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How To Blog About Blogging When It’s All Been Said Before

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Blog about blogging…

That’s what so many of us do, right?

We have one blog that is about our business, either an online niche or a small biz, and then we have a “Marketing” blog where we create content on creating content.

Our marketing blog lets the world see “behind the curtain” where all the blogging magic happens.

We have all these tips and tricks from our success as Internet Entrepreneurs and it only makes sense that we share them with the world.

After all, our experience is unique and different and our viewpoint will help shape the success of those who listen (…and there’s money to be made).

The unfortunate truth is you, me and the million other people with marketing blogs can’t all be unique Internet snowflakes descending to Online super-stardom.

So much of what we write has been said before.

Blogging about Blogging

I’m going let you in on a couple little secrets when it comes to Blogging about Blogging…

There are three absolutes to a successful Marketing Blogger:

  1. Your content isn’t unique, but your voice is;
  2. Your content isn’t unique, but how you apply it is;
  3. Your content isn’t unique, but the experience around it is.

That’s it.

I’ve just let you taste the blogging about blogging Kool-Aid…

Satisfied? No?

OK, let’s dig a little deeper.

Your Voice is Unique

Your content may not be unique (I mean seriously how many different spins on Facebook can be written?), but the way you write your content is unique.

There is a unique and identifiable tone to everyone’s writing…

Right now that tone might be boring and bland, but it’s unique.

What you don’t want is CONTRIVED.

Embrace the way you write.

Better yet celebrate the way YOU write.

It’s YOU.

Write the way you talk or at least write the way you write.

Do not try to emulate someone else’s writing style because they are successful.

Your voice (no matter what shape or form it takes) is unique and powerful because it is authentic.

Someone could have read similar content 100 times, but the way you present it with your unique, authentic voice could help that content to finally click… and that is Value.

Your Application is Unique

There have been hundreds of thousands of articles written on marketing with Pinterest.

I mean seriously how many Complete Guides could there be?

That being the case the deal with writing an effective and valuable article on the topic of Pinterest marketing is your application of the tool.

Don’t write a Complete Guide to Pinterest…

That’s been done… a lot!

Instead write an article on how Worm Farmers can use Pinterest to share best practices in dirt preparation…

I would read that and I don’t even farm worms.

I use Pinterest as a Content Curation vehicle for all my favorite social media articles I read during the week and don’t use it for marketing my content at all.

That’s my unique application.

I’m sure you use some social media tool in a way other than its original intended use…

Share it with your readers…

That is value.

Your Content Experience is Unique

Look at the Traffic Generation Cafe experience…

Ana mixes her own content in with guest posts on a very regular basis using all different forms of media including video and eBooks.

She also highlights tons of resources and on a fairly regular basis and lets you see “behind the curtain” to better understand exactly why she does the things she does.

In addition, Ana has built a community of commentors that has taken on a life of their own.

With no disrespect to Ana’s content, the comments are often just as educational and valuable as the blog post itself.

And as cherry on top Ana always includes a high-fashion picture (that has nothing to do with social media or blogging) at the top of every article…

Her signature.

A small detail, but unique and interesting nonetheless.

Every time you visit Traffic Generation Cafe you’re getting a slightly different experience…

That is value.

The Rub

As you travel deeper down the “blogging about blogging” rabbit hole, you’re going to realize there are only so many ways you can spin what we (as Internet Marketers) are doing here.

And waiting for the next Google Search update is not a content strategy…

So you have to look into additional ways to make your blogging platform unique.

Your content’s unique Voice, Application and Experience will connect and resonate even if the message is tired and worn out…

You never know when the right selection of words, written in the right order, said with the right tone, in the right setting will change the world.

Thank you and Good luck,

Ryan H.

SPEAK YOUR MIND: How is your blog unique?

Ryan Hanley is the Director of Marketing for the Murray Group Insurance Services, Inc, located in Albany, NY. You can connect with Ryan on Google+ or find Ryan at his content marketing blog where discusses the marketing methods he implements at the Murray Group.”

