Written on January 4th, 2010 at 12:01 am by kellydiels
The Blah Blah Blah Blogging Rules. F It.
I’m having a rule-following problem. As in, don’t want to follow them.
Which rules? These ones:
- Use snappy titles containing a question, the words “How To” and jarring adjectives. Do not be cute, arty, or poetic. Copy-write. Read the titles on the cover of The Enquirer or Cosmo and do what they do. Your title is more important than the post, itself.
- Give advice. Provide value. Solve problems. Don’t talk about your cat or your sex life.
- Make it scannable. Break up text with headers.
- Make is scannable. Use lists.
- Make it scannable. Use boldface and italics to emphasize your point.
- Be brief, simple and stick to one topic. Your readers are only scanning it, anyways.
The Blogging Rules, Flouting Them, and the Faux-Rebellion.
Here is my confession: I’m a lit-on-fire blogger (who hates the word blog, cringes when I’m called a blogger, and resists the word “post”) but I don’t want to play by these rules.
I want to write wild, long, passionate, raw and real. I want to create art. I want to write words that land and burrow and inhabit my people. (I should just admit that I’m a wannabe poet and call it a day. Then no one would EVER read/scan my stuff. And so I blog.)
Here is my second confession: I adhere to the Gospel of Doowhatchalike. My titles are posts in and of themselves. I often write loooooooooooong pieces – sometimes 2,000 words or more. I insert my opinions and streams of consciousness and wackadoo digressions all over the place and they’re usually more interesting than the ostensible topic. And then I post pictures of my cleavage.
But just between you, me and the double D, I’m not a rebel.
I may have a vivid imagination and torrid/insane romantic life (thanks, vivid imagination!), but otherwise am so screamingly normal that it makes your normal tawdry. This is me: 9-5, kids, stability, friends, family, education, achievements, regular oil changes, a yard that doesn’t raise the wrath of strata, blah blah blah.
Why then, in my blog – my baby, my heart, my love, my creative offering to the world, my own thing – do I have to follow the rules? Why do you?
The Revolution Will Be Blogged
Recently, at my own site, I asked: Why do you blog?
The answers were many, varied, and invariably wonderful:
I blog because I love to write; blogging is just another form of expression for me. – Amanda Farough, Violet Minded
Though I may never become a writer who makes millions through my craft, blogging has given me the opportunity to affect the lives of others with my words. – Maven, A Fabulously Good Life
I blog because I’m the savior of the world and if everyone would just listen to me, we would all be better off, but then, I can’t even save myself sometimes so I guess that’s not true either.
I blog because I love run-on sentences.
I blog because the Infinite source of the cosmos calls me to it, that or is constantly warning me to stay away from it. Either way, I’m pretty bad at listening. – Steve, Life Change For You
I started blogging initially because it I was bored, dateless and cold on one January Friday night in Chicago. True story – Laura Cococcia, The Journal of Cultural Conversation
I am a glutton for personal development. whut.
I blog about it because I do my best thinking when I’m talking. I learn things as I explain them to others. I realize truth about myself, ugly ones and damaged ones and foreign ones, when I’m not stuck in my own head.
I blog because blogging is gangsta, and I got a gangsta lean. – Carlos Velez, Conscious Me (coming January 2010)
I needed a space where I could support my own interests, where I’m the Queen Of My Own Domain! It was also a challenge to push myself to try something completely new…to get unstuck and out of a rut. – Eileen, Blue Bird Luxe
I also consider it a creative act and a political act – any woman blogging now is raising a voice for all those womens’ voices which were silenced throughout history. And as the famous quote by Adrienne Rich states: When a woman tells the truth she is creating the possibility for more truth around her. – Lianne Raymond
…I blog because I want a revolution, I’m adverse to guns, and toddlers aren’t great at protest marches (unless they’re protesting the lack of third bowls of ice cream or fourth green bananas). – Arwyn, Raising My Boychick
To recap: we’re blogging for creative expression; to affect the lives of others; because the-cosmos-made-me or we’re bored and dateless and got a gangsta lean; for challenge; as a creative and political act (be the revolution), and lions-and-tigers-and-bears, OH MY.
Nobody said this:
- To follow the rules
- To do what everyone else is doing
- To turn my blog into a cliché
- To make money (whaaaaaa????? NOBODY? – okay, a few)
My point: blogging can be transformational.
You know why?
Because it is writing – and we might say, oh you don’t have to be a good writer to be a popular blogger, but for the most part that is a big wiggly lie – and we’re doing it daily.
Those two things, together, mean we’re thinking about THINGS and working through them. A-ha moments are practically guaranteed.
And then there are the people. Wow, the people. Blogging lets us find our people and that is a revelation. It is like coming home to a love-in, only everyone keeps their clothes on (usually) and talks pretty about thinky things. It is beautiful. It is soul food that doesn’t make you fat.
Transformation, community, freedom, creative expression.
That’s why some (most?) of us are blogging. We’re not looking for another set of rules to obey.
Nope. Not even one person jumped on the couch to scream “I LOVE THE RULES. Katie Holmes, Schmatie Holmes, I WANNA MARRY THE RULES!”
So WHY all the Blogging Rules?
So what’s up with the rules? Who made these rules anyway? Why do we need them?
Even more importantly – let me put my social science hat on here and run a really good query – where do they come from?
Dearest Reader, I knew you’d ask, so I did the research. And this is the answer:
F it.
That’s not a code and I’m not alluding to a bad word. That’s really the answer. That’s how people read online.
