By now, you’ve probably seen the near ubiquitious 9 Rules logo on many outstanding blogs.
I think the idea of a network highlighting excellent content is quite cool, actually, and I increasingly find that many quality blogs I read are, in fact, in this network — and that most of the new ones I find in the network are also of this same quality. That is, they seem to be succeeding.
What I can’t figure out is the name; I expected to find, somewhere, a ChangeThis-style manifesto, 9 Rules for creating great content or something. Are there, in fact, “nine rules”? Does the name mean anything?
Even if it doesn’t, it doesn’t change the fact that this network is a good idea.
Since I’m thinking about it, and since I couldn’t find any others, here are my own “rules” for creating great content.
- Write about what interests you. You will write with the most enthusiasm about the things you are the most enthusiastic about. There are millions of people on the internet; if you are maniacally devoted to basket-weaving, you might as well say so, since there are probably thousands of other geek basket-weavers just wishing they could read something interesting about this fine topic. When you get into groups of millions and millions of people, what you find is that even if only a small percentage share a certain passion — a small percentage of 10 million could still be tens of thousands of interested people.
Not only that, but it simply more interesting to write about what you’re already interested in, and the authenticity will show.
- Write well. If you can’t string a series of words together to form a sentence, then learn how; chances are, it won’t be that hard. You probably wouldn’t want to write a blog or anything else if you didn’t have at least some aptitude for it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve. If you scraped through English class, but you still want to write great content, at least read Elements of Style; it has all you really need to know in a very short guide, and you can read it online.
- Acknowledge your sources. Solomon said there was nothing new under the sun; this doesn’t mean you won’t have any original ideas, per se, but as James Webb Young put it, most new ideas are combinations of old ideas. If you were inspired by something, someone, another blog, another post, say so. Link to it, if possible. That’s what the web is for.
- Write regularly. Many people like to try to post something every day; I’ve found that this can occasionally create pressure that you neither want or need. The fact is, even most professional writers do not write a complete, publishable piece every day. Chances are, whatever you’re writing about is a little less formal, but you still might find yourself burning out if you try to stick too religiously to a schedule like that.
On the other hand, the more you write, the better you’ll actually get at it (you actually can get better at writing, really; and if you’re blogging, surprise… you’re a writer). Also, even if you don’t write daily, if you write somewhat regularly, it will probably build traffic, since people will come to expect that there is life on your site.
- Be yourself. This might sound like the same thing as the first point, but it isn’t. When it comes right down to it, you aren’t Lileks, or Hugh Hewitt, or Michelle Malkin, or Paul Graham, or Joel Spolsky. So don’t try to be; people read all those others because they have come to know their voices, they like them; they are unique. It’s a little trite, but you’re better off just being yourself than putting a lot of effort into trying to be a Paul Graham or a Hugh Hewitt.
- Don’t sell yourself short. This is getting to sound pretty pithy, but bear with me. If you don’t think that what you have to say is worth anything, you probably won’t bother to say it. The fact is, you are an expert on culture, customer service, and a whole lot of other things that you probably don’t bother to think about. You can write with authority about your own culture, about customer service (are you a customer? Do you know when you’ve received good or bad service, and why? Congratulations, you’re an expert), on the technology you use regularly (just because you know it doesn’t mean that everyone else does), and a host of other, more unique, topics (indie rock? Science fiction novels? Movies? Comic books?).
And face it, how many times have you seen an article or a blog post, which thousands of people were linking to or commenting on, and thought to yourself, “I could have written that.” The only problem is, you didn’t; and half the time, the reason you didn’t is because you thought, “Who do I think I am writing the top ten this, or the top five that, or however many rules to writing great content…?” (er…)
I guess I didn’t come up with 9, but I reserve the leeway to add to the list if I think of something. Heck, if you can think of something more, don’t just tell me — write it somewhere.
