- Image by glenneroo via Flickr
Shifting gears and breaking through some boundaries…that’s what this week has been about. If you haven’t noticed, I study the practice of Chris Brogan pretty closely, and I try to learn from the moves I see him make. At WordCamp Las Vegas Chris stressed delivering small snackable content, lots of it. Bowls and bowls of it.
Then this week he let forth a furry of blog posts, nine in one day. Even for him, it was unusual. Three I’ve seen, but nine? I suppose if I researched it, he’s done it before. But it begs the question, what’s behind such a maneuver?
Growing up, if I observed a dazzling move in a basketball game on TV, the only way to learn it was to take the ball, cross the street to the neighbor’s hoop, and figure it out.
So multiple posts per day, this is what I’ve learned:
- Posting three times a day has increased the amount of people engaging with my blog, not just the traffic, but the quality of comments as well.
- Posting with a faster rhythm across my categories allows me to cultivate category specific audiences.
- Google page rank finally noticed this blog this week. Not sure if they are connected, but score went from a 0 to a 3.
- Three minutes after posting a blog, I searched in Google Blog Search on one word from the title of the post. The post was there, third on the list.
- The small snackable content idea builds the mass of the blog faster.
- My writing focus got better, and I worked in a less obsessive way, which is really helpful since we launched the Stepping Stone Partners blog this week as well.
A final note: Some of my readers might feel put off because this level of flow is too demanding. Just as in the twitter stream it is impossible to keep up with the content flow, the important thing is to engage with what interests you. I’m hoping to cultivate by category better in this new push.
What are you doing to develop your practice lately?
The Call of the Wild
Raising the sails
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I must admit to being surprised by your results. I tend to think that by posting about three times per week, I give readers time to get around to a post and read through it. My posts also tend to be long by blog standards.
I’ve never tried posting more than once per day, so it’s fascinating to see that it has increased engagement with your readers. When I skimmed through your posts in my reader, I clicked through on the three that intrigued me — as you predicted, engaging only in certain areas of the stream.
Perhaps I should experiment with short, frequent posts. I think variations in post length could actually be quite effective.
Zoe´s last blog post..Reclaim Your Dreams: An Uncommon Guide to Living on Your Own Terms
Hey Zoe,
You are so right…I remember our first connection was around storytelling snippits I experimented with…while I’ve tested myself with this run to learn the dynamic of this flow, it is not something that will remain at all times. But it is something I know I can do now and to that end, another possibility in the tool box.
Long range I plan on mixing it up…
I figured you were up to something Richard…you always seem to have a well thought out plan. I’ve been thinking about the intervals between posts myself, so thanks for this little push.
Jeb Dickerson´s last blog post..My challenge.
Jeb,
As I mentioned to Zoe, it’s an option that can bring results that I never tried. I’m not planning to keep this pace going indefinitely, but currently its improving my relationship to the blog itself, allowing me to find an engagement that’s a bit more casual, if more consistent. Now that I’ve got this run going, I’ve yet to learn the move that slows the pace down without just stopping cold…so there’s always more to learn.
Hi Richard,
I always really appreciate you sharing what you’re learning about social media via your blog. I find it very helpful. You know I’ve been thinking a lot about velocity vs. depth this week as well. I’m still thinking and formulating. Thanks for sharing your results.
Mary-Frances´s last blog post..Knitting in Progress
Mary-Frances
Awesome that you’ve defined those to vectors as the issue. I’m learning that they are not necessarily mutually exclusive. I’m pretty convinced that the potential of this blog is still out in front of me in all areas…content, community, impact…Where ever this is leading, I’m glad we can learn together.
I noticed a shift in number with your postings but I knew it was intended. What works extremely well here and you do it so well is “brevity with punch” (velocity with depth)
I recommend watching Chris’ latest video to those who haven’t yet…velocity, depth, snackable content all boils down to “authenticity.” Being who you truly are makes it easier “in the doing.”
Thank you, Richard, for taking me along the learning path.
Henie,
It’s been great to watch you experiment and grow so fast. The snackable content also allows our readers the time to share their attention with the wealth of valuable content emerging from every corner of the world. I think it also speaks to the double serving of the content in the reader before linking through to the blog. I like to review my posts in the reader window and see how they fit there.
I’m not an SEO expert by any stretch but I am slowly understanding what works. Google loves fresh new content. I believe that you are rewarded when you place regular and frequent content. Google indexes your articles very quickly as evidenced by your remarks above. When you write, step back and look at it. Have you written something that could be broken into 2 separate articles? If so, hyperfocus on a single subject and do 2 articles. I don’t know how, but Google understands and gives it weight. Congrats on your page rank.
Steve Sherron´s last blog post..Helicopter Crashes in Monroe, NC
Steve,
i like that you have the approach that wants to recognize the underlying realities of the media. Google seems most in charge of the game, and if a blog is going to break through the start up posture and become a real outlet and source, it seems to me that recognizing how Google operates is needed. Not sure this blog will ever gain that kind of traction, but I do find it interesting studying just how it all works.
Phew! There is so much out there to chew and savor…it’s all in the “spitting out” and where/how it lands! Today is my 25th day anniversary of blogging yet everyday feels like Day 1 because there is so much to absorb and garner.
Glad I have you to learn from/with!
Henie´s last blog post..We All Do It!
Richard, unfortunately “Google Reality” gives and takes away. Much like death and taxes, both are inevitable. I’m not a pro-writer or even close to it. Those who are, sometimes hold their head high and will write on principal only to wonder, “why don’t I have any readers”? The few times I’m asked advice, I say save that prose for a book. Google is a hungry monster and you must feed the beast if you want the beast to lick your hand. If I write a 150 word post, you can bet that it will first and foremost be keyword optimized and tagged for the Beast. My photo’s will be alt tagged. I will then go back and style it so that it doesn’t look like it’s been spit out of a “computer”.
