Very soon, a time will come when many of you will start looking for “good” resolutions to make for the upcoming year. Two things. For those that will decide to come up with your resolutions, here is a list that I had put together last year. This should provide a good start
1. I serve as one of the catalysts for SIPA (Silicon Valley Indian Professionals Organization) 2. Navin Nagiah, CEO of CIGNEX (a company I co-founded) will be on a panel at this event.
SIPA annual event with a great line up of speakers (including but not limited to Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro, Ashwin Rangan, CIO of Walmart Global and Prabhakar Raghavan, Head of Yahoo! research) is being held this October 28,2006. I will be there and I hope some of you will be there too. If you do plan to come, please send me a note offline and we can setup a time to meet and talk.
Now, here are 10 more things they didn’t tell you about blogging:
11. Never ask for links
The only simple way to get linked is to CONSISTENTLY write compelling content that has a high ROII. Plus, you might just annoy bloggers with such requests.
12. Who you are plays an important role in how your blog is perceived
There is a feeling with many people that since it is easy to start a blog, it should be easy to succeed in blogging. While I tend to agree that great content is one way to succeed, people also want to know who is writing the content. When I see what the new visitors click on my blog, most often, it is the “About” section. Even if they like what I write, they want to know “who the hell is the author” and “why is he or she the right person to say what he or she is saying.”
My point is while you are trying to get your blog in order, it is also important to get your life and career in order. Both of them go together.
13. Using the right tools is VERY important to get the right feedback
To track, to measure, to optimize for search engines or for whatever. These tools are not expensive and they may provide some great insights about what is working and what is not on your blog. They say that “feedback is the breakfast of champions.” I am sure you are all champions so please eat (get feedback) well.
14. Taking a STAND is necessary
What does your blog stand for? Who is the audience? Why should someone read your blog? What is in it for them? Why should they come back?
All the above questions should be answered without thinking too much. If you are having a hard time answering these questions, it is better that you go back to your drawing board and re-think your strategies. Unless you are planning to be a “news reporting” site (which is not bad) you have to have a theme for the blog. Your audience are built over a long period of time (unless you are a celebrity) and you don’t want to confuse and chase them away.
15. You can slack but remember that you are only one click away from someone unsubscribing.
Yes, it is your blog and you can do whatever you want with it. You are the king (or the queen) of your blog. Only thing to remember is that your readers have the same choice. They can do whatever they want. Most importantly they can do something – walk away from your blog forever.
16. Don’t apply the rule of reciprocation to blogs.
You can link to anyone you want but don’t link just for the sole purpose of getting a link back. There are no guarantees. You should link if the content is appropriate to your readers (it’s your call) and they will link if the content is appropriate to their readers (it’s their call)
17. Don’t impose your rules on other bloggers
Imagine this situation. There is a shop where they are giving away stuff for free. There are no queues. You just have to walk in and get whatever you want for free. Would it be reasonable to complain about what you get? For GOD’s sake, the stuff is free. If this sounds ridiculous, imagine complaining about bloggers who are giving away their stuff – most of the time their knowledge and expertise for free. There is no point in complaining. They are who they are and they write whatever they want. Like I said before, as a reader you always have a choice – to unsubscribe. Why waste your energy by complaining?
18. Don’t write if you don’t have anything to write
You know – writers block affects bloggers too. It is REALLY OK to not post anything if you don’t have anything valuable to post. Weak posts bring down the average value of your posts. Why take that risk?
The reason that you write should not be because you have a blog but because you have something valuable to contribute.
19. Don’t expect short-term benefits. There are none.
It takes a long time commitment to blogging to get ANY reasonable return from that exercise. Also, the approach has to be to “give first” rather than “get first.” What you get will be rarely more than what you give.
20. Your attitude DOES show up on your blog
You can’t hide it. Whether you want to believe it or not, long time readers of your blog can paint a picture of who you are based on what you write. Your writings WILL in one way or the other reveal your attitude. so, please don’t try to fix your writing – that is the easy part. Fix your attitude!
For years, I have been frequenting a restaurant in the bay area for
many of my business meetings. Won’t name it here for obvious reasons.
The food is good but not great. Why do I continue to go there. First,
people are great. They are courtesous, responsive and they want to
ensure that I have a good time there. In summary, the overall
experience is good. Experience matters. A lot.
