Requesting that bloggers step up their game is a message that’s not always well-received. When people get defensive, they usually turn to a bunch of excuses. So let’s talk about those right from the get-go!
“It may not be great but…”
“Well yeah, I agree that it’s boring but…”
“We all know it’s dumb but…”
And then come the excuses.
“THEIR READERS LIKE IT.”
But do their readers like it?
I’m a reader and I don’t like it.
I’ve talked to other blog readers and they don’t like it either.
You know what else people liked? PCs. So maybe Steve Jobs just should have never re-done the Mac. Why don’t we give people more options before deciding that things are good enough and it’s time to just settle?
“THEN WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP READING IT?”
Good question! I am losing count of people who say, “I don’t know why I keep reading some blogs.”
Have you ever watched an MTV reality-show rerun? A “Jersey Shore” marathon perhaps? It wasn’t that good the first time you saw it and yet you find yourself spending a few hours just staring at it unfolding all over again. And you always find yourself saying, “I don’t know why I’m still watching this.”
Is it because we’re so used to MTV turning out crap versions of the same thing that we forgot there used to be good reality TV? Did VH1 start the “Flavor of Love” and “Charm School” series in an effort to imitate what MTV was doing with all the Real World/Road Rules spin-offs? [It's like a chapter of the Bible. "And the Real World begat The Real World/Road Rules Challenge and the Real World/Road Rules Challenge begat The Gauntlet and The Gauntlet begat...and Laguna begat The Hills and The Hills begat The City..."] Are we as health bloggers just turning out bad imitations of the same thing because that’s all we’ve ever seen? What if VH1 just said, “Fuck this stupid format we’ve been using for the past decade – we’re going to put our creative energy into make a new show or finding a new way to tell a story.” Bet you’d turn off Jersey Shore.
And, you know, when reality TV started, it wasn’t bad. The original Real World was thought-provoking and got people talking. Yeah, people still talk about reality TV, but talking about a cast member dying of AIDS and talking about The Situation isn’t the same thing.
In the same way, the old school model of blogging wasn’t bad. But when you make a copy of a copy of a copy, the quality suffers.
“WELL PEOPLE ARE COMMENTING SO THEY MUST LIKE IT.”
Comments are actually a pretty poor indicator of whether or not a blog is good or liked.
Haven’t you noticed that a lot of comments are left by other bloggers? it’s because most bloggers have realized, at this point, that commenting on other blogs will get you some hits.
I call this “The Sweet N Low Comment.”
It’s artificial. It seems really sweet, but the fact that it’s simply sucking up is kind of low.
I know it’s true because I’ve done it. You probably have too. I did it because I was trying to connect with other bloggers and this seemed like a good way. And it is a good way — when it’s genuine and you have something to actually say. (But more on that tomorrow.)
The point is, a bunch of Sweet N Low comments just means that a blog gets a lot of comments. And that just because it all seems so sweet doesn’t mean it really is.
“BUT I BLOG FOR MYSELF.”
If you only write for yourself, then why put it in a place that everyone can see it? Ah, yes. First there is the, “I just want a way to keep myself accountable” defense. But if you want an online food journal, there are Web sites for that. Check out Nutridiary. KeepAndShare. “I like the community aspect of blogging.” Oh, right. You want support? Try SparkPeople. Try a forum. Why are you a blogger?
Leah wrote a great post on her blog last week about how she doesn’t blog for herself. She wrote, “The truth is, I blog pretty much exclusively for you guys — because I want to share my passion for food with you. I want to be your trusted (and hopefully entertaining) source of nutrition/fitness information, inspiration, and foodie pleasure.” And she pointed out that when you blog for other people, you want to try to improve for them too.
This isn’t to say that blogging isn’t a little selfish. We blog for ourselves in the same way that people volunteer because it makes them feel good too. Yes, we get something out of it — we get a lot out of it. But as a writer, I get a lot out of any writing. The only time I get a lot out of blogging is when people are reading and responding. So, like Leah said, I want to give those readers the best experience I can.
“IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT, DON’T READ IT.”
Ah, yes. See, that’s sort of the agony and the ecstasy of blogging. You can write from a biased point of view. You don’t have to please everyone. If people don’t like it, they don’t have to read it.
But the problem is, if one blog struggles, we all do. I talked about this in my video about why I started Hollaback. I’d like to make the title of “blogger” more respected. Brands and even major news outlets are finally starting to give blogs the respect they (sometimes) deserve, but there’s still that perception of, “Oh you write that little blog thingy. It’s like LiveJournal, right?”
So, no, I don’t have to read it — but if other people are reading it, it’s going to influence their perceptions of all blogs.
I also think it’s really important to make the distinction that “If you don’t like it, don’t read it,” can and should apply to subject matter rather than style. For example, I don’t read a lot of vegetarian blogs because I’m not a vegetarian. But I do read some vegetarian blogs because I like their style that much. I like how they say things even if I don’t agree with what they are saying. So isn’t it kind of great to strive to make your blog one that is respected, even by people who disagree with the content?
