29 Mar Why taking risks pays off big time in blogging
Many businesses are nervous about sticking their neck out when they blog – they’re worried about people latching on to an idea or opinion voiced that they don’t like, and they’re concerned what that will do to the business.
But here’s the thing, without taking risks, you’ve got nothing to offer, so it is a must. Otherwise, all you’re doing is relaying the same news and fact that everyone else is already providing. Let’s face it, if you’re a small business looking to blog to increase brand awareness, you’re a small fish in a big sea. You’ve got to stand out or there will always be bigger businesses and sources that people turn to for industry news. I lose interest while rewriting and simply reiterating something someone has already said, and that won’t say much for the interest of your readers.
You don’t always need to take extreme risks to attract an audience. There are different types of risks every blog can choose to take. It comes down to your personal comfort level, but here are some ways to go about it:
1. Spin the idea – take a popular, relevant news story and put a twist on it that makes it relevant to your business and audience. The risk here is simply that you’re presenting an idea with a new and different perspective. It can be received differently in every new context it’s presented. But, it does ensure you stand out because you’re not just reiterating the same old thing plastered all over the internet.
2. Present a strategy – when I put together a ‘tutorial’ style post, I build upon fact, but strategies depend upon personal opinion and experience when they’re formed. You take a risk that people won’t agree with you, but you’re also offering something new with your insight.
3. Pick a side– pick a side of a story and write about that angle only. There’s nothing interesting about always remaining neutral. This will also entice your readers to voice why they agree or disagree with you.
4. Take a controversial stand – whether you’re simply inserting one eye-catching, controversial headline or statement or being controversial throughout your whole article (which is always fun!), you’re bound to give people a strong emotional reaction. You do risk people won’t like you, and you’ll probably make them angry but it’s pretty much guaranteed that your post will be talked about. While my post ‘More Secrets for Engaging Blog Commentors’ primarily discussed commenting tactics, the same strategy can be used within your blog posts. A good example of using a controversial headline AND controversial topic is Gerard McLean’s ‘Seth Godin is a Big Fat Idiot’ . You don’t have to go quite to that extreme, but you get the idea!
Branch out and start taking some risks with your blog if you want it to be effective and tell us which risk level you’re willing to take when blogging for your business!