F for fast. That’s how users read your precious content. In a few seconds, their eyes move at amazing speeds across your website’s words in a pattern that’s very different from what you learned in school.
In our new eyetracking study, we recorded how 232 users looked at thousands of Web pages. We found that users’ main reading behavior was fairly consistent across many different sites and tasks. This dominant reading pattern looks somewhat like an F and has the following three components:
- Users first read in a horizontal movement, usually across the upper part of the content area. This initial element forms the F’s top bar.
- Next, users move down the page a bit and then read across in a second horizontal movement that typically covers a shorter area than the previous movement. This additional element forms the F’s lower bar.
- Finally, users scan the content’s left side in a vertical movement. Sometimes this is a fairly slow and systematic scan that appears as a solid stripe on an eyetracking heatmap. Other times users move faster, creating a spottier heatmap. This last element forms the F’s stem.
That’s not reading. That’s scanning – that’s a person who ended up on your site thanks to Google, and who is searching for an answer to a question. A solution. Maybe even something to buy. And that’s where The Blogging Rules come from.
Readers read the headline, maybe the first line or two, and then scan the body of the piece. Hence: great titles, strong leads, headers and lists.
Blogging Rules: Your New Best Friend. Alas.
The rules aren’t random. They’re a guide to crafting effective online content that gets read (errr…scanned).
Larry Brooks, the writing guru behind the rampant writing usefulness that is storyfix (and he’s so much more than that, too – he’s in love with me although he doesn’t know it nor does his wife. Vivid imagination, say hey!) writes in his blog about the importance of following the rules.
As in: if you’re a writer, and you want to get published, you better learn the storytelling conventions and rock them out. To the letter. Or resign yourself to being an undiscovered ungenius.
The same is probably true with blogging. The rules are about how people read online. And you want them to read your stuff, right? I mean that’s why we’re blogging, yes?
My inner imaginary rebel just nodded, sighed and said F it.
________________________
PS – Want more on the rules? Here’s a quick, top ten list of good stuff you can find here at ProBlogger. (Ah-choo!)
- Striking Findings from an Eye Tracking Study
- Behaviors of the Blogosphere Study Results
- What is a Blog?
- 18 Lessons I’ve Learnt as a Blogger
- Writing Good Content
- Post Length – How Long should a Blog Post Be?
- Granular One Topic Blog Posts
- Using Titles Effectively on Blogs
- Scannable Content
- Writing Blog Content – Make it Scannable
__________________________
Kelly Diels is a wildly hireable freelance writer and the creator of Cleavage, a blog about three things we all want more of: sex, money and meaning.
111 Responses to “The Blah Blah Blah Blogging Rules. F It.” - Add Yours
Daz
January 4th, 2010 1:04 am
I must admit, I spend time on the title making it as good as possible…
I think most people follow rules for SEO reasons (as per my title), or, at least, what they think will “rank” well on various search engines.
I personally follow a few rules as that’s part of the site – good title, searchable on various search engines (hopefully!), with a concise post body. I try not to make massive posts – and if I feel I am doing, I break it up into multiple posts. But they’re “brand” rules, which I think are OK? :)
Marko Saric
January 4th, 2010 1:07 am
Great article and great advice. We all blog for different reasons but if we want to take it as far as we can and want to optimize the results, there is some advice, there are some “rules” that we should try to incorporate into our blogging.
Joe Pritchard
January 4th, 2010 1:08 am
I understand that there are always rules in media; before kicking off a blog I’d had several hundred articles and a dozen books published. Basically, that doesn’t happen if you play fast and loose with the rules that matter.
And I think that that is the issue – the rules that matter. I recently commented on this topic:
http://www.joepritchard.me.uk/2009/12/what-goes-in-to-a-blog/
To me a blog is a personal thing – I’m not blogging to sell anything, don’t carry adverts, and to be blunt if I get a few regular readers who enjoy what I do I’m happy.
Young
January 4th, 2010 1:15 am
I think the relation ship is more important among all of those rules, you are successful by others’ help.
ghabuntu
January 4th, 2010 1:16 am
Wow. What a touching post! Thanks for your time.
Henri @ Wake Up Cloud
January 4th, 2010 1:17 am
This just gave me a few ideas and reminded me to be myself and let my crazy side shine through, although it is already shining through. I’ve noticed that the more I write, the more I am able to find my own voice and be myself.
Rock!
Vivek
January 4th, 2010 1:18 am
Since as the time changes, the rules set previously should be modified so as to compete with others. And above all i follow seo rules
Bejewell
January 4th, 2010 1:20 am
I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a second blog for a while now, and this post really reinforces that idea. My personal blog is WAY too off-color and inappropriate to EVER use as a professional tool — starting a second, more professional blog seems to be the best option for me to create a body of work that I can point potentional employers or clients to as an example of what I can do. Audience or not, I don’t want my personal blog to follow any stinkin’ rules, anyway.
Now I’ve just got to find the time… Ugh.
Tom Smith @ Studentspayless
January 4th, 2010 1:21 am
Hello Kelly, I think this is the first post I have read from you and I really enjoyed it. I am extremely new to blogging and have read loads and loads of material alot of it giving rules on how to blog effectively so its nice to read an different view on the rules of blogging.
http://www.studentspayless.com
se7en
January 4th, 2010 1:25 am
Best post I have read all year – I know the year isn’t very long!!! So that doesn’t sound very flattering… But seriously consider yourself flattered it is brilliant!!! A keeper!!! Thanks for the great mix of light relief and thought provoking… I love it!!!
rick
January 4th, 2010 1:32 am
Great post Kelly. Hate to admit it, but most of our posts are glorified sound bites…catchy titles with bulleted lists. God forbid you include a four sentence paragraph…a death sentence for viewer retention.
