It Doesn’t Matter Who’s Ignoring You

Our host today is Fit Jerk. If you're interested in getting in front of the readers of Site Sketch 101, check out our guest posting invitation here.

We humans suffer from a really big fault… we want what we can’t have. And it could be anything; the stunning hottie at the bar who won’t give you an ounce of chance, the attention of the mega successful celebrity who walks by you, not even acknowledging your existence as you call out their name or the bright red Ferrari that is valued at more than your house, spouse and 3 children combined.

In fact, when we can’t have something, the line between wanting it and needing it starts to blur. Kind of like… the line between reality and fantasy for 95% of the people auditioning for American Idol.

So it’s no secret that this little “fault” spills into another aspect of our life which most of us here spend a boat load of time on… and that’s blogging! I mean think about it, how many people want to jump on Seth Godin’s lap? How many people want to guest post for Darren Rowse? How many people want Gary Vaynerchuk of an exclusive interview for their blog?

The answer is a crap load, and the reason is that these people are hard to get, which means they are probably not paying attention to you.

But blogging is the one place you need to resist this urge. Like, really resist this urge. You won’t believe how many bloggers think they don’t matter because “only a few” people subscribed to their feed or are following them on Twitter. It’s pathetic. Stop this monkey business immediately!

What they need to do instead is focus on the people who ARE following them on Twitter and those who ARE subscribed to their RSS feed. Figure who is currently paying attention to you, why they’re paying attention to you and then cater to them… because guess what? There are probably thousands of others just like them! Chances are, people that like your stuff have like-minded friends that will also like your stuff… and before you know it, your readership will grow faster than weeds in a garden. Except they won’t be as annoying and you won’t want to chop them half.

Also, the people who DO listen to you won’t be be those quiet passer-byers. Or “lurkers” as we call them. They will be people who love your content to death! And if you can’t monetize while being in this position… then you’re hopeless. Quit now.

Let me give you a real world example… ME! I’m blunt, very upfront, honest, unapologetic and have a bit of a potty mouth when I write on my blog. (Now, on here I controlled myself since Nicholas told me to keep things as family friendly as possible because of his audience. Fair enough… his blog, his rules)

But on my home turf? I let lose and what I want… and the consequences of that are bittersweet. On one hand, I don’t have “mass appeal” in the fitness niche. But on the other hand, the people who do read my obnoxious mutterings are loyal as hell.

And you know what? I throw my loyalty right back at them by releasing content that they have come to expect from me time and time again. So can you imagine what would happen if I was being me one day, then all of a sudden decided to change and be “Mr. wonderful” the next day?

Actually you don’t bother imagining… I’ll tell you what would happen: I would have 0 readers because those who liked my brutal honesty would get pissed off and leave and the readers who were intrigued by my original content would find out what I’m “really” like and regard me as a poseur. That’s a poo-poo position to be in. And I dunno about you, but I don’t want to mentioned in the same sentence as poo. It smells.

The Attention Action Plan

I’m a firm believer in DOING. Knowledge isn’t power. Applied knowledge is where true power lies… so let’s set a concrete plan in motion.

1. Find out how many people listen to you. If you have an email subscribers list… congrats! You are ahead of the game. If you don’t… what’s wrong with you!? Spend some time and generate a list of at least a few hundred people. If you don’t have an email list but have people subscribed to your RSS feed, that’ll do.
2. Find out why they listen to you. Spend a small amount of cash (like 20 bucks) and buy a product in your niche that is either popular, known, sought-after or all three. Then do a give away… but to enter, the participants must comment and say what they like about your blog and what they don’t like. It’s a real in-expensive way to gather some really, really valuable information. That small investment of 20 dollars will pay off in ways you could only imagine.
3. Use the accumulated data and see what people are saying… and pump out some killer content accordingly. Remember that you aren’t trying to bend over for people, you are simply catering to them. And catering as long as its in alignment with YOU. I know that a few of my readers would love it if I was slightly more technical and “geeky” when I talk fitness… but I’m not about the “geek” factor at all, so why on Earth would I write about it? I wouldn’t. There are other guys in my niche (like Alan Aragon) who are spectacular geeks, and his readers love that. Personally, I like to get to the point with minimal amount of BS.
4. Watch your readership grow… believe me, it will happen. Have some patience and keep pumping out what got you readers in the first place and you’ll be well on your way. Don’t forget to connect and collaborate with others. You can’t live in a bubble.

And… that’s about it. I think I’m done. Good luck.