The silence...: So, you wanna get to the top?

So, you wanna get to the top? 11 Oct 2009

How will you get there?

One step at a time eh...

I know every single one of you is smart enough to know that, yet, and I see it quite often, even had emails say as much from people...

"I just wanna get to the top without the hassle, how do I do that?"

That was in reference to blogging itself, they wanted to know how to get among all these so well known names as fast and effortlessly as possible, join the A list basically, no idea why they asked me when I have never been there, I wouldn't want to be there. That's fame blogging!

Do people assume those A list bloggers just jumped to the top? Easily and effortlessly?

If so WOW! lol...

Regardless, you could say people want the same in whatever it is, they want the easy, painless route.

Where would we be if everything was so easy, effortless, we didn't need the pain, mistakes, hassle?
Good luck in finding that!

It has been shown we do learn faster when we get it right but we simply can't just get everything right first time on everything we decide to do, it's gotta be impossible, don't you think?

Of course we all want to do as well as we can and get to the top if possible, the fact we aren't means we aren't doing what it takes to get there, even me, in fact this got me realising what I should have done in some ways to make this blog and my overall blogging strategy better.

Not that I want to be an A-lister...but the perks of being known to them has to be nice, getting them to spread your work would be great, but only if that's what you want.
Let's assume you do want to get to the top like these A-listers, how would you do it?

Well, let me say this, the A-listers don't hide it, it's clear how they did it, what's needed to get there, a few even posted saying as much too, telling you how they do what they do.

I am not an A-lister, so it's also what I didn't do myself...I think personally from looking at it and what experience I do have and what I can see from these A-listers, it really only boils down to a few points, several have mixed these points, some may have just done the one point to a great standard.

Create very compelling evergreen content, likely the most important point of all.

Looking at some of the post(s) on these A-listers blogs one thing stands out, they share top quality content, 9 times out 10 it's also evergreen content, meaning it doesn't matter when you read it, it will still be good and relevant, this content will always get shared too.

Maki of doshdosh has not posted to his blog for months (may 18th) and yet he still gains subscribers and readers daily. He is probably also gaining traffic organically and all this is likely now providing residual income for him, meaning he doesn't need to keep posting to keep earning or even for gaining readers.

One thing is he never had others write his content, he does them all, this may be why he has not posted in a while and why they are ALL quality content post.

*My content is not good enough!

Stick to one topic, theme for the content.

Sticking to one topic means better focused traffic, more targeted readers, as well as building some authority which is something that should be taken into account from day one.

Darren Rowse of problogger sticks to the one topic, blogging for a living on the problogger one as you will have guessed, sticking to this one topic and also having great content means readers know what to expect when they check it out and come back for more.

Darren does have guests post which means he can also keep the blog freshly updated and not have to do it all himself, the downside is many may prefer to read his writing style.

*Mine is not on one specific topic!

Post alot at the start, and always decent content that is share-worthy, over time find the right rhythm for your blog and stick to it

New blogs need big action to get going and the only way to really do that is to post often, as often as possible without diluting the quality of the content. Doing this means your readers will come back knowing you will have posted something new.

Pete Cashmore of mashable by his own admission was posting like a madman at the start, you know, 10 times a day or something and it still gets posted to alot but now has posts also written by others, not surprised at that to be honest!

It is something you cannot just keep doing unless you really are a prolific writer, it will wear you out and more so when on one topic, theme.

You don't have to post like a madman, one a day would be ok if you were doing it yourself and stuck to it because your readers will know and expect it, mind you after a while if you suddenly post twice or 3 times one day it would make your readers eyebrows go up, simply because it's not expected.

Looking at your visitor stats you will soon find a rhythm to post for best results, you could easily post to often or to little (if you started posting alot then slow down to much that is)

*I don't post often enough to this blog!

Build a fanbase rather than a readership, who happily spread your work.

We all want readers don't we, no matter what it is you write you need and want someone reading it and when you start out it can be pretty frustrating, so you have to show someone... this is why family, friends are usually some of the first readers of your blog, nothing wrong with that as it gives you the confidence to go on from there.

The faster your readers turn into fans the faster you will grow, it makes sense and in reality you do not need 100's of 1000's them either (though I wouldn't say no to that many subscribers!), depending on the topic etc, you could hit the top with 1000 true fans, what matters is who they are and what reach they have.

Leo Babuta of Zenhabits I think has done this right, with over 100,000 subscriptions I don't doub't he has some true fans there. Fans that acted on his content and probably made changes in their own lives.

Why wouldn't they be fans after that?

These fans will continue to read his blog, buy his books and share his work.

One difference I noticed with Leo is he un-copyrighted his work which is empowering the fans to share it more, building new fans.

Getting readers is great, they are...readers, we all need them.

Having fans is better, they are readers with a (promotional) voice and they use it.

I love you readers, are you fans? :o)

*It would seem I don't build fans and empower them! (Do I?)

Get your content shared, make it easy to share it, ask!

One thing that is a must, marketing and sharing is marketing, viral marketing, the best and cheapest form, if the first point is covered people will want to share it because it's quality content that is shareworthy whether on twitter, facebook...also whatever platform your fans use, you ought to use as well.

All these bloggers get their content shared and they share it too, we have to get it out there for others to share so it makes sense to utilise these sharing opportunities for the fans, then share with them.

A-listers will often ask you to share them, whether directly in the post, or as they share them on sites they use.

I don't think you need to do anymore than this really, get all these points right (I must get own act together!) and you will get somewhere...at least be on the way.

So, I will ask you nicely, please share this if you think it's worth sharing, using the button below, or whatever method you use.

Labels: A list, success, tips