TED Talk Tuesday: Seth Godin on standing out

I know a lot of my readers are fellow bloggers and this week's talk is especially for all of you. With about 175,000 new blogs created daily, the competition for readers is fierce. Seth Godin lays out how to get noticed in an age of information overload. The bottom line: Ideas that spread win. Here's a summary of how to get your idea to spread:

1. Be remarkable, meaning not just "neat" but "worth remarking about." People are busy and being merely "very good" won't get you noticed. (Here's where I make a frowny face, because I think this blog probably falls under the "very good" category.)
2. Figure out who does care about what you have to say, and target them. If you're remarkable, they'll tell their friends and your message will spread. (Here's where I try to figure out what I have to offer that's unique and focus in on that.)

And a few tips of my own:

1. Don't post second-rate material. Respect your readers' time and don't post if you don't really have anything substantial to say.
2. Grab attention from the get-go. If someone follows you on Blogger or a Google reader, often only the first couple of lines show up. If you're on someone's blogroll, the reader usually only sees the post title. If you're not interesting right from the beginning, chances are, they won't click through to see the rest of what you have to say.
3. Make it easy for your readers to share posts they like. I have a Share This button at the bottom of all my posts. You can get one free here.
4. Have a regular posting schedule. I need to be better about this, actually. My goal roughly is a TED Talk on Tuesday, something funny on Friday and some sort of original content post at least once a week.
5. Be a good blog buddy. If someone links to you, say thanks and return the courtesy. And here's where I want to add: If you're not on my blogroll and you think you should be--especially if I'm on yours and/or you read and comment here regularly--it's almost certainly an oversight on my part, so please leave me a comment or send me a message and I'd be happy to add you. Also, if you're not already my Facebook friend, you can find my profile in the right sidebar.

And a couple of links: This was one of the most actually useful articles I've read on how to increase site traffic. And Jane Friedman of Writer Unboxed shares what makes her stop reading a blog.

Much more in the talk. Enjoy, and happy blogging!

TED Talk Tuesday: Seth Godin on standing out

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