We start our content marketing campaigns with all good intentions. Unfortunately, unless we re-evaluate the content that we're publishing on a regular basis over-promotion can creep in!
If your blog posts were celebrity figures, which would they be - Princess Di or Donkey?
These are two different ends of the modern-day spectrum. But it's worth a moment of thought to ponder how our written words are considered:
- With humility and grace.
- As loud and over-anxious.
Always A Lady
When I asked my Facebook contacts to share their impressions of Princess Diana, the responses were favorable and immediate. Overwhelmingly people remarked of her style, grace, care for all others - even when the chips were against her. The comments also reflected her love for her boys.
In short, the feedback was glowing of what Diana made her brand: "The People's Princess." Lady Diana.
Here's a visual reminder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIhlp9LL4f8&t=9s
Is your memory of her positive?
Euphoria Parfait
While most will recall Shrek's Donkey as enthusiastic, sensitive, and well-meaning, they may also associate the words talkative, annoying, and disruptive with the waffle-loving character. C'mon, admit it - You love Donkey, but you keep him at a few paces back.
A little fairy tale:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIcHXgY0KKo
After just a few seconds, what are your thoughts?
Your Reader: Victim or Prospect?
As writers we must think about how our words are perceived by others. What does the reader gain by clicking our link?
Lately, I have seen a trend that makes me uncomfortable: Every post ends in a commercial -- A push-marketing sale-pitch. Even from bloggers that I looked up to and held highly as an example to others.
This concerns me because our readers look to us for credible information. They did not venture to read our words to be consistently sold to:
- "Sign up for my webinar."
- "Contact me, contact me, contact me."
- "Buy my book."
- "Click on this blog post."
Often enough, I've seen this text formatted three times larger than the rest of the post text. I come away unmotivated, and I feel much like Shrek in the video above: Sighing with exhaust.
All Good In Moderation
Our readers arrive at our posts often unknowing neophytes waiting to be educated on whatever topic is our expertise. These are tender moments, as they hold the decision whether to read on or click away. They decide whether they will subscribe to our RSS Feed, or stay away never to visit again.
Don't we owe our readers the style and grace of well-mannered bloggers? Shouldn't we be educating and serving as a point of resource more than we are pleading for our readers to do something for our benefit?
Am I saying that we should never lead to our goodies and services? No. But I am saying that we should remember the 80-20 rule: 80% of our posts are informational, and 20% (or less) should include promotional prose.
Note: I did not define this as 80% of each post being informational and 20% of each post being promotional.
Remember that side bar? Use it! :)
Respect Among Bloggers
In the social space, it's all about sharing. We want our content to be liked, shared, re-tweeted, sent, plussed, linked to, etc.
The purpose for blogging began as a way to continue conversation and to inform. Converse and inform...building community.
So, I ask you, the reader and potential fellow blogger...
If at the end of every blog post it's all, "Pick me, pick me," how is that different from broadcasting?
Another question:
If that is all I see from you, what is my motivation to share your posts?
Do you want your brand to be thought of as serving the people, or self-serving?
Do you agree or disagree?
What points have I forgotten?
Tell me your thoughts in the comments box below...
28 Replies
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I do love this beautiful post, comparison between Princess Diana and Donkey is very unique ideas…
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Sandra, You are probably right – putting Princess Di and Donkey together is not quite what most expect. But I think it helps make a point, yes? Thank you for your comment, ~Keri
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Great post, Keri. As a reader, I know immediately when I’m engaging with a donkey: I get off, and then I never return. As a blogger, I avoid overt calls to action, but put my Web site’s link on my blog. If readers are truly receiving value from my content, they’ll go to my Web site from my blog.
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Mary, Thanks for reading! Not all donkeys are bad. Sometimes I learn from donkeys, or they provide some good giggles. I don’t want to say NO calls to action should be at our blog, which should be connected with our website. I mean to say that there is a way to do it that still provides value to the reader. If we’re providing value in a way that our reader feels comfortable and wants more, then we’ve “done our job.” 🙂 ~Keri
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I’m qouting some of your lines, would that be okay? great article by the way
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Ivy, You can certainly quote me, as long as credit is noted and/or links are made as appropriate. My name is Keri of Idea Girl Media, and any links to sources can be tracked back to the individual post or page. Thank you so much for your acknowledgement and enthusiasm! ~Keri
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It’s so nice to be here and learn something new from it, great post…
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Florence, I’m glad you found this post helpful and that you learned some new things. Thanks for your comment, ~Keri
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Hmm, this is something to ponder upon. I liked the comparison between Princess Diana and Donkey, very trivial. Thanks for the share!
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Jeran, Glad you liked the comparison between Princess Di and Donkey. Thanks for your comment, ~Keri
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Hi Keri, Great post! I do love to share it on my pinterest, I am pretty sure that my friends will love it too… 🙂
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Trisha, Thank you for pinning this post! Noticing the language difference, I hope your followers are also English-speakers… ~Keri
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Keri! What a wonderful problematic you have pointed out here. And I would go as far to say that blogging, generally speaking, has more donkey than princess to it. As a digital industry professional involved in online advertising, design, marketing, strategy, and technologies since the mid 90s, I was reluctant to call myself a blogger until last year. Because even the digital industry viewed bloggers as donkeys. As a national director at IAB Europe, I can’t tell you how many times bloggers were portrayed as irrelevant and embarrassing to the online conversation. Think of Whole Foods and Safeways talking about roadside fruit stands on a country road. At the same time, I had been writing online (blogging by any other name) since forever.
