This reminds me of the Shock and Awe campaign of the second Gulf War. Did that actually succeed or fail? I am not really sure. But anyway, it does truly shock me at how quickly we could transform a whole country with a few high-powered explosives. In the marketing world, that shock and awe would be a keynote speech by Steve Jobs of Apple.

Apple seems to have the ability to keep the lid on upcoming projects so well that when projects are launched, people are blown away by what is unveiled (pardon the pun).

But is it sustainable to keep shocking the same audience over and over again? Or do they come to expect it and grow numb to the antics.

Ultimately, I think that being original and interesting is far better. Yesterday, I wrote a post about something that I discombobulated with. Discombobulated is a word I always look forward to using in a sentence. That post was probably a lot more interesting to read than the normal mumble jumble I usually publish.

Could it be that I have been going against my own advice and writing to the middle ground, the boring area? Did I start writing to the middle where the majority is, and not to the fridge that I so often recommend? Why on earth would I do THIS!? Mediocrity is to blame. It took over, and the blog became dull. Maybe it was never exciting to begin with. AHA! Insert theme music from 2001 Space Odyssey here.

So with that in mind. I will try my best not to run a shock and awe campaign but to write the way I would for myself. I hope you all can be entertained and learn something at the same time. Because marketing should be fun, where else can you tell a story and get paid this well?

This is the fifth installment of the Blogger appreciation week, found here. Blogger appreciation week was designed for me to give back to those who have contributed to this blog through many intellectually stimulating conversations.

That’s Great PR

I met Justin, the creator of That’s Great PR, recently online while exchanging blog comments. He has recently embarked on his journey to build up a blog to go along with the PR group he works with. I see some great potential in his writing and really enjoy watching new bloggers try their hand at it. One of the most important things I noticed about his writing and with his subject is the passion that is prevalent in it. Passion online will carry you through the times of uncertainty and to continuing to write when it all seems as if it is for nothing. Kudos, Justin.

What I like the most:

I like the coverage of different topics that is presented and how nicely Justin ties it into his primary subject, PR (press releases).

Quick Point:

I know Justin has a lot of PR experience and insight. As a person from the outside looking in, I would love to see PR marketing campaigns and the best ways to plan a PR marketing strategy for the absolute best results. ( One example here) I know he has the knowledge to share.

Down On Our Luck

Brenda Carter, the author and founder of Down On Our Luck has appropriately named the blog so. She set out to have an outlet to the world in which she could share her life experiences and day-to-day struggles. Don’t look now but if you read some of her posts about switching over to a new server and upgrading WordPress at the same time, you will think the blog was appropriately named (remember to always back up your blog before doing anything remotely major).

What I like the most:

Brenda is an open book with her life, troubles and experiences. In an online world where it is easy to hide behind avatars and fake names, that is something to be desired. If you have the time and want to learn about her and her husband Q, I would read through her “my story” tagged posts.

Quick Point:

I know that her goal is to interact, share and talk with others who are facing some of the same or similar problems she has gone through. I recommend a weekly question-and-answer series with readers. My girlfriend does a similar thing with her readers and has gotten a good response over a short time period.

It Might Be Love

Everybody needs a little love from time to time and you’ll find it at It Might Be Love. Chelle has collected quite a montage of love-related pieces that cover just about every angle except the kind not allowed at work. I have found some really funny posts on her site that are totally worth sharing, but instead of listing all I will give you a couple of my favorites and let you discover the rest.

• Flight of the Conchords – If You’re Into It
• 100 Classic Rock Love Songs

What I like the most:

I love the vast quantity of posts and articles written. With a subject that can be as broad as ever, she has put together a great collection to covering many areas.

Quick Point:

I think some passionate colors intermixed throughout the blog would really draw the reader in, almost as if setting the mood for the subject at hand. I also grew up in a house with no white walls anywhere, blame my mom

The Blue Workhorse

The Blue Workhorse is a collection of sports writers (6 by my count) who have come together to share in a subject they all love. My favorite stat on the About page is the combined 100 years in sports. I would expect to find nothing less than a lot of good stats on this blog. If for some reason you don’t like sports, I bet you could still find their posts full of humorous writings. I am also sure their hands will be pretty full in about a week with the Olympics.

What I like the most:

a group of writers are working together to share about the subject they all like. I am envious of the collaboration they have in building their blog.

Quick Point:

I would like to see some rugby discussion or updates. My girlfriend and I have played rugby for a number of years and really enjoy the sport. If not rugby, the second sport I wish you to discussion is Jai-Alai. Well…, because that would be cool.

