December 14, 2007
I’ve worked in advertising and marketing. I’ve even been a consultant. But that’s not really what I or my blog is about, in fact it seems quite difficult to get to grips with what it is I do over on The Kaiser and I have been asked on a number of occasions to explain myself.
So I thought I’d do it here.
It would seem that I, on a regular basis, break all the rules and top ten tips for creating a successful blog; I do tend to delete them you see – which screws up all sorts of things that have come to seem important, like technorati ratings, google page rankings and all the other stuff that bloggers think they need to keep themselves going. But I’ve come to see these things as blogger’s-crack and have simply walked away from them.
What I try to do is create seasons of content, and I do this through creating, developing and launching characters into what we call the blogosphere. These seasons are loosely based on television formats. I try and create interest and addiction while the seasons are running which then climax into sorrow and disappointment when we reach the last episode.
I’m not interested in creating a constant stream of constant content. I’m looking for waves, dips and peaks.
It’s challenging for me both as a writer and as a performer; yes I’ve come to consider myself a performer as most of the characters are some disguised version of myself. It’s challenging for the readers too and sometimes I get it wrong and sometimes I need to pace the dips and peaks differently.
I’m basically running formats, content formats, that try to entertain, confuse, anger and empower people. They sometimes move people too. It’s hard work because I’m creating all the time and I’m trying to be original but that’s the fun of it, that’s the joy and when I get it wrong I seem to get it wrong for all of the right reasons.
And this is what I would like to share with you.
It’s tempting to read top ten tips and tricks, get bogged down with SEO nonsense and do all the other things that bloggers are supposed to do but the worst thing you could do is just have a blog. You need to have a format (not a niche) and you need to love that format and fight for it.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a huge corporation, an agency, a small business or just a chap like me sitting in a little yellow kitchen, you need to have a format that you love because people will notice. Eventually.
Marcus Brown is the mad genius behind The Kaiser, Sacrum and many other blog legends. His marketing sense is fresh and keen. His humor is brittle and his heart is pure. I rarely read his work without nodding and at the same time, shaking my head at the brilliant delivery. He’s probably the bravest blogger I know.
Watch for more guest posts every Friday. Interesting in being a guest blogger here at Drew’s Marketing Minute? E-mail me.
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Here’s what I know. 
