Leader or Follower

Do you ever stop and think about what kind of blogger you are? I know I do and I have come to a conclusion that there really are only two kinds of bloggers in the world. Leaders and Followers.

You are either a leader or a follower.


I was inspired to write this post tonight when I was browsing through my feed reader. You can imagine my disdain when I ran across a post from a Make Money Online blogger that was about what he had for lunch that day. I will admit that was beautifully written, complete with pictures and commentary but come on.

.

If you’re in the MMO niche then you know what an absolute ridiculous copycat move this is as John Chow started this a long time ago. It seems unbelievable to me that of ALL the topics that could be written about and this was what he had to offer. What a waste of our time and his talent.

I mentioned two types of bloggers so let’s discuss each.

Leaders

lion.jpgThese types of bloggers are the ones that everyone looks to for inspiration. They are different in every niche but I am sure you know the type I am talking about. They produce fresh and inspiring content that really grabs your attention and keeps it to the end.

Instead of skimming their posts and then forgetting them as soon as you hit the next blog in your reader, you bookmark them to comeback later. They inspire blog posts of your very own and typically grow into very popular blogs that lead their niche. They are the kind of blog that followers flock to for inspiration.

If you were to compare these bloggers to historical figures of the past, they would be the modern day “blogging” version of Lewis and Clark or Christopher Columbus. These people definitely blazed new paths in the world and stamped their brand in history.

Problogger, Copyblogger and John Chow would be some familiar names that are leaders in the blog world. There are many more but these are three that will serve as great examples.

Followers

lemmingThese are the kind of bloggers who follow what everyone else is doing. They read what the “leaders” write and then rehash it and try to pretend like it is their own. They may be great at rewriting someone else’s thoughts but without inspiration or originality they are destined to fail.

A follower might easily be a leader in disguise. They may have a ton of talent and intelligence but are simply not using it to its potential just yet. They may be searching for their blogging voice. It can be quite challenging to write unique and fresh content but it’s very easy to rehash someone else’s ideas.

Inevitably readers will see through this facade and move on.

If we revisit my historical figures analogy above then these kinds of bloggers would be the 2nd man on the moon, the 2nd person to fly across the Atlantic or the 2nd person to come to America. The first group you remember to this day, the second group you probably need Wikipedia to even have a chance of identifying.

Metamorphosis

This topic is especially appropriate for the Make Money Online niche as this niche is full of people who are blogging for the wrong reason. They are writing about making money online because they want to make money, not because they love it. They think that if John Chow makes money blogging about dealdotcom then they can too.

They are FOLLOWERS.

The post that inspired me tonight was very nicely written and I was even going to link to it to show you what I was referring to but that could be misconstrued as evil and that is not my intention.  John started this trend of blogging about what he had for lunch and it has become a staple of his blog, he is very well known for it and for him it works. For all those who are copying him, STOP it. It’s pathetic.

If John Chow blogged about what his kids diaper looked like then you could expect to see an avalanche of diaper doody posts around the MMO niche.

A lot of people crank on John for his blog but it’s a sure sign of being a leader when your posts inspire hundreds of others.

The Butterfly

butterfly.jpgIf you are wondering which type of blogger you are, if you are in the MMO niche then this is a definitive test. If you blog about what you eat, then you’re a follower, if you’ve written a post about the same thing John wrote yesterday then you are a follower.

The good news is that if you are a follower then there is hope and you can change. You only need to stop trying to be someone else and be YOURSELF. Everyone has unique viewpoints and different ways of looking at the same issues and you need to tap into this to find your voice.

Becoming a Leader is so much easier for you if you are blogging in a niche that you are passionate about. If you are writing in the MMO niche because you want to try and make money then you are here for the wrong reason. You won’t have anything unique to offer and you sure won’t be blazing any new paths through the blogosphere.

You’re Wasting Your Time Blogging About Something You are NOT Passionate about.


You would be far better off to blog in a niche that you love and figure out a way to monetize that blog. It matters not what niche you are in, if you have traffic and a following then you can positively make money from it. .

Private ad sales and affiliate marketing can be used in ANY niche that I can think of today and they can be very, very effective because the audience is more receptive.

Money will ALWAYS follow talent, it’s a Proven Fact.

Conclusion

If you’ve experienced limited success and just can’t seem to get the traffic and subscribers that you are after or you can’t figure out how to make any money online then you need to do a gut check. Are you blogging about this topic because you love it or are you blogging about this topic to make money?

If you aren’t here because you love it then I would be willing to be that you sure aren’t making any money. I would strongly encourage you to take what you have learned in this niche and apply it to one that you really love. One that you look forward to writing about rather than having to rewrite whatever John Chow wrote last week.

You could be far more successful monetizing this kind of blog than you ever could a MMO blog.

The choice is yours, you can choose to become a leader or you can choose to continue to be a follower….but whatever you do, for the love of god, don’t blog about what you eat for lunch, it’s just plain sad.

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