone established, with great content to offer, because he was getting advice from successful people, and the interviews were informative. But then everybody started doing it.
Big shot bloggers and entrepreneurs built entire businesses around the idea of education websites, where they would interview all their bigshot friends and charge admission to watch the interviews.
Medium sized bloggers stopped doing research and writing fresh content completely and just went around interviewing each other – so you saw the same guys being interviewed on 20 or 30 different blogs.
Yesterday a blog I follow, about being daring and innovative, sent me an email saying “It’s time to take a STAND” against boring, uninformative, sales-focused website content and do something different: which led to his announcement that he was adapting the interview format too.
It’s so easy…
I get it. Once you’ve launched your product, and written everything you have to say, it probably feels repetitive to keep writing. And your thousands of followers will get bored with you, and you won’t get as much website traffic, and your online business/sales will dry up.
And you’ve made excellent relationships with people facing the same problem at blogging conferences… so why not do interviews? All you have to do is write and email the questions, or chat over skype and record the video..
Personally I hate watching video, and if there are no transcripts for me to skim through, I’m gone. But I’ll bet some people like to watch.
And rather than just one voice, it gives your blog followers access to a whole bunch of experts on lots of different subjects.
What’s the harm?
I’m probably rebelling against nothing. Maybe it is super useful and awesome, and I’m the last one to get on the train. Maybe I’ll join up later and start interviewing people.
But I doubt it.
I don’t think you need another one of those kinds of bloggers. I think stories about other people’s lives and experiences are a little boring.
I’m interested in fast practical tips I can use right now to be a more successful author, artist, blogger or entrepreneur, that will lead to a bigger income.
I’m also busy building useful things that are awesome and make everybody’s life easier, like the incredible DIY book cover templates and book interior design formats I’m developing; and the website I’m building to help authors get tons of free reviews; and other stuff like that.
I’m probably not a very good blogger.
I probably won’t attract that many fans or followers.
But that’s OK, because I have a bunch of friends who have lots of followers, and I know they’re going to want to get the word out about my stuff.
I think maybe that’s the difference
If you’re a normal person who saw all these inspiring blogs about quitting your job and doing what you love, so you started your own “lifestyle business” so you could do the same, you probably made your own inspiring blog and your own inspiring products to sell.
What’s in the box? Hopes and dreams.
If you’re an artist or author, you’re really not that interested in other people’s hopes or dreams.
We’re selfish. We’re busy making. We want to be all alone with our creativity, making things people had never thought of before, creating the future.
Blogging is a necessity for us, but only as a means to get the word out about the other things we’re doing.
My blogging advice (probably not as sophisticated as more successful people): write what you know, what you’re passionate about, be yourself, speak from the heart, be unique, try to help people solve the problems they are facing, or at least console them with company by admitting the things that are challenging you too.
How do you find your blog content? How often do you post? What do you write about?
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I’m a philosophy dropout with a PhD in Literature. I covet a cabin full of cats, where I can write fantasy novels to pay for my cake addiction. Sometimes I live in castles.
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