They sure bother me.
You what SWAG is, right? It’s Stuff We All Get. All the cheap branded junk from the job fairs and marketing conventions of the world: fluorescent pens, calendar magnets, carabiner keychains. Baseball caps with corporate logos you’d never wear but keep anyway.
A SWAG blog is a blog that churns out tons of content but provides little value over a long time. So maybe at first you’re sucked into its helpful advice or vernacular charm, but after awhile you realize you’re reading the same stuff, different day.
How to Spot a SWAG Blog
Most SWAG blogs are ones that insist they know how to make you the next internet marketing superstar.
They suck you in with their too-good-to-be-true headlines, then proceed to assimilate your creativity with all the great marketing advice you could ever need, and then some.
Before you know it, all that’s left is your craving for SWAG blog “magnetic content” and the daily offerings of praise and worship you leave in their comments.
In other words: No cool blog for you, no book deal, no speaking gigs. Not even a non-spam comment.
Don’t Forget to Graduate
The funny thing is that many SWAG blogs are actually very popular and, believe it or not, pretty darn helpful.
But the way I see it, reading them all the time just because they’re highly regarded is like going to Harvard for 20 years—how much education do you really need to go out and conquer the world?
Here’s what you should do: when you’ve learned your 7 Ways to Engage Your Audience with Video and memorized your 10 Golden Rules of Customer-Centric Copy, cut the line. Graduate yourself and get a job—working on your own blog, of course.
SWAG blogs are a nuisance. I say thanks, but no thanks. I’d rather be talking to you right now than learning how to talk to you never.
Photo copyrighted by Rick Pascale. Racing greyhound prints are available, call 602-918-8383.
damon
Why would anyone go to a “Blog” that bothers them whether it’s SWAG or something their just not interested in?
People who get worked up by reading a blog… need to find a different blog to read on a regular basis.
Devany
I know exactly the kind of blog you are talking about, they mostly exist because of the advertising, even the content is usually hidden advertising.
Charles
Hi Damon. What I mean to say is that there are a lot of helpful marketing blogs out there, but they repackage the same advice over and over using various clever headlines. I suppose the hope is for us to stick around for(ever).
The info can be useful, but too much is unhealthy.
damon
I guess I’m stuck on your headline.
I typically will visit a Blog once and only once if the first time I visit it I can’t find anything of interest. If I go to a sight and it’s the same old schpeel re-packaged by another person, it’s not worthy of my time.
I like blogs unique to peoples personal experiences and specifically Big Island related.
The real “Swag” sites are the ones like TMZ and are making money! (and yes I do drop by there every once in a while)