Blogging Tips

Good Blogging is like Good Standup

BenSpark with Gabriel Iglesias at the Comedy Magic Store in Hermosa Beach, CA

This post was inspired by Revision3’s ROFL podcast. I’ve been on the road all day and I had a ton of episodes of ROFL, which is a standup comedy show. I’ve always been a fan of standup and other forms of comedy but standup is my favorite form. So, I got to thinking of how blogging can be compared to standup comedy.

Good Standup Requires Exceptional Timing

Timing is one of the things that is so crucial to good comedy. When a comedian starts their set you can tell whether or not their timing is off. They set up the joke wait a beat and nail the punchline. Bloggers, you can pace the timing of your content with examples and bullet points. Then you can nail the points home with great wrap up statements and engaging questions. Is your timing on or off?

Good Standup asks Questions

A comedian sets up some of their bits by asking questions. By asking questions comedians can get the audience engaged in what they are talking about. Capturing the audience is crucial for good standup. Bloggers, asking questions of your audience changes them from passive to active participants. Responding to the audience’s reaction also continues the exchange and strengthens the experience. Are you asking enough questions when you blog?

Good Standup uses Callbacks

As you are listening to a comedian perform you might hear them refer back to a joke that they told earlier in the set. This works great because the comedian calls back to a shared experience. Because the experience is shared from an earlier joke the audience is already in on the joke. For bloggers you can refer back to your previous posts and physically link to them as well. That way you can bring the audience into the conversation and give them those callbacks to build upon the shared experience. Are calling back to your previous work and letting your community in on the joke?

Good Standup Jokes tap into Public Opinion

Comedians can get the crowd on their side by pointing out something that we all have experience with. By appealing to the court of public opinion the comedian can tap into that collective experience and knowledge that we already share, that way they can get to the joke without having to set it up as extensively. Bloggers, when we write up some of our posts do we tap into something that is happening online already? Sharing your opinion on a post from Copyblogger, or Problogger or Chris Brogan is one way to tap into that collective. Or writing about tools that we all use like Twitter, Flickr and Wordpress you also tap into that court of public opinion. When you elaborate on public opinion and talk about your experiences as part of the collective community you can cut right to the important part of your message.

Good Standup Makes you Think

Sometimes Comedians will tell a joke and it hits you later. That delayed laughter sometimes is the best kind because it means that you got that special take away from the show. That is the joke you will tell your friends because it made you think. Bloggers, when we write are we writing to make our readers think? Are we engaging them so that they become part of our communities or are we simply entertaining them so they can move on to the next blog?

Written by BenSpark from BenSpark.com
Posted on March 2nd, 2010 and filed under Blogging, Social Media
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15 Responses to “Good Blogging is like Good Standup”

Author comments are in a darker gray color for you to easily identify the posts author in the comments

Samantha Milner says:

March 3, 2010 at 9:32 am

Great post!!!

I love the idea here – those that seem to struggle with blogging tend to be those that arent very outgoing and struggle to make conversation in the real world.

So if you are loud, outgoing etc you can easily show this through your Blog.

kind regards

sam
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- BenSpark says:
  
  March 3, 2010 at 9:42 am
  
  Sam,
  I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that. One of the best bloggers out there is rather shy and introverted but he is a fantastic blogger and that is Darren Rowse. Our own Zac Johnson is sort of introverted too and he is a fantastic blogger. Yes, those who are outgoing do very well as bloggers too but it is the subtleties that also make a good blogger, I guess I should have added subtlety to the list of good standup qualities as well.
Blog Angel a.k.a. Joella says:

March 3, 2010 at 12:30 pm

Standup? What an excellent way to illustrate good blogging practices. I’m especially fond of asking my readers what they think, posing provocative questions and backlinking.

I need to tap into using more public opinion though.

Great post really made me think!
- BenSpark says:
  
  March 3, 2010 at 12:40 pm
  
  Joella,
  
  I’m glad that this post made you think. I appreciate that you took the time to comment on it too. Asking questions is a great way to engage. Are there other ways that you have discovered?
Daryl James says:

March 3, 2010 at 4:20 pm

Interesting post. Another point on the timing thing as it relates to blog. Just as in standup, timing of delivery on posts can make a big difference! Delivering to a minimal audience at off-times can kill the effectiveness of great content.
- BenSpark says:
  
  March 3, 2010 at 5:39 pm
  
  Daryl,
  That is very, very true. Great insight into the post and also blogging.
Jason says:

March 6, 2010 at 1:47 am

Very true blogging is all about engaging your readers, and making them laugh doesn’t hurt either. P.S Love the pic classic …..
- BenSpark says:
  
  March 6, 2010 at 11:06 am
  
  Jason,
  Glad you enjoyed the pic. Gabriel Iglesias is one of my favorite comedians.
Jennifer Brown Banks says:

March 6, 2010 at 3:13 pm

I love this analogy! I also love stand up, so this post really hits home for me. Thanks for the useful tips and strategies.
- BenSpark says:
  
  March 8, 2010 at 3:30 pm
  
  Jennifer,
  I’m glad that you enjoyed the post.