Why Is My Blog Being Ignored?
It's that time again folks. Time for some real talk. You may want to stop reading this if you're sensitive. I'll wait...
For everyone else that wants to improve, let's dive into it! I hate to say it but a lot of the blogs I'm reading out here could be sold as a cure for insomnia. If that was your niche, many of you would be rich already. LOL Unfortunately that's not the case. Look, I'm not trying to be mean. But too many of you are blindly following the format provided here at WA and aren't adding your own flavor to the pot. And as a result, the stuff being produced is yawn worthy. It's not surprising that some of you aren't seeing conversions when you dig deep into the content.
The fact of the matter is you're competing against thousands of other affiliates here at WA and even more out in the wild. If everyone is writing the same way and doing the same things, there is little chance of you standing out and making any sales or conversions.
What Makes You So Special?
Let's say you're selling Amazon products on your blog. Why the hell am I going to buy something from your blog if I could just go to Amazon and get it directly? What value did you add to my buying decision? Did you just regurgitate the product specs and reviews I could find at Amazon? Or did you share some personal tips and advice based on your own experience or research? Did you entertain me as you tried to educate me? Did you provide a video showing me how you used the product?
What was the unique value you brought to the table? Oh you didn't? Then we have nothing else to discuss and I'm going to Amazon and buying this product. Bu Bye. That is what is happening with many of your blogs even if you're not selling amazon products.
Mix It Up
Do you know how some of the best recipes have come about? It's because someone decided that they are going to put their own twist and stray away from the original recipe. If someone didn't do that, then we'd have a lot of boring food. And that's what I see happening when folks are promoting WA via their blogs. Many of these blogs are bland and need some spice.
Many of you need to stop following the damn recipe so closely. For God's sake, take some risk and add your own flavor and influences. My wife isn't Italian, she's actually Latina. But that girl loves herself some Italian food. When she makes baked ziti or lasagna she follows the traditional recipe to a certain degree in terms of the cheese and pasta. But then she uses latin spices (GOYA Adoba) to season the meal. Do you know some of our Italian friends and family members love her version of Italian food better than her own. They always say there is something about your Lasagna that just taste better so we want you to make it. That some thing is the fact she adds her own latin spices. All the other ingredients are pretty much the same but because she adds her own spices, that little change makes a world of difference.
So How Do You Stand Out?
Ready for this ground breaking secret? Here it is folks. Be yourself! Yep, I know the simplicity of that is underwhelming. But it's the truth. We all have different personalities, sensibilities, etc that make us unique. There isn't another person on this planet that is exactly like you. Use that to your advantage! Inject your personality in your writing.
- If you're sarcastic, then sprinkle some of that sarcasm in your writing.
- If you're compassionate, then add some cyber hugs and tears in your writing.
- If you're a parent, include some stories about your bad ass kids and tie it into your writing.
You get the point. In addition to adding value add something unique to you that people will be able to relate to. Don't just be a faceless blogger that is writing a product review.
Look, I'll be the first to admit I'm not the most exciting person in the word and definitely not the smartest. But if you've read any of my blog post here on WA or my blog www.WorkAtHomeNoScams.com you know I like to make my writing fun, entertaining and educational.
I write like this by design. I hate reading blogs that are so uptight and professional like the blogger is trying to impress me with their SAT words and professionalism. I'm not saying you need to be like me. Ultimately I'm saying be you. Marinate your blog posts with your own spices and flavors. It's okay to follow some of the basic recipe that Kyle and Carson have laid out, but don't just stop there. Make the recipe unique and complete by adding your own elements.If you do, you'll have people literally eating out your hand.
Tell Me Your Opinion
So what are you thoughts? Are you guilty of following the recipe to closely? Are you planning to go back and change your articles or write differently from now on? Let me know your thoughts down below.
Recent Comments
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Thank you Eddy. I can feel your passion and you dear to tell honestly. Sometimes it must be done. As a teacher I also understand those newbies who join WA. Many of them have never had any experience with IM. They join WA and they don't have ANY idea, what to do next. So they just follow (step-by-step) the rules and examples that are provided.
The result? Thousands of very similar websites. True. Then they find out that their blogs are ignored. And they start to think, what's wrong and what could be done differently. They start add their own ideas etc.
If I want to cook italian food for example then first few times (at least one-two) I follow the guideline. The third time I probably feel more comfortable and have enough courage to practice with my own ideas.
Yet another aspect here could be this - many join (like I read they join EN) not because they like IM but they want to get money. If you don't really care about IM then you don't bother to learn or being creative. You just follow the minimum program that promises you the income and that's it. It does not work that way as you know but still many follow this route.
