First things first, I don't have a blog, nor do I see myself creating on in the near future, but I was still seriously intrigued by the CopyBlogger website.
Copyblogger is a striving blogger’s dream come true. I can just see them clicking their way through the articles of genius with blogger bliss. Picking one article to talk about was a difficult choice, but I ended up going with The Seven Deadly Sins of Advertising. Who knew advertising was so deadly? Apparently it is, so next time you write a blog, Copyblogger says you had better avoid these like the swine flu:
- Selfishness
- Sloth
- Impatience
- Lameness
- Identicality
- Irrelevance
- Boorishness
About Ze Blog
Though this website is geared mainly towards bloggers, it still attracts writers of all types because of its valuable advice. You could pretty much say the author’s a blog expert. Or a Blogspert. Or whatever you’d prefer.
It has awesome tips for writing books, television scripts, news articles, love letters, breakup letters, I hate my roommate letters and the like. Any writer would seek for the helpful tips that this website reveals. In this day and age, publishing one's writing has become more accessible through such mediums as blogs, twitter, facebook, online debates, and simply commenting on a news article. With so much competition, the need to stand out amongst the rest is greater than ever. Just don’t take it too far or you’ll end up like Lady Gaga, and heaven knows our world isn’t big enough for more than one Lady Gaga. Basically, with this website, all aspiring writers will be one step closer to their dream of being praised for their words.
Naturally, those who are avid bloggers are most likely to be the primary, faithful viewers of the website. Whether you believe it or not, blogging is a tricky business. Unless the work is witty, original, exciting, and worthwhile to read, it’ll sink to the bottom of the internet’s sea of pointless and obnoxious websites right next to whymycatissospecial.com and optuswhalesong.com. Yikes!
The Fundamentals
My mom is probably the wisest person I’ve ever met, and always taught me the best way to teach is through example. Thus, my appreciation for Copyblogger grew immensely when I noticed it teaches by example. If they can keep me interested while writing about how to keep readers interested, I definitely feel like they know what they’re doing and I respect them because of it.
Trying to stay interested while reading a textbook is like trying to stay entertained by watching an old potato sprout roots. Why? Because it just spews out information that has no relevance to the reader at all, whatsoever! It is full of sentences with no voice, no originality, nothing that would make the audience want to keep reading further besides the need to know the details of ionic bonding for their next exam. Woof!
Thank heavens Copyblogger’s website is the complete opposite of this writing style. It whips out concise sentences and casual wording to keep the reader engaged in the piece. Examples of such phrases are, “The good news is most of them suck,” or, “The game still ain’t about you, baby.” The ultimate goal of this style is to make the reader feel like they are part of a normal conversation, and not being lectured to. When I read a textbook, the image comes to mind of a typical distasteful professor (the kind with the sweaty bald head, rancid breath, and the mustard yellow bow tie) staring down at me and spitting in my face while telling me things I will never, ever care about. On the contrary, reading Copyblogger makes me feel like I’m talking to a best friend, one that I can trust and relate to. One who makes me laugh, who understands me and wants me to be a better person. Basically, if this website was a man, it would be 100% dating quality--but that’s totally besides the point. What I’m trying to say is what every goods salesman knows; that the best way to get a potential client to purchase something is to first build a foundation of trust and relation.
Xerox Gone Bad
While imitation is a form of flattery, if someone were to become exactly like me there’s no lie I would be creeped out and quite upset. I want to be the only me there is! One of this article’s sins is Identicality, which basically means that if you copy someone’s work you’re super lame. But, it does say that there’s nothing wrong with being inspired by someone else, and the author goes on to explain how that’s what he did when writing. The fact that he followed this advice and it worked is awesome encouragement for those who want to try the same idea. Sometimes we all need that reassurance that what we’re doing is okay, and I certainly felt reassured when I read that.
It's impossible to frown while eating a Frosty! (or so says the cups at Wendy's)
Singin’ in the Rain, one of the most beloved musicals of all time, gives some useful advice; “Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em laugh. Don’t you know everyone wants to laugh?” Surely the writer for this website understood that principle well. Rarely do people dislike something that makes them smile for a bit. (The only exception is being tickled. That can change from laughter, to pain, and then peed pants faster than you’d expect.)
From personal experience, I know that the only blogs I am apt to keep reading are those that make me laugh. Society is constantly coming up with new expectations to fill and responsibilities to take care of, but fails to produce more hours in the day to accomplish them with ease. It is only healthy that during a jam-packed day of work, classes, trips to the grocery store, frustratingly long lines, homework, traffic, laundry, and making a meal for that sick person in the ward, that one takes the time to take a break from their schedule and find something to alleviate some stress. This is exactly what Copyblogger does. It uses phrases like, “Is my topic actually interesting to someone other than my mom and my cat?” to get a chuckle out of the reader, and pushes them to keep reading for more.
Think of the Children! (or whoever the audience is.)
The platypus is an animal found in parts of Tasmania and Australia. It is one of the five species of monotremes in the world, meaning it is a mammal that lays eggs. Though it looks pathetic and innocent, it is full of venom and has the best sense of electrolocation out of all the monotremes. You’re probably wondering where I’m going with this and don’t care in the slightest about where platypus live. This is exactly what you’re supposed to think. Number 6 of the seven deadly sins is irrelevance, and it urges writers to write things relevant to their audience. If people lose interest, they are going to get confused and stop reading, much like I’m sure you wanted to stop reading about the platypus. In this article however, there is no fluff or jumping around. It says precisely what it means to and it works.
Stir Things Up
People like ingenuity. They thrive off of cutting-edge innovations in the arts, sciences, literature, and more. Were it not so, our world wouldn’t be constantly busting out “new and improved” technology. I mean, take a look at the Snuggie. Thousands have been sold regardless of how pointless it seems to be.
So what we learn from the Snuggie is that the only way to get noticed is to present something that has never been seen before, whether or not it’s even useful. In the case of this Copyblogger’s article, they came up with a unique way to present their information. Though it would have been easier for the author to have simply stated his or her suggestions in a bland, essay format, they chose to take a more unique route. Since early Christian times there has been a document explaining the seven deadly sins, or vices that mankind often succumb to. Because article had seven common mistakes of striving bloggers, they decided to turn their idea into a spoof off of the famous document. Thus, “The Seven Deadly Sins of Blogging” was born. It was this title that originally drew me to this article in the first place. I figured something with that creative of a title must be at least somewhat interesting, and it was. If they can get me to read an article just because it has a cool title and format, then good for them. Ten points to Griffindor--I mean...Copyblogger!
Basically...
...there are three things I learned from this article:
- Copyblogger is freaking awesome.
- Make your writing live, not just exist.
- The best way to convince someone they should be a certain way is to become that way yourself.
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