Plus Ultra

Thanks to Norman Roberts

Thanks Norman Roberts for pointing me to this site, www.sas-it.com, http://www.says-it.com/seal/index.php .  This site is a blast!

What's the Prize for Second Place in a Knife Fight?

     The votes are in.  I'm a blogger and will thrash at this keyboard, writing post after post.  I will populate this blog until it kills me.  My friends have all subscribed, some even hit my site if I ask them to. 

     Am I a Rodney Dangerfield of bloggers, or just unlucky?  I'm a good writer, but my blog doesn't pull readers.  In a moment of honesty, I wonder if I should ditch this blog, and migrate my content to a flashier new blog.

     How often will a good writer throw in the towel because he or she lacks the skill of salesmanship.  Do you think I'm wrong that this is an essential skill for a good blogger. 

     A horrendous boxer will stand in the center of a ring and proclaim himself "the greatest".  Whether or not he's knocked senseless in the first round and that his nickname is, "Candy Canvas-back."  He's successful at the point of being recognized and paid:  He stood in the Center of the Ring, proclaimed the product, himself, the greatest, and at least commanded the attention of boxing fans, if only for a moment.

     Boxing is not a knife fight, but I think you get the point.  The fighter did "win", and yes there is a prize for second place.  The fight crowd gave him its' attention, and he showed the product, himself.

     There's no shame in not having the opportunity to shout-out from the rooftops, this blog is the greatest, because everyone who ever had that moment of opportunity had help.  No one does it alone.

     Or, you might disagree.  Not me, I believe that we all make one another stronger.  The moment of great courage comes at the point of asking to be in the crowd. of demanding the opportunity to stand in the ring.

     No one does it alone.

Two posts have been submitted for publication

   Articles submitted to Plus Ultra will be provided to subscribers, who decide whether or not they wish to print them.  The readership numbers stay with the publishing blog.  While we all feel strongly about the quality of our blogs, note that the most popular and successful blogs draw widely from many different writers.  We don't know what our readers will respond well to.

     The provider of content receives credit for the content, and a link, at least one, from the publishing blog.  This submitted article should contain a paragraph from the blog publisher that explains why this "new" piece has a place in the blog.  The blog publisher should plug, or promote the article.

     The submitted article will carry with it a readership, which as I mentioned, is a potential new subscriber.

     I re-published 3 articles in my own blog from my archives 2 weeks ago.  It's the same stuff I published in early July, '06.  All 3 out-drew, by a significant number, their readership from a few months ago.  I picked-up  a handful of new subscribers as well.

     I now have 4 writers.  The newest hit the cover off the ball, and within a month should pass 2 of those articles into my top 10 most read on my site.  The voice of a new writer is music to my reader's ears.   It also eases the burden of having to post, even when I haven't anything to say.

     Lastly, put yourself in the position of a person who submitted three articles, and agreed to publish 3 articles as well.   Let's say the 3 articles were published and drew poorly, 15 readers each.  That's 45 readers, some of whom are your regulars, some from the blog where they were originally published, and some from search engines; How much of your work went into this initiative? None!  Everything besides your regular readership is gravy.  Will any subscribe?  Will any return?  Yes to both.  Of the articles you submitted, you now have a linked blog, wider exposure, and a stronger reputation as a writer since another blog published your work.  Again, how much work involved? None!

      Pulling from your archives, 3 articles a month, publishing 3 a month might look like this:  600 new readers, most of them new, at 3 subscribers a month, 36 per year, and 12 linked blogs.  All occurring in a year, all requiring little or no work, since it's already been done.  Compare these numbers to your current figures, and assume linear growth from your ongoing blogging. 

     Where are you after that?  How about 3 years out?

     What's in it for me, 1 month after a retread article is published, I publish it in Plus Ultra, where it creates another link, draws subscribers to me, and increases my readership to what is really a wear house.

      This is called leverage.  You've already done the work, now pull in an ally, Plus Ultra, and drive your links and readership on work you've already done. 

     This is Plus Ultra's first initiative.  It will succeed only if Plus Ultra draws subscribers.  Articles will be re-tagged for search engine purposes.  Expect your articles to run no later than one month from submission.

