Giving the people what they want

This post started off a lot differently. It began as a lament about giving the people what they want, about trying to manipulate my post choices to maximize my numbers, but the more I thought about this, the more I concluded that is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. Maybe not in this blog because this is my own labor of love, but the blogs that pay me are trying to make a profit, and as such I owe them content that is going to draw the biggest audience. How I go about that is a tough issue.

Blogs were supposed to be the great equalizer, giving anyone with access to a computer the ability to publish. I began this blog back in 2003 because I loved the idea of having my very own publishing outlet without filters or editors where I could write about what I wanted whenever I wanted. I didn't need editorial approval and I didn't need to worry whether 100 people looked at it or 1000 because there wasn't money changing hands. All good, but this isn't 2003 and some blogs have evolved into a business. Like any business, the owners want results and as such, it's still (as I like to say) about selling newspapers.

Controversy sells. Negativity sells. Let's face it, 'if it bleeds it leads' sells. Heck cute kittens sell. It's hard to get noticed among the millions of bloggers, so when I sit down and write a post for one of the commercial blogs I think carefully about how to attract the largest audience.

Last week, T-Mobile launched the first Google phone, the G1 and I thought long and hard how to approach this story. If I just wrote a post about the launch, it would have gotten lost in all the noise with the thousands of other blog posts about the same subject.

My first idea was a round up of Twitter comments about the launch event. I had collected a bunch, but simply regurgitating what other people said seemed like a lame idea. My next thought was a list of some sort. I have never been very fond of blog posts with X reasons to do something or the X best web sites or whatever. There are far too many of them, but I'm not blind. I see how well they do.

So I began kicking around ideas over breakfast and my wife suggested: how about the 10 reasons NOT to buy a G1. I thought this was a great idea and it was. Ten turned into 5, and by today the post, Five Reasons to Forego the G1 had moved into my top 10.  My job is to write blog entries for DaniWeb and those entries are supposed to get hit early and often and as much as possible. I don't have to apologize for that, although for some reason I have to justify it to myself.

I may have turned into a ratings whore, but I still have a conscience. The other day I was approached about writing posts in this space related to ads that would appear adjacent to the posts. On that point I draw the line. When it comes to attracting readers, I may feel bad about it personally on one level, but I really shouldn't. It's a results-oriented world and I'm supposed to be giving the people what they want within reason. Just don't expect any cute kittens. It's not going to happen.

Comments

[Julie Roads]

Great post, Ron. I think you've done a phenomenal job of exploring this thin, thin line that we walk as writers, thinkers and people earning a living. This reader appreciates the struggle and your choices. And this reader loves your blog because there are no kittens, of that you can be sure.

[Char James-Tanny]

Copyblogger wrote an article called "7 Reasons Why List Posts Will Always Work" (http://www.copyblogger.com/7-reasons-why-list-posts-will-always-work/), saying "Any headline that lists a number of reasons, secrets, types, or ways will work because, once again, it makes a very specific promise of what’s in store for the reader." Your post worked because the headline promised (and delivered) five reasons :-)

[Ron Miller]

Thanks for the comment, Char. It just seems silly to me that it's that simple. :-)

[Ron Miller]

Thanks, Julie. I promise. Absolutely no kittens in this space (even though I do love a cute kitten picture from time to time). :-)