I had a couple of e-mails recently with a lady who was frustrated with her blog and lack of readers and traffic. She told me she wouldn’t sacrifice her writing style just for SEO purposes. I gave it a look and saw immediately why she was lacking in organic traffic. If I were a Google robot spidering her site, I wouldn’t have a clue as to what is was really about. I did a quick keyword search and showed her that with 4 minor changes, she could capitalize on over 100,000 searches that were relevant to her blog that she was currently missing. How can I send readers to her blog if I’m Google? I took a very simple article of hers and edited it and showed her my changes in red. I took nothing away and only added a few items. I recommended that if she would loosely follow my outline in her future articles, she would see an increase in traffic. I checked back in a few days out of curiosity and I only noticed one small change. I’m guessing she will not feed the beast and it’s a shame because she has some really good stuff on her blog that no one will find.
I truly believe that everyone, no exceptions, can gain traction if they feed the beast first, feed the readers second and then learn the balance that makes all happy. Sorry for the long ramble here Richard.
Steve Sherron´s last blog post..Helicopter Crashes in Monroe, NC
Your ramble is most welcome Steve,
How does one make such a keyword search? I would be a great help to me (and I think my readers) if you would share the basic of that with us. I could post it in my Krater stream and link over to your work. Or perhaps you’ve already shared this or could point us in the right direction…
The idea of posting more frequently to rank up in Google is worth discussing, but like so many things, it has to be balanced with reader expectations about quality Everyone agrees that the quality of content is the sine qua non of blogging, and young bloggers are instructed to have a plan for what their market is and how to address the needs and expectations of that market. Quality being the same across the board, posting 3X per day would be better, but if you have to sacrifice post quality to get greater frequency, I don’t think, particularly over the long run, it would be worth it.
And the term “snackable” content gives me the heebie jeebies. I try not to be a writer-snob but the idea of my blogs being the nutritional equivalent of pieces of popcorn just isn’t what I’m driving at.
Sonja Cassella´s last blog post..TCU College Girl Blog: I’m Dogged by Cat People
Sonja,
Fair enough…and I do not disagree. As Zoe has pointed out, mixing it up is probably the best solution. I do think Steve’s idea of addressing the beast is of interest and needs to be considered if you hope to connect with those you cannot locate by yourself. Making the beast work for you so that the right people can find your awesome content. I’m not advocating anything less exceptional in content, but sharing what I’ve learned by framing it differently. Thank you for sharing.
Richard:
I’ve been enjoying your blog since finding you on Twitter, and as your posts tend to do, this one is making me ponder. So please forgive me if this rambles.
For me it’s always the ongoing balance of aligning means behind ends – my vision for what I want my blog to accomplish. Am I being conscious to choose means that won’t sabotage what I want the blog to accomplish in the first place, all in the quest to get more people to read what I’m writing (which, of course, also accomplishes my goals – is that circular enough?!)?
In my day job, part of my work with organizations is helping to align their values and their vision, to accomplish greater results in their communities. We know that having pre-discussed core values – the lines we don’t want to ever cross – helps make decision-making easier. And in our own office, we try to apply the same tests, having our core values make our decisions for us. I try to walk that line with my blog, most likely sometimes to better success than other times.
The more that is at stake, of course, the harder it is to do that. I laughed in recognition at Jon Stewart the other night, as he said, “If you don’t stick to your values when they’re being tested, they’re not values. They’re hobbies.”
Not sure there’s a cogent thought/answer here, just a thank-you for encouraging me to think about this on this sunny Sunday in the desert.
Hildy
Hildy Gottlieb´s last blog post..The Pollyanna Principles: Chapter 4
Hi Hildy,
It’s an interesting dilemma that we all face when trying to build our blogs effectiveness. There’s a real analogy here for the strategy I employed to build my twitter network, one I have no regrets about. After spending three months and posting perhaps 1000 messages, I had 80 followers. I realized at that rate I’d never connect with the people I needed to connect with. Once I made it a part of my practice to invite folks to follow me, that all changed. While many do not follow back, many do and as I result I’ve been able to connect with so many more in a meaningful manner.
I’d like my blog to be as visible as possible to those who would find what I’m doing interesting. That is a value I can hold onto. What I’m not interested in is writing stuff that will just build traffic for its own sake. My creative posture is interest driven. I’m ok if the expression of that interest speaks to my current audience as well as an unknown potential audience that could find me in search.
Richard I think you may have hit a nerve with this. It’s something I struggle with (frequency and depth of blog posts). For me, if I am writing up a storm I will actually write 4 or 5 posts and then time their release so that one pops up each day or every other day. This works well for me so that during the day I can attend to work and the stuff that pays the bills (my boss hates the idea of me writing a blog while at work; I know this, having been caught). I have severely neglected the whole keyword thing too, because I don’t like the way they all get listed at the bottom of a post in blogger (it’s just messy looking). Could be that it is time for me to re-think a few things.
Pam Robertson´s last blog post..Out With the Old and In With the New…ish
Pam,
It’s great that you can produce that way. The boss thing is unfortunate. Does the company need a blog? Much of the keyword strategy has to do with using certain words directly in the text of your post and title, but I’m only now learning about it. I’ll share what I find. Peace.
richard
“My creative posture is interest driven. ”
that’s the key (haha)! getting that there is a creative posture and a marketing posture…and that a right relationship for keywords is that they be in service to bringing greater exposure to the creation.
chas´s last blog post..friday afternoon update! 15: happy effing birthday to me!
Thanks for weighing in Chas,
I just realize I could have spent many many months before connecting to all of you who are now important to me across these platforms and want to do what ever will aid the continued connections. No selling out going on in this corner!