Great Blogs are Fueled by Passion and Power
Commanding Influence: Build A Strong Online Presence
If you’ve been following me or this blog then you’ve probably already realized that I approach the concept of how to blog from an entirely different perspective than most people.
While most people are working to figure out how to develop their blogs, I focus on developing the bloggers. While others may focus on the best tactics for building dynamite bragging rights, I focus on building dynamite relationships. While others focus on pumping their stats, I focus on entertaining, informing, educating and connecting.
Present Yourself…Not Just Your Product
When I sold candles as a fundraiser in high school, I was taught that I had to sell myself to potential buyers before I could sell my candles. I was trained on how to be friendly and cheerful. I was coached on how to articulate the praises of our candles and the worthiness of our cause.
After I presented myself as a friendly, competent young man then I was able to present them with an amazing candle which supported a great school.
But before they would even take the time to consider my candles, I had to get them to see a good product in me. I had to get them to buy in to myself before they would buy into my product. This tactic worked wonders and every year I was either the top seller or runner up.
I have friends in sales who tell me that they practice this same principle. You have to sell yourself before you can sell your product.
Blogging is Influencing with Passion & Power
In blogging, we have to develop ourselves into the type of people who inspire our readers to action. We need to develop the charisma, the integrity, the sense of humor, and the passion that fuels and excites our readers.
I don’t believe in simply conveying dry, empty facts to our readers. I believe in lighting our content on fire with the flames of our own passions. I believe in the infusion of excitement and humor into our work that comes as we share our personalities with our readers.
Group Reflection
Blogging isn’t like the rest of the internet. It’s not based on dry, static content. Blogging is all about the engagement between the authors and the readers. It’s about developing communities built on common interest and fueled by the relationships, the passion, and the interactions that take place.
What is it that fuels and motivates you to work on your blog? Are you chasing a numeric traffic goal or a financial aspiration? Are you driven by technical statistics or by the sweet expressions of gratitude from another person that you’ve helped find success?
Does your blog prominently demonstrate to your audience that you’re passionate and excited about your topic or are you simply relaying essay-style information each day?
Nicholas Cardot
Nick uses his blog Site Sketch 101 to express his passion for helping bloggers and webmasters connect with real people through brilliant designs, unique content, and genuine creativity. Nicholas Cardot has 199 post(s) at Site Sketch 101
Share your Opinion
and be a part of the discussion.
3 Inbound Links
These awesome sites are linking here!
- Great Blogs are Fueled by Passion & Power | Design Newz
- Sunday Killer Link Love Post #3
- Why everyone goes blogging? | AREA 1 – Graphic/web design tutorials & articles
44 Vibrant Comments
I would love to hear yours!
Paul Pope said:
Hi Nick,
Great blog post and solid advice. I try to follow this every day on my blog, and I believe it works. I get good comments and am building a following in my niche.
Banjo Paul
“Wunse, I coodn’t even spel bango pikker…now I are one!”
http://www.banjosrule.com (main site)
http://www.mybanjolife.com (blog)
My Latest Blog Post: Part 5 of a 5 part beginner banjo series: chords
Nicholas Cardot said:
Paul Pope –> That’s great and keep up the great work. Good comments are a great way to tell that your site is doing well. They really reveal the level of ‘community’ that is developing around your site.
chandan said:
Yes great blog like problogger, copyblogger they are nicely maintain their blog, I see that they are posting daily and their writing are very nice.
My Latest Blog Post: How work at home data entry scam work?
Nicholas Cardot said:
chandan –> You don’t necessarily have to post daily… I actually only post 5 or 6 days per week. I guess that is almost daily, but as long as you are consistent, exciting, dynamic, and passionate about your subject then your following will continue to grow.
Jamei Favreau said:
I have been eternally procrastinating with bringing my blog back from slumber. I know I need to do it and because I have been sick I have not done so. I am going to do so soon though. I don’t know what I am fearing by keeping it in hibernation.
My Latest Blog Post: Social Media to Save the NHL (Last installment a bit late)
Nicholas Cardot said:
Jamei Favreau –> I’m looking forward to the day that your blog wakes from it’s winter slumber.
King Sidharth in Meditation said:
This was much needed. I really learned a lot from this awesome post. Selling yourself before the product.
The best part remains: “While most people are working to figure out how to develop their blogs, I focus on developing the bloggers.”
I’ve learned a lot from you. Especially about blogging with passion.
Cheers mate!
Nicholas Cardot said:
King Sidharth in Meditation –> I’m so excited to hear that people are learning, growing and having fun. I hope that you’ll understand that blogging is really all about influencing and connecting with others.
marshall said:
Nick, you hit this one right. I recently changed the focus of my blog from an ‘engineering’ essay, to a “here’s how we live off grid” emphasis. More passion, easier to tell compelling stories.
Thanks,
Marshall
My Latest Blog Post: Portable Heater Update
Nicholas Cardot said:
marshall –>That’s good. I think that you’ll find it much easier to connect with people with that kind of an attitude.
Dana @ Online Knowledge said:
Hem… how do we know if we are already passionate enough to drive attention in internet?
