High Traffic or Complex Ideas?
Matt Linderman, of 37 Signals, had this to say about reaching the new class (of customers):
In REWORK, we talk about how you need to be willing to let your customers outgrow you. There are more people who are not using your product than people who are; You need to make sure you make it easy for these people to get on board. That’s where your continued growth potential lies.
It’s the same for your marketing message. There may be .0001% who have read everything you’ve ever written and who want you to deliver something brand new. Follow their wishes and you’ll wind up with a tiny audience of experts while excluding the 99.9999% of people who have no idea who you are or what you think.
There’s a new batch of freshmen every year. Every day, there’s a new person discovering you for the first time. If your message is simple and accessible, they can become fans. If it’s geared exclusively to PhD candidates, these freshmen will never latch onto you.
And he’s 100% right. When I write social media marketing 101 posts I typically see spikes in traffic and an influx of comments. But to be candid, it grows tiresome for me.
I get more satisfaction researching and writing more complex posts, and the discussions that follow with the handful of people who want to extend the conversation.
Learning to take off is important, but once you have the foundation wouldn’t you rather keep growing and challenging yourself and others, as opposed to turning on autopilot?
For a business Matt is spot on, but what about a blog?
Do you have to pick a side? High traffic or complex thought and next-level discussions? What bloggers are able to consistently walk that line (i.e. Valeria Maltoni), maintain that balance? And what factors contribute to said balance?
Is it about finding unique and innovative ways to keep hammering out the same value proposition?
I don’t know the answer, and I don’t think I’m ready to pick a side. That’s why I’m asking you guys.
Thanks to Lauren Fernandez & Stuart Foster for help sparking this post.
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Hi Ryan!
I don’t think I know the answer either, but this is definitely an interesting topic, one that I’ve been thinking about lately as well. I’ve also noticed that when I “dumb something down” my traffic on that post is so high.
To be honest, my blog is all over the place – ranges from beginner’s posts to more specific posts. I don’t have an answer probably because my blog is definitely the poster child for randomness. But I think by creating different blog content, the beginners will usually be able to find your content through SEO (or other organic ways), and those looking for higher thinking will know you tweet your post through Twitter, or find out through their Reader, etc.
A good mindset challenge for writing “101″ posts is to write it in a way that others who aren’t as knowledgeable can still understand it. Thinking of it this way has propelled me to write more “beginner” posts.
And as always, I do think a balance is important, but at the end of the day, it’s your blog. If you’re writing for others, you might start to feel disinterested, you know?
Ok, this comment is all over the place!
Nice blog post, though!
Sam
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Ryan Stephens Reply:
June 14th, 2010 at 7:26 am
Thanks for the comment Samantha! My blog posts are relatively random themselves, which is how I’ve come to realize that the more “101″ posts typically do better in terms of traffic, RTs, etc.
Part of it is probably the fact that newcomers need that content to learn and grow from, but I think part of it (and this is unfortunate) is just that many people don’t really want to (or have the desire to) engage more thought provoking content. They read it, and it’s not in their comfort wheel-house so they disperse.
Finally, I definitely agree with respect to writing the “101″ posts in a way that both beginners can understand the core of the post, but that more advanced readers can still acquire some valuable nuggets. This in of itself is certainly a challenge however.
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Another very strong and powerful post. I’ve been reading through some of your previous posts and finally decided to drop a comment on this one. I signed up for your newsletter, so please keep up the informative posts!
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June 11th, 2010 at 9:01 pmRyan – I’ve often pondered the same thing myself. Some of my highest trafficked/most commented/most syndicated posts are the ones I’m the least proud of. The ones I write on a sort of off the cuff moment without much thought or effort. Or write and then pare back to a “beginner level.”
Fortunately I don’t write how-to’s or SEO or business stuff, just insights which some people identify with and some pass by with a fleeting glance. I’ve attempted to obsess over traffic and analytics – to recognize their important and admit to the fact that without them I’m just another voice shouting into the ether that only a handful of people like to listen to.
I don’t know which is “better” or “more important.” I suppose it all depends on what you want to get from your blog. As I posted this link someone commented to me “If a tree falls in the wood and there’s no one around…” I don’t know if the tree makes the sound, but to me it isn’t the sound of the tree that matters to me but the awesomeness of the situation. Like a perfect scene you happen onto in the woods, if you manage to find it it’s brilliant. But you have to make sure to share it. Otherwise no one else knows.
.-= Elisa´s last blog ..Leashing Furies =-.
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Ryan Stephens Reply:
June 14th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
I think part of the reason these off the cuff ‘rants’ provoke more traffic/comments sometimes are that readers can feel the passion coming through in the post.
As far as the “101″ posts I contend that part of it is that people don’t want to undergo the rigorous thought that a more thoughtfully crafted/better researched post might require to offer a valuable contribution.
The drones want to leave their mark, get in and get out. That’s easier to do with “101″ posts and ego-stroking. In that sense I sometimes wish blogging was more like academia. I wish more people were willing to up the ante.
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Elisa Reply:
June 15th, 2010 at 9:08 am
Ooh, that’s a really good point about the drones! And why much of the commenting on such 101 posts is 101 commenting. “OMG I agree so much you’re amazing thanks for writing peace love puppies LOLZ!”
It’s funny how people quickly figure out which stars to hitch their wagon to and which ones are just pretty to look at.
.-= Elisa´s last blog ..The Blinker =-.
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I think people get too caught up in the numbers game – how many subscribers, how many followers, number of comments per post, page views, etc.
Blogs are mysterious things. Usually the posts you debate on writing because you think no one cares, can relate to, are too controversial, too opinionated, or just don’t fit your usual niche are the ones that get the most traffic/feedback. Or at least that is how it is for me. The post that is the hardest to push publish on is usually the one that the world is dying to read!
Personally, I love it when a Jenny Blake steps outside her usual “strong woman” style of writing and shows us a more vulnerable side of herself. Or when a Carlos Miceli just puts it out there, raw, without a care as to who will be offended. To me, those are refreshing posts. I like it when someone stops writing for the masses and writes for an audience of one – themselves.
I’m not likely to read a post with regurgitated info I’ve heard spewed a thousand times before. But a post that makes me think and challenges me to view things in a different way, I’m going to be a huge fan of that!
.-= David´s last blog ..Tell Me Something Good =-.
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Ryan Stephens Reply:
June 14th, 2010 at 6:35 am
@David – I agree that too many people get caught up in those #’s, but I also understand that it depends on your approach to blogging. If you’re trying to get a business off the ground I could see how you’d find it important to scrutinize over such things. I don’t think there’s very many people that can successfully walk the line and pull off both if that is indeed their intention.
When I was reading Matt’s original post I was thinking, “Yeah, but I think I’d rather have a small group of people growing WITH me than a large group of people outgrowing me, and a new large incoming group every few months.
And personally, I like the type of posts you’re talking about, and the ones that come from both Carlos and Jenny.
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