Comments on: Lessons from Tower Defense on How to Reinvent Your Blog

By: Garg the Unzola

Garg the Unzola — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 09:35:12 +0000

I spend more time interacting with other bloggers than what I do on my own blog. In return, I get plenty of link love and lots of traffic.

Fortunately, in the last week or so most of my traffic started coming from google. It seems that interacting with other bloggers has paid off in unexpected ways.

One way to interact with other bloggers is to take part in their competitions. Whether you win or not is immaterial, the other blogger is sure to check out your blog. Plus you get another link to your blog from out there.

I never took part in competitions because I thought they were a waste of time. I haven’t tried the guest posting idea yet, maybe it is time.

By: Steve Wright

Steve Wright — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:59:18 +0000

Hey Darren, good post. Tower Defense is awesome. I probably play it a bit too much, especially at work. But the points you’re bringing up make a lot of sense. Doing the same things over and over are probably going to produce the same results.

However, if its something you’re comfortable doing and the result isnt what you want, you need to change the way you do it. What feels uncomfortable to you will most likely produce a different result.

By: Andy MacDonald - Marketing & Blogging Tips

Andy MacDonald - Marketing & Blogging Tips — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 17:22:24 +0000

An interesting post. Ive not been blogging all that long, and so far, I’ve had pretty good responses with readers, comments, and social media, so i’m not quite at the ‘brick wall’ stage, however i think your post is relevant to blogs that are doing well at blogging. I think anytime is good for doing something new, whether your new to blogging, been blogging for years, have a really successful blog, or even a blog which has very little readers and traffic.

Great post. thanks.

By: Darren Rowse

Darren Rowse — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:12:37 +0000

Dave – actually I’ve seen the quote attributed to numerous people over the last day including Benjamin Franklin and also Rita Mae Brown. Have amended the post to show this.

By: Dave C.

Dave C. — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:34:15 +0000

Sorry to be the wet blanket, Darren, but your quote at the top is misattributed.

It was Benjamin Franklin that said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

By: Mark @ TheLocoMono

Mark @ TheLocoMono — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 02:45:48 +0000

I was hitting so many brick walls until a few weeks ago when I switched to a paid theme I liked and when that happened, the brick wall crumbled to dust.

Another thing I realized was that I started forgetting about the advices I read on “probloggers” website, including yours, sorry, Darren, and that also helped unblock my writing skills to return to a quality content level.

So as a result, from remodeling my website which included splitting up my “niches” into sub-domains, I started writing quality content even if I wasn’t posting on a daily basis. Once I realized that, my enthusiasm level went right back up and the floodgates started opening.

Nice look by the way, haven’t been here in months but glad to see you are experimenting too.

By: RT the fitness guy

RT the fitness guy — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:11:23 +0000

Darren,

Did you do this post out of guilt so you can say at least you haven’t completely wasted that time playing Tower?

lol

By: j2watches

j2watches — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:49:39 +0000

I can’t believe you got me to click on that Tower Defense link. Now I’ve got another distraction to try and avoid – lol

Back to this post – my comment was to emphsize your second suggestion.

Something far too easy to do is to get heads down on our own sites and not stay engaged with the rest of the community.

By: Nick's Traffic Tricks

Nick's Traffic Tricks — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:06:52 +0000

Great tips. I especially like the one about writing something for beginners when you normally blog for more advanced readers in your niche. This helps introduce people to your niche and helps them gain a better understanding of the rest of your postings.

I have a blog about website traffic generation and I find a lot of visitors have only a basic understanding of things. They have questions about basic seo and meta tags. They are not ready for an indepth discussion of using torrents to get traffic.

By: M

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:28:23 +0000

I used to play that game too – drove me nuts. I would too play for hours and hours on end. To the point where I had ban myself. I had withdrawal symptoms for a while and I had to get therapy for it. I was joking, and that was a small tangent.

Back to the topic, I think the problem with many bloggers, is that they usually blog with a certain style and to break out of that style is very difficult. If we can liken our blogging routine to our daily routine – or better yet, our drive to work, then breaking is out to try a different route from time to time.

Taking a different route, perhaps, will not have any detrimental effect (assuming you only do it when you actually do have the time), but some bloggers, particularly those with stake in it e.g. advertising, hardcore readers, certain topics may be afraid of losing credibility and that there is slight inconsistency.

Since consistency is one of those things always preached by pro blogging tips – including yourself, Darren – it may be easy to see why bloggers may be afraid to have a random jerk in a different direction, even if for once in several weeks.

I think people forget that a blog should have some element of fun and/or personification and hence a little – to quote you – tangent, may be appreciated once in a while. It can also show the human side of the blog and therefore encourage more readership – and current readers to respond more.

By: Dee Copeland

Dee Copeland — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:32:30 +0000

I’m trying something new on my blog this week because I’ve been seeing more local stories on green building. Today is Green Week at http://www.TexasRealtyBlog.com. I’m interviewing local green building professionals to post their advice as well as information about the best green communities in my area.

I really enjoy blogging because it lets me talk about things that I find important. I just have to take time to think about what my audience is interested in.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:43:54 +0000

Hehe! Now I can tell my husband he’s insane! He has this one strategy he’s always using for that game.

On the blogging side of my life, I’ve been working on changing things up a little. Life keeps doing the same to me….

By: Pádraig

Pádraig — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:28:01 +0000

That’s one hell of a quote.

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:56:30 +0000

Some great ideas. I followed your links and came across your Underdog idea and have just reincarnated it on my blog. Super idea.

By: Cigar Jack

Cigar Jack — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:14:05 +0000

My question is how the heck did you beat that level! I want strategy tips! :)

By: Tom Beaton

Tom Beaton — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:06:47 +0000

I’m going to give Tower Defense a shot. As a non gamer I might enjoy it too. I am yet to hit a rut in blogging, but a radical change is the best way to overcome ruts in many aspects of the business of life.

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:44:23 +0000

Great ideas for getting out of a rut! One thing I like to do is change venues. I typically blog here at my desktop, but when I get in a rut I like to venture out on my old laptop and blog in a bookstore, coffee shop, etc. In fact, many times this is where I come with inspiration for new topics.

By: Terra Andersen

Terra Andersen — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:30:00 +0000

I love that Einstein quote. Being an entrepreneur, I have to remember that one every single day…. or I waste too much time doing things that don’t work.

I definitely think that keeping things fresh is imperative. Using your strong points is a MUST. If you have a good sense of humor… use it! If you are creative at graphic design and the like, offer some type of free button for like-minded bloggers to use on their sites… creating a network-friendly blog in the process. If it’s pretty, most people will put it somewhere… and it’ll bring your site more visability in the process.

By: Troy

Troy — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:24:06 +0000

Wow, I used to play a LOT of that game (also, budapest defender). The real lesson here is that you can make a blog post out of almost anything. I only wish I had someting to day about Defend Your Castle :).

By: Rick Julian

Rick Julian — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 15:57:20 +0000

I hit brick walls all the time, and find the best solution is to begin playing with them: bouncing balls off of them, writing mocking graffiti on them . . . it’s important to not let the wall get the upper hand.

I wrote a post last week that shares my strategies for breaking through creative inertia (sorry for the ugly link)

http://www.quo-vadis.tv/rickjulian/2008/02/15/7-ways-to-detonate-your-creativity/

Best

Rick