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Comments

  1. I agree totally that you need your own voice…
    I try to do this with every article I write and when the article doesn’t flow easily, I know that this topic is not for me. (yet)

    I am very good at putting my own spin on anything but I need to feel passionate about the topic to really write well. Maybe I have a problem? 🙂

  2. Thanks Ryan…

    I read your post as though I was listening to you speak… Your unique and kinda soft way of writing really inspires me.

    I got to wonder why many people try to write like everyone…

    I got stocked in blogging trying to write like everyone until I decided I was going to write in my own style and my own way based on my own experience and ever since then I have enjoyed blogging…

    Thanks for sharing this great piece…

  3. Its becoming extremely difficult to be fresh and original Ryan during my brainstorms for content/blog ideas I’m often struggling for inspiration. How many top 10 lists does the web need?

    • Carl,

      Here’s my one piece of advice… Don’t do the Top Ten lists…

      Make everything You… If you don’t think the Web needs Top Ten lists don’t do them. Do CARL lists… Do every list a Prime Number and call them “Carl’s Prime Lists” or something crazy like that.

      The same content formatted in that manner changes everything!!

      • Thanks a lot Ryan, I’m applying that logic to my next content update, people dont want 10 points for the sake of having 10 points

  4. Hey Ryan, You have a very unique style. It’s like finding a bag of goodies and you just don’t know where to begin because it’s all too good!

    I totally agree with you that uniqueness is where it counts. You can pretty much take any topic and turn it into your own by adding your own personal touch/spin to it and maybe even from a different angle altogether. Great post.

    • Richard,

      I completely agree. It’s all about “Doing You” and I don’t mean in the selfish, I mean in the “This is Me” way.

      Even played out topics that are YOU can be made fresh!!

  5. Hi Ryan, this is a very interesting article. I love the part about having your own unique voice. I guess everybody has their own voice but we have to get it out there and make it heard to other people. It’s hard sometimes to let our personality shine through.

  6. Hey Ryan
    These are great tips you have shared about blogging. Keeping it unique is what the aim of every blogger. Everyone has his/her own style of writing and no matter a thing is being said a thousand times but what makes the difference is how you present it.

  7. Ryan, there are little nooks and crannies in blogging that people haven’t had explained and also there is fresh news every once in awhile that you can jump on. Ana succeeds with me because she is so good at explaining things. Other bloggers on blogging use jargon as though we all know what it means, but if we did, we wouldn’t need their articles, and in fact, we don’t. Ana pioneers and experiments, and shares her findings in clear language. It’s always crystal clear. That’s why I keep coming back.

  8. “There are three absolutes to a successful Marketing Blogger:
    Your content isn’t unique, but your voice is;
    Your content isn’t unique, but how you apply it is;
    Your content isn’t unique, but the experience around it is.
    That’s it.”

    Ryan,

    You make a great point because everything has been said under the sun about blogging. It is not what you say, it is how you say it.

    I am attracted to blog authors who are not afraid to show the world who they really are.

    It is possible to create great content without sounding sterile and boring.

    I appreciate your post and I look forward to reading more of your interesting content from this point forward.

    To Your Success,

    Stacie

    • Thank you Stacie! YOU are what people want… You and your story and your take and how YOU can help people apply what you know.

      Appreciate the comment!

  9. I do agree - But not only is your voice Unique, but the reach of your voice online spreads through different channels. And those channels might have users with different interest, so that also increases the likelihood that they haven’t read an article on the same type of topic – and if they did, as you mentioned your style and methodology is unique (hopefully) and that should attract a reader if a proper intriguing heading is used and attractive images etc.

    In the wide world of the web – there is very little information that can’t be granted access to by a simple search in a search engine. With an ever growing population and amount of data and knowledge available on the web today the need to be unique and offer valuable content is ever increasing and writers / webmasters alike are all looking to new and creative ways and techniques to increase the traffic to their websites. And when it comes to blogging for business then your voice is likely to be heard, and not everybody can know everything – there’s always a new reader to attract out there – you have to be active online and have presence, even if it has all been said before.

  10. Uniqueness

    Uniqueness is the holy grail. If you are unique, you will survive else you will just be another fish in an already congested pond.

    You have brought up really nice points.

  11. Hi Ryan!

    The voice of your blog is the most important of all because it do a lot of things to what your blog is trying to convey to readers. Through it, we can build first impressions that will probably last to make readers keep coming back.

