...or is it finding the time?
I was sitting here this morning, scrolling through the last few weeks of posts on my blog, and I noticed that... short of writing reviews... I've been slacking off on actual content.
Which is quite funny, really, because Tara from booksexyreview and I have been discussing this exact topic quite a bit over the last month or so.
What stimulated all the talk? Well, to be honest, it was the birth of The Reading Ape's Book Blog UnCon (which is taking place on the same Monday as BEA's Book Blogger Con) and its call to bloggers for prospective sessions that got the conversation started. Our slightly obsessive love and passion for building content and developing blog-worthy ideas has kept the discussion-ball a'rollin'.
See, for me, content ideas always come fast and furious. I find I'm never short of cool new series to kick off. But the series I envision typically rely almost entirely on content from publishers and authors. Why? Well, partly because I'm incredibly fascinated with what goes on behind-the-books. So I develop ways in which I can gather information from people in those fields and showcase it here on the blog. But I also do it because I really don't have the time to sit and write out my own content. I'm sure my hard core followers have noticed this habit of mine by now, yes?
Over the years, I hope you'll agree that I've had some really fun series kicking around the blog: "What I Want to Know" where bloggers, authors, and publishers were questioned on a different topic each week; the Indie Spotlights where publishers and bloggers are thrown under the stage lights and given carte blanche to share whatever they wish with TNBBCer's; Indie Book Buzz's like this one, where publishers dish on the upcoming books they are most excited to publish... among many others.
The Insatiable Booksluts is a great example of a blog that develops timely, intriguing, and engaging self-content. They use what they see and hear in the news, on Twitter, and in similar social media sites to snag content and then go on lovely rage-rants that make my heart swoon and my brain hurt! These are the types of blog posts I wish I had the time and energy to write, but lo! I do not.
Some bloggers seem to rely heavily on meme's to generate new weekly content. For my own personal reasons, I steer clear of meme's. However, I can see their appeal - without a doubt, meme's are excellent community builders.
Others do nothing more than review books.
The great thing about all of this? Content is content. It doesn't really matter what it is -reviews, interviews, vlogs, meme's, series - what matters more is where you're getting it from and why you choose it.
So, Tara and I are proposing an Uncon group session focusing on open discussion about just that:
- Blogger/Publisher relationship: who decides what is buzz-worthy?
- Deciding what to review
- Beyond the "Review": finding and developing new content.
Hopefully you find this subject matter as intriguing as we do!!
(wiping a little tear from the corner of my eye)
ReplyDeleteYou are very sweet :D
and I wish I were going to UnCon because this sounds like a fascinating session. Live tweet, willya?
Awww... Sharing the love for the loveliest! Wish you were gonna be there too...
DeleteThat is a great idea for an Uncon session! Also, I totally agree with you about our friends, the Insatiable Booksluts.
ReplyDeleteI am always at a loss for random content--my problem is two-fold:
1. If I'm super passionate about something, chances are I've already ranted/raved about it to Eric for a long time, and then I tire myself out and don't want to go through it again for a blog post.
2. If I'm super passionate about something, I also feel like I wont be able to blog about it concisely and/or coherently. Like, my post will end up being 10,000 words long. Haha!
I totally follow you on point #2. I can rant like a mad woman face to face but getting me to write it down? Something's missing, or not jiving... the flow gets all smooshed.
DeleteVery informative. Thank you for posting this its very interesting. A lot of your readers like it.
ReplyDeleteYep - I think sometimes it's hardest to post content that doesn't subscribe to a typical format - whether it's a review or a meme. I will say, though, that I enjoy my non-review days. I try to do three reviews a week and either 2 or 3 non-review posts (I have Fridays at Home and the advice column). Sometimes that's it, but I notice people enjoy when I do a news and links column.
ReplyDeleteI think that's great that you can get that many posts up per week. Some weeks, I can crank stuff out daily, other weeks I go 4 or 5 days with no new content at all. It can be sort of frustrating...
DeleteIt's always odd where the new ideas and content come from. If one looks at the film industry, it seems difficult to find new content in the blockbuster movies, and so those seeking it generally stick to indie films or something similar. It's tough to distinguish the indie films of internet content. The issue with new content is the level of interest it generates with others will always be hit or miss (perhaps I'm stating the obvious). Sometimes people just don't find interest in new ideas we find interesting, so like the entrepreneur seeking a new niche in the world, perhaps there is a lower success rate for new content generation, but those that are successful experience immense success.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post!
Ryan