I believe the trend towards creating scannable posts will continue to increase. People are now reading your takes on cellphones. Can you imagine reading a 2000 word post on a 2-3 inch screen?
Pedro Lopes
January 4th, 2010 1:38 am
Pretty good job explaining the “F” thing, it can´t get more clear than that.
Do you realize that you followed all the rules on this post? Right? ;-)
Bet that the first list is not going to make Brian Clark happy, LOL.
Weel done Kelly.
Regards.
Hear Mum Roar
January 4th, 2010 2:00 am
That was very thought provoking and well written!
I think the fun of blogging is learning the rules, applying them, and finding a way to make it completely your own. But it is AWESOME to break them once in a while to break monotony, and to add flavour and a bit of our personality into the mix too.
This post is very memorable, I can see myself coming back to it regularly to let it really sink in.
James
January 4th, 2010 2:07 am
I have to agree with se7en. Best post I’ve read all year and definitely in my top 10 from last year had it been a few days earlier. Thanks for the post, read the whole thing. You’e earned a new reader here.
Carlos Velez, Conscious Me
January 4th, 2010 2:20 am
I found your blog at the right time Kelly (before I started publishing). Voice matters and mine has been croaky with disuse over the past few years.
Your voice sounded like it was saying “be yourself” and it wasn’t a monstrous cliché.
Thanks.
ps. I promise to never scan your posts…whoops…prose? poetry.
pps. thanks for recognizing my gangsta lean.
mefloraine
January 4th, 2010 2:22 am
I dislike blogging rules. There is no reason to think that using titles you want to use, and writing as you want to write will not get you readers…you just might have to work harder for them.
And anyway, it’s the long term, commenting, fun readers that give the blogger more joy anyway, in my opinion.
I do think there are guidelines, and I don’t doubt the power of the F, but I think that being a good blogger goes beyond being able to write in a certain way to get your point across faster/better/etc.
Davor Gasparevic @ Internet marketing ebooks blog
January 4th, 2010 2:46 am
Well, I didn’t “F it” this post, I read it all from the first to the last letter, and I can say that I have very mixed feelings about it. Most of the things in my life I do in a kind of a middle way, not entirely by the rules, legal, allowed, by the book, but not entirely without limits and boundaries too.
I sound like Budha now lol.
A million blogging lessons
January 4th, 2010 2:54 am
I think you hit it right on the nose. I am new to blogging and I think the rules have to be followed…when I am on my computer looking for stuff I dont want to spend all day reading something thats not worth my time…just ealier today I spent 40 min reading over things that I’ve read already. Damn tittles got me again…lol thank kelly for your good content I’m gonna f…it
Amanda @ The Mom Crowd
January 4th, 2010 2:59 am
I agree with the commenters, this is great. I have 2 blogs: 1 that follows the rules and gives advice and encouragement to moms and 2 – my personal blog that doesn’t follow any rules and it is mine to do what ever the heck I want to do with it. I think at all depends on your intention for blogging.
Sudeep
January 4th, 2010 2:59 am
Each one has and should have their own reason for blogging and I do not believe in rules for success. If short post give results to some , does not mean that the same rule should show success to other.
After all that is what makes one different from other.
Nice post
axel g
January 4th, 2010 3:05 am
A snappy title really draws attention, I agree.
Inspiring post Kelly!
Sudeep
January 4th, 2010 3:20 am
This is a great post. Something made sure I read through all of it–not just the F. ;)
Anyway, I really appreciate the “F it” pun. Adds so much more curiosity. Wish that’s how we were taught the rule in communication skils class too!
2 Cents
January 4th, 2010 3:21 am
As a new blogger, my head is spinning with trying to put out good content that is unique, yet follows the “F-ing” rules.
I tend to write in a more or less organized way, so I don’t mind the bulleted list thing, but I find some of the other conventions of personal finance blogging annoying and I sometimes feel like I’m standing outside a big clique.
I think I’ll just write what I love and love what I write for a while and see what happens. Thanks for the great info!
Srinivas Rao
January 4th, 2010 3:26 am
Kelly,
I always enjoy your posts here. As far as rules go, I think that’s one of the most useful things I’ve learned from you. I stopped writing for SEO a while back and I’ve learned that when I write whatever comes to me, things flow much more and I produce some of my best work.
Dave Doolin
January 4th, 2010 3:35 am
You got me at the double D. Of course.
I could go on and on about the rise of recycled pap as the blogging “currency of the day.”
It’s stupid.
Google turns a knob on their search engine. 1 million bloggers all rush to post – essentially – the same article. Then another million scrape, spin and steal from the first million.
Then the rest of us obligingly scan and comment. Again. What a life!
Back to the salt mine.
Jonny Nguyen
January 4th, 2010 4:40 am
yes, I agree with you, I am working on it.
Nathan Hangen
January 4th, 2010 5:01 am
Depends on the blog I think. For instance…my main blog is built for entrepreneurs and your style wouldn’t work well there.
However, someone like the Blogess, who’s all over the place in her writing, does well with something resembling your style because that’s her brand.
Develop a brand based on what vibes with you, and then try to find a way to make it work. There are other ways of blog monetization than ads and affiliate sales. Like you said, book deals are one.
There are also TV deals, syndication deals, paid writing gigs, etc.
I will say this…the rules exist because they are the quickest way to freedom, but they aren’t the only way.
