Jan
18
A few weeks ago I blogged about an unpleasant experience my girlfriend had looking for a good online tutorial. In that post, I mentioned how disappointing it is when writers post content just for the sake of posting content.* The sheer volume of information on the Web makes it a lot easier for readers to switch channels if you don’t give up the goods.Yesterday, Sharon gave some great advice on what to do when a post falls flat; today I’d like to point out five surefire ways to avoid just such a situation, by outlining five ways you can disrespect your readers, insult them, or just plain waste their time:
Don’t deliver on your title’s promise. The brilliant Copyblogger reminds us that every title we write is a promise to our readers — a promise that we will deliver to them as much value as we’re able. Don’t write a tutorial that doesn’t give detailed instructions, or a list post that reads just like every other list post on the same topic. As a writer, you’re asking me to spend valuable minutes of my life on your blog. Don’t waste my time with something I could have figured out on my own.
Write posts solely to generate hits and/or comments. You could get thousands of hits and hundreds of comments a day by writing a blog about how Ron Paul is the worst presidential candidate ever, or how Firefly wasn’t really a very good show, or how you finally played Halo and you don’t see what all the fuss is about. That’s because these three opinions have one thing in common: While most people in meatspace don’t really care about them, they’d be hotly contested on the Internet. Don’t broach overexerted topics unless you’ve got something truly original and inspiring to say.
Use grammar and spelling that defy human comprehension. Personally, I’m kind of hoping that when the Internet finally becomes self-aware and declares war on the human race, the first ones to be herded into the Robot Appreciation Camps will be those who perpetually misuse apostrophes. A typo here and there isn’t a dealbreaker, but if you’re going to try to make your living by writing, it’s pretty important that you master the basics of the language you’re writing in.
Pirate ideas, or just plagiarize wholesale. Yeah, this happens. And the worst part is, most of us don’t know if we’re reading a pirated post. The writer of the pirated material might not even know. But if you do it, you’ll know. And Santa will know. You don’t want to make that guy mad.
Let everyone know, without prevarication or hesitation, how unrelentingly awesome you are. There’s a big difference between personal, observational writing and self-aggrandizement. Don’t be shy about voicing your opinion, but don’t write down to your readers or assume you’re smarter than they are. And don’t get into flame wars with other bloggers (unless, of course, it’s very entertaining).
Looking at this list, I’m finding that much of what I’m saying boils down to one thing: Say something original and coherent. Look at the best content on the web — just about all of it stems from fresh, creative thought. It’s harder to generate, for sure. But your readers will thank you.
*A few commenters argued that the tutorial in question was actually perfect, because it drew visitors who would then search the site’s advertisers for an answer, bringing in revenue for the bloggers. I remind these persons that providing a substandard product in the naked pursuit of profit renders irreparable damage to one’s soul and integrity, and invite them to swim, Scrooge-McDuck-like, in their undoubtedly huge vats of gold Krugerrands, their self-worth untrammelled by the fact that they spoke out in support of offering a shoddy product in exchange for a few extra bucks.
Popularity: 9% [?]
I think some of those ideas can be basically be distilled down to the instruction: “Be a good guy”
db
Thanks for the link!
I’ll add one: Do not use your blog as a personal journey towards better writing. No one wants to see you learn how to move beyond kindergarten grammar and punctuation while you work towards achieving your goal of becoming a professional writer.
Another one: Do not blog about your journey of becoming a professional writer, period. Come to think of it, I really don’t like journey blogs, unless they’re about something cool like writing your memoirs while you walk across the Yukon in your skivvies during winter in less than 30 days.
Great advice, Kevin. Once you’ve written a post, it’s good to look at it as objectively as you can and see if readers will get what they expect from it.
I don’t mind people making negative comments, though I tend to avoid flamers.
I would also say that over reliance on recycled content will also drive readers away. It’s good to see something original from time to time.
Remember when the internet was considered the “information superhighway”? Now it seems the highway is jammed with bad writing and old information. That’s why it’s so important that the ones who do have a clue continue t do what they can to provide good content for their readers.
I wish more people would learn the lessons from your post. Thanks.
I love the cartoon you linked to re: apostrophe use, that is sooooo true, makes you wonder if some of these people went to grade school.
I’m sorry, but I just can’t take a blog seriously when it’s filled with bad grammar and misspellings. Maybe I’m uptight and this doesn’t bother other people, but I pride myself on putting out the best copy that I can (and I use spell check
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“And Santa will know. You don’t want to make that guy mad.”
Thanks for the laugh… I really enjoyed the way you added a bit of humor to that tip. 
Another way to drive your readers away is constantly posting pay per post advertisements. Yes, many bloggers make a little extra money from these and that’s fine, but you will turn your readers off if your blog is filled with them.
“Write posts solely to generate hits and/or comments.”
I don’t really agree on that one. If a blogger publishes a controversial post, it doesn’t mean his readers will run away. Creating a controversy is technically solely done to generate exposure and hits, it doesn’t provide any value to the reader. But that doesn’t mean they’ll hit the unsubscribe button.
As a webmaster, you have to understand that your visitors value their time and you have to make sure that going through what your website has to offer in terms of information represents time well spent on their part if you want them to return. If you just publish content for the sake of it, worthwhile results are out of the question.
Alan Johnson
Fair enough. But I’m sure David Neiwert could have done without a lot of the repeat visitors he got after he started running posts critical of Ron Paul.
Not that I think a guy as classy as Neiwert would ever write a deliberately controversial post simply to drive up his numbers. But if you’re trying to create an online community, and you do violate that rule, you run the risk of attracting the wrong kinds of visitors, which might be worse than attracting nobody at all.
Sure, writing on a controversial topic every once in a while can generate quite a lot of buzz around your website, but going over-board can and will do more harm than good in the long run.
Alan Johnson