Ok disclaimer … I have written many a terrible blog post and I will many more in my time on this earth, but I just wanted to throw this on the wall and see if it stuck.
What Is A Shit Blog Post?
Of course this is very subjective, but to me a shit blog post is any blog post which is generic in nature, does not give any personal experiences, theories, or data to back something up.
It is a blog post anyone could research and write the same exact thing. Now there is definitely a place for these researched posts, particularly ones pulling together a lot of data that saves a reader a lot of time. Eg, “50 Amazing free wordpress themes”, the lame ones are those that are not so much timesavers, but very basic / generic content … Eg, “10 great tips for outsourcing” … it’s the kind of information you could go to About.com and find. That shit bores me! And I see to much of it! I want to know how you personally came to this conclusion, give me something that sets you apart!
I was talking to 2 buddies of mine over a beer, and they went through knowledge / experience in a level concept. Let me explain, to go from knowing nothing to knowing a little is going from level 0 to level 1 for example. Well lets just say I am at a level 2 … I understand the basics and it bores me half to death reading about the basics or even writing blog posts about the basics.
I want to be writing either Level 2 blog posts (posts I have learnt about recently) or Level 3 blog posts. Posts that I have learnt by doing the research / gathering the data for the post.
Examples of Great Bloggers
Adsense Flippers - Justin does a rockin job at taking data that they collect, analysing it, coming to a conclusion and laying it out in a well written post. (I mention these guys too often … I swear they are not paying me though)
Seomoz - Want to see the best damn graphs collected in regards to all aspects of SEO, these are your guys.
Hubspot - Gathers a lot of data, again directly from users, giving them insights into trends in the marketing space.
Mr Dan Norris (who has been killing it all the over the place recently) wrote a guest post entitled … “Case Study: 13 Pre-Launch Traffic Strategies for Startups” where he talks about how guest posting is more effective if you talk about your own experiences, he saw a greater click through / conversion I believe because of doing so. (On a side note, I am planning to start a petition for him to grow back the beard. See here for bogan. US translation … redneck?).
What do you think? Agree? Completely disagree? Im happy to be wrong … if it happens often enough you get used to it.
My gripe is this … I know way too many smart people (way smarter than me), that write blog posts for beginners. Why!? Leave that to the less knowledgable / experienced! The internet needs less shit and more gold, Im just saying.
PS I have written a arse load of bad blog posts, and I will write a arse load more. Do as I say, not as I do.
PPS Sorry if the language offends you
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