Why The Tick Tock Timer Blog Kicks-Ass (Booya Baby!)

by Bamboo Forest


Illustration by J-C

A recent post by Stanford of Pushing Social inspired me to share with you my blogging philosophy.

Let the games begin my dear friends:

Never force a blog post

“Inspiration is king. Content is queen.” ~ Steven Pavlina

It’s wise to ask yourself what you appreciate as a blog reader instead of what you appreciate as a content publisher. What gives you jollies as a content publisher is often very different to what makes you a happy reader. And the latter is what should influence you most in how you publish your work.

Speaking as a reader, consistency holds no value to me. Value is exclusively dependent on the quality of the content being published.

Stanford writes:

“Consistent and frequent posts shows your readers that they can depend on you.”

I don’t see it this way at all. You, my dear readers, do not depend on me. I’m not your hero, either. My mission is simply to write the very best damn content that I can and hope that it somehow improves your life. That’s it.

Never write generic posts

Most generic posts are the result of forcing posts, regurgitating cliché blogosphere ideas, or indifference to one’s audience.

I’ve seen generic posts do well, but I still won’t write them. I want my reputation to be fused with stellar, unique content. That’s more important to me than forced consistency and generic posts, even if those tactics can grow a blog. I think my approach will help my blog continually grow when those doing the aforementioned start hitting a plateau.

Everything I write here is the result of flashes of inspiration that strike me without warning. Whether it’s while playing basketball, walking at dusk, or even when I’m taking a bubble bath while playing with my rubber duckies: my pad of paper is always on me, and I record every gem that’s hurled at me from the heavens. If you don’t want to miss any of those, you should subscribe to this blog.

Many blogging rules are utter bologna (not baloney!)

How would you like to eat bacon and eggs three times a day for the rest of your life?

Out of my thousands of subscribers, probably only about five of you would.

The notion that the length of your posts should be consistent so people know what to expect strikes me as one of many rules in the blogosphere that make me chuckle. After all, variety is the spice of life.

Some posts I’ll publish will be under 300 words and I’ll love them to death. Others will be as long as 1000 words and I’ll love those to death, too.

The bottom line, however, is that length should be a servant to the idea and not vice versa. An idea that only demands a few hundred words is not necessarily inferior to an idea that demands 1500 words. In fact, the opposite is often the case.

Bloggers need to respect their readers

My idea of having integrity as a blogger is always thinking long term and putting the enjoyment of my readers above my lust for traffic.

Truth is, though, I still have plenty of lust for traffic (I’m not perfect, kiddo). But I believe that in the long run and with so much competition out there, my dedication to quality will ultimately make this blog an A-list blog because I’ll offer something the competition doesn’t. My climb may be slower, but my path is guaranteed.

P.S. — The headline sounds arrogant, doesn’t it? Well, I’d argue, the headline got you to click on this post, didn’t it? And that kicks-ass, doesn’t it?

I rest my case.

Yours truly,

Bamboo Forest

Bamboo Forest is a professional Email Life Coach and the founder of Tick Tock Timer.


Illustration by welshdragon

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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Cath September 12, 2010 at 6:18 pm

I always enjoy reading your blog

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Mimi October 19, 2010 at 8:49 pm

I just found your blog via Pro Blogger.I am loving it and adore this post!

I’ll have to feature this on my “Irresistible Links” of the week.

Ciao,

Mimi

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Bamboo Forest October 19, 2010 at 10:28 pm

@ Cath: Thank you

@ Mimi: Thank you for the good words.

If you choose to feature this on your blog under ‘irresistible links’ that would be most awesome. And thank you!

Reply

bendedspoon October 20, 2010 at 2:01 pm

I love the honesty and confidence in here.
On being A-list,
I’ll take your word for it.
Cheers!
🙂

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Bamboo Forest October 20, 2010 at 4:44 pm

@ bendedspoon: Thank you.

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