My Latest Blog Post: Online Knowledge Blog Disclosure
Nicholas Cardot said:
Dana @ Online Knowledge –> Are you driving attention? Are people interacting with you? Are people following you and responding to your calls to action? Are you building solid relationships? Are people thanking you on a regular basis for adding value to them?
Mary E. Ulrich said:
Another home run Nicholas.
Do have a question. I get your blog by email. When I push the tweet character in your string of media tags, it puts the title of your blog in the tweet box, but no URL.
When I click through and come to your actual site, the “retweet” button gives the title and the URL.
Don’t know if there is anything to do about that, but don’t want to just send out the title to twitterland.
Hope this made sense. Best.
Nicholas Cardot said:
Mary E. Ulrich –> Thank you for pointing that out to me. I’ve just looked into it and you’re exactly right. I’m going to try to work out a solution for it. I appreciate that you pointed that out to me because otherwise it would have simply remained broken for a while. Thank you.
David | ilcantone.com said:
Hi Nicholas, great advice.
What motivates me? I feel I’m growing as a person while I’m growing the blog. Besides, I think my content is being helpful to my readers.
Inspiring artcile Nick,
Take care
My Latest Blog Post: HOW TO DEVELOP PERSISTENCE (Part II)
Nicholas Cardot said:
David | ilcantone.com –> Thanks. Keep those things in focus and you should do well. Stay motivated.
Robomaster @ CoolAppSite said:
Thanks to advice from people like you and others, I have took this into hand on my blog. I am waiting for a little while before I introduce any affiliate programs on my blogs: that way, when I do recommend a product to my readers, they’ll trust me and buy it. Works much better to try to sell to friends than to strangers.
My Latest Blog Post: 10 Things I Hate About Google
Nicholas Cardot said:
Robomaster @ CoolAppSite –> That’s true. Make sure you don’t destroy that credibility by recommending something that isn’t worth recommending.
Jim Clary said:
Thanks for the great advice, Nicholas. I think blogging from the heart is much more important to your blog than the many bloggers who spend all their time worrying about SEO and page ranking.
Nicholas Cardot said:
Jim Clary –> I actually think that people would do better off with their SEO if they would focus on how to blog for real people and not just for their google stats. Write great content and we’ll get the backlinks and online attention necessary to drive traffic to our sites.
jan geronimo said:
That’s a worthy yardstick to live by. It’s hard yes, but being people-centric in your approach coupled with passionate, personal approach is excellent. Writing sometimes makes us strike a pose, makes our voice stilted as if we’re delivering our piece on a podium. Doesn’t work that way, does it? Quite often we’re surprised that our readers know much more than we do. And sometimes we scare the game away so to speak. It could have resulted in more fulfilling discussion in our blog had we not assumed an all too knowing stance.
Robomaster @ CoolAppSite said:
I personally find it easier to write for people instead of google bots. It’s more natural to write in a way that’s interesting, amusing, and informative, instead of hammering out a page full of keywords.
Anybody else feel the same way?
My Latest Blog Post: 5 Best Web Apps of 2009
Nicholas Cardot said:
Robomaster @ CoolAppSite –> It’s not only easier, but it’s also much more effective in captivating our audiences. I’ll be discussing this a bit more in the weekly video which I’ll be publishing tonight.
Nicholas Cardot said:
jan geronimo –> You seem to have summed it up even better than I did. It’s great to see that you understand and agree with this concept. It’s also refreshing to hear your perspective on it. Thanks.
Bloggeri @ Blog Guide said:
It’s true that when you read blogs that are filled with passion, the passion comes right through in the text. Passion is the thing that makes blog posts interesting. The same thing applies with a passionate lecturer, people feel interested, when the actual lecturer is interested in the subject.
I get my motivation from helping other people and I always feel energised when I have helped a fellow blogger.
Great post again Nick
My Latest Blog Post: Staying Motivated with Blogging
Nicholas Cardot said:
Bloggeri @ Blog Guide –> It really does. When people are willing to pour themselves out on the pages then the writing just comes alive.
Gabe | freebloghelp.com said:
Although revenue is coming in, my goals are strictly related to traffic.
What drives me is getting my message out and helping others create their online presence. (I know…so cheesy.)
I’d like to think that most people could see my passion oozing out of every word in my articles.
My Latest Blog Post: Blogging lessons learned from a failed webinar
Nicholas Cardot said:
Gabe | freebloghelp.com –> It’s really not cheesy. If you are good at helping people accomplish that then who cares if it seems cheesy. That’s essentially the same thing that I’m working here to help people with. Am I cheesy?
Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com said:
Given the transparency of business and the level of skepticism these days – more and more are opening their wallets to PEOPLE not so much products.
I believe more people are buying the 2nd best product from the 1st best person, than buying the 1st best product from the 2nd best person (in terms of how they are with people)
I liked your example of selling candles and working well with people. Just the other day I was in a small wine shop buying some wine with my partner. The guy in the shop was so kind and helpful and introduced us to wines we wouldn’t have been game enough to buy but his kindness, helpfulness and genuineness got us to hand out more money than we would have.
