I am a huge fan of Pro Blogger for reasons that go beyond the obvious. One of those reasons is because of the “hidden” messages a savvy reader can take away from Pro Blogger. I don’t mean things that anybody has purposely slipped in there in hopes that the cool kids will find them and learn, but rather the message that a series of seemingly unrelated posts all gang up to say.
A sort of generative philosophy, if you’ll permit me a total egghead moment here.
On the surface in the last few weeks, I’ve found a nice little contradiction in the posts at Pro Blogger. Something that, on first glance, seems to tell you two opposite things at once. Upon closer inspection (and introspection) you realize that not only are the posts NOT contradicting themselves, but actually make perfect sense.
In one post, one writer warns business owners not to be inconsistent with their blog content, saying unpredictability can potentially hurt the business. In another post, there is an admonishment that sometimes bloggers serve themselves better by posting less. Both pieces of advice are good, but it’s easy to see how one might be confused by the two. After all, how can you avoid being inconsistent when you’re trying to dial back your posting schedule to help boost traffic and make the site more readable?
The trick here is to get the bigger message Pro Blogger sends with both messages. There’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all writing, blogging, networking or job hunting techniques in this business. It’s an individual journey. For some, posting every hour on the hour works like a charm. For others, it’s the kiss of death for regular traffic. There’s a sweet spot on every single blog out there–the specific place where you have to stand on your metaphorical stage to get your guitar to make that cool feedback noise.
Cut back, increase, slow down, speed up…longer, shorter, what’s right?
It all depends on you and the people who read you.
Pro Blogger rightfully encourages people to find their own voices, to hit that sweet spot and stick to it (unless it stops working for you.) There really is no one right way to go…and that’s why seemingly contradictory advice isn’t such a contradiction. It really works the moment you realize you’ve got to make your own way.
