I’ll give you five reasons why I HATE YOUR EPIC CONTENT:
- It is not epic. It is not original, insightful, educational, recyclable or enjoyable. Not to mention that I am irked that people have overused epic and made it meaningless.
- You didn’t write your post with a person in mind. It sounds like SEO gobbledy gook and I want to tear my hair out and gouge my eyeball with a fork.
- Your call to action is to sign up for a newsletter that is going to try to sell me more useless nonsense. I don’t have time for this.
- There is no single way to do this right. Stop telling me that you have the sole key to social media success because you don’t and in six months you’ll be gone.
- You sell fear. You prey upon insecurity and worry. You are an emotional vampire and not the sort I want sucking on me.
Social Media Is About People
Technically I could have shortened that rant. It didn’t have to be a list of five line items. It would have been just as easy to make it a paragraph and to qualify that I am typing slow for some people but that is not how I roll.
The blogosphere has gotten to be exceptionally noisy and that has made people fight even harder to find ways to be heard. The thing is that many aren’t thinking about what they are doing or why. They are just out there pounding on their keyboards and screaming into cyberspace silly little slogans that might as well be “LOOK AT ME!”
You don’t have to do that. You don’t have to try to make every post a clone of those that are successful or work hard to try to be different. It is a big world and there is room for multiple voices and it is ok to say the same thing as everyone else as long as you say it in your voice and use your words.
Honda Versus Toyota
There is a reason why there are multiple brands successfully occupying the same space. Look at the auto companies and try to tell me what the material differences are between Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys. If you are comparing equivalent models the cars are quite similar.
If you write like a person and for people you will find your tribe. You will find people that prefer your voice and your way of talking/speaking/explaining and they will hang with you. If you treat them like people you will build a community and gain trust/loyalty.
What Are Your Goals?
What are your goals? Why are you here? What are you doing and what do you hope to achieve?
It is clear to me that some of you don’t have a clue and are just fumbling around. That is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you run a personal blog and don’t care what people think. But if you are business blogger, well some of you are hurting your business.
But hey, what do I know I am just a dad blogger with a pen.
Great post. Love it, so straight to the point… I just wanted to point to another overused word – “stellar”. It’s just everywhere. Don’t you just love it?;)
I totally agree with this post. You do not have to fight to write about things, because everyone can write in a unique and original way. I am always coming across posts, that I have seen before, and I just end up skipping them. I would much write the posts that are inspirational and unique.
It’s certainly a challenge in the beginning to navigate this blogosphere and even more challenging to not feel a pull to write what you see seems popular … kinda like high school all over again. To find a niche and write from the heart … that is my goal. And this encourages me to keep doing just that. Thanks!
Hi Morgan,
I am no expert but I have been blogging for almost 9 years and I have seen a few things. Very few bloggers last for the long haul and those that do aren’t always the “popular” ones. If you don’t enjoy this, if blogging doesn’t make you smile than you are unlikely to last.
It is just how it works. So when you write for yourself and follow your own heart you are actually doing something that helps to build a foundation that makes it more likely you will stick around for a bit.
~~~Why are you here?
Great question….
in every single aspect of our lives.
Glad you’re not shy Dad Blogger. I sort of dig that.
Hi I.C.
Questions are good, they help make us thinking and thinking is good too. Just as long as we don’t allow it to stop us from acting upon our thoughts.
I don’t write anything epic. Ever. So I know you don’t mean me. I try to write from the heart, but then my heart can’t take it anymore so I write Murad reviews. I hate that things that are important to me get eaten by time and apathy.
I don’t read that many other bloggers. I know that’s bad, but I don’t. One of the reasons I read you is because you cut through the bullshit. The other reason I read you is because you aren’t a woman and I don’t have to worry that I’ll be tempted to or accused of copying you. Except maybe I’m going to copy this. Because there are some truly shitty blogs out there. And some of them are big and making money. Go figure. I suppose this is where I say, “Whatevs.”
There is no rule about how many blogs you need to read or not read. It is whatever works for you.
It is a big blogosphere and we are never going to please everyone. Write for yourself first and everyone else after and good things come from that, or at least that has been my experience.
FWIW, I can confirm that I am most assuredly not a woman so you don’t have to worry about angry mom bloggers coming after you.
I’m forwarding this post to my husband. One of the classes he’s teaching is on epic poetry and he daily laments the overuse of the word “epic” by his students – unless, of course, they’re describing an actual epic.
In that case, it’s okay.
Yeah, I suppose that we can still call the Iliad an epic adventure. I’ll give Frodo and company a pass too, can’t diss Tolkien either.