Kristen @ Motherese
January 4th, 2010 5:27 am
I’ve always been a rule follower. Sigh. But blogging – its immediacy, intimacy, and relative anonymity – has given me a tremendous sense of freedom to follow the rules that suit me and flout the ones that don’t.
Like anything, whether or not you follow the rules depends on your goals; my goals at the moment are to write and to find a few, maybe more, people to listen, to hear, and to challenge. So right now I’m working with a set of rules that makes sense to me and to them.
I love Kelly’s blog and am thrilled to see her voice featured here.
Kelly Diels
January 4th, 2010 5:36 am
@Nathan Did you just compare me to The Bloggess? I die happy.
“Develop a brand based on what vibes with you” – yes. YES. That’s perfect, Nathan.
PS if you look closely, you’ll see that I followed all the rules in this piece (except for possibly being way too long).
PPS my style wouldn’t work on your blog? Oh the gloves are off. I will guest post for you if it kills me. Or you. Preferably you.
Kelly Diels
January 4th, 2010 5:37 am
@Dave Doolin. Sing it, sister. I know this song. I OWN THIS SONG.
Kelly Diels
January 4th, 2010 5:39 am
@Pedro yep. and ssssssh. you’re giving away all my secrets.
Kelly Diels
January 4th, 2010 5:43 am
@Hear Mum Roar you’re right. The first step in any new field/project/art is to learn the rules. When you start moving from student to master is when you realize the ‘why’ of the rules and start saying…why not?
Blogging is, at heart, personal expression. You have to do what works for you.
And let’s be honest: the people who stand out have talent and a unique voice and work long, passionate, sweaty hours to hone that voice.
That’s why they’re always telling us to develop great content: because that is the only rule that counts.
Gurl
January 4th, 2010 5:54 am
I’ve always been one to not follow the blogging rules. Every time I try, I sound like a robot to me. I will probably never have a huge following, but-like someone else said-if I get a few constant readers I am quite pleased.
I guess this works for me because I am not in blogging to make money, though it would be nice. I started blogging to get all my fears, worries, and other thoughts out of my head so I could make sense of them. And it help…a LOT!!
Great read, and definitely food for thought if I ever decide to start a second or third or fourth or….blog LOL
Jamie Harrop
January 4th, 2010 5:54 am
Kelly, I haven’t commented on a blog post in almost 10 months (I’ve been out of the game after life got mighty busy).
However, I just had to comment on this post. What a wonderful piece of writing genius it is! Bravo!
I think you just rekindled my passion for writing… Maybe, just maybe, your post will have inspired me to start blogging again. Only time will tell, but I’ll thank you in advance just in case… thank you!
Jamie
Nathan
January 4th, 2010 6:03 am
I do like a good fight :D
Nezine
January 4th, 2010 6:11 am
I like this post because I believe in it.
People usually scan through the articles. No one has time or the patience to read articles. So making lists, boldface and italics to emphasize point really help. I read recently that you have to read word for word but I find that too time-demanding.
I liked this post as it seems so normal!
Shane Hudson
January 4th, 2010 6:11 am
Many people follow these rules because other people (especially so-called gurus) tell them to. But it is WRONG!!! Well, not wrong.. but if everybody is sticking to the rules then surely the best thing to do is the opposite… be unique!
Natalia Ventre
January 4th, 2010 6:15 am
I think that blogging is a particular piece of writing, such as essays, novels, poems. You can have your personal voice and yet keep some rules in mind.
I don’t think that a 100% self expression writing can be called “blog”. Using a blog platform (WordPress, Blogger, whatever) doesn’t guarantee that you are writing blog posts.
Nezine
January 4th, 2010 6:16 am
I think once you are a problogger and well-known and making enough money, you do not really need to follow rules and you are more at ease.
Everyone has a style but what dictates a successful blog?
This Mama Works It!
January 4th, 2010 6:38 am
Yes!!! great post!
Here is my two cents. I think every blog is different and depending on what you want to do with your blog will depend on how you format and write it. Which then will decide what rules you want to follow and which ones you ignore. The beauty of blogging is that it is your blog and you can do whatever you want with it.
I personally appreciate the tips, suggestions, “rules” that I find on this site and others. I use what I think will help me and if it doesn’t pertain to me then I don’t.
Also I think the anwsers you got from the question you asked on your blog may have been different if asked on another blog say…problogger. Every blog is different and every audience is different.
And I also think everyone has different opinions when it comes to what makes a successful blog. If a blogger is happy just talking about their day and is happy with only family reading it then that is fine. If they want 1000 followers in 6 months then that is fine. It is up to the blogger to define what success means to them and then develop a plan to get there.
Thanks for the thought provoking post. Off to read your blog now! Because it sounds awesome!
Maven
January 4th, 2010 6:45 am
I just about jumped out of my chair when I saw my comment :-)
For me, a blog has to be relateable and have personality. I don’t just want the facts, I want the person behind the facts – all the better if that person is irreverent or funny.
Goofy pictures also don’t hurt ;)
Chris Monty
January 4th, 2010 6:51 am
I knew that the upper-left corner of the heat map is where all the action is.
I had not heard about the “F” theory before though.
I like it!
Eileen
January 4th, 2010 7:36 am
I hear you! I want to learn and follow the rules! I can write about anything I want, just follow the rules. I’m new to blogging and I’m really enjoying the process. But, ahhh Kelly…no cat?
