Bad Blogging

This post is not for you but for me. It is a reminder that bad blogging comes from forgetting the simple rule that every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. It is that simple. Yet sometimes I find ways to complicate it. Sometimes I get caught up doing 187 things at once and I miss the mark. It is frustrating to me because I know that I am better than that or more to the point, I can do better.

In other news I have spent the past few days in Seattle with a group of bloggers and assorted personalities touring Nintendo and trying out the new Nintendo 3Ds. It is a very impressive unit and I am pleased to have been given one by Nintendo. The 3D function works without glasses and some of it is absolutely amazing.  I did notice that it seems to have placed some strain on my eyes. I haven’t yet ascertained if that is from lack of sleep, the machine or a combination thereof.

My time in Seattle has been quite enjoyable. It has been a pleasure meeting some bloggers in person and learning more about them. I have had some great conversations with a number of people regarding the business of blogging which is certainly related to this trip.

A couple of comments about the business of blogging. Many of the bloggers I know either online or IRL talk about working on their blogs for hours. Some of them have remarked that they wish that they would be paid for their time. Well there are a number of things to consider and or think about. “Free trips and gifts” are compensation for your work. You can assign a dollar value to them which is part of why the FTC and IRS have opinions about this.  However free trips and products don’t pay the mortgage, buy groceries or gasoline for our car.

Clearly this begs the question of whether you can generate revenue for your blog, also known as “cash.”  The answer is that you absolutely can do so. It is too late to write a detailed post about this so I’ll provide some general commentary.

Brands have money to spend and will do so if they believe it will help them generate solid leads and secure loyalty for existing customers.

The bloggers job is to demonstrate to the brand that they can help them to make that connection.

The blogosphere is saturated with bloggers who work for free or are engaged in indentured servitude. They hurt all of us. Every time they give it away for free they make life more challenging for those who wish to get paid.

Many bloggers do a lousy job of marketing themselves. They don’t understand how to give a good elevator pitch and can’t explain why working with them will benefit the brand/campaign.

I don’t like smoke and mirror games but I sometimes think that promoting ourselves as content providers or publishers might generate more respect than blogger. Not sure that I believe it, but I am thinking about it.

And that my friends is my reminder that bad blogging comes when I forget to keep it simple.

• Saved: Blogging