What are you, a writer or marketer?
Here is a question to debate on folks.
Considering that most of us are busy with our day to day activities and our constant struggle to earn more, whatever little time we devote to blogging, should we devote it mainly to writing or marketing our blog? We all know that every bloggers dons the twin role of writer and marketer.
I am quite often in a fix. I mean I am a creater, a write first and foremost. I should be spening my time doing reserach and writing quality articles. But if I don't market my blog no one is going to read what I write, quality or no quality.
But in the mad rush to get more traffic and become popular we give more preference to the marketer, sacrifice quality and write mostly about things that are popular and likely to be read by majority, not what we really want to write.
On my previous blog I had 60k hits, but all junk, my writing was also mainly junk. So I started a new blog hoping that I will be a writer first and marketer later, and only write quality stuff even if I have to sacrifice visitors and become less popular.
So what do you think? so what do you think, are we overdoing the marketing bit, and commenting and reading and sacrificing quality? Who are you primarily, a writer or a marketer?
Shiv
Reason: removing link
well I write to be judged :) maybe to be heard , to be corrected, to be adviced :) ^__^ I write just to put out my thoughts , since writing on paper has gone out and paper maybe lost , best choice was to write on a blog. It really amkes me happy to see that someone has read what I wrote , I may not be writing so well o anything , but well without trying , how will I know where I stand :) And if there is a way to get a little income that is always welcome , but the main thing is that I really need my work to be judged by someone who is good at and correct the silly mistakes that I make which I am not even aware of :)
@Shankar don't depend on people from your network to give you the right feedback. If you write well, many of them will be jealous. If you don't write well, they will simply say you are good, even if they don't mean it. Nobody you know will want to be in your bad books. Even you won't like it if someone rightly criticizes your writing, and gives an honest feedback. Appreciation boosts our ego. Even if we don't accept it, we love appreciation, even if it is make believe. If you want an honest feedback ask strangers, who have no hidden agenda. Thats the harsh reality of life.
You guys are all right. But come to think about it, given the overcrowded blogosphere it has become as difficult to make a blog successful and have thousands of readers as it is today to write a great book and find an established publisher. Blogging has its own merits even if there are no readers. For me it is a way to hone my writing and thinking skills. Yes it would be nice to get lot of peopkle to read my stuff but what if i spend all that time in first honing my craft, then write an awesome book and get it published and then wait for my book readers to come to my blog too. That way marketing will happen through my book, I will have real followers, who will follow my blog because they really want to not because they want me also to follow theirs. Currently there is too much favor exchange happening, be it twitter or a blog. You follow me, i follow you. Are we not losing the honest writer in this madness?
Once you get a book published and become a reputed author, why give out quality writing free to the ungrateful public who never read it before when you can make them pay for it now. You can then keep the blog for updates such as how many times you sneezed that day, what you had for breakfast and other such things people love knowing about celebrities.
@Fool lol yeah u r bang on! like the way people follow Mr. Chetan Bhagat. But then there are world renowned authors like Seth Godin who even now, give away free books. circulating a free book is the best form of promotion. The price of a book creates friction in its propagation. So give away the less important writing for free, build a huge following and charge for the real good stuff.
love for writing is pure passion .... oh ... the r8 sentence ... but i wud prefer to change passion to addiction .... a deadly disease that writers carry ...highly infectious too and may kill you on a street penniless unrecognised....history only keep record of those great writers who fought and kept hope in what they wrote despite getting refused.... we know that number. But we do not have that number who gave up that struggle and their creations died a natural death unnoticed....So, quality doesnt always guarantee success. Now what is success? The sound of coins? If that be the yardstick which many writers may disagree, then sounds of coin will bring the death news of the writer as well. Sonner than later. Because he will be writing that what sells....So he would trade a path where he would have to sell his conscience for a living...
But isn't it possible to both become famous and earn money without being a marketer. Just write an aeesome book. you focus on writing, the publisher will do marketing on your behalf. Or better still, hire a professional marketer for yourself? It doesn't cost much to hire one.
We need to both a writer and Marketer. First and most important thing is to write quality stuff that people loves to read and share. If that happens then i say Google will handle it. Your little marketing effort will bring regaular readers and potential traffic :)
google handles writing that is generec and is keyword oriented. If you are a creative writer, google won't fetch you traffic for your story or poetry, simply because hardly anyone will search for your poetry or story. Google works if your writing is topic oriented.
Google is of hardly any help when you are into creative writing. You need a good SEO in those cases
Even I have this problem. I love it when I am writing. I hate it when I am marketing. But I do need people to read. I am no Charles Strickland from Somerset Maugham's Moon and the six pence to paint my master pieces alone in an island and then burn them all down before I die so that no one gets to see them. I do want more people to read. So I have to market. But I stay away from marketing for periods when I feel really sick of it and then get back to it again for some time.
@the fool i am sick or marketing all the time. I am sick of people appeasing each other, and saying "how nice" even though they don't mean it, just because the other person will return the favor and visit their blog. I mean it's a huge scam where everyone knows that they are bring tricked but still comply, so that they can also do the same to others. What do you suggest for me?
Possibly people should look at marketing - not for readers but to make friends who can give you valuable inputs to hone your writing skills.Other bloggers are definitely not your market for readership. Possibly their readers are. Some genuine readers may come from other bloggers to your blog.
Now this is something which I really agree.