Mark Wood
January 4th, 2010 7:53 am
Fantastic article. It’s refreshing to hear that others suffer from the same boredom with the rules! I ended up starting a whole separate blog just for my personal writing as I got sick of always trying to conform to the “standards” when writing technical articles.
Great post!
marvin
January 4th, 2010 8:30 am
its 5.30 a.m. already i have just to save this and print at my office… so i ca still read
Nick
January 4th, 2010 8:41 am
Great article. I spend a lot of time to follow a few rules for SEO, writing good title, and writing quality articles.
However, I think once you are a well-known blogger, you do not need more to follow certain rules.
Dot
January 4th, 2010 10:21 am
When you can blaze across the screen like this, I think you’re entitled to not just break the rules but make the rules.
I wonder if that survey included people who like to read long, thoughtful articles. I say the rules are made for how SOME people (maybe most people) read. So I say if you only want to write for those who appreciate the way you write (long or whatever) and not for MOST people, then following the rules doesn’t matter.
I’ll bet there are people who’ve published novels on the Internet, even.
Personally, I love a nice long post, as long as it doesn’t drag.
John Arnold
January 4th, 2010 10:21 am
I find the “F” explanation very helpful. There are people who ignore the rules and succeed anyways. Chailles.com is one that comes immediately to mind. But they usually deliver in some other remarkable and unique way that hooks an audience. I would love to hear some stats or strategies around balancing text, video and audio. I am wanting to move into more video and audio. Would love to know the “rules” for video and audio other than “keep it brief.”
Amanda @ violetminded
January 4th, 2010 11:04 am
The rules are useful. Sort of. But I still hate them. I tried writing for SEO when I started violetminded and then I decided that it was boring. I still have no idea what violetminded is about. All I know is that it’s my little slice of the internet to do with as I please.
Embrace the rules. Throw ‘em away. Crash into a mountain and climb all the way up anyway. Let’s just have a ball.
Emma
January 4th, 2010 12:17 pm
Interesting post. I’m generally not a rule-follower, and my blog is a bit challenging because I’m attempting a “blogoir” format, but I must admit that I’m intrigued by the potential benefits of being more rule-bound. If I’m going to bother baring my soul for all the world to see, it would be nice to have more readers!
ami | 40daystochange
January 4th, 2010 12:32 pm
What? Simple brilliance is not sufficient?? If I build it, they *won’t* come, I have to follow rules too???
Well, dang. That doesn’t sound like any fun at all. At least, no fun until those rule-following readers start showing up to read my F – ing posts. hehe.
Jason Katzenback
January 4th, 2010 12:55 pm
AWESOME… i am serious… AWESOME post!
Following rules makes blogging boring… be passionate.. be real and you will get traffic. Ya its OK to keyword target and all that good stuff but blog like you are have a discussion with someone… make it enjoyable!
Great post Darren!
John
January 4th, 2010 1:07 pm
I have found some helpful information on some of your posts on how to improve my ideas for using a blog to get traffic and interact with visitors.
There are so many options for themes, plug ins etc it is sometimes hard to know the best way forward. I will try some new ideas based on what I found on your blog.
Randy Mejias
January 4th, 2010 1:14 pm
F it I hate the rules…
Yeah that joke was horrible.
But I do hate those rules at times, but I can’t deny their truth.
I know I scan pages like that, and I’ve seen many pages I’ve left before I read any content just because they aren’t set up for scanning quickly.
When I want to know, say, what the zoom on a new camera is, if I don’t see it in a bullet point or at the very beginning of a paragraph, I check a new page.
After reading this I’m actually going to go edit the post I just made, cause I’m sure I could improve on it.
Thanks for the great post also!
Jasmin
January 4th, 2010 1:59 pm
I too have this complex relationship with blogging rules. It’s the same kind of relationship I have with my GPS. A love/hate thing.
When I first started blogging I only used 2 words for all my blog headings. It was a creative challenge I set myself and it worked pretty well (even getting a decent technorati ranking, not that it really mattered to me) until about a year in, when I found it too difficult to find my own posts ;p
I do like tha blogging rules. For the reasons you mention. And because it’s part of my job. I hate tha blogging rules. Only because I find they can sometimes get in the way of personal creative expression. And sometimes I break away from them – momentarily – so that I can find my inner creative voice again :)
Fab post, nice to meet you Kelly.
adsense alternatives
January 4th, 2010 2:02 pm
I do get tired of seeing the same formula used on everyone’s blog. Thanks for breaking the rules.
George
January 4th, 2010 3:16 pm
Yes, it’s important to have fun in the process. If blogging (or whatever we do) is a bunch of rules that we hate, then it will become just another job. It’s better to have fun in the process.
wifi router
January 4th, 2010 3:37 pm
Well, These are wonderful list of rules and it seems to be quite useful for me.I definitely follow these rules in my blogging…
Mick Morris
January 4th, 2010 3:51 pm
I love the rebel… my inner one is screaming!……. but don’t we just know it…there is always rules in life….
Every now and then a rebel changes the face of the game (and then their process becomes the new rules !) Now how to figure out how to be that rebel……
Chris
January 4th, 2010 4:28 pm
I have been following your advice since I started my blog, and I just wanted to say thanks for the help.
Also, I wanted to mention that while I was at the book store today, thumbing through a book about blogging, I found a page dedicated to you and your Problogger site. Your page made the rest of the book seem useless, and for that I just had to laugh.
Satria Nugraha
January 4th, 2010 4:51 pm
The rules are useful.You breaking the rules. I spend a lot of time to follow a few rules for SEO, writing good title, and writing quality articles . But after i read this posting on your blog I want to learn and follow the rules! I can write about anything I want, just follow the rules. I’m new to blogging and I’m really enjoying the process.