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Stan, Always glad to hear your point of view. I was thinking just the other day how much I needed to hop over and say hello. And here you are… 🙂 Thank you for sharing your blogging history, and your point of view. More donkey than princess so it seems. I appreciate knowing we share a point of view, Thanks for your comment, ~Keri
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Keri, I am so glad to see this post. I have also noticed this over-promotional trend and am sad to see some of my favorite bloggers following suit. I have sadly un-followed some as they were no longer providing the content that drew me to them to begin with. The most disturbing are those whose tweets lead you to their blog site, only to find out I must do a free download to be able to read the content. And that will of course put me on their mailing list. Isn’t it enough that I am following your blog? I suppose greed and false pride is too blame. Let’s try to remember that the beauty of the blog world is that it is generally a respite from the shouting and multitasking world that we are exposed to everywhere else. An enjoyable read, a thought provoker, a pause from our fast-paced routine… When I read a blog that ends in a big self-promotional plug, I am so turned off that I lose my sense of attention to the content that preceded. Thank you for this excellent post and for pointing out what should be obvious about the 80/20 guideline.
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Hania, Thank you so much for your words! I was not sure how this would be received. Ah, yes – the download pre-req. I usually just click away. It’s not that I don’t want to connect, but do I really want to sign up for an email list without knowing someone first? It’s like Gary Vaynerchuck talks about — What a 19 year old dude move (too fast)… 😉 It is nice to know that you agree, and I hope to live up to my own expectations. Can’t wait to read your posts. Thanks for commenting, ~Keri
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I couldn’t agree with you more Keri! Over the last few months I’ve lost respect for some of the bloggers and organisations that I have followed for years because all of a sudden they have started to sell at me at every given opportunity. I’ve also noticed a huge increase in the rate at which some of them produce content especially by email and it is driving me nuts!
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Kittie, Sounds like we’re in the same boat! I had wondered if maybe I was being too sensitive. Or if guidelines had changed. But no – As someone else pointed out: Attention is a gift. And it is like minding your manners. I find my email box filling up surprisingly. Which, the offenders taught me was a no-no. Birds of a feather stick together. Glad you’re in my nest! 🙂 ~Keri
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Keri! I really was curious about this post. The title is great! I agree with you…and not just at the end of the blog posts….I see it everywhere. Sometimes, before you can even read the post a large screen pops up and you actually have to click out if it to read content. It’s annoying, much like Donkey. It also serves a purpose. Before I had a call-to-action at the end of my blog post, I had just a handful of subscribers. I have gained a few more…:) I do not, however, put the call to action after each blog post or when people arrive, and sometimes I just want a comment, no other requirements. I do turn it over to the readers at the end of each post, much like you do, to give them the ‘floor’. They are encouraged to leave a comment and interact. That’s a whole lot nicer than having them sign up for stuff. I have to say: I subscribed to a few blogs of friends of mine and I feel really bad, but I seriously want to unsubscribe. I know they will know I did, when I do, but it’s annoying to see the sales continuously. Hmmm…I think I need another cup of coffee!
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Dorien, Some excellent points you have made — The annoying pop-ups we experience, the advertisements throughout posts, and so forth. Giving your reader the floor at the end. Something I feel is important. This is a community – A place to encourage discussion on a topic. I too have a few blogs I subscribed to, and I receive emails sometimes *every day* — But unsubscribe I eventually do. Gotta be sane… 😉 Cheers over coffee, ~Keri
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Don’t always like to be a “yes-man” but I definitely agree with you here. I’ve noticed this to and it could be that every “How-To” post screams at you the important of a strong call to action. While we all have something to sell, be it service or product, we shouldn’t muddy our blog with hard core “shilling”. That’s what landing pages are for. For me, it’s the equivalent of dealing out business cards at a cocktail party. Your blog is your gift. It’s a place where you share your notice and points of view with your readers. Perhaps we can use a department store as an example. Your social media outposts i.e. Twitter, Facebook, G+ is the window display that entices people to come in to your blog and examine your goods more closely. There, they can touch and feel the merchandise and ask questions. As in a store, if the salesperson is too aggressive, defences go up and I start heading for the door. But if the salesperson actually listens and makes relevant and helpful suggestion, I will follow him to the cash register to negotiate my purchase. Thanks for the post and the opportunity to rant. 🙂
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Ray, Oh my heavens – You’ve so eloquently stated example scenarios! I love your analogy: An opportunity to touch and feel the merchandise. And how our defenses go up in a department store when the sales clerks come on too strong. Exactly!! 🙂 Thank you for helping me make my point, Ray. Rant on, ~Keri
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Hi Keri! I love this topic, it’s all about being human and understand where internet marketing is heading. A very important question to ask when you develop a content strategy is: What do we want people to do when they have read our blog post? And What is the behavior you want to create for your readers after they’re reading your blog? It is very important to create and prioritize calls to action in your blog posts, and you are mentioning some of them above. But when we use them we should know that when we are trying to sell anything before we have earned that right to sell, people will cut us off like they do with push messages. Folks BS radar is strong today and attention is a gift. -Mattias
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Mattias, You have phrased some important points so very well! I’ve explained to another commenter, that a “too quick” call-to-action is similar to what Gary Vaynerchuk calls a “19 year old dude move,” which I know you are a huge fan of discussing! Attention is indeed a gift! Thanks for giving me yours today!! ~Keri
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Hey Keri ~ I completely agree with you 100%. IMO if we write every blog post with the intention to help others the best we can, it’s ok to add a call to action or banner ad now and then (80/20), as long as it’s clear to our readers that the commissions we earn help us to maintain and improve the blog site. ~ 🙂
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Juan, Thank you for your comment, and for your positive words about my position. I was a bit nervous before publishing as I hoped not to be “too ranty.” Disclosure is important, and as long as we keep an 80/20, all is well. Great to see your smile, ~Keri
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