2005 called. They want their \u201cinternet marketing expert\u201d posts back. The social web as a whole is clearly as susceptible\u00a0to linkbait as it always was. We know this. But the reason this specific discussion spread so far is simple: there are more people here now who weren\u2019t the first time and have no idea the thread is a repost.<\/p>\n
But this post isn\u2019t about\u00a0so-called experts. I wouldn\u2019t spend more than a paragraph of your time on that discussion. Why am I leading with it then? Interestingly enough a few of you wrote in asking if I had seen the topic. Well, yeah. But I\u2019m not going to cover it. Because readers here are smarter than needing a post about not being taken in by\u00a0charlatans.<\/p>\n
Instead I\u2019ll use it as the impetus to discuss why you should consider staying\u00a0out of<\/em>\u00a0the obvious discussions of your category. Or at the very least take a unique response.<\/p>\n It\u2019s simple and is something I discovered as an editor years ago. It is\u00a0what you\u00a0don\u2019t<\/em>\u00a0publish that defines your site. I believe in this philosophy as a writer and editor of both words and music.<\/p>\n With my early audio productions I tried to throw as much as I could into the mix. It was only with maturity I realized that the absence of specific notes allowed what you\u00a0do<\/em>\u00a0play to have the highest impact. No clutter standing in the way between your best ideas and the listener.<\/p>\n Similar with writing words. Edit yourself. Ruthlessly. Make your sentences lean and tough and the ideas within them will stick.<\/p>\n And no different with the concepts you choose to use in your editorial calendar. Linkbait as part of your mix is fine. It\u00a0absolutely makes sense\u00a0as a certain percentage of posts (as long as you are the leader). But it should still be something that is of clear differentiation from others in your category.<\/p>\n It is the deliberate absence of specific content that lets your brand develop a\u00a0personality\u00a0when held against the rest of a category. That\u2019s not to say you shouldn\u2019t be\u00a0consistent, but you should do so in a way that does not sacrifice having a voice.<\/p>\n Do you have the executive perspective on content?<\/strong><\/p>\n If you have\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0embraced the notion that\u00a0every company is a media company\u00a0and are interested in developing a trusted and meaningful voice, you need the executive perspective on content. What that means is not running off and publishing everything and anything because you can. It means having a grasp on your narrative and playing within that space. An experienced editor won\u2019t publish to fill the page. They understand a positive\u00a0signal to noise ratio\u00a0is far too important to protect.<\/p>\n Readers will return to sites with a reputation<\/strong><\/p>\n If your site didn\u2019t publish for a day, would people return? If it has the right\u00a0reputation\u00a0the answer is yes. This type of reputation is acquired by applying a filter to the infinite spectrum of potential ideas.<\/p>\n If you cover everything, you\u2019ll never be trusted for anything<\/strong><\/p>\n Think carefully about your favorite, niche sites. Now think about the broader sites in that category. It probably breaks down like this: the popular sites cover the obvious stories. The stories you read the headline, skim through and go to the next thing. It\u2019s not that the content isn\u2019t fine, but in all\u00a0likelihood\u00a0you aren\u2019t really so concerned about connecting with the author or carefully analyzing each word. Why would you? That site covers\u00a0everything<\/em>\u00a0and so can\u2019t really be trusted for\u00a0anything<\/em>.<\/p>\n Now consider again the must-read sites. They don\u2019t appeal to everyone. But those they do appeal to are\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0interested. They\u2019ll read the whole story, feed back to the author and want to connect with that community, subscribe and return. And, despite uneven levels of popularity, the ideas from the niche site end up penetrating the category much deeper. They achieve this through focusing\u00a0only<\/em>\u00a0on what matters to their community who has a specific worldview or set of interests. Their content is designed to fit this.<\/p>\n As with anything creative that involves an ongoing narrative, it is the notes you don\u2019t play that matter most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2005 called. They want their \u201cinternet marketing expert\u201d posts back. The social web as a whole is clearly as susceptible\u00a0to … <\/p>\n