Oleh Unknown

18 Ekim 2015 Pazar

In the last few months, the type of blogs I follow has changed dramatically. I've gone from following 200+ book blogs, to around 40 book blogs and upward of 60 blogging/business blogs. That's half the blogs I used to follow, and the content is so much different too. I'm able to see why my blog works, and what to do when it doesn't. I can check out how to improve and grow my blog, and how to have a functional design that works for me. I get to see how other people create, design, develop and do what it is they do, with even the most intimate and deep details spelled out for me, and as fabulous as that is, is that a good thing?

Is it really that wise to share ALL our secrets?

As bloggers, designers, business people and hobbiest readers, we all have our own little quirks, little secrets that allow us to function and get the most out of what we do, in the best way possible, and rightly so, we've worked hard to strike a balance, we deserve it, but when we share things, they're no longer ours. When a designer shares how they create something, another 20 people could learn how to do the exact same, maybe even better than the original. That designer doesn't look quite as unique now, do they?

Take for example a game of poker. Each player has a 'tell' - something that gives away information about their current cards in play. If one player accidently shares their tell, and the other players are paying attention at the right moment, that one player can give away prized information that can make or break their win. It's exactly the same in blogging terms too. If you give away prized information, such as how you create your blog graphics - that can make or break you, and if you're a business person, this can eventually affect how many customers start coming to your door in favour of going to somebody else who's taken your information and created something bigger and better than you.

Sharing Secrets Doesn't Make Them Ours Anymore, But Is That Bad?

Sure, there are bad things that can come about after sharing secrets. You could, for example, find your content copied elsewhere, word for word. You could, find people creating graphics that are 100% exactly like yours. You could even find yourself in competition with somebody who's taken all your advice, all your tutorials, all your secrets and created an identical blog to yours. Granted, the latter is unlikely to happen, but generally, it's advised that you share your secrets with your readers.

Last week, Ashley shared the secret behind building a successful business through your blog:

Use your knowledge of your audience to create free, valuable content that solves their problems.

Yes, Ashley was talking about creating free content that eventually leads to you creating paid forms of content that people actually want and have an interest in. She was talking about creating a demand for a product you didn't yet have, but the same can be said for blogging on it's lonesome. If you create valuable content that solves problems, answers questions and is of actual help to your readers, they'll keep coming back.

Lauren at Elle and Company has found that the more in depth content she shares about her business, the more people want to utilise her skills. She gives into detail about how she markets, promotes and organises her social media updates and keeps Elle and Company actively online. She's talked about how publishing less content doesn't always result in you losing viewings, in fact, their followers and regular readers come online more to check out whether there had been any new content.

I know from personal experience that sharing your secrets can actually work in favour of your blog. Some of my biggest and most popular post are actually posts in which I've shared some of my secrets in - My Co-Blogging Story and Why I Went Back Solo, How I Create My Blog Graphics | Part One: Picmonkey, How I Create My Blog Graphics | Part Two: Canva, Design Resources I Can't Live Without, 4 Ways Your Blog Can Benefit Your CV - and the truth is, they're the post that keep getting views week after week, way past their publication date.

Sharing is Good, But Should We Share All Our Secrets?

Sharing your secrets of the trade can benefit your blog hugely. Your readers and visitors can build a level of trust through your blog and it's content, through your willingness to teach others your skills and knowledge, but does it come at a price? At what point do we say no to sharing in depth information on how we blog, what we've sacrificed to achieve what we have, the ins and outs of a business that took years in the making? Should we be more careful on the secrets we share, making sure we're still indispensable to our readership while keeping ourselves as skilled up and better at what we do? The choice is yours, but be careful. When you know a secret, you'll want to share it, but once you share it, it's gone.