Is Your Blog Too “Nice”?

Why do most blogs struggle with traffic? A little bit has to do with improper on page SEO and link building. But much less than you’d think. The world’s most popular bloggers don’t know squat about keyword research or page rank. What they do know about is how to get people intersted in their content and talking about it.

The phrase “nice guys finish last” can apply to dating, business, and to blogging. I’m not talking about confident bloggers who provide helpful information to their readers. Im talking about “nice” guys (and gals). What does “nice” mean?

Really, “nice” means boring and unoriginal.

And that’s why you may be struggling with traffic. Not because of any technical search engine related problem, but because of the tone and positionality of your content. Most new bloggers either haven’t developed an original voice, or are so concerned with being “liked” by their readers that their content comes out very, very soggy. You may attract readers through SEO or a couple of Facebook referals, but why should they keep reading your material?

There are millions of blogs and articles out on the internet today. It’s worse than flipping radio stations. For whatever topic you are blogging about, there are thousands of other people trying to get your reader’s attention. What do you have to offer that is different?

Here’s some counterintuitive advice: challenge your readers. Write something they don’t expect. Be edgy. Be a little controversial. And even risk ticking them off. Don’t do it to be combative, do it to “stir the pot”.

This may be tough for a lot of bloggers, because we want readers to come to our blogs and like what they are reading. It’s the same problem a lot of actors face when trying to find their starring role. Or lots of guys face when trying to land a first date.

There’s a story about Ed Norton, the famous actor. The legend goes that during a casting call for “Primal Fear”, where he was auditioning for the role of a dual personality psychopath, he actually grabbed the casting director by the neck during the scene. And he got the role.

We’ve all heard that “nice guys finish last”. And we’ve all heard of the irresistible attraction of the “bad boy”. There’s a reason for that. The bad boys of the world are dangerous, exciting, and interesting. Nice guys are boring.

This isn’t to suggest you write anything vulgar or annoying. But try getting your readers attention. Imagine what your reader may be feeling when they are searching for information on the topic of your blog. What don’t they want to hear?

Studies have proven that negative headlines get more clicks and traffic than positive ones. You don’t have to become a tabloid journalist, but go ahead and be real with your readers. You can be funny while doing it.

All it takes is one blog post that resonates with readers to go viral, and then it takes on a life its own on the web. We don’t often think about this, but nothing unoriginal goes viral.

Try to imagine all the blogs or videos or articles you’ve shared with your friends. Imagine what it is that compelled you to mention it to someone else. Then look at your own blog posts and ask yourself if you’d honestly think to menton it to someone else. So many blog posts (especially about SEO) have the same info you could find elsewhere. Can you find an original way to convey it? Chances are people aren’t going to go nuts over an article titled “5 Tips on Better SEO”.

People love it when you say things everyone else is thinking or wants to say but won’t. Get some emotion into your blog posts, don’t be afraid to raise some eyebrows, and express your true voice, and you will find yourself drawing in readers with more regularity than just focusing on rote SEO techniques.

Seth Jared is an Internet Marketer who writes about blogging, filmmaking, and design. He also runs a cool website on how to design your own t-shirt. Be sure to check out all the other cool t-shirts there too.