Writing a Killer Blog (Without Killing Yourself)

Killer Blogging
Killer Insight
Killer Attitude
Killer Listening Skills
Killer Consistency
Time Killer?
Today’s Agenda

The Face of a Stone Cold Killer?
Early adopter tech geek blogger
2,500+ posts since 2006
First to launch TweetDeck, Socialmedian, many Web services.
Active social media user, especially Google Reader, Buzz, FriendFeed.
Managing Director, New Media at Paladin Advisor Group
Clients include Emulex, Swagelok, Brazen Careerist, My6sense, etc.
Member of advisory boards
SocialToo, ReadBurner, BuzzGain, Teens In Tech, and YackTrack

First: Stalking Your Kill Takes Time
In 2006, I didn’t have very much focus, nor an audience
In 2007, I noticed prominent people aware of my blog, and companies would respond
In 2008, I became more embedded in social media, predictions around aggregation and lifestreaming came true
In 2009, visibility grew as I expanded my reach to new social sites, stayed active
via BlogPerfume

Killer Insight and Attitude

Why Do You Want to Blog Anyway?
Blogs Need Passion and Authority
If you don’t care about your topic, readers won’t either.
If you can’t answer follow-up questions, you shouldn’t be participating.
But if you feel a need to share and have something to say, the door is wide open.
Is the Blog About You or Your Company?
Know the audience and the goal when you get started.
It’s probably not for the money or the fame.
Always know the consequence of hitting the publish button, especially if what you do has ties to corporate.

Who Are You? Know Your Role.
Analyst
Engineer
Enthusiast
Executive
Finance
Marketing/PR
Services
User

Gaining Killer Authority
Unique Content
First to a story or an idea
Firsthand data or research
Unique Access
Speaking directly to a source
Being the source
Unique Perspective
What is everybody else missing?

Have You Seen Bad Blogs?
Good blogging
Has personality
Has engagement
Doesn’t seem filtered
Has intelligence
Has data
Uses references, links
Builds community
Bad blogging
Seems forced
Is moderated
Is infrequent
Is unfocused
Is siloed
Is not believable

Some Killer Ideas
Talk like a human, not like a robot.
If it’s new, don’t be afraid to explain it.
Highlight other people even if benefit is not obvious.
If something works, make it a regular feature.

Ten Tips for A Killer Blog
Do Not Expect Instant Success
Find Your Voice and Focus
Be Genuine and Trusted
Be Consistent In Schedule
Be Unique In Coverage
Be Positive, Avoid Conflict
Show Passion, Excitement
Engage With Your Audience
Find Conversations Everywhere
There Is Always Time. Find it.

Killer Listening Skills

3 Laws for Becoming a Killer
Know the Tools
Know what blogging and tweeting and sharing is all about.
Listen
Watch what your peers and competitors are doing.
Who is acting in a way you admire? What are they doing right?
Listen to what people say about your company, you and your ideas.
You can be alerted in real time, even if you’re not constantly surveying.
Participate
Broadcasting into the wind doesn’t have real benefits.
You are always a guest online. Act with respect and trade ideas.
Participating gains you trust and consistent support.

Tools to Help You Listen
Search Tools
Twitter search
Icerocket search
Google Blog Search
Comment Tracker
BackType
Linkage
Web analytics Tools

Benefits Of Listening Well
You’re a Smarter Blogger
You can know more about your industry
You’ll find new post ideas everywhere
You Can See Trends Earlier
Are customers, competitors or partners discussing something that you can take lead on?
You Can Respond Faster
To comments, tweets, and other blogs

Killer Discussions Encouraged
Commenters and other distributors of your content won’t always agree. This is good! Engage in a fair way, not argumentative. Encourage discussion and highlight it.

Killer Consistency

What Pace Makes Sense for You?
Once You Start Blogging, You Can Never Stop
Before you start, see if you can keep a pace.
Recommend posting 1-2x a week or more.
Gaps are Extremely Visible
If you can’t produce quality content on a frequent basis, then a blog shouldn’t be started.

A Day In the Life of a Killer
Two blog posts
5 – 6 Twitter Updates
Skim 1,000 RSS Articles
Share 20-25 Top Articles in Google Reader
Like 15 Items on FriendFeed and Google Buzz
20 Comments on FriendFeed and Google Buzz
1 – 3 Delicious Bookmarks
Miscellaneous activity on Facebook, other networks.
via TweetStats via Google Reader

Some More Numbers…
Blog Frequency
Engadget (350/wk)
GigaOM (80/wk)
Inside HPC (30/wk)
LouisGray.com (11/wk)
HP: Around the Storage Block (4/wk)
EMC: Chuck’s Blog (4/wk)
HDS: Hu Yoshida (1.6/wk)
If You’re Not a News Site, Don’t Try. Be Realistic.

Other Measures of Consistency
Topics
Sports and Business?
Tone
Length
100 words or 1,000?
Timing
Morning or Night
Graphics or Rich Media

Blogging In A World Obsessed With Twitter

The World of Blogging (2006) Blogging (the old way) Reader Comments And E-mail Links, Blog Rolls And TrackBacks Comments on Other Blogs

But Wait! There’s Much More Now. Blogging (the new way) +

Blogging Is More than One URL
Killer blogging means being active wherever the conversation is and embracing the new tools in the right way. No more silos.

Anticipated Benefits
Brand and Thought Leadership
Updates will show the company is delivering consistent activity and listening.
The company can be seen as developing thought leadership.
Web site Traffic
Google and other search engines are favoring sites that are updated frequently, and have new content.
Thought-provoking blog posts and other social content will increase links to the site.
Visibility and Engagement

Killing Time and Careers?

How I Make Time for Everything
High Quality Input
Reduce noise by subscribing, following, organizing the right people on the right networks
Read Fast, Decide Fast, Act Fast
Make a decision to an action (sharing + liking) quickly, and also skip irrelevant information quickly.
Usual blog posts take about 20 minutes + imagery.
“ And” and “Between”
Social activity is easy in manageable chunks. I read RSS a few minutes of every hour through the day.
Read feeds AND watch TV. Blog AND listen to music.
Learn how to do things in parallel with practice.

Keep Work and Personal Separate
Don’t Cross the Streams
Unless you are a sole proprietor, you don’t want to pollute the brand.
Work activity is more professional, less casual
You can seamlessly transition if you are not tied to the brand.
How to Do It
Work life in one browser, and you in another.
Separate preferences and logins for Twitter tools.
Centralized Gmail account for social information
Second Disqus commenting account for the company.

Views to a Kill

Where to Find Me
Blog: http://blog.louisgray.com
Buzz: http://www.google.com/profiles/louisgray
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/louisgray
Friendfeed: http://www.friendfeed.com/louisgray
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/louisgray
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/louisgray
(408) 646-2759
[email_address]

Thank you

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Writing a Killer Blog (Without Killing Yourself)

by Louis Gray

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