by Skellie
This blog welcomed readers on the 26th July, and a month has passed since then. I thought I’d take the opportunity to reflect on the content so far and ask you a few questions about where you’d like to see Skelliewag go from here.
When it was quiet
Like most blogs Skelliewag was a pretty quiet place when it first welcomed readers at the end of July. I made an effort to open the blog only after I’d written a number of so-called ‘pillar’ articles, but most of those who read the blog now probably never saw them. I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight five posts I’m proud of that probably got lost in the quiet opening days of the blog.
“The key ingredients to making money through your web content are more readers and more trust. How do you get both? Great content. When advertising impacts upon the readability and usability of your site, or casts doubts over your trustworthiness, you’re irreparably damaging your earning potential.”
– Monetizing Trust, Not Tricks
“The most valuable content you can write has the potential to change the way people think or the way people act. Lifehacks have the potential to do both.”
– Lifehack Your Niche
“It’s hard to find web content which does not, at least to some degree, fall trap to the echo chamber effect. When inside this mental echo chamber we create content that echoes other content or is derivative of it, direct readers to other people’s work instead of our own, link out only to viewpoints and facts we agree with, and otherwise quash what is unique about our content.”
– Escape the Echo Chamber
“Don’t think small. Don’t be afraid to almost bite off more than you can chew. Don’t be modest about your abilities and capabilities. If you attempt something grand and believe you can do it, so will your visitors. When the spectacle is over, they might just stick around to see what you’re going to do next.”
– Modesty is Not a Virtue
“When a conversation starts with someone it’s natural want to know about who you’re talking to. Every commenter you engage with in a meaningful way is a likely candidate to go and investigate your web presence.”
– How To: Leave Quality Comments
Some questions
People will often try to define the most important essence of a blog or website. Sometimes it’s traffic, for others it is content. For me, it’s the readers, and I’m not being sentimental here. Readers are different to ‘traffic’ because they are the people who engage with your content. Traffic is any person who finds themselves at your page, whether they engage with it or not. Many boast huge amounts of traffic, but very few readers.
It’s like the analogy of the tree falling in the woods. If content is the most essential element then the tree will be grand and beautiful to behold. Still, if it falls in the woods and nobody knows, what does it matter? The same applies to traffic. A thousand people might surround the tree but if every one of them is deaf and blind to the tree falling they may as well not be there at all.
It is the readers who make your content matter — they’re the ones who care about the tree and give it significance in the world. You might ask, why focus on content, then? Why not focus on readers? The truth is that when you focus on one your are focusing on the other. Content is the variable we can control.
I’d like to ask you to help me focus on the reader through Skelliewag’s content by asking you a few questions. You can answer via the comments here or email, and you can respond however you like. You need not answer each question, either, but you’re more than welcome to do so.
- If you could choose a topic for a future post, what would it be?
- Is there a topic I’ve written about that you’d like me to explore in more depth?
- What has been your favorite article so far?
- What article did you find least useful and why?
- If you could add one thing to Skelliewag, what would it be?
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12 Comments, Comment or Ping
Jonathan
I loved your post on “A Source of Amazing Images for Your Blog” that you guest posted on Pureblogging.com but how I actually found you was through DailyBlogTips and I have been a subscriber ever since.
Even though thats not posted on your blog but I must say that that has been my favourite article and I’m currently using the guide for my own blogging.
One thing I wanted to ask about it since I am on the topic is whether the photography credits are a must to have on the site. By that I mean the one in your footer?
Aug 26th, 2007
skellie
Hi Jonathan, I guess that story is a testament to why every blogger should try their hand at guest-blogging :).
I’m glad you liked the article about Flickr images… personally I don’t know what I’d do without them.
You do need to attribute Flickr images, generally the way I do in most posts (a link to the photographer under each image). When that’s not possible (for example, the feature buttons in the sidebar) I would recommend linking to a page with the credits on them. In terms of attribution I don’t think you can have too much, but you can certainly have too little.
In other words, you don’t need a credits page unless the design means you can’t attach the attribution to the image.