But I really liked your blog post here and your passion when you delivered it :)
Thanks Egon! There is definitely an element of being a newbie that plays into this. Folks just don't want to get anything wrong and you're right a lot of folks are assuming that just by following the exact steps it's the only way.
But if folks do read what Kyle and Carson state, they do advise making your content it's own. But I think it's just easier to follow the exact format as you've argued. Unfortunately not everyone starts to realize that they need to add their own flavor.
What ends up happening is they get disappointed or think this stuff doesn't work. Or they'll blame WA. But many times, it's about looking in the mirror and seeing what you did wrong. And a lot of it has to do with the content I see out there.
I think anyone coming here is out to make money. So I don't think that's actually the cause. I think it's more about being afraid to make mistakes or to your other point just following an exact format because it's laid out for you. So there is a partial mental laziness there.
Either way, I'm just happy we're having this discussion and hopefully it causes people to re-evaluate their approach. And it seems that is happening.
Thanks for chiming in!
Eddie thanks indeed for giving us a wakeup call. Certainly there is need for some innovativeness and creativity in this online business. People are tired of hearing and getting the same stuff online. It's critical for one to break the monotony and standout of the crowd in order to convince customers that they have something valuable, spicy and juicy to offer. Thanks once more for this early bonus. We certainly need to think outside the box.
Cheers.
Ben
Thanks Ben! I agree with your sentiments. If people just look at their blogs objectively and put themselves in their audience's shoes, their content would improve dramatically.
Thanks again for chiming in!
This is awesome! I see so many people doing the same thing over and over AND OVER.
Blogging is your "voice" online, use it... don't be an echo!
Chris, I'm totally stealing that line! You've hit it on the head my friend,
"Don't be an echo!"
Love it!!!
You made some excellent points here! Your blog must stand out from the other millions of blogs on the web... I call this..."give people a reason to choose you"....
Exactly! And folks just aren't getting that. They're just blindly following the steps here without adding their own flavor and that's a recipe for disaster if everyone is doing that!
Thanks for chiming in!
I also find myself just writing because that is what I have been taught in the lessons.
I have felt for a while that I am just regurgitating and it has been worrying me.
I took a break over Christmas, just to get away from it all and recharge my batteries.
I couldn't resist every now and then just reading some of my articles on my website and because I wasn't under pressure, I started reading as though I was a prospect.
Some of my writing isn't too bad but most of it just is not interesting enough and even I got a bit bored.
I really enjoyed your blog and I have decide to make some real changes to my writing in 2014. Thanks for this wake up message Eddy. Garth
Garth, I think many people are guilty of this. Because this is all brand new to everyone, they feel the need to follow everything exactly so they don't break anything. But that's not necessarily the case with this business.
You want to take the fundamentals in terms of setting up the site, etc. But with content you need to really write in a personal way. I always keep in mind, if my family or friends was reading this, would it help them, would they think it really reflects my voice. I can say yes now. But it wasn't always the case. If you saw my earlier articles they were very much like what I'm seeing from other people here on WA. But now I just write the way I talk but I still follow some of the formating advice provided by Kyle and Carson and the other stuff under the hood. But when it comes to my "voice" it's my own.
It's great you have realized that you need to use your real voice. Trust me when I say you'll see different results assuming you already have people visiting your blog! I'm glad I could confirm what you already knew!
Hi again Eddy. I wander if you wouldn't mind having a quick look at my website just to confirm what I have just told you. www.theretiredaffiliate.com
Garth, just private message me with your url and I'll critique it privately. I'm brutally honest and I don't want your business all out on the web. LOL
Nice take. We always hear "if it's not broken don't fix it," but that doesn't mean don't make it our own. Thanks for the advice.
Yeah that saying definitely does apply in terms of the basic set up that Kyle and Carson teach. But definitely not with the content. A blog is a perfect opportunity to allow one's personality to shine through and a lot of people are missing that.
So hopefully this article gives folks a different perspective because I'm tired of seeing everyone do the same thing and not being themselves. Because it's really hindering the growth they deserve! Thanks for chiming in!
Thanks Debbie! I think that's what people miss about blogs. They're just online conversations so your writing should reflect this. But people don't do it and it makes for horrible user experience.
If people understood this, they would see results faster. Thanks for chiming in! I'm glad this resonated with you!
You are so right. We need to get the basics and then add your own flavor as well.
Dom mentioned in live chat a night ago that he was viewing websites and reading articles that were copied from the training. As Dom mentioned, it will not get any ranking on Google if you copy another person's work.
I try different writing styles. My latest blog was having a conversation with my reader. I enjoyed it as well as others that gave me feedback.
Thanks for sharing. Debbie
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Thanks for reminding that variety is spice of life. Well written
Thanks Vimal!