Nobody Read My Best Post...

....but they read all that other trash.  Blog Mates, what is as frustrating as pounding-out a great post, only to find that few if any read it?

     When you get a minute, find the URL to that post.  Send it over.  We'll find the best place to get that gem published.  You'll pick-up a link, and who knows, perhaps a host of new readers as well.

     When bloggers work together, we have a better chance of getting things done.  Here's your risk: THAT POST SITS IN YOUR ARCHIVES.  Colin

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A Blog is a void Filled by Language

   I worry a lot.  You know people like me, and have probably tried to talk them out of their worries.  It usually doesn't work.  Most often you might compare this exercise as trying to tell a stressed out person to just relax.  This just doesn't work.

     In my case, worry carries with it stress, muscle spasms, increasing pain, all of which drive a circle that just increases my worry, because at that point I'm in pain, too.

     I'll point out that this tendency made my a highly productive worker.  As an Alpha-Drone, I used to do anything to alleviate my worries, which usually meant I'd work until I'd solve a problem.  The depth of my worry then was a the opposite value of the magnitude of the "project" I'd create to ease my worry.  So the more stressed I was, the more productive I was as well.  If I was highly stressed I'd be highly productive and since my compensation was a direct reflection of my productivity, I was highly profitable to the firm, and highly compensated.  But, as my wife pointed out to me last night, I was also deeply unhappy.

     Subtracting work, or my career, from Me, then left me with a deep void as I became disabled.  If you've read any of the stuff I've written on this blog about myself, you can see, I could anyway, that I was a busted machine.  My greatest abilities no longer had any outlet.

     I filled this void with language.  I began to write.  me writing about myself yielded 2 outcomes.  First, I enjoyed it, and was therapeutic.  It knocked down the stress.  Second, I began to realize that bloggers fell into to groups:  Those who just like to write, and those who use writing as a technique to solve a problem.

     I morphed into the latter.  A while back I wrote a piece "Colin, No One Reads My Blog," which was a turning point for me.  It seems that there is a large group, just like me, who like to write, but also want to win a prize--more readers, higher ratings, etc.

     What also seems obvious to me is that most of this group of bloggers haven't many good ideas for driving towards their goal.  The pro's do; they make a boatload of money on the blogger crowd, who have set themselves up to be used.  Many, many bloggers are far to worried about things that can't really hurt them, like who's stealing my material.  Shit, you should count yourself lucky if something you wrote is so good that someone would steal it.  Instead, "writing bloggers" should stick to their knitting and write; business bloggers might ask themselves one question:  How many relationships have you built, from scratch, with other bloggers?  What I didn't ask, and really don't care about the answer is: "How many networking sites have you joined?"  The people who run those sites provide a valuable service to you, but the also make plenty of dough on the lazy business blogger.

     A smart business blogger would have created this site long before it hit the web.  Dear Arkansas dude;  I know personally, by email, of course, 35 bloggers--I'll introduce them to you if you introduce yours 35 to me to me.  No, I'll ask them to write about your site, if you make the same promise that your contacts will write about mine.

     I created a site with Idaho Bob, who brought his blogger friends.  He's got 39.  Alaska Anne has fifty.  What if the remaining 32 have forty each, and I introduced them all to one another?  What If, miracle of miracles, we all agreed to share?  Would my Technorati rating, "blogs that link to my site" increase from 19 to 190, overnight?

     No, the links to me would be much higher, and not just for me, but for everyone.  Readership, which lags links, will also do the same thing, FOR EVERY PARTICIPANT.

      My new site, under construction, will be selective.  Write back and you're in.  Hell, I want to share and steal what you'd like.   The new site will be Plus Ultra, beta.

     Sharing is the key to making your blogging job a career.  Write to me or Anne here or on our private emails.

     This will start big or small.  All early participants will recieve site and possibly log in info.  Best, Colin

Under Construction

   We'll keep you informed.  Please direct all comments to: Chronic Pain Lifestyle, http://jackbauerdeclassified.typepad.com/chronic_pain_lifestyle/ 

Thanks, Colin and Anne

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