First, I had to read this a few times to get a grip of your message.
Why was that? Because your perspective is obtuse, fresh, counter-intuitive. What? You don’t want to play the game? Great! You want to use the internet on your terms. Well, that’s what everybody should want to do, or at least anybody with a brain, which is most people 😉, though common sense is not so common.
Perhaps, you’ve rumbled the internet. The modus operandum of blogs, posts, etc has evolved around the need to prolong/retain attention in times of accleratingly short attention span, with all the subtle tricks to get you onto the page, and keep you there. This repertoire of tricks has been honed through years of development, where the objective is to retain the viewer’s attention, and of course, cashing in is the end result. That’s the problem.
So, I love that you want to do it your way, but I have to ask, what are going to do to get readers, and keep them?
Is your intention to become known for content that gets and holds attention by NOT doing these things? How does that work?
If your content is subject based, ie all in a certain area, then it’s possible to target this ‘market’. Which makes me think, you need to identify your ‘target’, in order to reach out to them, to say, check me out. Otherwise, it’s like having your store/bookshop/library in the desert, nobody will know it’s there.
I subscribe to a beekeeping blog, which is first rate. Scottish beekeeper David Evans publishes a detailed, varied post every Friday, without fail. (Www.theapiarist.org) He’s a highly experienced, intelligent, articulate, skilled beekeeper, and he puts huge effort into his weekly posts, which are always insightful and entertaining.
It’s an extremely valuable resource, and he does it for free. He has a ‘buy me a coffee’ option, but that’s his only ‘monetisation’.
But, in truth, I’m at a loss to know why he does it. The unfailing regularity of his posts means he must be up half the night on Thursdays to get it done, to meet this self-imposed deadline! Magnanimity like that is rare.
(I digress, but there is a point)
But, if your content is not specifically subject -based, then how can you categorise your target readers? (Just asking!)
I suppose, there are writers who write about just anything, and the have a following because of their perspective, or writing style, brand of humour, etc. Perhaps there’s a parallel with stands-up comics.
So, I think you’re right, it does come down to intention, and everything will follow on from that. The why will inform the what, how, where and when.
First, I had to read this a few times to get a grip of your message.
Why was that? Because your perspective is obtuse, fresh, counter-intuitive. What? You don’t want to play the game? Great! You want to use the internet on your terms. Well, that’s what everybody should want to do, or at least anybody with a brain, which is most people 😉, though common sense is not so common.
Perhaps, you’ve rumbled the internet. The modus operandum of blogs, posts, etc has evolved around the need to prolong/retain attention in times of accleratingly short attention span, with all the subtle tricks to get you onto the page, and keep you there. This repertoire of tricks has been honed through years of development, where the objective is to retain the viewer’s attention, and of course, cashing in is the end result. That’s the problem.
So, I love that you want to do it your way, but I have to ask, what are going to do to get readers, and keep them?
Is your intention to become known for content that gets and holds attention by NOT doing these things? How does that work?
If your content is subject based, ie all in a certain area, then it’s possible to target this ‘market’. Which makes me think, you need to identify your ‘target’, in order to reach out to them, to say, check me out. Otherwise, it’s like having your store/bookshop/library in the desert, nobody will know it’s there.
I subscribe to a beekeeping blog, which is first rate. Scottish beekeeper David Evans publishes a detailed, varied post every Friday, without fail. (Www.theapiarist.org) He’s a highly experienced, intelligent, articulate, skilled beekeeper, and he puts huge effort into his weekly posts, which are always insightful and entertaining.
It’s an extremely valuable resource, and he does it for free. He has a ‘buy me a coffee’ option, but that’s his only ‘monetisation’.
But, in truth, I’m at a loss to know why he does it. The unfailing regularity of his posts means he must be up half the night on Thursdays to get it done, to meet this self-imposed deadline! Magnanimity like that is rare.
(I digress, but there is a point)
But, if your content is not specifically subject -based, then how can you categorise your target readers? (Just asking!)
I suppose, there are writers who write about just anything, and the have a following because of their perspective, or writing style, brand of humour, etc. Perhaps there’s a parallel with stands-up comics.
So, I think you’re right, it does come down to intention, and everything will follow on from that. The why will inform the what, how, where and when.
Enjoy the journey!