Martin Koss – thinking out loud…

Looking around the web, if we take all the ‘expert advice’ too seriously, then we would reach the conclusion that most of us know bugger all about how to write and present content via websites and, most relevant to this post, blogs, and only a select few really know how to be what some of us think we are; content creators… bloggers.

A great post by Mr Brogan a few months ago reminded us (and believe me, there are many who desperately need the reminder) that “your blog is not your job” but then the folks at ‘Copyblogger’ would have us convinced that we’re not a true bloggist unless we blog 5 times a day, every day – while abiding by ‘their’ published ‘rules’ of course – ‘cos they know best, of course.

Anything less than the consistency and regularity that one achieves with an All-Bran diet is a clear sign of a ‘bad attitude’ apparently.

So, with my non-scheduled, niche jumping, random sporadic approach to blogging, I have a bad attitude, apparently.

Oh gosh – who is right?

Well, in some ways – both and neither.

Chris is right that ‘blogging is not a job’ unless, of course, it is how you generate your income or you get paid to write ‘sponsored posts’ or to blog on behalf of a client, but, in most cases, blogging is something we do when time allows and when we find something worth writing about. Me, I do it because I love writing. Simple as that. Not sure if that alleviates some of the bad attitude or not…

Maybe the folks at Copyblogger who say “you must blog consistently and regularly and you must collect reader data, you shouldn’t use bad language and there must be X amount of words in the summary and at least X number of words in the post and it must have a picture (bored yet? I am) and you must do all the other things that works for them” should realize that not everyone is blogging all the way to the bank. Some people do it for fun – its not all about business or to make money. Some people are not writing content to attract and support advertising revenue or to get adsense clicks.

Fun doesn’t come with a rule book and so I say to anyone who writes a blog simply because they love writing – do it your way and sod the ‘rules’.

You should do what you are comfortable with – even if it is NOT what someone else does.

As Chris has also rightly said, you should ‘make your own game‘ (“You can do what’s come before or you can take a unique swing at the world“). To me, some of the best bits of advice are found at ChrisBrogan.com and the advice relates to many types of business and business activities.

Who the heck makes all these stupid “rules” anyway?

Well, often its busy bodies who think they know best but most often it is people who figured out what works for them and then take it upon themselves to dictate to all of us that they (and, of course, only they) know the ‘magic secret’, the ‘be all and end all perfect strategy’ so, surely, it must be the only way to do it. Truth is, they are not rules, at all. They are someone’s ideas. Just because ‘it’ works for them doesn’t mean its the only way to do ‘it’.

If I listened to all the experts about Internet marketing, about SEO and about the ‘right way’ to write content, I’d never have gotten anywhere and I’d never have time for a life.

If we listen to all the suggestions at Copyblogger and Problogger etc then, whether you are the owner of a double glazing firm, sell used cars, publish a magazine, clean windows or make wedding dresses – if you want to blog – there’s rules you have to follow…

~Bollocks~

Whatever happened to individuality? Being different? Unique? Real?

Remember humans?

• We look different
• We talk different
• We sound different
• We see things in different ways
• We have individual opinions and beliefs
• We like to do things in our own unique way
• We each like different styles
• We all like different ‘fashion’
• We act different and
• We have unique personalities…

Why did Richard Branson, Donald Trump, Alan Sugar, (and many others) become so successful? It wasn’t just about having a good business head on their shoulders – they dared to be different. They said ‘sod the rules’ and did it their way.

As Seth Godin wrote in his great little book ‘The Purple Cow’; “Then, within twenty minutes, we started ignoring the cows. The new cows were just like the old cows, and what once was amazing was now common. Worse than common. It was boring.”

And that is the outcome of everyone doing what they do just like everyone else does what they do because someone said we must do what we do just the same way as they do what they do.

Nothing unique, nothing individual, nothing remarkable.

“A Purple Cow, though. Now that would be interesting. (For a while.)”

So if its all the same to you Mr Copybloggist and Mr ProBloggers; I’ll write my next blog post when I’m good and ready, when I get time, when I have something I’ll enjoy writing and sharing. And no I will not comply with the ‘rule’ that states I must give away a cheesy $27 (erm, worthless) ebook in exchange for reader (cough, I mean ‘marketing’) data.

If that means breaking the rules then I’ll break the rules and offer a big shout out to anyone else making their own game.

Each to their own.

 

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