“You should always end your blog posts with a question,” he reminded me. “Otherwise people won't know you want them to leave a comment.”
“Isn't it possible,” I replied, “that people would know it's okay to respond or share or speak up, regardless of the punctuation mark at the end of my sentence?”
“Blog readers are different.” he said.
“So blog readers go around all day not responding in conversations unless they're asked a direct question?” I pressed. “Some of them must know that conversation happens even without direct questions.”
“I think you're being stubborn. And naive.”
“Entirely possible,” I sighed. “Entirely possible.”
::
“But look at [Person1], [Person2] and [Person3]'s sites,” I protested. “They write all about stuff beyond their ‘core topics.' They write about their life and what they wonder about, not just about their ‘business topics.'”
“They also have much larger audiences than you,” he responded (accurately). “When you get to [big number] of readers per month, you can broaden your topics too. Until then, you need to focus on traffic, and to do that, you need have all of your articles very focused and on-topic.”
“What if I declared my topic to be whatever is present and real for me as a solo-preneur who works with other solo- and micro-preneurs? Then nothing would be ‘off-topic.'”
I could hear his eyes roll in his why-won't-you-just-see-that-I'm-right exhale. “People don't read websites like that anymore. Now people want business lessons and bullet points. They want Seth Godin. They want Problogger.”
“So how about if I plan on the people who want Seth Godin reading Seth Godin, and the people who want Problogger reading Problogger, and the people who want something different reading me? And people could very well want all three, right?”
“I think you believe you can have a successful website and business without following the formulas all of us know are effective,” he said, frustrated. “Do you really believe that's possible?”
I paused.
“Entirely possible,” I admitted. “Entirely possible.”
Image by Niklas Morberg | CC License
Right on.
Completely right on.
Formulas can be useful. Sometimes. But to insist on them? Ack. Then possibilities become prisons.
The internets need less paint-by-number and more charting-a-new-path.
Otherwise everyone starts to look the same. And, then, no one wins.
And, for what it’s worth, I show up here because of the differentness (and the brilliance and the awesome and… and… and…).
So yes. A thousand yeses.
Wait, should I respond? You didn’t end with a question and now I’m socially adrift!
It would be like a chef saying “All recipes must have flour and yeast in, because that’s how all the great bakers make break.” Great advice if you’re baking bread, but it makes for a lousy omelette.
Right on, Marissa! And actually, questions can have a way of putting someone on the spot… And also, feeling a bit homework-y… I read blogs that I enjoy because I enjoy them! I like that you trust my intelligence enough to know that I will comment when and how I wish even if you don’t ask me a question. Because, uh, you smaht like dat!
Yes indeed. I find this desire to determine rules and formulae for successful internet businesses reminiscent of trying to find “routine” in the life of a 3 month old baby. They do something 3 times in a row and you call it a routine. And then you get upset when they start doing something else. In reality, they are just growing so fast that “routine” (at least from their end) is not a realistic expectation. I think the same could be said for blogging.
Also, what is with this urge to standardize and make rules. I don’t know about you but I don’t think I even want as many readers as Seth Godin. And there are probably more than enough people who love what you write here to make you successful.
There’s a thing about … following The Rules. It’s insidious. It comes from many years of childhood, school, and even (for those of us who did That Thing) being in the corporate world. Know the rules, follow the rules.
But what if we do what our hearts lead us into? What if we experiment, knowing that it’s Entirely Possible that the experiment could fail – and Entirely Possible the we might succeed.
What if?
We forget, somehow, to remember Entirely Possible and What If.
Thank you, Marissa!
LOVE this.
I adore this post. Thank you, @marissabracke:twitter!
Love it, Marissa! 🙂
In my experience over the years reading many popular and lesser-known blogs, people come back because they like the “voice” of the author. Whether they focus on one topic or many, readers find the author’s thoughts interesting and want to hear more of what they have to say.
When you cover several topics from the get-go, there is an inherent danger that those looking for a more narrow focus will stop reading; however, I think the danger is even greater if you focus on one topic from the beginning, and then start branching out into other topics. People who come to your site just to read about X and are used to you sticking to X are suddenly put off when you start talking about Y and Z in between posts about X. I’m not sure how great the percentage is, but I’ve seen comments on blogs complaining about it enough times to know it happens fairly often. Same thing happens when a blog gets popular, and the author starts running too many guest posts or adds other staff writers to the rotation. The “voice” of the blog changes, and readers complain.
I’m no expert, but I think the best thing you can do here is establish your voice by posting more often on any topic that affects you as a solo/mico-preneur, and then follow the tips other successful bloggers often share about how to drive more traffic to your site so people discover you.
i do like the question bit, but that’s only because some people ask clever questions.
my favorite blog right now is yes and yes – a blog about EVERYTHING.
i love reading your blog because it’s well written. you seem like a really smart, interesting person and i’ve never been disappointed. i just wish you’d publish more often.
I love this so very much.
Doing what we “should” amounts to doing what other people think is best. Who’s to say what’s best for your blog, your business, your life, except you?
Be your brilliant, shimmering self, and goodness will follow.
omg please keep writing please keep writing please keep writing. you are brilliant & your thoughts are wise & i just say FUCK YES i want to hear it ALL.
do whatever the fuck you love, my love. and pretty sure i’ll love it too.
xoxo
This is so beautifully put, Marissa. Rules are generally silly (I think that’s their nature, personally), but they can also be really freeing. When you know the rules, you get to decide when to break them, whereas, when you don’t know them at all, sometimes you’re not getting the result you want, and you don’t know where to start to change that. So, if you weren’t getting comments, and you wanted them, asking a direct question at the end can be a great way to support people in diving into the conversation. But, since one of the rules in many circles is to “Be Authentic,” ahem ;-)…
I love this post Marissa. My posting style has definitely been eclectic and I know it has “hurt” my readership from a numbers perspective. But, as came out on the show last week, we aren’t looking for numbers, we are looking for fit, connection, tribe, community — and I sense you are too. People who are a fit for you want all of you, not just the formula.
Isn’t it possible that Marissa is sensitive to what her readers need, and doesn’t have to follow a formula?
Isn’t it possible that Marissa is sensitive to what her readers need, and doesn’t have to follow a formula?
Isn’t it possible that Marissa is sensitive to what her readers need, and doesn’t have to follow a formula?
I find this to be almost written just for me, because earlier today I was thinking about my blog and wondering where on earth I wanted it to go, what I wanted to write about, and how I wanted to get more followers. I keep telling myself that I need to just stick to one topic and write about it if I really want to increase the number of readers I have, but trying to focus on one thing to write about has only led to me not wanting to write at all!
I am going to take your advice and write about what is right in front of me, present and real in my life at this moment, and I will see where that leads me.
Thank you for writing this as I have found it to be so encouraging. 🙂
Have a beautiful day!
Belatedly popping in here to say: YES. THANK YOU. I’ve had those kinds of doubts floating around on and off lately, and reading this was exactly what I needed! Awesome! <3
I’m leaving a post even though you didn’t end in a question, simply to support possibility!
And to prove the point, I’m going to leave a comment.
And desperately Needed! And look you already have 20 comments without a posing a formulaic question. Kudos!
I am immediately subscribing to your blog! I get annoyed by the idea that everything should be done the way it always has been done. Where is the innovation in that? Good on you. 🙂
I adore this post!! You expressed what my spirit has been telling me all along. Do it your way. Thanks for sharing!!
Uhhhh huh. What you said. 😉
I completely agree with you. If bloggers keep conforming to the same things all blogs would look the same.