BEFORE YOU GIVE UP, HERE’S WHERE YOUR BLOG WENT WRONG

October 1, 2013 by Marc 7 Comments

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You found it. That something that gives you goosebumps. That keeps you awake at night. That you love and can’t wait to share. And you’re pretty convinced it will change the world if enough people knew about it.

So, you start writing. And writing. And writing. Each blog post better than the one before.

Before long, readers take notice. They begin to react to your words. They leave comments. And they share you with their friends. Could this be it?!? Have you finally made it?!?!

And then all of a sudden it happens. They begin to go away. They stop reacting. Stop commenting. And stop sharing. The excitement they once had for your blog has disappeared. And you are left wondering just what went wrong.

So, what do you do? You panic. You worry. You weigh the possibility of whether or not you should just give up.

Sound familiar?

But Before You Give Up, Here’s Where You Went Wrong

Somewhere in between waking up deciding to start a blog and hitting publish for the first time, someone somewhere out there gave you this little piece of advice:

“Find your passion and write about it”

So, that’s what you did. And it worked for the first post. Even the second. But after a few posts of regurtitated passion, your blog ran out of steam.

Why?

The problem is simple. You are writing about what you love. And although it’s important to write about what you love, it’s only one side of a much more complex coin.

Writing only about what you love is flat. It’s boring.

It’s not real.

You see, life is a roller coaster. It has ups and downs. Hard turns. Twists. Big drops. Loops. Massive climbs. And a bunch of other stuff that is making me nauseous as I’m writing this. But without them, life would be boring.

Just like your blog.

In Other Words

You can’t just write about what you love. You must also write about what you hate. The ups and downs. Hard turns. Twists. Big drops. Loops. Massive climbs. And all of the stuff that makes you jump out of your own skin. This is how you build excitement. How you get readers to think. How you get readers to take action. And how you get readers to keep coming back.

This is how you make a difference.

As a writer, you want to take your readers on a journey from Point A to Point B. You can push them away from Point A. Or you can pull them towards Point B. But what you really want to do is to push them away from Point A while pulling them towards Point B.

Love and hate.

Take this blog for example. The one you are currently reading. I write about being human and building relationships in an otherwise digital world using search engine humanization, social media and blogging. But if all I did was write about the touchy feely “let’s all join hands and sing kumbaya” side of things, it would get really old, really fast and you would eventually lose interest. So I also talk about the the people out there ruining the space for the rest of us. Theself-proclaimed gurus that take advantage of those that don’t know better.

The ones I hate.

It’s a big part of my message. And pointing out the negative side of something is often more valuable (and more entertaining) than always pointing out the positive side of that same thing.

Don’t Worry, I Haven’t Forgotten About You Positive Folks

I know. But you’re a positive person. You like to focus on the good. You watched The Secret one too many times and you don’t want to manifest what you hate by writing about it. Does that sound about right?

Tough.

If your mission is to help others with whatever it is that you are great at, then that means giving it to them in a way that is real. A way that they can connect with. A way that they understand. And this is just one of those ways.

It doesn’t make you a negative person. And it won’t call to the universe asking it to rain poo-poo on you.

We all have these emotions within us. Including you. So take off the halo and wings for a few minutes and allow the rest of us a chance to see who you really are. Show us that you have more than one dimension. And trust that we will find our own comfort in knowing that you are just like us and we will feel more connected to you because of it.

Who knows. You may just fire us up to a point where we get behind your cause Braveheart style and race down the mountain to fight by your side.

So, Here’s What’s Next

As you start thinking about your next blog post, I want you to travel down a different path this time. Think differently.

Write about something within your industry or topic that you hate. Something that makes your skin boil. And write about it with as much passion as you have when writing about something you love.

For example, if you have a self-help blog, write about the frustration you feel over people that buy the books but never read or implement them. If you have a sports blog, write about the anger you have towards the players taking steroids and how they are ruining the game. Or, if you have a social media blog, write about how much you hate people that buy Likes and Followers.

If it needs to be said, say it. A post about something you hate doesn’t have to be hateful. It can still be constructive. In fact, I bet you will get a much more positive reaction from it!

You have no idea how many of us are sitting on the sidelines wishing someone would just come out and say what the rest of us are thinking in a way that the rest of us are feeling.

Give it a shot. And if you do, make sure to include a link to your post in the comments below so we can all check it out.