Last weekend, we were in Disneyland the whole of two days and in the end, it was hard to come out of that place. We had to literally pull ourselves out so that we won’t miss the flight. We have to come back to reality someday I thought We all know what a show Disney folks can put up and what an experience they can create. Case in point – Disneyland Block Party. This is show that happens everyday at around 5pm in California Adventure Park adjacent to the original Disneyland. More than half an hour before the show people had already taken seats. Of course, they wanted to watch the show from a good place. The show lasted for about 20 minutes. Throughout the show, the audience were spellbound with fast paced dances, acrobatics and songs. The performers were all great and involved the audience wherever possible.
The focus, of course, was on the kids and once their kids were involved, the parents were VERY involved – in taking photos and recording the whole thing. What else does a parent look forward to more than an expression of sheer joy from their kids?
Now coming to my point – our businesses may not be entertainment businesses like Disneyland or Universal Studios but we still create an experience for our customers – every single day. I don’t know whether we all think about this but we are putting up a show almost everyday just like what Disneyland does. The settings are different but make no mistake – the show is ON. May be if we take some care to put on a great show consistently, we might be able to stand out from the crowd. Something to think about!
PS: This is my 600th post on my blog. Once again, time to thank all of you who have been following this blog for quite some time. And, here is another warm welcome to the new readers!
Of course all of us are thoughtful. Are we really? It seems like common sense but it’s not.
They say that we are either thinking about what happened in the past or worrying about what will happen in the future. So where do we have the time to be “thoughtful” in the present? Let’s do a quick check – how thoughtful were you today? Whatever be your answer if I ask all the people that interacted with you about your thoughtfulness, would they concur with your conclusion?
Wanting to be thoughtful is easy but actually practicing it is hard. It requires an extra effort to think from the other person’s viewpoint. Here are a few thoughtful scenarios
1. For the sake of experience
Last weekend we were at Lego Land. We ate at a restaurant inside. The waiter came with the check. As you can see the check holder was completely made of lego pieces. These people had used every single opportunity to demonstrate what all we could do with Legos. It was fascinating.
2. For the sake of courtesy and consideration
This happens almost on a daily basis from simple things like holding the door for someone behind you.
It
can be for very complex things. I remember (and it has happened only
once so far) a waiter who was extremely thoughtful. I had gone for a
business lunch and was looking forward to having a conversation with my
contact. The waiter as you can see soon was very smart and thoughtful.
After the pleasantries, he said “Gentlemen, I want to ensure that you
enjoy the meal as well as the conversation. I tend to come and check in
on you from time to time to ensure that I am taking care of you. But
sometimes it can be a nuisance. Please let me know how you want to me
to check in on you so that you have a pleasant experience without being
intrusive”
That for me was an epitome of thoughtfulness.
3. For the sake of convenience
I fly out of San Jose airport most of the time. I also visit the airport more times either to drop off someone or to pick up someone else. Yesterday I was there to spend a few (more) minutes with Tim. Obviously time was of essence and I wanted to find a parking spot quickly. Earlier, it would have taken me a lot of time to find a spot. However, I was pleasantly surprised about a few reserved spots marked as “One Hour Parking Only” and they were right next to the door. It is a definite help for people who are on the run. Simple and thoughtful solution again!
I am sure you have your own scenarios. Have a thoughtful Friday!
Note 1: Here is a Squidoo lens that links to most of the previous articles in this series: Squidoo: Distinguish Yourself
For the benefit of new readers, I have compiled a set of articles that
I have written in the past (published on this blog) on the topic of
entrepreneurship. Here they are:
2. 10 better questions for aspiring entrepreneurs – Sep 23, 2006
These questions are from the field. These are questions that aspiring
entrepreneurs are asking. Rather than answering their questions, I have
taken a shot at refining them. Like I have said before, one good
question can change the way you think and live the rest of your life.
14.
10 ideas to get new ideas Ideas are not usually a problem for entrepreneurs (they have plenty of them) – anyways you might find one or two things interesting in my list.
Bonus – I am sure you already know about these sites but here they are anyway (in no particular order – I love them all)
* Guy Kawasaki University (also known as Signal to Noise)
All entrepreneurs should bookmark this without fail – especially ones that are running technology businesses
* Brad Feld
Free education and insights on the VC world. Especially the articles on Entrepreneurship and Board matters.