  12. If you have a unique voice and style, your content seems unique… and not everybody has read what’s “been said before”…

    But the thing that has helped me getting new ideas is reading DIFFERENT types of prose. I used to think reading fiction won’t be much of a help to me - a blogger and a freelance writer - I was wrong. I used to think the same about poetry, I was wrong…

  14. You got to be YOU! Just like back in school days ppl talk down on the display of originality while secretly admiring at the same time wishing they were as brave…

    Then as/if your originality begins to manifest positive results, those same ppl end up becoming your fans!

    I like to present a different take on things sometimes inserting my personal frustrations and when I need a break then I find a guest author.

    Great post. No one can explain something the way I do!

  15. Nice post Ryan, so true that there are many blogs about blogging, a little ironic, no? I have found I can blog about it when I make errors and share the experience so others can avoid those pitfalls. So instead of getting really upset over them - I now think “This will make a great post and lesson”. You are correct that everyone has a different voice and experiences. That is what makes the blogs go on.

  16. Well-said, Ryan - there’s always a unique “spin” on any given topic. I don’t really blog about blogging (I focus on affiliate marketing), but the rules still apply in any niche.

    Finding a voice, and believing you have something worth reading, is half the battle. (Despite what G.I. Joe used to say.)

  17. Looks like you have a new set up here! Very nice, its easy on the eyes.
    This article about blogging is the same thing with lyric writing, we all have a unique voice no one can say something the way you do.

    Home run!

  18. Hi Ryan,
    You selected a very catchy topic to write on. I think, this is what a normal blogger usually feel when writing about blogging and there are so many stuff already on net related to same topic. You gave an interesting advice of uniqueness. Nodoubt uniqueness always grab reader’s attention.

  19. I know what you mean. It seems by the time a blog gets to around 200 posts, you’re repeating yourself. Then you can try and comment on news or something, because repeating yourself is no good. Thanks for the post.

    • Chikara,

      You can always drill down deeper into topics you’ve hit before… That’s a good way to expand the conversation!

      Thanks

  20. Hey Ryan,

    Excellent Post! It is so true, that most everything has already been said before, online. But the way you write about the same worn out topics, can really set you apart from other bloggers.

    The only way, I think, to really find your voice, is to Write and Write some more. Just like anything else, “Practice Makes Perfect”.

    Love the 3 absolutes! So true.

    As far as Pinterest goes, I am a web/graphic designer, so I use Pinterest to showcase my latest work and so far it has worked out well.

    Thanks Ryan and have a good one.

    Ian from IM Graphic Designs

  21. Actually I think your viewpoint, even though it has been said before, can be unique. A lot of the stuff you read on the net assumes that the person reading it knows what the blogger is talking about. They take a lot for granted. Your content will be unique if you break it down it to the extent that you explain what the main points are. What SEO means and how it applies to the individual etc.

    There may also be times when people read things on different blogs that say basically the same thing but they still do not grasp the concept of what the blogger is trying to get across. They then happen onto a post that has used a particular analogy and all of a sudden they have that lightbulb moment and everything is suddenly clear.

  25. I have been trying to copy a bit of the writing style of one of my online mentor,Jimmy brown. I love his writing style and the kind of voice he uses in passing across his message. I think i am not copy cating by using his own style of voice and style.
    Thanks.

  26. Thanks Ryan for sharing this super tips with us.
    I don;t think blogging is easy job. We should be creative to stand out from the crowd.
    Thanks

  27. I just revised one of my old posts about Social Networking & Marketing, which is obviously a saturated topic, but still bringing a fair amount of traffic. Just by adding my unique voice and experiences that have changed so much since I first began blogging, has thoroughly improved and revived the post… Even the presentation is better.

  28. Great Post Ryan,
    this is what I tell my blogger friends that insist on creating unique content. Most of these tips about blogging has been said before, all you need to do is to be creative.
    And creativity is saying the same thing in different ways or writing on the same topic in different ways and from a different point of view; That is the when uniqueness comes into play.

  29. A very good topic for discussion, Ryan….

    I have engaged in similar discussions before….

