What is the only thing worse than people talking badly about your business/blog/employees/product/services?
Having no one talking about them!
This is the “you’re nobody until you’re somebody” concept, and frankly, no one discusses nobodies.
Like most businesses/blogs/etc, you probably have your share of both positive and negative feedback. And if you don’t have ANY feedback…then you aren’t being noticed!
The internet has always been a place for people to opine about whatever is on their mind. Sites like Twitter make it even easier for people to put in their two cents worth.
Whether anyone cares to listen is another story, but that doesn’t stop a good portion of the nearly 1.6 billion global internet users from writing articles, commenting on blogs and creating Photoshop images.
But the sad fact is that unless someone is attacking your name or bashing on your blog post, you simply don’t have enough exposure!
No one likes to read negative comments about your theories on SEO and brand management, or what Jon and Kate are up to lately. That being said though – I’d rather see SOMEONE commenting than nothing at all.
[Let me preface this next part by saying neither I, nor USASEOPros necessarily agrees or disagrees with any particular comment or opinion that we are sharing below. All of the examples are from individuals/sites that we respect and follow daily.]
Let’s look at some of the most influential people and successful Web sites on the internet…
…starting with TechCrunch.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a site that is so simultaneously loved and despised by its viewers.
Comments like the one above are common on just about every post. And it isn’t just founder Michael Arrington who is (at times) reviled. MG Siegler of TechCrunch recently had a relatively public spat with “Rock Cookie Bottom” who created a musical jingle for the Bing search engine.
At least there’s something that Rock Cookie Bottom can take away from this: he received a LOT of exposure from TechCrunch’s articles and opinions.
Then there is the SEO-force-to-be-reckoned-with Graywolf (Michael Gray).
Certainly no stranger to controversy, and never one to back down from an opinion, Graywolf is often either attacking, or being attacked on any given day.
His post about Sarah Lacy (again, from TechCrunch) and what Graywolf believes to be sponsored posts generated quite a bit of discussion from both sides of the fence.
Graywolf has made quite a name for himself in the SEO industry simply because he is fearless in the face of attacks, and I have yet to see him back down – even from sometime-friend-sometime-enemy Lisa Barone.
Lisa is another example of someone who won’t back down from an attack, and uses her blog on Outspoken Media to share some very strong opinions about SEO and online marketing.
Some of it is controversial, and some of it is spot on, but it’s all designed to nurture conversation and force thought.
Then you’ve got Randfish (Rand Fishkin) of SEOmoz. He has posted some great articles about the industry, but he’s also been attacked. This article on SEORefugee highlighted some actions by Rand that seemed to the author to be irresponsible and unprofessional.
We’ll stay out of that argument, but it does go to show the importance of actually being SOMEONE. If Rand wasn’t Rand and wasn’t an integral part of the industry-respected SEOmoz, Skitzzo wouldn’t have had an article to write. No one cares what mommy-blogger #9017 has to say about Passion Parties – until #9017 actually is read by people!
A blog/business/Web site/etc requires a lot of work. Getting noticed, and KEEPING the attention of your readers and/or clients can be a challenge.
Controversy is a great way to snag readers and will almost guarantee a comment or two. Negative commenting or disagreeing isn’t always a bad thing. Hopefully you can stir up a conversation and keep some of the readers that visit because of the hot topic.
That’s how Lisa Barone grabbed me as a reader with her article on Links and Sex (GREAT title!)….and she’s kept me as a reader with thought provoking articles like the Power of the Unexpected.
Be someone that others are going to talk about. Be thought-provoking and discuss topics working talking about. Maybe even be a bit controversial. But more than anything…be yourself. I admire Michael and Lisa if for no other reason than they are who they are and they won’t conform just because someone else doesn’t like it!
