Wordful» future of blogging

Blogging Needs a Sharper Image

Charles — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:35:31 +0000

When you hear the term “blogging” or “blogger,” does it resonate as credible publishing? Or amateur hobby? I sense that most people still regard blogging as personal hobby or marketing enhancement, or both (which is okay), but not the lucrative game-changer of the publishing industry. This is about to change, and here’s why:

The Future of Blogging

Blogging has its roots in personal publishing and more recently—paid personal publishing. We need to brace ourselves for what’s next. Modern blogging won’t be the same from what it is today, but the fundamentals will remain: niche sites with excellent content and aggressive self-branding. The first thing this shift will eliminate is the romantic notion of the “Problogger”—the average blogger guy turned celebrity millionaire blogger. In its place will appear the savvy entrepreneur-editor. So while “print is dead” may be the laughing stock now, the publishing industry demise won’t last forever. Keep that in mind.

Stigma, Stigma, Stigma

Blogging suffers from amateurish stigmas, like: The Soapbox Blogs as diaries, filled with personal rants and raves and daily musings. There’s certainly nothing wrong with free expression of the individual (after all—it’s how blogging began), but it’s not going to withstand the enterprise of free markets. Luckily more people are migrating their personal lives to microblogging spots like Facebook and Twitter, so it’s not as much of an issue. But still… Make Money Online If I see another blog about how to make money or how to become some kind of guru online, I’m going to vomit and rabbit-punch my face at the same time. Soon after blogging took off and a few guys made some money at it, everyone thought they could come in and do it, too. Then they discovered the way to make money was by telling people how to make money. Update: there’s no long term strategic value in that model, especially when its saturated. The MMO movement is not a bad model, but it’s an incomplete one. Blogging can and should make money but only if there’s real, viable content for a loyal and passionate audience. Most (not all) of the MMOers so far are dime-a-dozen used car salesman type with a penchant for fast cash. Amateur Night Even the few bloggers who are focused, diligent and worthy of their title will be up against the heavy hitters—companies with deep publishing experience and staff with the resources and talent to outshine and outmarket the small guys. For the independent blogger, this leaves two options. They either compete against bigger budget teams and editorial standards or join them. Yes, blogger: you may soon be assimilated.

‘Content Marketing’ is a Great Start

I give credit to Copyblogger’s Sonia Simone for officializing the phrase “Content Marketing.” It means building a business around publishing content people love and are willing to pay for. The only shortcoming in that buzzword is that it doesn’t strongly connect the blogging/web marketing genre with the long-established principals of publishing and editing. So maybe in a few years, we’ll just go back to calling it publishing.

Blogging Needs a Sharper Image is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

Coming Soon: Blogging 3.0

Charles — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:03:31 +0000

It’s time for Wordful to move up the ranks of blogging.

Instead of solely focusing on ways to be more expressive, free-thinking and creative with your blog, I’d like to put more energy into how you can build your blog into a viable media publication. This implications of this shift have huge upside potential, as it follows blogging’s natural evolution towards mainstream publishing.

A Brief History of Blogging

In the beginning, blogs provided soapbox-like platforms for personal expression (Blogging 1.0). Then, a few smart bloggers started posting useful content and hustling for readers. From this they built traffic and loyal audiences and began making money. Enter the blogging goldrush. With potential to profit from such a low-barrier medium, the blogosphere was soon crowded with millions of eager problogger wannabes. Everyone started blogging with the hopes of becoming the next John Chow, Yaro Starak or Darren Rowse–money-making thought leaders deservingly elevated to guru status (Blogging 2.0).