Blogging is a lot of fun, and it is also a way of connecting with others through a form of promotion. You are choosing to show your thoughts and opinions for the whole world to see in a way that best represents you. But, most people go about it the wrong way when they start out blogging. They are chasing dollar signs and not pursuing their dream of freedom via the Internet. It is not a crime to want to make money online and to pursue doing so, but going about it the wrong way will only result in lost time, energy and money. I have put together 3 major tips that I think anyone starting out blogging should consider before taking the plunge.

1. Focus on a subject you love

Everyone needs a passion. Passion is a good motivating tool as well as fun. If you have participated in any outdoor sports, games, hobbies or arts for many years, you are probably dealing with a passion. Blogging needs to have the same passion. You should be able to blog without visitors, without pay, without recognition all for the love of it. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go after visitors, money or recognition, but you should have the drive to do it no matter what.

It gets said over and over again that you need to focus on a small niche in order to be a successful blogger. While I agree with part of that, I think it is more important to focus on a topic you are passionate about. If you like antique furniture or remote control airplanes, ,jewelry or whatever the case my be, focus on that subject. I don’t care if the topic has already been covered a thousand times and even seems supersaturated. Still stick with that subject. You can always carve out your niche in any subject and still remain passionate about it. At first the results might not show in a crowded subject but by being able to stay the course for 1-2 years, you will see the less passionate people fade away. This week marks my sixth month of blogging, and already I have seen quite a few bloggers come and go. The simple answer: they were not passionate about their subject.

2. Frequency

Blogging is habit forming and like beginning or ending any habit, it takes time and dedication. It is not easy to wake up one day and say gee I am going to start writing every day; the same goes for putting down the cigarette. My advice to everyone who asks me how to improve their blog typically goes like this: “Write a blog post every day for the next 30 days.” Sometimes I hear back from people, but most the time I never hear from them again. When I visit their blogs a week or two later, they still have the same posts on the homepage and nothing has changed, but somehow they still have time to drop Entrecards on my blog. This shows very little dedication. The whole idea for posting every day is to build the habit of doing so to begin with. It all starts with a first step.

I don’t think you have to post 10 times a day to have a successful blog, nor do I think posting once a week will lead to a successful blog. I do believe posting and promoting more often will help your blog grow quickly, but I think that it is all in proportion. If you are a gifted writer and thoughts flow like water and your posts end up being 1,000+ words each, then having a post every couple days is completely acceptable. If you like to post Twitter sized blog posts on hot topics of the day, then I would shoot for more frequent blog posts. At the end of the day, it comes down to finding the best fit for you and your time, then posting consistently and with diligence.

If time is an issue and you don’t feel like you can take the time to post every day, then take an hour or two on a Saturday or Sunday to write out the next week’s posts. I go in cycles when I know I am facing a busy week. In those cases, I will write out a series or string of posts to cover the week. If I have more time on my hands during the week, I will typically do posts day to day. I always have ideas ready to go for the next post at anytime thanks to my many pocket notebooks and Gmail.

3. Content

All you ever hear about is content, content, and more content. The truth is… it is true, content is king. I know not everyone here is a natural writer with gifting that publishing houses are actively looking for, at least I have never been contacted. But, each of us is more than capable of creating and expressing a complete thought, whether it is thought provoking, opinion, rift, muse, story or analysis (I am sure there are more). Take the time to think about what you are trying to say and let the thought ferment a bit. It is not a crime to let a half finished post sit there a while as you develop the thought and content. I have had some posts sit in my holding queue for a month or two before publishing them, usually with a lot of revisions. Take time to think things over and explore different stances and do all the research you can. People are looking for a lot of different things online often at light speed, so give them something worth their time to read.

Don’t worry about people stealing your content. Rarely do blogs above you steal your content without giving recognition. If your blog is updated frequently and you have your pings set correctly, search engines will know where the content originated. I never really go out of my way to fight blogs that take content without recognition (just a waste of time in my opinion), I simply don’t allow their links to appear on my blog. Normally, they get next to zero for traffic and are only doing it to get the ad revenue. Rise above them and focus on writing genuine high quality content.

Protect your image and brand by releasing content that is fully ready to be published. If your post has a bunch of typos and grammar mistakes, it will only reflect poorly upon you. I am the first to admit that writing is not my strongest point and knowing that I usually have my girlfriend (an editor) read over my posts before publishing them. If having a significant other as an editor is not an option, there are many sites like quickpostedit.com that will edit your blog post quickly and cheaply.

Conclusion

Be passionate and proud of what you are doing and remember why you chose to blog in the first place. I am a big fan of goals and making sure there is a why behind the reason, whatever that why may be. It is not easy to start a new hobby, and it takes time and work. If you pursue your passions online like you would offline, it will carry you through the times of uncertainty and doubt. If you don’t play rugby in real life, why would you choose to blog about it?