We want your product, not the reason behind it.
Let’s say you go to a shop. You want to buy something. You get in and look at the product, but before they sell you anything, you have to listen to the owner tell you about the shop and where all comes from, what they do and sell. Hearing it is required for you to make your purchase.
Boring, right? Makes you wanna leave, right?
Then don’t do that with your writing either. Get to it.
Bottom line: 9 out 10 “thought-sharing” posts don’t need a selfish intro.
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Love how short this post is!
However, what about intros that set the scene for the post? What if it is a story? What if the intro is the anecdote that is needed to engage the reader?
For example, my latest post about the (un)importance of business school has a sort of long intro. Do you think it is one of those selfish intros? I am really interested in your honest opinion. Also, it is not a ploy to get you to read it (although it might sound as one).
Finally, what are your thoughts on long posts vs. short posts?
Great thought! I like the rhythm of this post.
Mmm, very interesting questions.
I actually did read your post. And I want to be perfectly honest with you: your post was the one that sparked this idea in my head, but in a good way. That’s the way to tell us about yourself without being boring. It’s not about not talking about yourself, it’s about not talking about yourself when it’s not necessary.
Your intro WAS necessary. But I see lots of intros that start with “I’m not sure what to write about”. That’s not necessary.
Now, I don’t have a preference between short and long posts. I think they aim for different things. Life is like a box of chocolates, a blog from @sameve, has a lot of long posts. And I can’t wait to read them all. On the other hand, Fever Bee, a blog about community building has lots of concise posts. These are great too. It depends on the blogger’s objective, and his or her talent to achieve it.
Thanks for your insight Irina, and let me tell you that I LOVE your latest design!
Ah, I don’t agree with this at all. While you may enjoy shorter posts, other people enjoy when there is a personal anecdote along with it.
When you read a blog, you understand that someone else is expressing themselves. You know what you’re getting yourself into – you’re not attempting to have an in-n-out experience, for the most part. However, when you go into buy a product, maybe you just want to walk in there, grab what you need, and get out. That’s fine.
But I think telling people that they shouldn’t post an anecdote with their thought-provoking post doesn’t seem to make sense. Especially since the majority of the most famous bloggers (Godin, not included) always throw in something personal.
But that’s not what I’m saying.
I don’t think including anecdotes or something of the sort is wrong. A selfish intro as I call them is not an anecdote. It’s just that, a selfish intro, where people sometimes spend an entire paragraph without actually saying anything except random thoughts that have nothing to do with the post.
This isn’t me criticizing style. That depends on the blogger choice and taste. This is me criticizing writing skills. Small Hands, Big Ideas, or Life is like a box of Chocolates, are two very good blogs that talk about themselves sometimes, but they do it perfectly. They share anecdotes in a great way because of their awesome writing skills.
Your blog, Penelope’s, The Bloggess’, Holly Hoffman’s, are all amazing at making stories about yourselves interesting for the reader. But that’s a talent few have.
This is just a personal recommendation, of something I’ve felt many times when finding a new blog. After all, we all would like more readership. I think this may help with that.
I think each others’ blog posts are what we get out of them… I think for the most part I agree with what I believe Carlos was trying to convey.
For me I thought of it as a business meeting moreso than a blog post.
I could give a rats ass about what your company did in ‘99 or who you other clients are, or your damn biography. I want to know how your services can help me achieve my marketing goals. If a little history is necessary because it’s relevant then by all means share it, and share why it’s relevant to my goals and initiatives.
When I’m working with a personal client. I ask what they want to achieve. Sometimes they don’t know, there are ways to extract that. Then I say here’s 3 buckets full of scenarios, approaches, etc. You can mix and match whatever you want to create something you think will work for you. It’s worked well so far.
That analogy is wonderful, and yes, that’s exactly what I’m trying to say. We all know that there’s no “proper way” for using social media. But hey, if increasing your readership is one of your goals, then maybe this could help. I’ve left countless blogs before even read an entire post just because of boring intros.
Great discussion! These thoughts have been floating around in my brain lately, but I never took the time to actually think them through. The central question here is – how do you go into enough detail to engage your reader without alienating him or her with boring, general discussion of what has happened to you in your life, throughout last year, etc.?
As more and more bloggers contribute to Brazen Careerist, I find myself just skipping some blog posts even if the post title has intrigued me enough to open it. This is because many writers engage in generalizations of what happened to them.
However, I think the truly engaging writing is in the details – if you can tell a specific anecdote, it is always a lot more interesting than a general account of what generally happens. I think that is one of the reasons Penelope is such a successful blogger. Because all her blog posts either directly tell the specific event in her life that sparked it or link to a bunch of her other blog posts that talk about specific events.
Finally, readers are engaged in those types of blog posts because it is almost like watching a movie or your favorite TV show.
So in this regard, I definitely agree with you, Carlos.
Now I will keep this in mind when I write my future blog posts. Thank you for sparking this discussion!
Wow. Great points re: Penelope’s posts. I hadn’t even thought about it that way, but I think you’re absolutely right.
You also bring up another great point for me. It’s something I’ve been wanting to address, but am fearful of the backlash. Do you think that Brazen is starting a to get a little over saturated?
Granted, it’s easy to skip what you don’t want to read, and read what you do, but it’s a relatively HUGE community now. I guess there’s different ways to look at it. There’s probably something for everyone, but sometimes you might have to filter a lot of noise to find the signal you’re looking for. Your thoughts?
Ryan,
Thank you!