* Seth Godin
For a ton of insights on marketing and just pure thought stimulation
I had an opportunity to spend time with Tim Sanders today which I cherish. As a bonus, I also got to listen to Tim giving a keynote to a spellbound audience this afternoon. It was fascinating. In the end Tim provided two tips (sort of takeaways) and one of them was just right on the money. It seems so obvious once you hear it. Without going into further details, here is that gem:
“If you want the title, please be willing to take the job that comes with it”
In fact, it is VERY hard to maintain. Since most bloggers are not depending on blogging for their living, it is walking an extra mile almost everyday. Plus, how do you motivate yourself to do something that does not have a short-term return?
2. People expect consistently good content or quality readers walk away.
You can write something stupid and get away for a while. People may even link to it and you may see an upsurge in traffic but that traffic is not what you want. Quality readers don’t have time to hunt for stupidity. If you don’t post good content consistently for a LONG time, there is no loyalty from quality readers. While how many people read your blog is an important measure, what is also important is WHO reads your blog.
3. You can’t be famous just by blogging.
Of course, there are exceptions but we all know that exceptions are not the rule. Take a look at all the A-list bloggers you know. I can bet that 99% of them will be involved in cool jobs other than blogging.
4. You can’t get rich blogging.
Again, there are exceptions. Then, you don’t include Las Vegas and Lottery in your growth strategy. Do you?
5. You can extend your brand via the blog but you can’t build a brand by blogging.
Whenever I talk about it, they throw a few names at me and say that if they can do it, we can do it too. That logic is flawed and is akin to saying there are some people who climbed Mount Everest so we can do it too. I am not saying you can’t but it is hard.
6. Blogging is an addiction and sometimes it can be serious.
If you don’t believe it, ask the family members of reasonably successful bloggers (the A-listers are a gone case, of course) and you will know. Sorry I don’t know of a cure other than to continue blogging. Any other tips are welcome
7. If you want to succeed, you HAVE to start making others succeed.
You want to succeed in your blogging initiatives. Others want to do the same. If everyone thinks that ONLY they want to succeed, it will be hard work for everyone. Please spread the word about other blogs. You don’t have to promote other blogs blatantly. A little bit of “link love” will go a long way. Don’t worry. People will reciprocate if you write “linkworthy” content.
8. You don’t climb up by pulling down other people.
If your strategy is mud-slinging at other bloggers to generate traffic, remember that you won’t be getting quality visitors to your blog. The only people who have time to read those things probably don’t have time for anything productive anyway.
9. It takes time to produce “Timeless Content.” But “timeless content” produces results (traffic included) in the long run
What percentage of your posts are “timeless”? If you stop blogging today, how long can your blog survive in the blogosphere? Most blogs will die within a few days or weeks as the content becomes irrelevant very quickly. How about on your blog? Would it last a few days? A few weeks? A few months or a few years? Creating timeless content is hard and that’s why most people don’t bother. You can distinguish yourself (one of my favorite topics) by putting in that hard work and stand out from the crowd. As a bonus, you can increase the longevity of the blog.
10. Traffic is important but “Quality” traffic is more important
Fine, you have a lot of traffic on your blog but who are these readers? If you are playing a “power” game, quality readership is more important. Remember that quality readers mostly don’t have a lot of time and that means you can’t NOT focus on providing high Return on Investment for an Interaction (ROII)
I know that this is a partial list but hopefully there is some food for thought.
If you are interested in a few other articles and tips on blogging, please visit my Squidoo lens on this topic. Link – Blogging Starter Checklist
Last weekend we were at Lego Land. We ate at a restaurant inside. The waiter came with the check. As you can see the check holder was completely made of lego pieces. These people had used every single opportunity to demonstrate what all we could do with Legos. It was fascinating.
er to drop off someone or to pick up someone else. Yesterday I was there to spend a few (more) minutes with Tim. Obviously time was of essence and I wanted to find a parking spot quickly. Earlier, it would have taken me a lot of time to find a spot. However, I was pleasantly surprised about a few reserved spots marked as “One Hour Parking Only” and they were right next to the door. It is a definite help for people who are on the run. Simple and thoughtful solution again!
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