@Shiv, this is actually a hard fact that we do not get genuine feedback from our fellow bloggers/friends. To overcome this problem, I request them to give me an honest feedback in person.
@Fool, man you're absolutely right here. We may not get a genuine feedback from a blogger, but his readers will surely give it
@animesh - you have explained very nicely for people like me who are new to blog dynamics. After joining here, I am learning by the day. And I do appreciate that you highlights like any other SEOs ( as i came to know couple of months back ;) ) tht content is the most important part. Marketing comes second. If the quality is not good enough and that to be maintained with each post, one cannot keep blog hits high. Am I right ? I am learning fast.
But I do fully agree that let there be a place likeforum threads where we chat and inteact and share the warmth of life and just aspirations and dejections from life. No direct self promotions. If anybody does that, he be reminded very gently to remove the thread telling the broader objective than being too harsh in communication. And i am sure, like here Shiv , all would comply. Cheers and Merry Christmas!!
Without commenting on what kind of friends I need and I have, let me quickly come back to the ACTUAL topic.
Its very simple for me. I cannot write well if I don't read well, as simple as that. And if I don't write well, no one is going to read no matter how hard I market it. I invest a lot (and I mean it) in reading, both online and off-line. I comment with my links wherever I find it worth enough for commenting. Use social media for marketing whenever I am there and also use word of mouth. This way I am able to balance between both these things.
>__>"
Sorc, that only means you need to learn certain things.
Sorcerer,
Dube, grow up! Your wannabeism is nauseating. *shaking head in disbelief*
BTW ever heard of "Reverse Facepalm"? Let me explain.
It's a maneuver performed by a dimwit pretending to be smart and witty and who is deluded that he is tacling EHS but is actually showing his own ineptitude and in the process gets hit below the belt without even realize it. He is so dumb!
Animesh,
With friends like these, you don't need enemies.
Hail "Indipolice Team" and it's deluded vigilantes!
LOL...this was real funny..I give you that, Sorc. :D
<img src="http://cdn.hotstockmarket.com/9/9d/9d641ef9_not-bad-obama-473x295.png" />
@ Animesh
Done! Thanks for being a helpful voice and giving a good reason to remove the link. I am all for self discipline. 
I guess I smelt authority earlier and that put me off.
No issues dude. Welcome to Indiblogger and have a pleasant stay here. Enjoy :)
Thanks Sorcer, for your quick and decisive reply. If everyone here thinks like you, I would rather not be a part of this madness. You may delete this this thread. And my profile for all I care.
But before that think about this:
1. I am sure all the thousands of bloggers are here to have discussion and not for self promotion (hope you r wise enough to get my sarcasm).
2. What is the definition of self promotion?
shiv
Shiv, without being judgemental I would just like to draw your attention to one of the rules of the forum here which states that you should not leave the links to your blog on the forum. You can give the link only at Indivine. This is a simple rule which we all have been trying to maintain so that the forum does not convert into a marketing place, but remains a place where we can discuss blogging related issues and topics along with light-hearted chat. Sorcerer asked you to remove the link because he is a part of the IndiPolice team which monitors all such activities.
Would request to edit the topic and remove the link. No one would ban you or take any action against you, but it is a self-made call which we all maintain. At the most we can delete the thread which is the only power that we have as a part of the IndiPolice. But ofcourse we don't want to do that as the topic which you have chosen is excellent and we all would enjoy to discuss it here. Hope you understand. No hard-feelings please
@ sorcerer
The reason why I included the link is because unless you read the stuff that I write on you my post won’t make much sense. I may give lot of gyan here about quality writing, but if I write trash only own blog, that would make me a hypocrite.
Your issue with me is that even though I am talking against marketing, why am I promoting myself?
Let’s Clarify.
I am not talking against marketing (in that case I wouldn’t be here. We are all here to market ourselves, aren’t we), I am talking against excessive marketing. If you read my post above carefully you would see that I want to make marketing second priority, not abandon it altogether.
All I am trying to do here is being little more creative in my approach. Along with promoting myself (I wonder why would there be an option in the post editor to add my blog link if adding that would cause deletion of my post), I am also trying to have a serious discussion, which even top bloggers like Seth Godin ponder over. My approach is objectionable to you and you are ok with people sharing their number of subscribers (which, according to me is extreme narcissism which doesn’t serve any purpose) in another thread? Really??
I’m asking these questions because I am very new here. If you r still not ok and want to delete my post (are you a moderator here?), then let me know, I will not only remove the link but also leave this forum and site for good.
Shiv
Whatever the reason: self promotion is not allowed. Rule applies for everyone for whatever reasons. I will appreciate if you can remove the link. Those who want to check out your blog will do it from your profile. I am sure whoever is genuine to know more eventually checks out the profile and the blog links.
Thanks Shiv....i would definietly visit ....i am wondering how your words sound so simila r to me - i have been a small time writer but after coming here and getgting to know the bloggers and their art of networking, i know that we have aall become more markerter than creatgor -
Thanks Goutam. I don't have a problem with promoting. Thats what I am doing here for myself. But I am against "the art of networking" as u say it, taking over the art of writing, free thinking and self expression. I am against saying aye aye to everyone, even if i don't agree just to get more visitors and subscribers.
I think you should remove the link if you'r real intention is to have someone answer questions (going by the way you said and what you just did, you're marketing) or else I'll have to delete this thread as I believe your intention is to promote your blog.
