The ML Editor

I am going to share a little secret with you. DarkIcon is right.
Those of you who read his rant understand why he is upset. It is the sheer repetitiveness of the topic that numbs your senses. That is why the FAQ was created. Unfortunately, though the site’s most-read articles are part of the FAQ, the most Frequently Asked Question is not answered definitively. DarkIcon dispatches his edict most sagaciously, leaving no doubt as to the quality of our collective literary abilities and its impact on our collective financial aspirations. In so doing, he lit a flame that will not soon go out.

That is actually a good thing - for three reasons: first, newcomers asking that question will most likely be pointed to his post; second, a lot of contrite bloggers (including me) have discontinued a self-defeating practice (and newcomers, hopefully, won’t start); third, the secret behind the power of a blog is revealed. It is this third benefit that DarkIcon may have unwittingly unleashed upon us.

I am sure that this is nothing new, but it has flown under my radar for some time:

It’s not necessarily what you say, it’s how you say it that matters.

Robert Kiyosaki, in chapter seven of his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, relates a story about an interview with a reporter. He tells her that, if she wants to be a best-selling author, she needs to learn how to sell. The reporter, who held a Master’s degree in English Literature, was offended. Feeling the need to defend his statement, Kiyosaki picks up one of his books and points out that the cover refers to him as “Robert Kiyosaki, best-selling author, not best-writing author.”

Seth Godin, a blogger whose opinions I respect, puts the nail in the coffin of the fast-buck blogger, with his excellent article, Monetize This. Essentially, Godin states that you should blog for the love of blogging and, if you figure out a way to profit from your blog, then that’s fine. Just don’t put the cart before the horse.
I believe that the problem at writingup is that visitors and new bloggers don’t understand the marketing model. Please take a look at the sub-title at the top of your web page:

Write. Share. Earn.

It is prioritized for each and every one of us. We understand the Write and the Earn, but are we failing to focus on the Share? Well, that should change.

When you understand the marketing model, you can see that sharing is the linchpin that keeps the cart tethered to the horse. DarkIcon’s post shows this principle quite clearly.

The power in DarkIcon’s post is wielded not only with the sword of righteous truth, but also with the shield of absolute conviction. The truth slices through all of our pre-conceived notions, while the shield protects us from hopelessness. DarkIcon holds out hope like a coat-of-arms - for, buried beneath the mangled bodies of lies, hype and misinformation are gems of insight, nuggets of advice and a golden needle in the blogospheric haystack:

Gems

“… we don’t want to seem like a bunch of ‘make money fast’ asshats who just discovered blogging yesterday.”
“… it takes THOUSANDS of hits a day to make significant advertising revenue on the internet.”
” Making even 1 dollar from Adsense is a MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT if you’re just starting!”

Nuggets

” Have something interesting or informative to say on a consistent basis…”
” The definition of ‘a long time’ can vary depending on how good a writer you are, what you write about and what you’re doing to promote your site …”

The Golden Needle

You won’t find this typed anywhere in DarkIcon’s epistle. This rare find is actually an epiphany. Consider this: the article has been read more than 300 times. According to the top pages web log, over 150 unique visitors hit that page. In addition, there are nearly 40 comments about this article. By the time you read this, the numbers will be even higher.

The message is not obvious until, like a mental flashbulb exploding in your head, you realize that DarkIcon’s post has the blogger’s equivalent of a triple-double:

• A Powerful, Eye-catching Headline
• Compelling Content
• Buzz

I believe that, if you take the time to digest all of this, you will begin to see why I refer to DarkIcon’s seminal post. It actually teaches you how to do all of the things you need to do in order to see an increase in your AdSense revenue. First, your headline has to catch the eye of the visitor. Next, whatever you have to say, make it interesting. Being provocative is good, if your sword is sharp and your shield, sturdy. In other words, tell the truth and offer solutions. If you have done your job, the Buzz will take care of itself.

A final, technical point must be made. You must think of ways to keep your posts in the Vertical Blog Tunnel* as long as possible. As the site membership grows, headlines will fly off the front page before they can grab any eyeballs. You need to attract a group of dedicated readers who are also bloggers. By linking to each other’s content (not just the blog), new visitors have a chance to read your older posts. This idea was pointed out to me by blogspinner’s post. The beauty of this is that you don’t have to force it. People here do understand the value of linking and will most likely reciprocate.

Write. Share. Earn.

Mitchell Allen is an advocate for cross-networking: synergistically linking multiple social networks in order to increase membership exposure.

He writes for fun and profit at WritingUp.com

He maintains The Vertical Blog Tunnel Network at the social network, Ryze.com.