“If you don’t like it, don’t read it” is the most common defense, but it’s one that I find pretty weak. Because you know what? I actually want to read your blog. I don’t want to clean out my Reader. I don’t want to say, “Ugh, I’m bored; I guess now I have to stop reading this.” No! I want to get idea, tips, motivation; I want to see how other people do healthy living. I want to feel like I do when I go into Barnes & Noble, when I’m overcome with excitement because I say, “OMG, there are so many great ones, I wish I had time to read them all!”
Wouldn’t it be awesome to give our readers that??
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
This post really made me think. I agree with most of what you said. Since your video about blogging, I’ve been thinking more about the content of my own blog and ways to improve. You’re right, if I wanted to write “for myself,” I’d write in a journal. I need to start writing for an audience. Thank you for pointing that out.
Very well done. At one point, I was very guilty of the Sweet n’ Low comments, only because it got me a few hits here and there. I think if you read through a page of 60+ comments, most of them seem, well, Sweet n’ Low.
.-= Ashley´s last blog ..Blogkeeping =-.
I think you hit the nail on the head with the reality tv-show analogy. Because a certain model has “worked” for some blogs, it’s no surprise that the majority of blogs follow that same method. I think you said it perfectly: “In the same way, the old school model of blogging wasn’t bad. But when you make a copy of a copy of a copy, the quality suffers.”
With that being said, I think that there is something kind of brilliant about the draw of simple, lifecasting types of blogs/posts. When I first came across healthy living blogs (over a year before starting my own) it was that sort of 3-time-a-day, “here’s what I ate and that’s that” model that I was particularly drawn to. I had never seen anything like it before, and I instantly felt a sense of connection and relatability to those bloggers. I thought, wow, I don’t have to check back every day to see if they posted. Sure, maybe not every post was particularly enlightening, but I liked the idea of seeing what another person’s day-to-day life and health routine was like.
And with THAT being said, to me, there are some blogs that can pull that off, and some that can’t (including some of the “popular” ones). To be honest, I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is. Maybe it’s style, or maybe I’m just drawn to some personalities more than others. I questioned whether or not I was visiting some blogs out of shear habit, but I realized that that’s not the case because I *have* stopped reading blogs out of boredom.
For me, when it comes down to it, even though content is a key reason I follow particular blogs, so is the relatability factor. You can have the best content in the world, but I’ll get bored if I don’t feel like i “like” you.
.-= Gracie´s last blog ..but what IS moderation? =-.
Gracie, I think YOU hit the nail on the head with that certain je ne sais quois about certain lifecasting blogs. I wish I COULD put my finger on it and tell everyone how to do it well, but you know, that’s the problem…you can’t!
Ah, that inner battle we all face about the “popular” blogs. I used to comment all the time on every blog I could imagine just to get my name out there because I do want to have an awesome blog with a great readership. And slowly but surely, that is happening but the truth is, it started happening when I really just started honoring myself, the mission I have set for my blog and being completely authentic with my readers. I stopped commenting on blogs when I didn’t actually have something to say and frankly, my hits have been going up, not down. I can’t say that I never comment just to comment because I do, if and when I (rarely) have the time but for the most part, I just don’t. It isn’t worth it.
Will I ever make a living by blogging this way? Who knows but I have found my style of blogging to be so much more rewarding because of my readers and how the reach out to me. People write novels in my comments section and they write me even longer emails and it isn’t because I ate the same damn bowl of oatmeal I ate yesterday. I don’t want to be just another blog, I want to leave an impression on people.
You came out swinging, 8-Mile style (defend before they even get a chance to criticize). The problem is that everyone thinks they do the lifecasting model well (because I guess everyone thinks their life is interesting!), and that’s… just not true. So you really do have to take an objective look at your blog to see if there aren’t things you can be doing to improve and showcase YOUR unique talents.
.-= Leah (Nutritionista)´s last blog ..Win It: Sustainable Notebooks by ecosystem =-.
It truly is all about taking a step back and deciding whether your style sucks. I’ve done this myself…I’ve had many a self-reflective moment when I realized that I needed to step up my game. I wasn’t satisfied with blog stagnancy, just as I’m not satisfied with life stagnancy.
The reality is that we all write so that others will read what we have to say. The reasons why we do this are all wide and varied, but everyone wants their own voice to be heard. That said, I’m just not convinced that people are fully entertained with only looking at pictures of food on blogs. What are they SAYING? There has to be some creative lifecasting involved with the food in order to keep it interesting, and very few blogs really pull this off well.
i LOVE this line:
But when you make a copy of a copy of a copy, the quality suffers.
that is such a great point to use in so many areas of life- especially when trying to cast vision for my blog.
also – kudos to MelissaNibbles – I agree. This post, and HBH in general has had me thinking DEEPLY about my blog, and my audience. I am exciting to see where our blogs develop in the coming weeks.
also – Gracie (and Rachel) – i totally agree. if i dont feel a personality connection with a blogger, i cant stand reading their content, no matter how welll written/intellegient/popular it is.