Now, the Future

Let’s be honest–few have actually made it (you didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you?). However, John, Yaro, Darren and a few others like the brilliant and respectable Brian Clark did help to establish the core fundamentals of blogging, such as picking a niche, being useful, copywriting, commenting, traffic building, RSS and more. These fundamentals now make up the foundations of modern blogging, which–beyond the surface appeal of fame and fortune–are now helping to catalyze and revolutionize the publishing and media industry at large. So while the problogger goldrush as we know it starts to fade, blogging as we know it is evolving into something much bigger and better (Blogging 3.0, or “Content Marketing”). Right now, many of the old giant media companies (which include newspapers and magazines) are failing–they can’t figure out how to turn a profit with their content. Meanwhile, the blogging business model has just been proved to be viable. The two haven’t collided quite yet, and it’s only a matter of time before they do. When this happens, you’ll either see large media companies buyout successful independent bloggers (which is already happening) OR independent bloggers will start building their own media companies based on new rules, new markets and a much more level playing field. [I side with the latter.]

Stick Around, Please

I want us to be right in the middle of this collision as it happens. I’ve got a massive boatload of ideas, insights, advice and good old fashion pioneering spirit to help guide you get to the promised land. Top that off with my dozen or so years as editor, marketer and recently–blogger–and you’ve got yourself a trusted friend. This isn’t to say I’ve abandoned the original intent of this blog, which is to make you a top-notch writer, editor and publisher. I’m merely deepening the focus to adapt to an inevitable shift which many of us see as very large and very, very profitable.

Image by Untitled blue.

Coming Soon: Blogging 3.0 is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.

Is There Really a Future in Blogging?

Charles — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:21:39 +0000

Writing on Wordful.com feels great, but every now and then I get discouraged. I wonder if what I’m doing is really what it takes to become an A-list blogger. What do I really need to do to break the barriers of small-time personal blogging thru to mainstream success?

Is it true that if we really work hard and smart that something great is bound to happen? Is there really a future in blogging? Successful first-generation bloggers are enjoying the rewards of their hard work and savvy from a time when blogging wasn’t considered profitable. Now they’ve got the loyalty and following of thousands — even millions — of fledgling bloggers trying to emulate their success. This exclusive bunch shares a few key things in common which we wanna-bes are striving for: experience, influence, brand equity and great pay. So here I am, a second-generation blogger, working hard and hoping something great will come out of it. I am one of many: we all follow the same RSS feeds, look up to the same top bloggers and diligently follow their same advice. But I ask you: is it enough to follow the wisdom of bloggers who got their start during a time when blogging was fresh and unsaturated? Aren’t the days of low competition and less content long gone? If new bloggers really want to make it big nowadays, we’ll have to think and act far above and beyond what the experts are telling us to do (experts like Copyblogger, ProBlogger, Blog Mastermind and John Chow). Don’t get me wrong — they’re full of excellent advice and motivation, but there’s more to it than that. The future of blogging will evolve to the next level, just like everything else on the web. There will be new opportunities for humble fledgling bloggers like me (you, too?) to reshape the blogosphere. Stuff we’re learning now — like how to write headlines and use Twitter and attract 100 subscribers in one day — will merely serve as the foundation of what’s to come.

Yes, There is a Future in Blogging

If you’re shooting for the stars like me, it’s time to think of where blogging is headed and how we can shape it. I’ve come up with a few ideas:

Expand your definition of blogging. It’s not just about writing or social networking or traffic. Remember that you’re also editor and publisher. Treat your blog more like a publication than a linear repository of posts and articles. Never get too comfortable or complacent with your blog, or people will lose interest.
Offer value beyond belief, every time. Take the extra time and effort to ensure everything you publish is worthy of publication, worthy of attention. Don’t just write something because you have to. Always choose quality over quantity.
Spend your spare time building your brand. Always be thinking about and refining your brand. Make sure it becomes a natural (not forced) extension of who you are and what you stand for. This can be acheived with little effort if you’re true to yourself.
Be current. Try to stay one step ahead of the masses by following the news, other blogs and the top people in your niche. It’s always best if you can write that magic post before someone else does, then quickly move on to the next one while the rest are still talking about your idea.
Be different. No pressure here, just be different from everyone else. Especially those who are most similar to you and your interests. If you find yourself copying other people more often than not — step back and ask yourself if you’re striving to be a leader or a follower. I think we know which of the two prevail.

I plan to expand on this issue in future posts, so please stay tuned.

Is There Really a Future in Blogging? is written by Charles Bohannan for Wordful.com, a blog about digital publishing.