Lianne
January 4th, 2010 5:01 pm
Since you quoted me, Kelly, I feel compelled to leave a comment. Guess what – I’ve got some opinions ;)
I think your writing works and this post works precisely because you are not following the rules. I think the rules are bunk, Brian Clark and his ilk could not be more boring and they are ignorant of a whole pile of people making really nice livings from the web (mostly women -The Bloggess mentioned above is a good example and I can give you many, many more) who don’t give an F about these rules. Because these rules are the masculine (not male, masculine, we all have both M and F qualities) approach – lists and brevity and bold headlines and solving problems are designed for people who are hunting. The feminine approach is the the gathering, the bringing together, the fostering of relationship.
Darren is actually the only guy I’ve bought something from on the internet – compare his 31 Days to Build a Better Blog to Leo Babuata’s How I got 100,00 subscribers in 2 years – you don’t even have to read them – just read the titles and you can see what I’m saying. Darren has a nice blend of feminine and masculine in his approach – focusing on relationship and community. That’s why he invited you here, I’m sure (perhaps subconciously, though he’s a smart guy). Leo talks a lot about Digg making him big. And Digg is like the most male place on the net. I think I’ve read Zen Habits twice and it bored me to tears.
So women and men who want to embrace their feminine side, let’s take a look at our own rules – let’s stop buying into this paradigm. People are dying for something juicy and real to read – lists are so last decade. Kelly your readership is growing for a reason, and it ain’t because you are following some rules. It’s because of this: “My titles are posts in and of themselves. I often write loooooooooooong pieces – sometimes 2,000 words or more. I insert my opinions and streams of consciousness and wackadoo digressions all over the place and they’re usually more interesting than the ostensible topic.”
I could write a whole thesis on this, but what I mostly want to say is – please, please, please don’t stop doing what you do. I beg of you, no lists.
SK
January 4th, 2010 5:20 pm
Really, really nice. Loved the whole thing from the title to the end.
But I think this sort of freedom in blogging works well only for personal or creative blogs. For someone like me, though, who blogs on Indian Television, it’s the best to stick to the rules.
One thing is for sure, whenever I do start a creative blog….I’ll just F the rules ;-)
Stocks on Wall Street
January 4th, 2010 6:55 pm
Will make sure to follow similar rules.
free online adventure games
January 4th, 2010 7:07 pm
We need to know the rules to not follow the rules. (I mean, You can decide to follow or not follow the rules)
tedrichie
January 4th, 2010 7:07 pm
thanks for sharing
J.D. Meier
January 4th, 2010 7:34 pm
I think of them less as rules and more like patterns that work and patterns that don’t.
When starting out, I think it’s good to master the basics before you spread your wings and flex your stuff.
That way you can be a rebel with a clue.
It all goes back to the question, which is the key, “why do you blog?” … That’s the perfect lens to know which patterns to use, which to throw out, and which to bend backwards in unthinkable, improbable, and unstoppable ways.
David Morson
January 4th, 2010 9:49 pm
What a nice and informative blog. Really awesome. I have gained a lot from your article, at least a clear view on why and how to blog and this well help me a lot in my blogging of aidandtrade.
Rick
January 4th, 2010 10:05 pm
Good advice. As with writing generally, I guess the bottom line is that you should know what the rules are before you start breaking them.
Heather Villa
January 4th, 2010 10:23 pm
You’re so right. We blog because we want people to read our ideas, thoughts, etc. Like anything else, in order to get readers, there are rules that should be followed. People are busy, and if your post is not inviting and eye-appealing to begin with, or if it’s laid out where it appears to be a ton of text, they will move on to another site with a better laid out blog. It doesn’t mean your content it bad, but if you can’t get them to start reading, then it doesn’t matter what the content is.
Sriganesh R
January 4th, 2010 11:20 pm
I appreciate the points you have ‘posted’. If you are a writer who is not bound by anything else but your urge to write, then the rules don’t apply.
But many use blogs as a tool to make money. For them, the rules become important.
ANWC
January 4th, 2010 11:45 pm
May be I should spend more on your blog, you teach me many things in your writing. Love your works, Darren!
Julie Roads
January 4th, 2010 11:46 pm
Darren Rowse! You are brilliant having Kelly guest post once a week. Brilliant!
Difference between Liberals and Conservatives
January 4th, 2010 11:48 pm
You should abide by the rules if you have to only. If you can blog without any then even better.
Scott Marcaccio
January 4th, 2010 11:53 pm
Wow, that heatmap is very, very cool! Definitely food for thought on how to structure a post. Loved the F it =)
Lior
January 5th, 2010 12:01 am
GREAT post title!
Laura Cococcia
January 5th, 2010 12:24 am
Kelly – you do it again. Actually, I think I may go against the rules in 2010. Thanks for including my comment – I got a few date proposals from it. :)
stephen
January 5th, 2010 12:29 am
Yep, fast and quick.
Fast through the main points, and quick through the content. That said, if an article is too long (which this one almost is), I ain’t sticking around to read it.
Admittedly, I am quite the culprit on long posts, but I do agree with you: Bolding, italicising and occasional photographs help break up the monotony of most articles. I hope.
Again, great article, yet almost too long. ;)
Nathan
January 5th, 2010 12:33 am
Brian Clark and his ilk huh? Interesting…
Joe - musica para el movil
January 5th, 2010 1:30 am
In addition to using lists, use bullets. I find bullets to be more scannable than simple lists. I like the little arrow bullets on your list. Great example.
