Is that really you behind the curtain?

Blaine Millet — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 06:41:28 +0000

Whether you are an experienced blogger or just starting out, one thing is critically important to your success at building followers – individualism and authenticity. I know, these words are popping up everywhere it seems these days. But what do they really mean?

To me it is all about building a “Persona” with your audience – helping them understand who the “real person is behind the curtain” as we saw in the Wizard of Oz. If you don’t know the real person behind the text, how can you really build a relationship with that person so you are compelled to follow them and their rants and raves? You can’t.

Who writes your blog entries – you or someone in your organization? If it isn’t you, then it isn’t you. Meaning, if you have a “ghost writer” or “editor” or anyone else that messes with the way you write, then you aren’t developing your own persona or individualism – it’s that simple. The audience will eventually find this out and eventually stop following you. And worse, they will tell others it really isn’t you and you won’t get their followers either. End result – your blog will eventually die.

So write when you feel like writing but make sure it is your writing. If it isn’t, don’t publish it unless you let your audience know it isn’t you. More on how to use “Guest Writers” effectively in another post…

Blaine

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In a “Transparent” world, “Recognition” is key

Blaine Millet — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:23:39 +0000

Regardless of whether you like it or not, we are definitely living in a “transparent” world today. There practically isn’t anything someone can’t find out about you – and with only a few clicks of the mouse. Amazing, absolutely amazing. The world wide web has turned into the world wide “diary” and “history book” of your life. If you doubt this is the case, just Google your name or do a simple search on such social media tools such as twitter, facebook and others.

One area Clay and I don’t see enough of yet is the desire to recognize the source of our information. Too often someone gives a quote or supplies information that “appears” to be something they created or found on their own. Generally, this is not the case. It is vital, critical, imperative that you recognize and give credit where credit is due when it comes to sharing information. The last thing you want to do is provide your audience with information that you found and not give the originator credit or “recognition” for this. This is both the right thing to do and your audience will give you kudos for being “transparent” with them.

The other positive is that this really helps with SEO (search engine optimization). Search engines love it when you “link out” to other sites from your blog. So do both yourself and the author a favor – give credit where credit is due and recognize others for what they have contributed. After all, the reason they are reading your post is because they like your “lens” on the world – not just because of the content.

Blaine

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» Transparency

Is that really you behind the curtain?

In a “Transparent” world, “Recognition” is key