Last week, I was honored to be a guest on Stanford Smith’s blog, Pushing Social. This post was my follow-up to the 7 Annoying Social Media Personality Disorders I wrote a few months ago. And, just like that post, this one was also picked up on Guy Kawasaki’s blog, Holy Kaw, which was pretty darn exciting.
All that said, I didn’t want the fine folks here to miss out on this one. So, here’s an excerpt from the post. You can read the entire post over at Pushing Social. Cheers!
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A few months ago, I told you about the
annoying social media personality disorders that will kill your ability to be successful on the social web.
But guess what? Bloggers are not immune from developing their own set of ugly personalities that will send readers packing.
So if you’ve been slaving away at your blog and wondering why no one is engaging with you or sharing your stuff, perhaps you’re overlooking the
something so close to you that you’re likely to miss it altogether — your personality.
The Truth Hurts
Whether you like it or not, your readers are quietly judging your blog based on your personality. People have precious little time on their hands, and they want to spend it with people they know, like, and trust.
The same is true “in real life” and on other
social media channels. Personality matters.
In the blogosphere, just like in real life, there are some common personality traits that are universally unappealing. And chances are, these bloggers are scaring away readers and they don’t even know it.
So who are these blogging misfits? Let me introduce you.
The Navel Gazer
Navel gazers are introspective folks who love to share their innermost thoughts and feelings. Their blogs read more like a diary than helpful information that people want to share.
Navel gazers are also notorious for over sharing — everything from way-too-personal details of their lives to every little hiccup in their business.
Now if your blog is purely meant to be your personal journal, that’s fine. However, if you want to
build your business around your blog, this will just turn people off. People don’t want to hear about you. They want you to
entertain them, solve their problems, and make their lives better.
The Spoilsport
Spoilsports just don’t know how to have a good time. They’re negative, cynical, and always have a contrarian view on issues.
The problem is, deep down at their core, spoilsports are just insecure. They tear others down to make themselves feel better. And all the while, they’re wondering why their blog isn’t as successful as those around them.
If you want to grow a blog community, be positive, kind, and congratulate others on their success. After all, what did our parents always say? If you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all. Believe it or not, that same rule still applies.
Want to read the rest? Head on over to Pushing Social for the full post.
