Right now, we are still in the “PR Blackout” week for bloggers (Social Media, Women, and the X Factor: Starting with Mommy Bloggers.) The Blackout is an effort begun by the wise bloggers at BlogHer to help create a comfortable distinction between bloggers who blog to communicate and people who post blogs purely for monetary gain, whether that is in the form of ads, freebies from products they endorse, or the sale of their own books and merchandise.
As Mindy Roberts, author and master Mommy Blogger recently observed, “…Too many people are getting into blogging as if it were some sort of Amway.” (source: www.TheMommyBlog.net) But does this means that Mindy doesn’t sell her own books and products from her blog?
Run ads on her blog? Or talk about books and products she values? No. She does all of these things; just as your favorite newspaper sells advertising in order to be able to produce newspapers. The point is, somewhere in the sand, there is a line. The line defines what is comfortable for you and your blog readers and what feels too much like direct marketing and a sales pitch.
No doubt, some bloggers cross this line. What’s more annoying than a ‘blog-vertisment’ that exists purely for the purpose of sales? Or business or corporate bloggers who can’t write about life, their industry, or how particularly blue the sky is today because they are too focused on hyping the company’s products?
But at the risk of bringing on a hailstorm of criticisms, it sometimes seems that women in general often have a natural understanding—in general—of how to keep their social media efforts personable and conversational. There are a lot of good bloggers out there, and some of the best at using blogs as a communication tool are often women, and if you doubt that, spend a little time over at BlogHer.
Clearly, this is not an absolute. But science does tell us that women’s brains are wired to typically (not always) be more directed to person-to-person interaction, conversational intimacy, intuition and relationship building … all powerful and incredibly valuable skills for blogging and other types of social media engagement.
An excellent resource on these unique differences in the “wiring schemes” of male and female minds is the book, The Female Brain, by LouAnn Brizendine, MD. Sounds like anatomy class, but you’ll find it filled with fascinating insights on human nature, all information you can put to good use in dealing with clients, customers, and your business marketplace.
Ralph Benko, author of The Websters’ Dictionary, even tells his clients who are interested in putting the tools of social media to work growing their businesses or their causes, “If you are committed to success, it is invaluable and probably essential to have women in positions of senior authority. Not as token figures but in authority.”
For lack of something more politically correct, we are calling it an “X Factor” and if you weren’t born with, then pay attention to those who have it, it may be contagious and it is definitely a good idea for capturing heart and soul in your social media marketing efforts.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Thanks for the thoughts – I think you’re right about women. : )
I do sell my book on my site (no one else does! It was self-published!) and will talk about things I have discovered and like, but never in exchange for payment. That could explain why I am not one of the many bloggers making a living online. I have to scramble for income. And it’s not always a perk to receive samples. I have literally piles of books and other things I will NEVER review because no one will pay me for my time, and I wouldn’t accept payment for it anyway. It’s a gamble companies make when they send me something. I’d say one to five in a hundred might meet my criteria of something I would use, have used, or would totally recommend to my readers, and even then it’s not an infomercial. It’s in the context of narrative about our lives.
The ads in the sidebars are my compromise… I signed up with John Battelle’s Federated Media, a company with integrity and high standards, and told then that they could place ads for whatever they liked on my site so long as it never interfered with my writing. I won’t be influenced by the ad revenue (which isn’t all that much. My last monthly check was $300).
I think it’s critically important that we all have a good, hard look at what we do and why. Blogging isn’t something you should to for money, but for the love of the game. Except of course for corporate gigs, in which case you should thank your lucky stars. If you have a voice that appeals, you will gain a following. You cannot buy readers, no matter how hard people to try to believe it.