Do People Have You Figured Out?

Picture your blog as a storefront in a crowded section of town. People come in, browse around, read some of your content, hopefully buy something, then leave.

The attention feels good, but how do you know they’ll be back again? Or better yet–back for good?

The answer is more subtle than you think. For starters, go ahead and eliminate the obvious Big Three: content, design and optimization. Every blogger should know these three assets form the basic foundations of any serious blog.

Now go ahead and eliminate some of the finer points of blogging: consistency, generosity and social media.  Without a doubt, these three are all necessary virtues. Spend enough time working the blogosphere and you’ll soon learn how dependent your success is on them.

With those things out of the way, what’s left? I bet you’re wondering, but I’m not going to tell you just yet. I want you to discover it on your own. Let’s go back to the storefront analogy, but this time with a—how should I say, disturbing—twist:

Do you remember the film Pulp Fiction? Remember when Marsalis Wallace was chasing Butch through the streets of LA, and they just happened to run into that pawn shop? Do you remember the shock and awe you felt after realizing what was really going on in there?

I’ll skip the details, but I bet that’s one pawn shop you’ll never forget. And as for Marsalis and Butch, I’m sure they’ll never go back in there. So what was the magic ingredient that made that scene such a jaw-dropper? Let’s examine:

When they first entered the pawn shop, nothing was out of the ordinary. It was pretty much what you’d expect from any pawn shop in any given city: a few neon signs, bars on the windows, stereo equipment perched on cheap shelves, gold jewelry in glass display cases and a scruffy guy behind the counter reading the newspaper.

When they got into the room below the pawn shop is when things got completely ridiculous.

So here’s the answer: mystery. Your blog needs mystery, a trap door of sorts. Granted, not Pulp Fiction-style mystery (please no!), but the kind of mystery and intrigue that keep people guessing, wondering and questioning what comes next.

The last thing you want to be is a blogger who everyone has figured out. In other words, don’t be like every other pawn shop. Whoa, let me rephrase that: publish great content regularly, but maintain a certain veil of mystery around your blog. Here are some ideas:

• Ask your readers open-ended questions that will force them to think hard about your ideas.
• Write something specific yet timeless. Example: a post describing a certain surf break that can’t help but talk about the magic of surfing.
• Play with different writing styles. Instead of the same old “this is how you do this” style, try telling a story or writing a letter to someone.
• Use a completely off-the-wall post image every now and then.
• Start working on a big project (like an ebook) and talk about it for weeks before you release it (a classic but highly effective marketing tactic).

Just remember–first impressions are important, but so is each and every impression thereafter. Once people have you “figured out,” it’s only a matter of time before they move on to the next big thing. Such is human nature…

Oh–by the way, if you never saw or never want to see Pulp Fiction, don’t worry. The film “Gremlins” is sort of the same: it’s the scene at the beginning when they go Christmas shopping at the Chinese antique store and the old man has something special for sale “in the back.” He wasn’t lying!