Featured image courtesy of Nomadic Lass licensed via Creative Commons.

http://www.marcensign.com/before-you-give-up-heres-where-your-blog-went-wrong/

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Wanted: PR Pro With Mad Social Media Skillz

by Alison Hill, Yesterday, 1:00 PM

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Before I started my own PR company, in the days when I still had to perfect my resume, buy the perfect interview suit, and meet a public relations executive for an interview in an office with fluorescent lighting (shudder), there were certain things I knew to be true:

1. My resume—no matter how much experience I had—must fit onto one page.

2. I’d need at least three good references—and if one of those references was from a reporter, I was golden.

3. In an interview, I’d talk about my outstanding skills at working my Rolodex in order to get reporters on the telephone so I could get my clients ink. Literal ink. Like in print newspapers and newsstand magazines.

4. If I got the job, I could expect to be working at least 40 hours a week, mostly in that office with the fluorescent lighting, punctuated with buying lunches for journalists (when they’d let me) and working the red carpet or the press room at nighttime events.

Some of those things are still true—there will always be publicists staffing red-carpet events as long as there are celebrities and media—but most everything else about the process of getting and keeping a PR job has changed. (Just try to get a reporter on the phone these days!)

While this isn’t a surprise, I got a look at the nitty-gritty realities recently when I interviewed Jim Delulio, whom I worked with years ago when he was an EVP at PainePR. Today, Jim is president and founder of PR Talent, a national executive recruiting firm specializing in freelance and full-time public relations positions.

Jim has witnessed ongoing evolution in the PR business for years, and serves as a guide to the new landscape for PR professionals. Among the changes Jim described:

The skills: “I see the entire skill-set composition changing for what has been called a PR professional,” Jim says. “In the next five years, a PR person will spend 60% of their time on social media activities, 20% on traditional media, and the rest on client relations and team management.” So much for my Rolodex and landline!

In fact, Jim adds, “Social media and growth in digital are really the big demand drivers for new jobs right now. There are jobs available at all levels, from newbie to senior management, but the greatest demand is for talent at the mid levels. And the younger you are, the more it's expected that you’ll have strong social media skills.” 

The hours: With the economy still on the slow road to recovery, companies are relying heavily on freelance help, rather than focusing entirely on those 40-hour-a-week fulltimers.

“Freelancers are a vital part of the mix because they allow companies, especially agencies, to manage ebbs and flows in client activity without committing to a full-time hire,” Jim says. “In addition, PR and communications have traditionally been—and likely will continue to be—female-dominated industries, and many women find freelancing a great way to build a business while raising a family.”

The resume: “Resumes no longer have to be one page—now that everyone’s resumes are digital, it’s fine to have a two- or even three-page resume, if your experience merits it,” Jim says. Other resume tips:

• List your clients: “In PR, you are who your clients are. That's what the hiring managers want to see.” 

• Make it a Word doc: “Recruiters typically want to logo-stamp resumes and can't do that with a PDF.  Also, if they find a last-minute typo or format error, they can correct it for you on the spot.”

• Use those job-description key words: “Resumes are often parsed or automatically searched for key words. If yours has them, you'll be scored higher by many HR departments.”

• Include your address and zip code. “Recruiters often search their databases by geography. If your resume was parsed and no address was found, you'll miss out when that recruiter is looking for someone in your home town!”

• Three references (reporter not required): Supervisor, peer and subordinate. 

The interview: “The biggest mistake people make is not preparing and not knowing everything they can about the firm and its business,” Jim says. “With everything that's online today, there's no excuse. Take the time to review all of the interviewers’ backgrounds on LinkedIn so that you're aware of their work history and can talk about any mutual acquaintances or common career threads.” Other interview tips:

• Show up on time. (Should be a no-brainer, but…)

• Be confident—but not over-confident. “You may be able to do the job in your sleep, but you don’t want to come off as cocky.”

• Be prepared with your own questions. “Bring energy, excitement, and curiosity, tempered with a professional demeanor.”

At least one thing hasn’t changed: You still need the perfect interview outfit. 

“You don’t want to misjudge the dress code,” Jim says. “It’s harder to do today, but it happens.”

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Read more: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/211505/wanted-pr-pro-with-mad-social-media-skillz.html?edition=65951#ixzz2i6LapFHb