Jack, haven’t been by here in a while and once again. Blammo!
It’s easy to mail it in but at that point why not just call it quits. The thing I agree with is you have to make it your own. I think that has been said a lot lately and it doesn’t change the fact that it’s the simple truth. People are people and in the infamous words of Sheik Yerbouti “You are what you is.”
Blog on daddy blogger….with a pen.
Hi Ralph,
We all have moments and I certainly have published some posts that fell short of the mark, but I always try to instill pieces and parts of me in them. Call it personal preference, but I see that as being a significant part of what makes a post more interesting.
I want to know what the writer has to say. It makes a difference and like you said, if you are mailing it in why bother.
Amen. A lot of the advice seems to be repetitive and generated for search engines, not people. Those who really engage are the ones I prefer to read.
Remember, Epic is just cipe spelled backwards. 😉
Hi Carolyn,
Sometimes the noise just grates on my nerves. It is not hard to put something more into these posts.
I don’t know why you are picking on me, Jack. I mean… I am your no. 1 fan. I am. In my mind. Why would you call me out like this? [grin] Et tu, brute?!
I find it hard to write often. Sometimes. Is it writer’s block? I don’t know. But I want to say things. Things that matter – even if no one is listening. Or reading.
I want to write epic blog posts that provoke you into profound doubt. Unlock potential. Or wonder. Or, perhaps, a fleeting moment. A flash of enlightenment, insight, and/or conscience.
And I can’t do that everyday. I can’t do it every week. Sometimes, I wonder if I can do it at all.
My point? I know I’m a hack. A sham. A good for nothing. A poorly disguised loser.
You don’t have to remind me.
Actually, Stan, your posts are epic so I’m almost positive that Jack wasn’t calling you out. Unless you have a newsletter I’m unaware of? 😉
Big hug to you Carolyn!
Nah, you are no hack, not even close. You just like to try to hit home runs every time. Nothing wrong with that either.
That means a lot to me coming from you, Jack. Thanks.
P.S. I forgot to say that you chose THE PERFECT photo to go with this post.
Thank you. Stumbled onto it and got lucky.
All I can say is amen. Part of why I stopped reading some of the biggest blogs is because they’re full of list posts that talk about “x # of ways to do y” (insert whatever you want to replace the x and y). Sometimes I’m amazed because I’ll look at my RSS feed for one blog and thinking “why does every title look the same.” Break the rules, say what hasn’t been said. Have some fun. Be human..
Hi Srinivas,
I think some of the “bigger” guys are mailing it in. I don’t know if “success” made them fat and lazy or if they can’t figure out what to say, but some of them have nothing to share anymore.
Pretty sad if you ask me.
I particularly hate the overused phrase: epic shit. Do they not see that those two words are mutually exclusive?!
Hi D.A.,
Sadly they don’t. They use phrases they have heard and just run with it because they think it is cool.
Sage post. Know why you write. I’ve also set up some goals and that’s helped me a bit.
Hi Trey,
The personal blogs don’t irk me the way the business blogs do because personal is personal. You don’t have to have a great reason for a personal blog.
But business blogs are different, I want to know why they are out there and what they hope to achieve. If you don’t have goals to measure how do you know if you are successful.
My 2nd grader used “epic” a lot in conversation last year for about a month. Any adult using it for their marketing exercise should be shot. Do they think we don’t use discernment? Moreover do they think we need what they are selling?
Hi Julie,
Call me a snob, but many people don’t want to have to think and will sign up for anything. Some of them are part of the reason some of the knuckleheads are still in business.
Most post authors that proclaim themselves as epic (and encourage you to be epic as well) are writing epic sales pitches. And that’s it. There’s nothing wrong with trying to sell something (I do it everyday :)), but call a spade a spade, please.
There are plenty of bloggers out there that post very helpful or inspirational material without the call to action of pulling out your credit card at the end. I read those.
Hi Joe,
That is part of my issue. Some of these yahoos haven’t a clue what it means to have make a real sales call in person. They aren’t used to having to look someone in the eye and handle all that comes with it.
It is really easy to sit back in a chair and write stuff, especially when it is junk and gibberish.
The human side makes all the difference.
I like this thought: “If you write like a person and for people you will find your tribe.”
Hi Louise,
It is disgustingly obvious but many miss it. Be human and be nice, people will respond.
That blog post was “Epic”!
Mr. Suddard. It is good to see you. How are you?
I’m having an Epic time up here in Canada, watching the Americans run around wondering if they should vote for some Epic guy like Obama or another Epic guy Romney. It is Epic really, just like this here blog.
Translation: All’s good. 🙂