I agree too about where the perceived lack of quality comes from. I do think a part is the pressure to post daily or even to post several times daily. It can be hard to sustain that kind of posting schedule. When I first started blogging I posted three times a week since that’s what I felt I could handle. I’ve since gone to five a week, with the occassional four or six post weeks.

Sometimes it does feel to me as though a post here or there isn’t as good as I’d like it to be and that I force myself to publish just to keep the schedule. I do try to give myself permission to skip a day if I don’t feel the writing is up to par, though I know some less than stellar posts make their way through.

I think there is a major factor that creates degradation in the quality of posts – the pressure for bloggers to “post every day.” Daily posting of quality material requires a pretty prolific mind. I don’t even try because, frankly, I don’t have that much time and I am not willing to lose that much quality in my writing (I hope it works). I commend those that can post daily and maintain their quality, though.

I agree completely that off-topic posts are ok once in a while as they help readers get acquainted with you/the writer.

I agree Yuri. The 20% only stand out because of the 80% And you do ultimately need to write what people want to read. If everyone wants to read about the same topics then that’s what people will write about. It would be silly to avoid a topic just because it’s been covered before.

I caught your comment on Marketing Pilgrim too and I agree Shoemoney’s post was just the kind of thing he often writes about. Was it meant as linkbait? Who knows, but I doubt that was the only reason for the post. As soon as any post gathers a lot of links people are going to accuse it of being written for linkbait.

I understand Forrest. I was thinking the yes was in relation to this blog, which didn’t make sense given the rest of your comment. Wow! Thanks for the compliment. The Tipping Point is a great book and doesn’t have to be seen as being about marketing at all. I think it was written as something more than a marketing book.

I liked the Paul Revere part too and never knew there was another rider. I always come back to thinking about his ideas for stopping epidemics and getting people to quit smoking. Very interesting ideas. I suppose some of those ideas come through in my writing, because the book made a definite impact on me. It might be time for a reread, though I just started another book on PHP. I also like the marketing books and ideas of Seth Godin. He’s another person who’s helped shaped much of my thought.

I do think there are a lot of good blogs about seo and marketing. I know I continue to read many daily and will continue to read them. They all have their ebbs and flows and as someone who writes all week I can understand. Not every post is going to be the best. I try to look at the consistency of a blog when reading. Those that are generally good I’ll keep reading.

I’m about 1/3 of the way through The Tipping Point, and reading it more as a description of the rules the world operates under than a marketing textbook … but a lot of what I’ve learned from Malcolm echoes in what I’ve learned from you. And yet the parts I’ve read so far are about Paul Revere and Hush Puppies shoes … pre-internet topics.

There doesn’t seem to be much of your competition that’s so good at sifting out the wisest ideas and applying them to new problems.

- Greg has clearly forgotten about the long tail and the Theodore Sturgeon’s maxim that “80% of everything is crap”
- if bloggers don’t write about everyday news, people wouldn’t read them to learn about the news, so some have to cover them
- like we have just noticed, if a couple of bloggers decide to cover a previously uncovered topic, a bunch of posts appear

A good example of this would be me writing a post about this subject, which I ususally do, when my response is long enough.

But here’s the thing. Lots of people tell you to pick a unique niche and write in it. So I did. I haven’t written many response or news cover posts and guess what, my blog server isn’t squeaking under insurge of visitors.

So I guess a bit moderation is in order: cover a couple of news, write average posts and a couple of expert posts you’ve spent an entire week on. Either way, you’ll get your audience, but it’ll be a difference audience, as you have clearly explained why and how it happens.

I have read “The Tipping Point” and highly recommend it to everyone whether you’re a marketer or not. It’s a great book. I haven’t read any of Gladwell’s other books, but I think he has more that are worthy of reading.

You should read “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell … it’s as unique, insightful, and brilliant an approach to marketing as yours.