All new online writers make the same mistake.
They start a blog.
The rationale tends to go something like this:
- “I own my own website/blog. It’s mine.”
- “I can design it & customize it the way I want to.”
- “I get to write what I want to write about.”
Notice how these are all “I” statements. Having a blog, for the vast majority of new online writers, is all about them. Their own “online home.” Their own words, saying what they want to say. Almost none of the emphasis is on the reader.
As a result, many new online writers go through the same painful learning process.
They start a blog. They spend hours (or thousands of dollars) designing it to their liking. Some even get their own logo created (hurrah!). Only to publish their first post or two and have their words fall on deaf ears. Why? Because nobody knows their blog exists. In order to drive readers, they have to post a link to their blog on social platforms — and what many of these new online writers don’t know (yet) is that social platforms don’t like external links very much. After all, why would Twitter, Medium, Facebook, or Quora be excited at readers leaving their party to go attend yours?
As a result, many external links (to websites & blogs) published on social platforms get minimal traction.
Instead, you should start a Social Blog.
A Social Blog means writing where readers already are.
Your Twitter profile is, technically, a Social Blog. So is your Medium page. So are all your answers on Quora. When you write where readers already are, you aren’t trying to convince them to leave one (very raging) party and head to another (much more quiet) one instead. What you’re doing is showing up (BYOW: Bring Your Own Words) ready to add to the fun. As a result, it is exponentially easier for readers to discover your work.
What you gain in legacy blogging (“ownership”) you lose in reach, accessibility, and distribution. After all, who cares if you own 100% of your own website & blog if nobody values it?
That said, there is an argument to be made for having your own website and blog as a place of curating your entire library of work, or showing off your “best” posts. So, instead of treating your Twitter or Medium or Quora as a “Social Blog,” you can use Typeshare.co to create your own Online Home & Social Blog, while simultaneously connecting it to the distribution flywheels of Twitter, Medium, and so on.
• See and measure how each piece of content performs across multiple platforms.
• Gather data validating which topics readers are most interested in.
• Name & Claim your own category by achieving clarity around your most popular content areas & topics.
• And sort your favorite, most-read, most-engaged, most-shared essays, stories, Twitter Threads, and articles on your Social Blog easily for readers.
Social Blogging is the future of Online Writing.
It’s all the benefits of owning your own blog (design customization, domain, library of content, etc.)
And all the benefits of writing on social platforms (reach, distribution, social proof, and real-time data feedback loops).
Merged together.