Blogging With Sincerity

Sincerity – A word not commonly used or understood in much of today’s business world.  It generally means to express one’s opinions, thoughts or ideas honestly and truthfully.

In our world of self-promotion and personal gain it can be very difficult to acheive success blogging while staying sincere.  The concept of sincerity is essential though for every blogger who truly wants to be successful.  To illustrate the concept of how powerful sincerity is I will use 4 major points to make my argument.

1. Commenting – Everyone knows what spam looks like.  It is generic and often full of links to promote personal sites with little or no relevancy to your own.  An insincere comment might also include something like “nice post”, “great article” or “[title of your headline] is awesome”.  Additionally comments left only for the intent of seo or backlinks are also included as insincere commenting.  You see commenting takes effort and writing a real comment that will actually contribute to the article written shows a sincere interest in the writer’s work.  Additionally a thoughtful negative comment with specific criticisms shows sincere desire to elaborate on logical or other faults within the post.  No matter what writing because you care goes a long way for you, the other readers, and the author.
2. Collaborating – I have seen a pretty decent amount of emails sent to me or blogging buddies that go something like this: “Hello, Will you put a link to my www.throwtogetherblog.com, John Doe”.  They definitely require no thought, no personalization, or intelligence.  People want to know why you want them to do something.  When I have successfully been able to collaborate with other bloggers it is because I contribute to their efforts and then they often naturally contribute to mine.  So next time you try to communicate with another blogger… address them by name, state what it is you want, why you want it, how it would be beneficial to you/me, and any additional information.  Too much flattery is also not good at this time.  Successful bloggers can see through your ploys to butter them up.  Remember, you want to work with someone who actually likes your work and believes your relationship has value so make sure to add yours.
3. Writing – I know it can be difficult to keep up with busy blogging schedules, daily posts, or the many other tasks requiring you to spend time accomplishing them.  But do not forget to give your readers an honest attempt at writing your blog post.  It is a disservice to them and you when you rush an article or post just for the sake of publishing.  Take the time show your readers you care by expressing your honest opinion and best work.
4. Designing - Another way to show a lack of honesty or sincerity is in your design work or layout.  Hiding links, using too much advertising and constantly disguising affiliate products shows a lack of honesty and sincerity.  Readers want to come to your site to receive valuable information not be inundated with too much advertising and hidden links.  This does not mean you shouldn’t advertise but rather describes how you should not advertise.  Being open about affiliate links, minimizing your advertising from covering your entire page, and offering a clean layout allows your readers to honestly enjoy your work.

With so many things you should not do to remain sincere, it is easy to forget about the positives.  Being sincere creates a community of bloggers who will continue to return to your blog for targeted information and content.  It will also bring more traffic to your blog as you leave valuable comments worth following, and collaboration with other bloggers.  So be sincere and enjoy knowing that your commenting, collaboration and content represent your best self.

Written by Seth W from Blogging Agenda
Posted on May 11th, 2009 and filed under Blogging
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