I compare this to the larger bottle shop chains where there is no customer service like we experienced at the small wine shop. It’s like being in a store filled with robot workers. No-one goes out of their way to help, the people at the counters are in a zombie-like state. There just isn’t any personality or engagement.
Sure their product might be cheaper but I felt so much better walking out of the small wine store than the large bottle shop that the extra I paid was worth it.
Because the guy in the small wine shop was was so kind, helpful and genuine he has gained a repeat customer (me!) as well
It just goes to show how important relationship building is.
Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com
My Latest Blog Post: How To Apply A Google Analytics Filter For Quality Results
Nicholas Cardot said:
Sarge | BeginnerBlogger.com –> That’s exactly what I’m talking about. We’ve got to present ourselves as that kind, generous blogger who goes out of our way to help people out. We’ve got to be passionate and genuine. Great example. You should write a guest post for me about it.
Ben Lang said:
Superb advice. What motivates me is passion, helping others, satisfaction…
So glad to have found this blog!
Ron Leyba said:
Well delivered Nick, it is always a very effective strategy; sell your self first before you sell your product. In that way, you gain trust and authority, so your product will gain that credibility too if you are the one who will endorse it.
My Latest Blog Post: Sikat Ang Pinoy
Brandon @ WeBlogBetter.com said:
This has to be my favorite post of the day. It resonates with me. I could not agree more with you from the headline itself. I don’t really want to connect with great content, but with passionate people. Great lesson!
My Latest Blog Post: Magntize – A Great Personal Brand Hub
Nicholas Cardot said:
Brandon @ WeBlogBetter.com –> I think that a lot of people feel the same way. Who wants to connect with an article or a piece of content? We want to connect with the passionate person behind the content.
scheng1 said:
Interesting! Many people highlight what they have, instead of who they are in all aspects of life, eg in job interview.
Sometimes, after interviewing a few candidates, we can’t even remember those candidates. Hardly anyone stands out, since they highlight only their skills, not their personality
My Latest Blog Post: Purpose of college degree education
Nicholas Cardot said:
scheng1 –> That’s a really good point. And in an article that I read last year in Fortune magazine, a poll with fortune 500 companies revealed that the number one quality that they look for in Job candidates is the ability to work great with other people. The executives said that they can easily teach them the skills necessary to run a business but you can’t teach people as easily how to get along with and inspire others.
John Samuel said:
Quite an inspiring post. Totally agree with you that blogging is about building communities. Through blogging, I have come across very interesting people and learned a lot from them
Diane M. McKnight, BFA, LLMSW said:
Hi Nic,
I really like your approach about selling yourself first to your readers. I also believe that people buy products and services from people that they trust and like. The products and services must also be top-notch, but no matter how good the products are I still believe that people respond to the individual and that repeat business is created by trust and relationships.
Nicholas Cardot said:
Diane M. McKnight, BFA, LLMSW –> You’re exactly right. You might have the best product in the world, but people aren’t going to purchase it from you if they don’t like you. You’ve got to make people feel comfortable first. I’d rather buy a product from my good friend than from a random stranger. So let’s make everyone feel like we’re friends.
Tammy said:
This is such a great conversation! To be honest getting into the blogging world to me was very intimidating…but I am so relieved that I can just be myself…Its way to hard trying to convince others I am something I am not lol… Then helping others comes easy from being genuine… I sooo love your blog Nick!
Melani said:
Isn’t it funny… I tried my hand at the ‘fake’ blogs when I was being taught the ins and outs of affiliate marketing. You know the ones, the “I used to have xxx problem until I found this xxx product and now I’m all better… ” type blogs.
I have to say, I sucked at them lol. I can’t force what I’m not passionate about. The same thing with the over the top sales letters etc, I just can’t do it.
My personal blogs however, based around gaming previously, always did really well. So recently, I decided to put the “me” part of my blogging I’ve used in the past and combine it with the whole ‘internet marketing’ scene and I have to say, it’s just sooooo much easier.
My approach to blogging is different to most of the other IMers out there, but from the few people who have seen it so far, I’ve received really wonderful feedback. And all because my posts are 100% me…
Great reminder to all writers out there (not just bloggers IMO)…
- Melani
My Latest Blog Post: The “Magic Code”… Oooooh
Nicholas Cardot said:
It really does make a difference. You’re right about that. Being passionate can make all the difference in the world. I’m glad to hear that things are working much better for you now.
Aminul Islam Sajib said:
Passion is the main thing that empowers a blogger to blog. If one doesn’t have passion in blogging, he for sure can’t shine in this sector.
My Latest Blog Post: Happy New Year 2010! The New Year Plans
Self Improvement said:
What you just said has completely changed my perspective on blogging. I will keep this in mind every time I’m about to write a new post or even think about my blog. I’ve been so caught up on how to get more readers and more traffic that I’m forgetting to just write with passion and excitement. Thanks!
“While most people are working to figure out how to develop their blogs, I focus on developing the bloggers. While others may focus on the best tactics for building dynamite bragging rights, I focus on building dynamite relationships. While others focus on pumping their stats, I focus on entertaining, informing, educating and connecting.”
My Latest Blog Post: How To Get More From Life This Instant