Sherry Zander
January 5th, 2010 1:45 am
Okay … WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH DARREN?! Had to get that off my chest. Loved the schpeel. It doesn’t quite sound like you, Darren, but, hey, everyone has a right to a stellar rant now and then. And, what I say to that is … F it!
Gabe | freebloghelp.com
January 5th, 2010 2:13 am
Honestly, I kinda like the rules. They’re not for everyone but they’re a guide to follow, especially for those who are new to writing.
That said, I also believe in individuality and the importance of brand identity. There just has to be some balance.
Kok Siong Chen
January 5th, 2010 2:20 am
I join the blogosphere is because of interest. I love to share with others.
Are Morch
January 5th, 2010 2:41 am
Great article with a great twist…
As a newbie you get into traditional blog thinking, and never really think outside the box. If you are working inside the box you focus a lot to find the all the puzzle pieces for the big picture. And you want succeed before you find them all.
This great article tells me to start think outside the traditional blog box in 2010..
Cheers.. Are
Karen Chaffee
January 5th, 2010 3:39 am
Ha ha…I knew that was you guest posting here, Kelly, the minute I read the title. The very reason you stand out as a stellar blogger is that you don’t follow the rules.
Other side of the coin? The reason I do not stand out is because I don’t follow the rules either. So I am looking for the middle ground, but it has to be my own ground, not someone elses.
Great write!
Jim Harris
January 5th, 2010 5:37 am
Great post – maybe I should stop staring at your Cleavage all the time and read more of your stuff here on ProBlogger?– ah, who am I kidding? – I am obviously going to do both…
I blog because the voices in my head tell me I have to, and because they don’t laugh at my jokes when I tell them to myself. When I share my unfettered genius and hilarious sense of humor with the world (and by world, I mean the one or two people who accidentally read my blog) through blogging, then I feel like the voices in my head aren’t my only friends (or enemies).
People shouldn’t feel obligated to follow the blogging rules – unless, of course, people want to understand what the F blogging is all about and how to do it well, in which case, people should read Darren and Kelly on a regular basis – the voices in your head command it – and you know, you don’t want to piss them off (the voices, not Darren and Kelly)…
Elizabeth
January 5th, 2010 5:54 am
Nice post. You will be pleased to know that although I am a classic “F” reader, scanning TONS of stuff daily, everytime I read one of your posts I am actually READING by about one third of the way through.
You are a great writer – entertaining AND informative. So yes, write for the “F” to draw us in, but don’t worry about length. Your style is like a magnet for the eyes.
Sandra
January 5th, 2010 2:52 pm
Another wonderful article, Kelly! When I saw your name on this post I was so excited! I’d been scanning my reader and was getting a little bleary-eyed, until I started reading your post (sorry, I meant poem!)
Seriously – you gave great information and actionable ideas in an extremely engaging and downright fun article. That’s the key isn’t it? We can follow all the rules but unless we put our spirit in the mix, then they are just formatted words on the page.
So if this post had been titled, “Six Blogging Rules You Must Follow” I may have read it (maybe) but it wouldn’t have “stuck” in my brain. Which means it would have been a waste of time because I didn’t learn anything.
Instead – You reinforced important points about writing for my blog and I really enjoyed reading it!
Thank you, Kelly for putting “you” into your writing – I really like you!
DT
January 5th, 2010 4:18 pm
Sorry, perhaps it’s just me, but I found this post incredibly hard to read. It seems that then this post is written contrary to the content it speaks about. “F it?”
For sure, I read like that (I scan), but I completely missed the point because the key reason (or the so what?) for any of us to create a blog post to “F it” was hidden right inside the post!
I had to go back and search the body text for the whole point of this article!
Darren, you post stuff here on pro-blogger to shake things up, and I appreciate that a lot, but I hope that if a post is about structuring content to reflect how people “F it” then perhaps it makes sense that the post practices what it preaches?
Lianne
January 5th, 2010 4:55 pm
“Brian Clark and his ilk huh? Interesting…”
Hi Nathan – if you are still reading. I was posting my comment in a real hurry last night and it does come off as a bit harsh. Let’s see if I can articulate this a bit better. I really am bored by Brain Clark and ZenHabits but I know many people are not, obviously. And that’s great – we aren’t going to all like the same stuff. Which is why pretending there is *one* set of rules for blogging seems misguided.
I don’t like shopping at Wal-Mart but they are super successful, too, and clearly know what they are doing to make big money. But the techniques they use would be a flop at Holt-Renfrew (what’s the US equivalent of that – Neiman Marcus, maybe?), who also make big money. I believe blogs have those same nuances and pretending there is one set of rules that applies to all blogs is limiting the idea of the art and craft and scope of blogging.
ps – I am sure Brian Clark and the zenhabits dude are very nice and engaging in person :)
Online Dating Tips
January 5th, 2010 5:50 pm
That’s right, most people read articles at amazing speed since there are so many to read on the net unless you cover very interesting topic
Rick - vinoun.com
January 5th, 2010 11:53 pm
One of these days I will write a post with no title header.
Jacinta Dean
January 6th, 2010 12:03 am
Hi Kelly,
This is an awesome post. Yes I scanned it :lol:
I really like you writing style and your honesty. I am off to check out your blog now.
Kind Regards
Jacinta :D
Rick - vinoun.com
January 6th, 2010 12:05 am
I’m new to blogging, so I’ll follow the rules. I’ll see where those rules take me.
