Do You Write Pork Rinds or Meatloaf?

October 8, 2008

How do you begin a post on the quality of content without whining or going on a rant?

I am greatly disturbed by the number of websites I find that tout Content is Not King, become a millionaire in 3 months, or 10 SEO rules to get #1 ranking in all three search engines. My first reaction is offense.

That an author would write such drivel, expecting me to swallow it hook, line, and sinker, is like a slap in the face. I have a brain and I’m not afraid to use it. I don’t buy things from late-night infomercials, and I see through the poorly-veiled garbage you are peddling Mr. or Ms. Get Rich Quick.

My second reaction is very near to disgust. At the risk of sounding old-fashioned, what ever happened to a job worth doing is a job well done? These “high paid” bloggers clog the Internet with their poorly written, painful to read, no nutritional value content. They are the reason when you search for desired information, you leave disgusted because all you find are penis enlargement ads, porn advertisements, the same article reprinted in 20 ways, and two unique sentences about the term you were searching for to begin with! (OK, that borders on a rant.)

The Pork Rinds and Cotton Candy

These bloggers claim that anyone can write their own website content. They preach spelling, grammar, and even information are unimportant, as long as you include the right keywords, market your blog, and buy their latest product teaching you how to make buckets of money and retire to some tropical island, all before your 21st birthday. The truly sad thing is that these bloggers seem to have collected a loyal following of Kool Aid drinkers who hang off their every word.

Can you play the system and get higher page ranking, more traffic, and your own gang of worshipers? Evidently so. Does that mean you should? Well, that depends on your values. If you value a job well done, desire to contribute to society, or take pride in your work, the answer is a resounding NO.

If you’re looking to grab the next shiny bauble dangling in front of your eyes, or make a quick dollar with no plan for tomorrow, sure, go for it. Add “blogger” to your long list of failed occupations and move on with your life. When you’re serious about building a business that offers a valuable service or product to the public, go visit websites like Men with Pens, Copyblogger, Zen Habits, Remarkablogger, or Freelance Folder.

Bad Advice

This rant post began after I read a blog that recommended submitting your articles to a service that “spins” that article and submits it to several directories to market your content. I asked the author to clarify if he defined “spin” as rewriting the same content in 5 different ways and posting all of this duplicate content in various nooks of the Net.

His reply was immediately defensive, and confirmed that spin does indeed mean to produce duplicate content disguised with synonyms. He name dropped “John Reese” as an proponent to support his recommendation. Who is John Reese, I wondered and why should I listen to him, or you Mr. Thomas?

(I ran an Internet search for John Reese, and Google returned several links to websites that spoke unfavorably about Mr. Reese’s marketing methods and products. It appears that Mr. Reese is in Internet marketing. I am not saying Mr. Reese is anything but an honest business man trying to make a buck on the Net, neither do I ever intend to purchase his products.)

Balance is Best

What ever happened to balance? You cannot sacrifice quality content for the sake of marketing, nor can you create quality content and expect it to reach your intended audience without marketing.

Are You Improving the Internet, or Trashing it for Everyone Else?

Churning out duplicate content is not an acceptable marketing technique in my book. When you are looking for information, do you want to find 10 websites that say the exact same thing only in different words, or do you want to find 10 differing viewpoint and facts on the same topic? Duplicate content is a lot like junk mail, read it once and there’s no need to open any more just because the envelope is pink or yellow, or has smiley faces on it.

The Solution

If you are going to use this technique, at least rewrite your own content, then add something of value that was not included in the original. Your readers can’t live on cotton candy and pork rinds, they need meat and potatoes. Business ethics apply to online business, too.

Your words matter. Raise your business to the next level. Create responsible content; words with value, not just fluff.

My Apology

To make up for my whining rant disagreeableness, here’s Chuckie singing Meatloaf. I am sorry for being a downer today, but I feel it is too important to leave unsaid.

“I would do anything for reader love, but I won’t do that.”

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Posted by Jamie | Filed Under Blogging

Comments

Jamie Simmerman

Hi Vered!

For some reason, when I read your comment, I got a picture of one of Rocky movies. :D I could even hear the song playing in the background.

The fluff tanks anyway. So, so true.

Thanks so much for stopping by (I love your blog) :D

Vered - MomGrind

I agree. The blogosphere is filled with fluff. Very little content is real or has real value to the reader. Bottom line, the fluff tanks anyway. Only good content survives, though it still needs a lot of marketing.

Jamie Simmerman

Sara,

About the title.. I make a killer meatloaf. :D

"Let your conscience be your guide" as Jimminy Cricket says?

Glad my rant was a good 5 minutes of entertainment.

Sara at On Simplicity

The title of this one was irresistible. :) Regardless of what others promote or say, the key is to be able to hit "post" and feel good about the value you've provided. That's my bottom line, at least. And I enjoy reading a good rant every now and then...

