Do You Have Blog Envy?
August 22nd, 2008 | Author: Carrie Lauth
Several weeks ago Alice Seba wrote a great article asking if any of her readers had blog comment envy.
I admitted that yes I do sometimes envy people whose blog posts get tons of comments. Her point was that popularity isn’t as important as results.
Being a popular blogger who gets hundreds of comments on their blog posts is kind of like being the most popular kid in high school. It really doesn’t matter once that kid gets to college or once they enter the adult world.
When it comes to your blog, the important thing is the bottom line. Is your blog accomplishing what you want it to?
Still, I’ll go farther and admit I have a twinge of general blog envy.
Occasionally I come across a blog that makes me want to cry because of its awesomeness.
Ok perhaps it’s more admiration than envy but still. When I feel that way, I take a minute to figure out why the blog in question is eliciting that particular response from me. I’ve noticed that there are a few things that those blogs that have in common.
Focus
Good enough to bring tears to my eyes blogs are very focused. It only takes a second or two to know what they’re all about.
Uniqueness
Is that a word? You know what I mean anyway. Really great blogs are unique. Really great bloggers are not afraid to be different. They aren’t afraid to make you laugh, cry or get mad. They’re not afraid to tell you the good, the bad and the ugly. They’re honest and more than a little bit transparent.
Content
Simply put, great blogs have awesome content. Content that makes your life better in some way. That doesn’t mean each post is a tome… a mixture of long, spill-it article length posts and quick thoughts is nice too. In addition to blog posts, there is additional content available in other formats such as audio, video, ebooks, reports and the like.
Clean
Great blogs are organized well. They are uncluttered and clean. They look modern (not like they haven’t been updated in years). That doesn’t mean you have to change your theme every week though. Consistency is a good thing. Clean also means you know where to find everything that the blogger has to offer with just a couple of clicks.
So the next time you get blog envy, what can you learn about bloggers who rock?
Posted in 8 Responses to “Do You Have Blog Envy?”
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Great post Carrie. Funny though, very often my blog envy feelings come when I read YOUR blog! I think because we have similar opinions on some topics and, darn it all, YOU can express my opinion so much better than I can! Tee hee!
But I agree here too, rather than just wallowing in self pity now when I read a really great post, I enjoy it and then take some time to evaluate how it can spur me on to be a better writer.
Wow Annette, I’m so flattered! Thanks for your comment.
Great post Carrie! I recently updated my mom blog and man what a difference it made. You are so on point with the importance of clarity of a blog in all the areas you mentioned. A clear blog grabs me and keeps me coming back for more.
Oh yes, I have blog envy too. The first blog I ever envied was skelliewag.org. Skellie writes incredibly well-thought out and useful blog posts that attract tons of comments.
And get this – her blog isn’t monetized! However, her blog has enabled her to get blogging jobs at problogger.net and other consultancy jobs. Smart girl!
Funny you should write about this, I have a serious case of blog envy. Not that I want to be like this blog, because it’s more of a personal blog but with home-made products. But the thing is – I only WISH I could write like this woman! She is side-splitting funny and has mad writing skills. Her site is http://outofcharacter.blogspot.com/ and she has the cutest sock zombies – I bought the whole family.
Here’s the funny thing though… I don’t want to share her with my friends; I want to keep her to myself. I’ll share with the general public, just not with my close friends. Sort of like you find a really good bargain at a clothing store so you keep it a secret…There’s got to be a name for this type of behavior?
I have HUGE Blog Envy! Unfortunately, I let it discourage me from keeping up with my Blog (the whole whiny “I’ll never be as good as so and so, so why do I even try”) Thanks for the little pep talk to keep me blogging away!
Stefani
Carrie I totally get blog envy all the time. Like Stefani, I let it discourage me – and throw myself a pity party. Great tips here. And I’m like Annette, I get green when reading your blog.
Oh and Alice’s too
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