Sharktopus is a new SyFy movie that is helmed by Roger Corman. The movie is about a crazy cross between a shark and an octopus. Not only does it swim through the water, propel itself out of the water or grab on to ships and people in the water but it comes out of the water and onto land wreaking havoc everywhere. From the trailer it looks like this killing machine was genetically created and is radio controlled. Of course the control gets lost early on and the Sharktopus just goes crazy and starts mayhem.
Now, I’m not saying that the Sharktopus is entirely bad. I think that if you think of your blog as a Sharktopus you can see some positive and negative aspects.
The Negative
You Cannot Control the Sharktopus
Are you in control of the direction of your blog or is it controlling you? Are you being pulled into multiple directions at once? When your blog is pulling you all over the place and you are not focused it is easy for things to get completely out of control. You might start out blogging in one direction and the next thing you know your focus gets shifted and you are headed in an entirely different directions. By being completely unfocused and moving in different directions you will lose your audience.
The Sharktopus is Indiscriminately Killing Off Your Readers
I’m sure that no one is actually killing off their readers, but along the lines of being off focus you might be losing readers as quickly as the Sharktopus can snag a bungee jumper from the air. I saw the trailer, it was fast. If your blog started as a food blog but then you decided to call it a tech blog and you completely switched gears on a whim you most likely killed off your foodie audience. Maintain the focus that brought in your initial readership.
The Positive
The Sharktopus is not Limited by Environment
Do you make the excuse that if you only had your own office or blogging space that you could be more productive and successful. If you only were able to quit your job and were able to focus only on your blog you would be more successful. Some of the most successful bloggers that I know are not in the same space day in and day out. They are working out of coffee shops, airplanes, taxi cabs and even soccer games. A power blogger does not let environment limit them, they find a way do get the job done and to do it well. These bloggers are also doing so many various things and not just banging away on their keyboards pontificating. Get out and do something interesting, it will make your blog much more interesting.
The Sharktopus is Mobile, Agile and Lethal
Is your blog a bloated mass of widgets, ads, images and chicklets? When you have those items spread all over your blog then your readers will become distracted. Strip your blog down to the essentials and let it stand on its own. One of my favorite examples of a blog that is mobile, agile and lethal is Jonathan Fields.com. Go to this blog and you see a few things immediately. Content is at the forefront, important calls to actions are prominent and advertising is at a minimum. The blog is lean and the headlines grab you in its tentacles and the content swallows you whole, or sometimes bites you, but either way you are caught up in the power of Jonathan’s blog.
So, is your Blog A Sharktopus?
I am going to unclutter my blogs a bit more i think. Thanks for the post.