Stop talking and start helping.

That’s an important bit of advice I kind of picked up over at Problogger, mostly because he didn’t put it quite that way, but the advice is still valuable because of what it represents.

If you’re reading this blog, sure, you’re getting some jollies out of my trenchant commentary and clever analogies and suchlike.  But if you want clever wordplay you can get that just about anywhere.  You come here for a lot more than just great reading–you come here for strategies.  Thoughts.  Advice.  Bits and bobs and ideas to execute on your own blog that you never really would have considered before.

I read the comments section here every day, usually just after I file a post.  But here’s the thing–I know a lot of you have said things like “I never thought of that” or “I didn’t think you could do it like that”, or something similar.  That’s a great way to look at your own blog.

Are you helping people?

Whether you’re helping people find a deal or find a new product or find a new obsession, or just helping them look at the world in a way they might not have before.  It’s one thing to tell people a story.  It’s another thing entirely to make that story tell people something new or useful.  The more useful your blog is, the better the chance you’ll get repeat visitors.

Having you guys come back every day looking for a new bit of blogging advice, well, that just tells me that I’m doing my job RIGHT.

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I know that got somebody’s attention.  In this hurry-up, frantic society we’re in these days, with everybody rushing around everywhere at breakneck paces, sometimes, it’s good to slow down, settle in, and maybe tell a story.  The story doesn’t even have to go anywhere.

And this is a lesson you can take home with you for your blog.  Sometimes it’s a good idea to let go of your format and just launch on a metaphorical freestyling journey of bloggery.

Last night, I was at a Menard’s.  That’s a hardware store, in case you’ve never been to one before, and over in the far right side as you come in they’ve got this section that’s enclosed.  It’s got a mezzanine above it, and it’s usually where they display patio furniture and whatnot.  But starting in October, that’s where they put up their Christmas trees.  You can say what you will about rushing the season–some places have actually had Christmas stuff up since just after Labor Day.  Hobby Lobby, I’m looking at YOU.–but I like being able to wander through a small field of imitation evergreens of every stripe festooned with lights before the actual leaves have even fallen.

See what I did there?  All I did was tell you a story.  Didn’t even go much of anywhere.  But I’ll bet you enjoyed it for a couple minutes.  Maybe it even made you think about your own holiday experiences.

Remember, if you can make your readers enjoy themselves, they’ll come back.  And if they come back, you come out ahead.

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