HELPING KILL THE BUSINESS OF BLOGGING
I have written many times on The Editor's Touch about the fact that being a blogger IS A BUSINESS ... it's a business that thrives off of a combination of: traffic, ads, content, and searches / SEO ... there are a lot of people who have an issue with blogs in general ... last week, amongst all the Style Me Pretty news ... which I definitely blogged about ... I saw a post on FB that I'm going to paraphrase ... the basic gist of the post was:
'... IT'S SO ANNOYING TO SEE ALL THESE PEOPLE BLOGGING ABOUT THE SMP NEWS ... THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO RIDE THE WAVE AND USE IT FOR TRAFFIC ....'
Hmmm ... welp, that is what blogging is .... but it's not as ugly as that FB comment made it out to be. Being a blogger is a JOB ... yeah, crazy, right??? All those websites you seek news from ... those people are making a living writing and sharing the news and their opinion with you on their platform. But, more than a job, being a blogger takes talent ... it takes having a voice that people give a sh*t about ... and, to the FB commenter, it also isn't a guarantee. It makes me laugh to think that people actually believe:
IF YOU BLOG IT - THEY WILL COME
It doesn't work like that ... people don't blog and then sit back and see the traffic flow ... and if you blog about something that doesn't interest anyone - well, nobody will share it. So to write something as obnoxious and naive as: blogging about SMP news is just a way to ride the SEO wave ... well, that's just silly. Blog editors post things and sometimes NOBODY reads it ... it takes so much work to push a post to get it in front of people ... social media promotions, newsletter blasts, other people helping share it ... Google isn't just there spitting out our work the second people search for our 'topic' online.
I was going to let my annoyance from that post go ... but I can't because it brings up other issues ...
PEOPLE DON'T RESPECT BLOGS - THEY JUST WANT THEIR WORK FEATURED SO THEY CAN BRAG
Being featured on SMP was a big braggadocious 'thing' in the life of a creative business owner ... it was the 'big badge to get' ... and if you put all your eggs in the SMP basket and it closes down, as I believe it will ... times are getting scary for you. I wrote a post about what to do when Style Me Pretty comes down << and it could help you if you are in the group of people who see a lot of business from that site.
If you are one of the business owners who has the mindset of:
BLOGS WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT MY CONTENT OR PHOTOS OR EFFORTS
... and you are so angry of that fact ... then I'm sorry, but you and I have issues ... because right now there are a whole lotta people FREAKING THE F*CK OUT that their posts on SMP are going to go away ... so:
WHICH IS IT???
You can't have it both ways ... you can't hate blogs and say: you're nothing without my content ... you should be paying ME for my photos ... and be all >> omg, all that content that drives traffic my way is disappearing ... what to do!!??
WHAT'S MY POINT? DO I EVEN HAVE ONE? I MIGHT JUST BE VENTING ...
Is the announcement that SMP is closing a big publicity stunt? Some people, including myself, have considered it ... but, because it's owned by a corporation that really doesn't care about 'wedding trends' ... my guess is it's not. They are looking at numbers and even your gorgeous content isn't enough to save those ... sadly.
People get all up in arms when blogs misinform that public about services in this industry ... and I don't blame them ... in fact I have blogged several times about the responsibilities of a publication to their viewers ... but we as viewers and 'users' of blogs as a way to boost ourselves and create business also have a responsibility ... this morning I got the news that Delish is closing down their app ... all these things happening at the same time are eye opening and thought provoking ... the question is:
WHAT ARE THEY SEEING THAT WE'RE NOT?
... and back around to my opening of this blog post ... the comment that irritated me ... it's up to us to change our attitudes about blogs and what they do ... how they help us all succeed ... the WORK THAT GOES INTO EACH POST ... the thought behind the words that are written ... think long and hard about what being published on a blog does for you ... even if it just boosts your confidence a bit and makes you walk a little taller ... that in itself is pretty magical.
And if blogs are done for?? If online publications and recipe apps are a thing of the 'soon to be past' ... and it's all being pushed to posting a photo on social media ... GULP ... I honestly am not ready to accept that fate yet. Somehow we have to bring it back to the small business owners and acknowledge their worth - respect the time they put into a blog post or sharing their knowledge on their own platform ... otherwise we might as well just live on Facebook and Instagram and never talk to a living human being ever again ... man, such a dramatic end to a dramatic post! Haha ... have an amazing day ;)
XO~ Heather