There’s always a choice.
Living with Balls
January 6th, 2010 7:48 am
I try to follow the “rules” as best as I can. I always do my best to come up with a snappy title and an attention grabbing opening paragraph.
abercrombie
January 6th, 2010 1:36 pm
what i can say about it except saying bla bla bla bla abercrombieandfitch
scheng1
January 7th, 2010 10:39 pm
Maybe a few thousands later, my descendants will read my blog, and wonder why they got me, such a stupid ancestor! That will be a grand reward of blogging
Sofia J
January 8th, 2010 8:09 pm
I’m a blog newbie and since I started, I’ve been trying to digest as much as I can on a daily basis how to increase traffic to my blog – so that I can do a decent job. Much of the materials out there (to my dismay) is about how to increase traffic to make money. I have nothing against that but it is a little overwhelming for me. I didn’t start my blog to make money. I did it because I want to and because I love to write. Self expression, a space to share experiences, thoughts and contribute to others (if people read what I write that is).
You can imagine my relief when I read your article. I could breathe again! Thank you so much. I have included a link of your blog on mine (so I know where to find you again). I suspect I will become one of your fans too :)
Thank you!
Kenney
January 8th, 2010 9:28 pm
Thank Darren for a great Post…I mean article…I learn so much from your stuff…Thanx so much for everthing you do…Kenney
Vincent Eaton
January 10th, 2010 11:13 pm
The “rules” you stated are simply the oldest guidelines for writing commercial copy. I’m a published novelist and ex-marketing communications manager. I know the difference between creative writing and commercial writer.
These rules are one more drip-down of business methods pervading many aspects of daily life. And of course it is trying the same with the internet.
There’s a whole industry trying to turn parts of the internet into purely commercial attention grabbing information pumping networking, with hopes of money at the end of the road.
Some of the internet is about making it up as one goes along. Rule-makers are about making it like everything else.
The only thing that is different about all of us is our individual voice. Put rules on it, and we are all the same.
This is going around now, and it is boiling, and I was about to “Post” a blog on this tomorrow, my attitude, partly expressed here. Then shutting up and writing whatever comes into my head without checking the rules to see whether I am genuine and efficient.
Smile on.
How to Boost Your Alexa Ranking (by a MILLION Places!) in Two Months and One Day
January 14th, 2010 1:00 am
[...] and I love to love. That all shines through in my transparent and sometimes pulpy posts. I know the blogging and business-writing rules and alternate between obeying them and breaking them with abandon. It is roller coaster writing, to [...]
Free Article Directory
January 14th, 2010 3:06 am
I dont think anyone should be following any rules. If everyone was the same, then it would be really hard to stand out. You need to be different and make your own rules. Whatever works for you….f it, go for it….no such thing as rules online
Vincent Eaton
January 16th, 2010 1:17 am
The whole idea of success on the Internet (blogs included) is encapsulated by Derek Powasek (link http://powazek.com/) and is simple :
1.Make (write) something great.
2.Tell people about it.
3.Do it again.
E
January 16th, 2010 9:31 am
And here I just spend a whole 3 minutes skimming your site for the promised random cleavage, and not a cleave to be found… =o(
Waltsense
January 16th, 2010 3:12 pm
I blog because I love to write and make people laugh. People often tell me these type rules but I write how I see fit. Being myself and blogging from head as lead to a good first year and even landed a hollywood agent whose name sounds as old as her cigarette. Its fun as my buddy and I run the site and we like to gather the fans, but it’s also an outlet to maybe get me out of the cubicle. Hey…you never know.
Crown Multimedia
January 16th, 2010 4:07 pm
In other words, one must break all of the rules in order to rise above the pack…??? Makes sense, but where do you draw the line between renegade and reckless? I think I’m stuck some where in the middle of the two states. Can you offer a bit of advice for a fledgling (dare I say)…BLOGGER? Thanks.
Carlos
Vincent Eaton
January 18th, 2010 7:13 am
I don’t think Bog writing is about breaking “the rules”? (What rules, whose rules? Rules on what? And off you go, defining rules instead than writing….) Rather, blog or any kind of writing is about voice. Your own personal voice. That is the only individual thing we have as writers. Because we are going to write about what occurs in life and thoughts, and we are human, so similarities inevitably arise. But it is the voice, rule-bound or rule-less, your own perspective, which will make readers sit up and take notice…or not. Find your voice (in public, on a blog, as you go if you must) and the rules will take care of themselves.
Chinese Crafts & Gifts
February 1st, 2010 7:50 pm
Great post, I built my following by asking questions on Twitter, and kind of fell out of doing that. I need to focus more on going back to that process to engage more people.
I will also make sure that I begin asking questions in my posts. Thanks for your video.
I would like to know if people enjoy reading my content and what I could do to make it more informative.
Thanks again
Gabriella Sannino
February 2nd, 2010 9:59 am
Pssstt @Kenney err Darren didn’t write this… His posts are nowhere near this loooong or engaging. *joke :)
Congrats to kelly being the new kid on the block great stuff keep it up!
Houston Librarian
February 26th, 2010 6:54 am
The how to blog tips do get a little out of hand some times. There is no right or wrong way to do anything. There was a right way to sell merchandise years ago, and KMart was all over it, but then they got left behind and went bankrupt. There was a right way to do a lot of things that changed over the years.
Mia Dragaj
March 31st, 2010 12:38 pm
It’s refreshing to see someone very chuffed about what they do. If only I had your writing aptitude. I look forward to more updates and will be returning.Thanks!
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