I have a love-hate relationship with Brazen. Most of the time, I end up skimming new posts. However, there are certain days when I just have to open one tab after another. I always come back for more.
I think Brazen features some really great content daily. The bloggers that contribute are also very talented and I just want to devour one post after another. However, I am starting to get Brazen fatigue. It is harder to find a post with an original idea, one that I have not heard before and one that will prompt me to think further.
I often find myself getting hooked by the headline, anticipating a discussion going in one way and finding the actual post falling short. I want the posts to push my thinking, but a lot of the time I find that they are only questions, springboards to new ideas…not the ideas themselves. Like: “Oh, I was at the water cooler and I thought of this…It kind of sucks. What do you guys think?”
Finally, it is still valuable to have such “springboard” posts because they serve as constant daily reminders about certain rules to follow in the workplace or in life. Getting a daily reminder to produce high quality work is extremely valuable to me. Such posts are habit-forming and habit-reinforcing. So it seems that the community can take on two roles for its audience – publishing content that generates a discussion and publishing content that guides its audience through the psychological maze of young adulthood.
To conclude, Brazen is unique, I still have not figured it out and do not know what my optimal way to consume it yet
.
Great topic you bring out Ryan. I actually emailed back and forth with Ryan Paugh because of this. It’s over saturated indeed. I was sure that I couldn’t be the only skimming through BC.
The thing that has bothered me the most about it, is that I still see it as a “Gen Y shrine”. It’s almost as if anything said or done it’s ok because we’re millenials. And I just don’t buy that.
And yeah, there’s a LOT of noise, and no specific niche like it used to have.
My answer to your very important question is this: Practice.
It’s all about practice your writing. I don’t think it’s never what you write about what meks your stuff interesting or boring. It’s HOW you write it. There’s a lot of magic in words mathematics, sort of speak.
Thanks for being part of this amazing discussion!
To me, it all depends on what you’re in the mood for. Sometimes, I want a personal anecdote – for example, yesterday I read a blog a friend of mine set up a few weeks ago when he sold everything he had, packed himself up and moved to Oregon on a whim – no job, no future plans, just wanted to get away, far away – he is living his dream right now, minute by minute. He was able to tell his story in a way that made me just sit there for 5 or so minutes after thinking, ‘Damn – this guy has no clue what he’s doing, but he’s doing it, and he’s enjoying every minute of it’ – That’s life.
Sometimes I think we need to be a little more personal, a little more real – some people can do that in fewer words than others. Carlos, you get your points across in short, concise, easy to digest blurbs, which is great, it’s fresh, it’s unique – I find myself nodding my head to a lot of things you say. Others want to spin a story, tell a fairy tale, and in the process, tie their audience into the mix.
It’s all about style – yes there are many writers out there that say too much, and some that don’t say enough. I’m guilty of skimming through posts and honestly, if the first few lines aren’t captivating, you’ve pretty much lost me – grabbing attention, obtaining the readers attention, and building suspense is critical whether your writing about your weekend in the mountains or Social Media Marketing.
Great post Carlos, and great discussion going on. Well done.
I totally agree that it’s all about style. I also think that we should write what we feel comfortable with. But I have to say, that one detail from your example it’s very important:
It was a friend of yours.
We are open to reading a lot more stuff when it’s from our friends. But I’m not sure about newcomers, first time readers.
Again, I’m not saying that my style is better than anyone’s! I hope no one thinks that. But I am saying that the writing skills requiered to be personal, AND interesting, are rare. Like I said before, it’s not what you write, it’s how you write it.
Thanks for your awesome comment Matt. As usual, you leave me thinking.
Carlos, I love how you always pack so much insight into such short posts! I think you’re right. Sometimes people do ramble on before they actually get to the heart of their post, and it doesn’t really add anything. It’s interesting what Matt said about skimming. I took a class in college about writing for the Web, and one of the most important things we learned was that people are more apt to skim online content than read it word for word. If you want to draw the reader in, you have to write a compelling lead, and set up the rest of your story in a way that will keep them interested. So yeah, I think it’s important that intros are done the right way.
A side note, thank you so much for the two mentions you make to my blog in response to other people’s comments! I’m flattered that you think so highly of my writing, and I’m so glad that you enjoy reading my blog. Looking forward to your comments on my latest post! Great job with this one, Carlos!
This is one hell of a comment, and gets all that I’m trying to say, thanks a lot Sam. After some heavily skimming, I realized that intros are maybe the most important part of the post. Or the ending. One of the two.
Your blog rocks, the compliments are well deserved.
Intriguing discussion going on here. I enjoy a short-to-the-point post – considering that I’m somewhat of an impatient reader. I know – total hypocrite here since I practically write novels on my own blog.
I thought what you meant by a selfish intro is pulling a reader into an “unnecessary” anecdote. A story to set up a debate that perhaps is not needed and only clutters up your writing. In that case, no, a selfish intro is just bad writing mucking up what could otherwise be a (short) thought-provoking post. But, I guess, if you are meticulous writer – you can edit/polish up that stuff before you hit the publish button.
I’m not saying that there is something wrong with anecdotes/personal stories -but sometimes they aren’t needed. And, if you are engaged enough in the writing process, you will find yourself deleting such stories out of your content.
Raven, I think we’re all a little hypocrites regarding what we create and tolerate. It’s only natural. Not ok, but natural
You’re totally right, being meticulous can turn an anecdote into a great addition for a post, but not all people are. This post is aimed at those people.
You have writing in your blood raven, it’s really noticeable. Kudos for that.
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