Knowing Which Direction to Take Your Blog

This has been a topic on my mind during the last week. It started when the master blogger (in many peoples eyes) Darren Rowse on ProBlogger posted a topic up titled: What Have You Been Putting Off and What’s Holding You Back?

If you notice, down in the comments I mention that I’ve been putting off an ‘About Me’ page. I also mentioned that I was going to create one as well as a resource page. By glancing at the top of this screen, you can see one, but not the other.

Putting together this About Me page was actually a little difficult for me. I wasn’t sure which direction to take it. Should I do an About page of the site itself (which is basically how its  now) or should I do an About page about me personally? I know the power of storytelling

Even more so regarding timely posts was one by Scott Costello from Strugglinginvestor.com (which btw, I think is a horrible site name) titled: 25 Things You Didn’t Know About Me and he put some great stuff out there. Most of which I imagined true just from picking up on his personality from when we’ve spoken over the phone.

Again, notice my comment about being inspired to do the same kind of post. I initially thought it would be interesting for people to know some of the things that I purposely keep from them, like being addicted to crack for an entire year. I am not joking about that either. I actually got a job at Pizza Hut delivering pizza’s in my moms beat up car so I would have tip money daily and have a way to transport myself to the dealer. Not a good time in my life. If you ever hear that crackheads chase that first hit, its the truth. It is without a doubt the most addicting drug when you take that first hit.

Now, realizing I just said all that. After thinking about the 25 things people didn’t know about me, there wasn’t many that were even close to PG rated. I started to think about how I perceive people’s past regardless of their current situation. I thought about how I’m not the only one who thinks that way. I thought about the true meaning of this site and its ultimate direction. I thought about a post that Scott did First Probate Call about being googled by someone. I remember him talking about it and mentioning something to the affect that they were able to see he was new to this ‘investing’ thing.

I also remember a post I did here on this site titled Internet Stalked where a regular reader and commenter was showing up in my google keyword search results.

Now, I’m certainly not new and you can google me all you want, if you google Nick Johnson I assure you that you’ll get a lot of that baseball player with the same name results. I mean my name is very common so what are the chances of someone googling me by name? Well, I’m glad you asked. Click the little image you can barely see (sorry, I don’t know what I’m doing).

Now, you’ll probably have to click on it but you can see that since the first day of 2010, I’ve been googled  14 times with the exception that subject2 was added to the search and I’m currently #3 in my own search terms only beaten out by Subject2.com and Michael lautensack.

So, with all that said. I’m not too worried about someone googling my name if they’re a seller considering most of my leads if not all of my leads are brought to me form a warm source. There really isn’t too much reason to google me if you’re a seller. But, what if? What if you ARE a seller and you decide to google me? Not a bad decision, I do it all the time. Its an amazing tool for a consumer researching products, services, salesman and companies right?

Knowing that, I don’t really think it’s in my best interest to do a 25 things about me you didn’t know post after giving it considerably more thought. It might make more sense for you but if you had my past, you would probably think twice as well. I also don’t think it makes it easier to do an About Me page instead of an About page where its site related. I’m having a real hard time with that.

So what direction are you taking with your site? I see many sites that are mixed with business and pleasure/leisurely directions. I see many ‘I’m a new investor hear me roar’ sites/blogs. I see some that actually use their site as a chronologically update from current investment flips etc..

What does your blog say about you? What are you trying to say and portray as your image with your blog? These things have really got into my head lately for a few specific reasons. Early on, which wasn’t long ago considering this site isn’t very old yet (btw, this is the 101st post) I was using this blog as a cheesy ‘landing page’ for my Subject2 e-book and the articles/blogs were only meant to drive traffic to the site through organic traffic. Then it involved into the consideration of actually posting up some decent content because if you look at the original content (like posts 1-40) I don’t even think they were written by me but rather some middle eastern outsourced writer and they’re probably horrible.

Then, I started caring a little more about it and researched myself because at this point, I’d already spent over $20,000 on my entire Subject2 project already and it was blowing chunks as far as ROI is concerned. I never really did like my original design so while I started to write actual content for the site, I was learning more about backlinking, commenting on other blogs blah blah blah, all the basic stuff that I had read about before but never really did anything with. I was doing a series of articles all at once and then linking them all together as I posted them. I started thinking that this totally sucks!

I started also then blogging about my deals while they were happening, this was done on BiggerPockets.com. I would blog at the end of the day exactly how my conversations went with sellers, everything. I thought this was a good idea. It may be for others but for me, it killed each and every deal. I started to think and still do, that I was cursed by the blogging gods and that was their punishment. One of them, I already had the seller closed, a buyer lined up and ready with their deposit in hand calling me asking how much longer and then suddenly, the seller back out when it came time to sign a name.

I decided no more of that which is why, you’ll rarely if ever see me blog about deals in specifics. I might and that’s a real weak might blog about them after they’re all done, but certainly not for awhile until I feel comfortable with that so called curse.

As I sit here and type this, I wonder to myself, what truly is the ultimate direction of this site? I know it will take on many forms as it evolves but how do I represent myself as an investor while I continue to do this ‘blog thing’. Do I use it as validation with the deals I’ve done like those that blog about their deals while they do them? Do I blog about how I’m marketing and not producing any results like all too many of the REI sites out there do? I know I’m personally tired of people blogging about how they’re just starting their new failed attempt at yellowletters or how they ‘got a call’ from a seller and froze up like a scared little school girl. Where are the sites that challenge my skill level? I don’t know where they are and the sites that I do know of that even come close to Subject2 investing are as lame as your grandpa’s stories about walking in the snow to school.

Do I let my aggressive and overly obsessive and excessive personality shine through and start F’ bombing the $hit out of the world? or do I show my hearts true intentions of helping others because I know exactly what its like to dig deep in your soul and find the courage to change your path beyond just ‘comfortable’ knowing that most people cannot fathom stepping over that comfort line.

So in concluding this really long post. You have two really important things to think about. First one is am I really that crazy to think so deeply how just a simple ‘About’ page could affect your direction of the site, results in your business and image that you give to anyone with eyes. Second is what direction are you really headed with your site? What is the perception you want people to have about you, your business, your experience. Your brand is at stake here isn’t it? Is it really hip and cool to have a blog and just start blogging about certain elephant bowel movement cycles or Amish woodworking techniques (there’s some irony for ya huh? Amish & internet). Are you blogging for a certain reason? What is it exactly and does that reason show in your presence?

Tell me your direction and why you chose that direction. If you have no direction, I challenge you here and now to decide what that direction is and proclaim it to the bloggosphere my friend. Who’s with me?