There are also certain blogs I read mostly because I have buildt RELATIONSHIP with the blogger, i have found community in this place, and I want to nurture that. Some of the bloggers in my “best blends” folder in reader I wouldnt necessarily recommend for EVERYONE to read. Their blogs cater to a certain audience – but some I would because the style and approach is REFRESHING!!
also – i love leah’s point that everyone thinks they do the lifecasting well. I agree. i think i do it well. well, thats a lie. I think i do the being vulnerable and discussing a broken engagement well. but mostly because im passionate about it and its relatable (everyone has experienced heartbreak) and in the end, what we ALL are searching for is someone to relate too. but thats neither here nor there.
I like reading the lifecasting posts of the people that I consider my blends. I want to know more about the lives of the people I am chatting with daily, so of course I like reading about what they are doing. But its true – the bloggers i read whom I dont have “relationship” with, are mostly mindcasting posts. this is def. all causing me to examine my own writing.
THANK YOU.
I am loving this dialogue! I think I am not alone in saying that I blog about not only what makes me passionate but also what I would want to read.
Do I have an insane passion for vegetables? Yes! But is that all I blog about? No! Do I expect all my readers to become vegetarians? No!
That said, I am perhaps guilty of not lifecasting enough. It is so true that there are certain “blends” that you really enjoying hearing about their day to day life and other people who exacerbate you to no end when they lifecast. Sadly, I think the latter category has led me to fear focusing on myself in my blog.
And I think this plays into Rachel’s smart point about style playing a bigger role than subject matter in choosing who to clog your already full Google reader site with.
Style is obviously subjective…to paraphrase a line from one of my favorite movies. “Some people caught on to the cerulean craze back when Oscar de la Renta showed it on the runway…others wait until they are fishing for a lumpy blue sweater at the bottom of a bargain bin and don’t even know why they are grabbing it”.
So it’s okay if NOT EVERYONE LIKES YOUR BLOG! It almost looks suspect and desperate to me when it seems like a blogger has “plants” make comments in order to make the blog look “popular”.
That said, I am definitely glad to be working alongside other women who help inspire me to kick up my own blog a notch.
.-= Bess´s last blog ..OK…Go! Applying Video Visualization To Your Workouts =-.
Finding the balance seems to be key. In the blogs that really inspired me it wasn’t because of their wit or their musings, it was witnessing how they dealt with the day to day and seeing them succesful. In the particular blogs I am thinking of they did mix mindcasting into the lifecasting and I think that’s what made them so good. It was all practical but still shared their life and struggles in losing the weight. Maybe my perception of this is colored by the fact that I have ALOT of weight to lose and so I needed all the hope I could get! Now that I’m in the process, though, I like more of the mindcasting blogs better.
While I am currently working to improve my blog (something I talked about last night even), which to me seems mediocre at best, and I agree that we should work to not just make the copy of a copy, I would ask what do you propose we do to make our blogs better?
.-= Kendra´s last blog ..Am I deep… or just thick? =-.
Hey Kendra — Thank you for the long and insightful comment! To answer your question, this whole blog is devoted to proposals on how to make our blogs better…I just wanted to begin with the explanation as to WHY because, to be honest, I don’t want to have to defend these basic ideas on every post. We’ve posted some ideas so far (like mindcasting vs. lifecasting or setting a schedule) but please keep coming back for more posts from all the HBH girls about how to make things better! We’re only getting started…
I read somewhere that if you are going to comment on blogs you should make some sort of comment that gives something back, not just a “oooh, looks yummy.”
I would rather have 5 insightful comments on my blog than 60 “sweet n’ low” ones.
.-= Angela´s last blog ..Because I’m Lazy =-.
Amen to this entire thread. When I first started my blog, I read all of the popular blogs, thinking I would learn something. And I did:
1. That seeing people’s 3 meals a day can be great in the beginning, but annoying as hell by the end.
2. That grammar and actual writing style may not matter but may still get you a book deal.
3. That the blogs who inspired me in the beginning are not the blogs I read now.
4. That the people that I read were not the same people on Twitter – on Twitter they were bitter and bitchy.
I do write for me, but if anyone learns something from me, I’m happy. And I met a lot of great folks who I consider friends now.
I don’t do giveaways every five minutes to gain readers. And when I do a giveaway, unless the sponsor requests it, I don’t ask you to jump through a million hoops to get entries. I hate that.
.-= Fattie Fatterton´s last blog ..Go big or go home =-.
Yeah, comments are in no way an indicator of quality, people will say they like it even if they don’t. But that said, the blogger himself should always look to improve the quality of the blog, style/voice will come, that is if you are dedicated, but for the actual content to be improved, one really has to do the hard work. Read, research and keep writing.
cheers,
Health Votes´s last post ..Epsom Salt Benefits