Nowadays, everyone is a blogger. Whether you have terrible grammar or your writing skills simply just suck, if you have a thought and are able to get your point across through writing, then you are a blogger. Of course, there are bloggers who are the best writers in the world and no one would ever know about it. And the most logical answer would be - Not all bloggers are good marketers.
Have you heard of that saying “if you write, they will come?” Or maybe you’ve heard people always emphasizing to “write, write, write” and focus on content and the readers will eventually come? That’s almost like saying “if you build it, they will come.” But say you did build something… in the middle of the desert or the Arctic… do you think they would still come? Maybe a few, but that’s just like your readers if you don’t market it.
I like to refer to Maki of Doshdosh.com because I kiss his ass he is a true blogger and a very knowledgeable person who constantly emphasizes to write great content and people will come. I even talked to him on Twitter, briefly, when I started my “Get Traffic” contest (which is still going on so please join!) and he mentioned that people can hold contests all they want to get readers but if your content sucks, then there was no point in getting those readers simply for the contest.
That may be true as far as the contest goes. But don’t think for one second that Maki isn’t a great marketer on top of being a great blogger. I mean, that’s how he gets thousands and thousands of readers and visitors; because he’s a great marketer. Of course, it’s his content that makes them continue to come back and subscribe to his RSS Feeds.
And if you don’t believe me, he’s on tons of social media sites helping others. You’ll notice the female anime avatars from a mile away. Yeah, some may call that “networking” but if you think about it, that’s also marketing. No one will know who you are or your site if you don’t network, socialize, market or whatever else you want to call it.
So, why am I writing this post? Well, there’s a few reasons:
1. I believe that if you’re trying to make money online, you need to market, social and/or network your product/site
2. You can in fact get tons of traffic without marketing but either a) you have tons of cash to spend or b) you write content for search engines and know a lot about SEO
3. You need to take initiative to get your message across, get noticed or want to make money… in general
4. Anyone can be a blogger but everyone can be a good marketer. If that was the case, then all these other MMO blogs would be making money online. But a majority do not.
5. If you aren’t a great marketer, there’s ways around that. Become close with A-listers and maybe, just maybe, one day they’ll help you out that one time and you’ll be well on your way.
In conclusion, great writer and bloggers doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be noticed. If you write and no one knows about it, then the message basically means nothing. It’s like that saying “if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a noise?”
It does. But no one is there to listen.
It takes a little time to learn how to do it in the blogging world. One step at a time!
Tamera’s last blog post..What’s up with kids today?
Ultimately, the two go hand in hand. You really need to market you blog in someway to get traffic. However, if you want to really build your blog, it’s the content that will keep them coming back for more. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Who cares? You need them both.
This post has been featured in FullTiltBlogging.com’s Daily Blog Summary today. Great post!
Blogging takes about few months to learn completely. Internet marketing could takes countless months due to its fast changing nature
GradeMoney.com’s last blog post..$1 Banner Designing Service
Ultimately, the two go hand in hand. You really need to market you blog in someway to get traffic. However, if you want to really build your blog overtime, it’s the content that will keep them coming back for more. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Who cares? You need them both. It seems to me that all successful bloggers know this instinctively on some level.
This post has been featured in FullTiltBlogging.com’s Daily Blog Summary today. Great post!
I will say it again. It is all about the content. I would NEVER come to this site if it was not for the content. i don’t care how much promotion you did, if the content was poor you would not make my bookmark list.
Keep up the good work!
—
Political Disgust
Marketing is what helps people find your blog among the millions of others. Quality content is what keeps them from going back to those millions of other blogs. Good post!
Tamera - I think everything is a stepping stone, but if we could ALL be great marketers, then wouldn’t a lot of us be screwed?
David - That is very true. But I don’t like the fact that people keep preaching “content is king” like they do NOT do any promotion or marketing. Content is king, but they have to find you to begin with.
Grademoney - Honestly, I doubt any of us can learn blogging “completely” because everyone is their own person and everyone blogs in a different way. There is nothing set in stone when it comes to “how to blog” just simple suggestions. Internet marketing is a continually changing thing and all of us need to keep up with it.
Political - That is very true. I mean, I do the same thing and I started subscribing to more and more RSS Feeds simply for the content. A majority of the time I don’t go to there site unless I want to give my two cents.
Eric - I try to bring unique content but sometimes my content seems to be NOT as unique as I may think. I mean, I try to come up with new things but sometimes it’s just a coincidence that others are talking about the same subject in that week. But thanks… hopefully you come back!
Jay
Jay’s last blog post..Everyone Can be a Great Blogger but Not a Great Marketer
Great post and point! It’s easy to see in a lot of networking cases that other’s expect that because you’re a blogger, you’re also good at marketing. The honest reality is that most of us aren’t (myself included). Perhaps one day I’ll get it all figured out and hit the jack pot. In the meantime, I’m just trying to dig myself out of my corner. LOL
Katy Castro’s last blog post..5 Reasons to Store a Post Arsenal
LOL…Jay, probably. Good point. Heh.
Tamera’s last blog post..What’s up with kids today?
I believe you can have great content and have virutally no traffic. When I joined EC a month ago people where like “wow this is great.” I just wrote my blog every single day and did no “marketing” so I’ve 6 months of stuff that a lot of quality material people had never seen.
I also believe you can be a great marketer and NOT a great money maker. Maki has said that’s not really his goal so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say its by choice, but doshx2 is not a money blog. So Chow connects blog marketing to money Maki does not.
Dave from Welcome Back Rosenthal’s last blog post..Why Bother Losing Weight? Avoid Diets and Keep That Big Rump
I’ll say content is king. If you don’t have a good content, what is the point to go back to your blog.
Just like a resturant, good renovation and advertising attract a lot of customer to try your food. However, your cook cannot make good meal, you guest the result.
Andy T’s last blog post..Green Windows
Nice post. Well, I’m quite new in blogging, so I can’t say that I’m good with that. So, it took me some time to get into blogging market)) MMO - actually I tired of that) I think content makes the difference.
Dating Webmasters last blog post..Make Money With Dating Site
Jay you put up a nice point.
Actually in my opinion, whatever we do, whether Blogging or writing content, we are in the business of marketing. It’s the lifeblood of any business.
Michael Taylor
Michael Taylors last blog post..Free Website Promotion…Why Not?