<abbr>Sara at On Simplicity´s last spectacular blog post..Embrace Simplicity, Not Stupidity</abbr>

Article Rewriting

Add the ground beef, pork and veal and gently combine all the ingredients, taking care to not overwork the meat. Article Rewriting

Jamie Simmerman

That's a good point, Michael. Admittedly, I spent 5 minutes researching him, and cannot attest to his credibility either way. That's an amusing story though.

I tend to shy away from any business persons who got rich quickly and claim to be able to teach ordinary Joe's how to do the same. Mr. Reese may not be in this category.

Thanks for straightening me out on that!

Michael Martine - Remarkablogg

The web is full of lazy whiners who have all kinds of excuses for why they don't succeed. The old "this program's a rip-off" is the top one.

Say there's a particular self-help book that two people buy. One person reads it, applies its teachings, and experiences benefits from that. He raves about what a great book it is and what a great teacher its author is.

The other guy reads the book and fails to achieve the benefits the book suggests will be his. There are a million-and-one possible reasons why this guy failed and the other guy succeeded. Some people are great at self-sabotage. Some people just don't listen and follow directions correctly. But that's not what this person will say. He will say: "This book and the author are a scam!" to anyone who cares to listen as a way to deflect from his own failure.

People who truly succeed do two things: they think differently than everyone else, and they keep going when everyone would have given up long ago. Combine those two things, and you have a person who is not beating their head against the wall with the same stupid antics.

Here's an example of how differently John Reese thinks. At an SEO conference, John overheard two other guys making a bet on who could reach the top rankings faster for a keyword. John interrupted and said he would easily beat them all. He invited them to guess how. They offered various tricks and methods, none of which were the right answer. Finally, he said he would get the top search position by simply buying the website/company that had it. You see what I mean? Completely different thinking.

Take cries of "scam artist" with a grain of salt.

Jamie Simmerman

Mr. Thomas: I have no problems with advertising your own content, like I said, as long as you add value to each advertisement. I am opposed to churning out duplicate content to make a buck and boost page rank. Where's the value to the reader?

And, I did research Mr. Reese's record on the Net. Making millions of dollars selling the next scheme is not a measure of success in my opinion. Many websites question his credibility, likening him to a scam artist, including those who purchased his products. There are no short cuts in life, Mr. Thomas. We reap what we sow.

Money does not equate wisdom, integrity, or generativity, Success is contributing something of value to society, helping others find their way in life~ not preying on the naive to fulfill your own greed and gluttony. Relationships matter. People matter.

Money is necessary but excess is not. In light of the recent financial crises, hundreds of bloggers are calling for America, and the world, to wake up and put a stop to excess, not pursue it.

I will never encourage or promote article marketing mills, many of which DO use automated robot programs and stink up the Internet to the point of near incapacitation.

However, I do acknowledge your right to choose to use such a service. You have the freedom to run your business however you see fit, just as I have the right to provide quality content to my readers and clients without spinning articles.

I appreciate your attempts to enlighten your readers on boosting page rank, I just believe your methods are misguided and in opposition to those bloggers attempting to earn a living, not fall into a "fortune".

Andre Thomas

I realize spinning content is a highly debatable method. Some people will like it, and some people don't.

I think submitting your content to multiple sites to like putting putting two billboards on two different locations. And note that when I say "spin" I don't mean using automatic robots. I mean, replacing it with your own words.

Oh by the way, John Reese is the founder of Traffic Secrets. That product did $1 million in sales just under 24 hours.

Jamie Simmerman

Oktober Five: I love it! Sign me up for RADP. Chuck really did balance things out, huh? But now that I watch it again, it kinda creeps me out a little.

Kelly: I guess it just gets under my skin when the hucksters start banging quality content like it's an option. Don't write crap and call it eco-friendly, gold-plated, high demand crap. Call it crap.

Your blog "meats" Fillet Mignon standards. :)

Michael: Of course you're one of the *good guys*!

I like pork rinds sometimes too, (my Go Bucks post is pork rinds) but I have to stand up for 4 square meals of quality writing a day. (These food analogies are getting pretty rank!) The fluff has its place, but don't knock the meat and potatoes! *groan*

Michael Martine - Remarkablogg

I appreciate that I'm on your list of good guys, but man, I kinda like pork rinds! :)

There is a lot to learn about internet marketing. Like any endeavor, it's full of its share of both bad guys and good guys.

Kelly

Jamie,

I try to write filet mignon. I settle for prime rib. :)

This rant (post) was great. It is too true that garbage rules the 'net, but to be fair "There's a sucker born every minute" was coined long before folks started reading garbage (and before the charlatans started writing it) in blog-o-land. This is just the new way for hucksters to meet easy marks.

It's a darned shame that some people exist only to make a quick buck, and not to provide quality work, but that means they never know the joy of deep relationships with quality clients (or readers), either. So what can you say? Keep your vision firmly in mind, and don't compromise.

That video... :) Bizarre.

Regards,

Kelly

Oktober Five

Chuck really saved the day on this one.

As far as the amount of crap crap (that's duplicate crap) on the internet, yeah--that ticks me off too. I've actually started a new group, RADP, Readers Against Drunk Posting, that hopes to stop a lot of the diarrhea going on in the blogosphere.