    Blogging about Blogging can at times be perceived as a dead end street, as far as sourcing fresh ideas for posts, or rehashing old ideas and putting your own spin on them….

    Though, if you put things into the broader context and look at the many other topics and interests out there, we can fuse some of those into our sites overall theme…. and if done well, give our site an extra dimension….

  30. Hi Ryan,

    You are right about this. Whatever I want to write for my next post, when check it in search engine, someone else has written it. I think we should not wait to hit publish for it (it is something that I’ve learned from thinktraffic (Corrbett and Caleb).

    I believe that it will be unique because it is originally come from our own voice.

    What make my blog unique? I am blogging about blogging and I run it in two language (Indonesian-English). It is risky enough to get subscribers, but let’s see what I can do about that.

    Thanks

    • Okto,

      You’ve taken on a big challenge and I think that’s awesome. It definitely makes your voice and experience unique.

      Thanks,

      Ryan H.

  31. My own way of writing the physical product site i create is by adding my own twist in writing review. I decide not follow the conventional style of review writing. And it is working for me.
    Thanks for the insight of application.

  32. Thanks for this post Ryan. I guess I could say that I’m unique in writing about affiliate marketing with a South Africa twist, as I’m taking all the content about online marketing and giving it a local flavour.

  33. Yes, blogging about blogging isn’t easy. But you may give, as it was written, your own perspective and your voice. Besides, between good content and great content is huge difference 🙂
    Regards, Chris

    • Chris,

      You’re certainly right about that… You can immediately sense the difference between something Great and something just average.

      Thanks!!

  34. Hi Ryan,
    thanks for sharing.
    I think it’s important to give our version of events and add something personal to help us get our readers closer.
    Each perspective and point of view is unique, above all with the topic “blogging”, that is a source to create hundreds of new blog posts every day.

  35. Nice post Ryan, I’m glad you addressed this issue because I know a lot of bloggers struggle with it. As we all have our own style, readers will relate better to one style over another. I might blog about pretty pink tigers and some readers might miss a lot of the details until they read your post about the big cats. Or perhaps the timing is better when they read your article.

    Another factor is not everyone that reads your blog will see mine, much less the post on the same topic.

    So I agree, write about what you want and don’t worry about he said, she said… It’s all good.

  36. Thanks so much for mentioning the post I did on Pinterest. Appreciate that! 🙂 You hit it right on the head that success can be contingent upon making your content stand out and it can by addressing any one of the three items you identified.

  37. Hi Ryan, that is a very good voice you have there. And your tips about blogging about blogging are very good too.

    It’s all been said before. the only unique thing is each one of us as a person.

    Powerful lesson for those who are listening.

    Thanks Ryan!

  38. I think it’s the same in every niche - you have to be the new big guy who has the big idea and the voice to make it happen. One great example is the success of Pinterest - a social media network with pictures has already been done (Tumblr, for one). But it was the genius innovation and marketing schemes, plus the voice behind the brand that made it successful.

    Let’s look offline, too - Steve Jobs is [or was] a walking example of innovation replacing things that are already done. We had computers, and we could do what we needed to do on them, but we would eventually want more - and Steve did a great job of innovating it. He later took the music and decided walkman(s?) were dead - he revolutionized the entire music industry.

    Or even pencils. Think about it. We already had an eraser, but that guy who had the genius guy of creating a metal band to hold one onto a pencil?

    Clearly, the ideas are already here - it’s just a matter of innovating them into a scheme that can be marketed and voiced out like noone else.

  39. Hi Ryan
    I think this is the first time I’ve read a post written by you. This is great advice . I agree that with this flood of content a person needs to focus more on his/her own voice. After all at least now in 2012 I don’t think there is any thing about which no one has written. So the only option left is to present the information in a unique voice and build a community of readers as Ana has done.Thanks for this post

  40. Ryan! So great to see you here man!

    And I totally agree.

    People buy perspectives, not content.

    (That feels tweetable :P)

    And I *love* your Worm Farmer idea hahaha.

    I’m pretty unique, my brand’s pretty unique, my voice, stories, and experience are pretty unique, and I have a pretty easy time with that stuff.

    In fact, it’s why I designed the How To ‘Be Real’ Blueprint 🙂

    Anyway, thanks again man.