Saying 'NAY' To The Naysayers
So, a fair while back I wrote a blog post about my ambitions. It was called The Heisenberg of Gaming. Check it out if you like. Should be good for some motivation. While this post is basically a continuation of that, I'll do my best not to regurgitate most of what I'd said there but I'll give you a quick rundown if you're only just now coming to my profile.
I basically likened myself to Walter White on Breaking Bad. He was a man who was all out of hope but took drastic measures to accomplish his goal. Now I'm not about to suggest I'm taking drastic measures for the betterment of my site. However, similar to him, I am unrelentingly hungry for success. Honestly, I wasn't so much when I started out here at WA. But now that I see the true potential for my site and how far it's come in a year, I've really started this 'sky's the limit' attitude.
In my Heisenberg article, I talked about the importance of releasing daily content. I mean, c'mon, Google loves it. It LOVES it. I also acknowledged how I couldn't do it my own. My site is a gaming magazine site so - lengthy articles. And I work full time. I started collaborating with a friend of mine and we came up with the idea of taking on writers for the site. My one and only comment in the wake of this was:
"All that for free...good luck"
Not only was I really surprised to see a comment like this on WA of all places, I really didn't appreciate the sarcastic negative tone in this comment. It's only a few words but, hey, they're not helping. So flying in the face of that naysayer, here's what we've accomplished since:
- Written up a handbook for new starters with everything they need to know about writing online and how they can integrate into a team / when to hand things in / how to set up their author box / being aware of legal issues.
- Written up a quick questionnaire which is basically an interview. These will be handed out at comic con in London this October
- Ordered T-shirts with the site logo on the front and the caption "come speak to us, we're looking for writers.
- Already taken on one writer to test drive before we choose new starters.
And yes, Mr. Naysayer up there, all for free. There are thousands of people out there who love videogames as much as I do and the writers amongst them - each and every one of them, I promise you - has thought how great it would be to write for IGN or Gamespot etc. This allows them to build up an online presence and portfolio to give them that chance. So they're more than happy to write for free.
As far as the website is concerned, daily posts will boost traffic immensely. Not only will Google love the fact that quality original content is being spewed out on a daily basis but my writers will also be sharing their work across their social medias. The tree's branches reach ever higher into the sky. It won't come easy, though. I am going to be editing and moderating every single article they hand in. Increasing their readability and SEO factor. Pretty soon, this will take almost every bit of my free time. As Arnold says, "you can't climb the ladder to success with your hands in your pockets".
So remember, guys - one person's negative opinion does not shape reality. That thing is still as lovely as you thought it was before that guy came along and slammed it. You can mope about, thinking about what one naysayer said or you can crack on! If you take anything away from this post today, just remember this quote
"I am completely independent of the good and bad opinions of others"
Once that saying has cemented itself in your brain, no one is going to pull you off course. You'll be able to focus on YOUR vision.
Peace and love everybody!
Recent Comments
2
Great post, thank you :)
No problem. Glad you enjoyed!