Aug 26th, 2007
Michael from Pro Blog Design
Congratulations on everything so far Skellie. Your content has been fantastic, and you’ve been such a friendly person. I don’t know what your reader count is at, but I’ve no doubt that it’s a justifiably high number after just one month!
* If you could choose a topic for a future post, what would it be?
I’d like to hear your take on social media, and writing viral content.
* Is there a topic I’ve written about that you’d like me to explore in more depth?
Writing styles perhaps? The Signature Content was a fantastic article, and I know I wouldn’t object to anything similar.
* What has been your favorite article so far?
Either “Creating Signature Content” or “50 Ways to Unclutter Your Blog” - Both were fantastic articles!
* What article did you find least useful and why?
I’m not really sure how to answer that. The ones I found least useful were only less useful because they didn’t apply to me (Like the interview posts). It was nothing to do with the quality of the article.
* If you could add one thing to Skelliewag, what would it be?
I can’t think of anything at the minute, and you can take that as a compliment. If I think of something later, I’ll let you know.
Aug 26th, 2007
skellie
Hey Michael, I always appreciate your thoughtful comments. Thanks for taking the time to answer each question!
Social media and viral content are both topics I’ve been thinking about but I haven’t quite worked out an angle yet. I’ll definitely have to give it some more thought now. Signature content is also an idea I plan on exploring further — you’ve just given me some motivation to be a bit quicker about it ;).
Aug 26th, 2007
Michael from Pro Blog Design
Looking forward to it then!
Aug 26th, 2007
pablopabla
Hi Skellie,
Your post of 50 Ways to Unclutter Your Blog (and a few posts prior to that) together with Michael’s tips on tweaking a web design motivated and moved me to do a complete revamp of my blog.
I’ve been following your posts regularly and I must say that you are writing in the right direction. I can’t actually find another word to describe your site apart from the word “addictive”. LOL!
Your posts have been inspirational and you should continue to expand on the topics you have previously written.
Aug 27th, 2007
skellie
Hey Pablo, thanks a lot. It’s been great to read both your insightful comments and your blog. I’ll keep trying to produce the same quality of content so as not to disappoint anyone
Aug 27th, 2007
pablopabla
You flatter me, Skellie. Is that another great tip to get readers to continue reading one’s blog? LOL!
Aug 27th, 2007
Keely H.
I really liked your post on “Don’t Settle For Scanable, Write Gripping Content.” While I was learning the web copy writing biz I went through a period where I was a bit disillusioned with web writing. Everyone I talked to kept telling me the writing had to be as obvious and as shallow as possible so that it could be scanned rather than read. It was really nice to read someone with a different opinion. Don’t know if this fits your niche, but I’d love to read a post about writing for the computer screen as opposed to the page. Is there a real tension between these two types of writing and these two types of writers or is it overstated?
Aug 27th, 2007
Tad Chef
Wow. I started my blog a week earlier. I knew that you are also new but I thought or had the impression that you are kind of established… It’s probably because everything here looks so damn professional! I should hire you.
Aug 27th, 2007
skellie
@ Keely: very interesting to get a copywriter’s perspective of the blog. I felt the same thing: with everyone saying that nobody wants to actually *read* on the web it can seem like a particularly shallow place, particularly from a writer’s perspective. But then you stumble across authors churning out lengthy articles written specifically for the web (authors who are also having a lot of success) and it seems to fly in the face of that advice.
The rising popularity of online newspapers also seems to suggest people are willing to read if given the tools to do so.
I like your idea. You can probably imagine which side I would argue on
I will definitely keep it in mind.
@ Tad: Thanks! Though I must say, the only reason things look professional around here is due to a wonderful Wordpress theme built by someone I’ve never met but am eternally grateful to. Otherwise I’m sure it would be quite a mess
Aug 28th, 2007
Herbjörn
Hi Skellie,
I would like to see you write about choosing domain names.
Different bloggers choose domain names in different ways. Some of them have keywords in the domain name, others have not and instead want something that is brandable. Some of them have combined the two principles.
Are there other ways of choosing domain names? What way is “the best” to go?
Sep 17th, 2007
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