It Keeps Things Interesting When You Don’t Write Like Everyone Else
Write the kind of content you want to read and know listicles aren’t useful for every writer
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I’m fairly new to blogging. A little over three months in. Maybe you are, too. Or, maybe you’re a seasoned pro. One of the things that took me a while to discover is the main key to blogging success is staying true to your voice. It took me three months to really, truly believe this.
Why would you write content you don’t want to read? Ahem…
- 13 Ways to Win At Work
- 7 Reasons Your Girlfriend Won’t Pick Your Boogers and How to Get Her To
- 5 Ways to Find Success Today and Forever
These are not articles I would read, except the booger one, because humor.
Here’s a question for you. Do you like reading listicles? More to the point, what do you like to read? Flash Fiction, Poetry, Personal Essays, How-To’s, Satire? Here’s the thing…I figured out something really important this week…I was already doing one thing right — reading the kind of content I like and skipping the kind of content I don’t like. It took me about a month and a half to let go of the guilt of not reading every article I clicked on. Seriously y’all, life is too short.
Cue a really wonderful thing happening this week. Super-successful blogger Sean Kernan (22k followers to my humble 850) posted a link to one of his stories in a blogging Facebook group. I clicked and I was hooked. The story has an Oregon Trail vibe that I immediately related to and it taught me the history of the black plague. I was so intrigued I checked out the publication the story appears in: History of Yesterday. When I find articles that resonate with me I look up the publication because it’s likely I’ll want to read more from them and I may also want to write for them.
I knew I had read this guy’s work before. I hadn’t binge-read it because I didn’t want to seem like a blogging creeper…Why did I care what Sean thought? Because I respect him as a writer.
When I looked into the publication and the stories Sean has been writing for History of Yesterday I realized something — Sean is taking a chance on writing in a new arena that he enjoys. You can tell that by reading his work. Not all of these stories have gone viral (yet) and that’s okay. Ultimately, readership is unpredictable. One of my writing buddies made a similar comment about this poem of mine — Jordan said, “Aimée, I can tell you had fun writing this — it just comes through.”
This week, I got over that insecurity and decided to embrace my fan-girl-ness of Sean’s writing. He’s a professional writer, a few years younger than me, who writes personal essays, actually interesting business articles, and he retells history in a fun, quirky way.
This! This is the kind of writer I want to be inspired by. You know who I don’t want to be inspired by? The writer who has “hacked” the formula for writing successful listicles. I just don’t care.
I guess I’m a snobby elitist with degrees in English. English — Creative Studies. English — Creative Studies with an emphasis in poetry. Yes, my MA thesis is a book of my poetry…
What do you think about? What do you read? What podcasts do you listen to? What do you talk about with your friends and family? Do you believe a bulleted list will have staying power in your life for more than a week, a year, ten years? As my mom said this morning, “I don’t like listicles either. We all live different lives. And, who’s to know how these lists will speak to our lives from one week to the next?”
What do I blog about? Personal Stories, Poetry, Short Stories, Humor, Pets, and I’d like to begin writing more about business from the perspective I find interesting (and, hopefully, you do, too!) as well as film and social issues.
I haven’t read all of Sean’s work, so I may be missing some listicles that he has created, but what I have read is simply good writing about subjects that are either interesting or that Sean puts his personal flair on to make interesting to me, his reader.
As you continue with your blogging career, I have 2 questions for you:
Who are your top three favorite bloggers and why?
Read them more! Learn from them. For a long time (as long as three + months allows) I wanted to be published in Mind Café. What great kudos for me, me, me! But, I don’t like reading formulaic content consisting of the 1, 2, 3, 4 + Takeaway punch. Then, why the heck do I want to write it? No! This may be an unpopular opinion, but after I finish writing this essay I’m unfollowing Mind Café and letting go of trying to write for them. If we were at a hotel in a speed dating round, we would most definitely not match. I’m better matched with P.S. I Love You, The Innovation, Invisible Illness, The Bad Influence, and Age of Empathy (unabashed shoutout for my publication)…I’m a casual dater…self-lover…writer.
Are you writing content that you would like to read?
If the answer is YES! Great! If it’s no…then please, please re-evaluate. I want to read your voice — not the voice of some successful blogger who you think you have to emulate to find your success. You have style! Embrace it. Share it with the world. Share it with us!
Brief props to the listicle
Maybe, unlike me, you like listicles. That’s okay! Own it. Here are a few listicle articles that have made it into my Gems in the Murk List of Listicles…In fact, I discovered Sean Kernan has a few of these over at Mind Café (oops!). The brilliant thing about Sean is he can make a listicle conversational. I don’t skim his lists. I read them. And, that’s quite an accomplishment. He is somehow able to humbly remind us that he is a pro — writing is his bona fide profession. Learn from the pros.
- Life Lessons: Sean Kernan 4 Quotes by Actual Humans that Blew My Mind, 24k claps (8/14/2020)
- Practical Writing Advice: Linda Caroll 26 Weak Words That Water Down Your Writing and How to Fix Them, 5k claps (8/14/2020)
- Personal Advice: Sira M. 7 Things Charming People Don’t Do, 5k claps (8/14/2020)
Pro-tip: if listicles are your style, make sure your headline numbers are odd — apparently odd numbers are more trustworthy according to Casey Botticello’s article: 5 Brilliant Ways to Energize Your Blog Post Titles Using Number Psychology:
Odd numbers are more trustworthy because they suggest the content is created out of available information versus added fill-in material thrown in for balance. In short, your content appears more authentic.
Odd numbers also benefit blog post titles because even numbers create symmetry, but odd numbers create interest and are easier to remember because of this. — Casey Botticello
Embrace uniqueness
We are all as unique as our fingerprints. We all have different voices, styles, and preferences to bring to the table. Let’s commit to being true to ourselves when we are writing. I think you and I will be better for it.
You cannot be all things to all people. Be unique. Be different. Give to others what you want yourself. And do what you were made to do. — Robert Kiyosaki
March to the beat of your own drum. Write what you want to read and you’ll be a happier writer with happier readers to boot. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to emulate the success of someone only because of their success. Emulate writers who are successful and whom you admire and then mix in your unique experiences and voice.
That’s a formula for success.
