I hate to accuse you of something you haven’t done, but would love to call you out on it. Take a look around your blog, and really analyze everything about. What kind of content do you offer? What have you done to create a more unique and memorable experience to your readers?
The most common answer to those question are “not enough.” How many times have you visited a blog and immediately closed it because of the low quality? How many times have you seen a blogger write about their failures (in a non-constructive way) and not their successes? Apologize for not updating their blog? The list goes on.
The answer that most of us would like to have to those questions is “over-delivering.” To over-deliver, you basically go above and beyond the expectations of your audience. You surprise them and leave them in awe at the content you have produced onto your blog.
But more specifically, what is “over-delivering?”
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Going over the top
Again, beat your readers expectations. If you offer a newsletter, create a 7 day course to along with it. If you offer RSS subscriptions, offer an email subscription too.
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“WOWing” people
When someone sees something you have done on your blog, they should be amazed by it. They should be as fascinated as you are proud of your work. The less confident you are, the less reason you show for someone to react positively to your work.
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Something people talk about
You won’t draw thousands of hits to your blog with everything you over-deliver, but you will create something for people to talk about.
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It’s You
The more of you that is put into your blog, the more you will start over-delivering. I put my heart into the blog design here, as well as the content. Because those two things are me, I can continuously go over the top in nearly anything I do here.
But in a nutshell, over-delivering is basically producing more than what people need. If one person doesn’t need it, chances are that there are others who will want it and will make use of it.
Every hear the saying “you can’t make everyone happy?” Well, someone who over-delivers makes mostly everyone happy. Even then, it’s still impossible to please everybody (and you shouldn’t try either).
Let’s Talk About Under-Delivering
I want to discuss the thing I accused you of at the very beginning of the article: not delivering enough. Am I wrong, or am I right? Try to answer that question now. If you can’t, don’t feel bad. Just read on.
When someone asked me what an under-deliverer was, and I answered like this:
Someone who produces lame content and doesn’t take time to add anything innovative and exceptional to their blog. Basically, someone who writes content to fill space and is alright with having just a blog.
…then I wouldn’t be going very over the top would I? Yes, that answer paragraph pretty much sums up my general perception of under-achievers, but leaves out so many things.
So being the overachiever I am, I wrote an article about it. I included multiple paragraphs, fit in as many points as possible, added some fancy images, bullet points, and gave it all to you for free. And I feel really great for doing all of that. And I’ll do it again tomorrow, and the next day and the next. In a month from now, I’ll still be doing it. In a year from now? You bet!
If you are still pondering the question “am I an under-achiever?,” I’d like to help you answer it. Take a look at the below questions and statements, and if you can relate to anything below…then you may want to reconsider some things.
- Have you ever written an article where you didn’t feel like it was your best, but published it anyways? Were you proud that you published it, even though you could have done more to improve it?
- The last time you released a free eBook, or launched your first product, how confident were you that what you created something people will use and talk about? You can usually determine that by the amount of effort you put into creating those things.
- If you haven’t released anything like that yet, why the hell not?
- If you can look at what you just produced (an article, a resource, anything) and be proud of it, then in no way shape or form have you under-achieved. If not, then you should go back and make it something you’ll be proud of.
- Over-achievers often spend hours at a time developing new things for their blog and spending time to make sure everything is perfect. How many hours a week do you put into making your blog the best it can be?
What do you think of yourself now? How much effort have you put into your blog that you can say you are proud of? Hopefully this serves as a sort of wakeup call for the under-achievers out there, and motivation to keep up the hard work to the over-achievers.
What is worth over-delivering?
I’d like to discuss the answer to this question with you in the comments section here. Which part(s) of your blog is worth over-delivering. There is only one answer, and I hope you have read enough to know that answer.
The Discussion
Leave a Comment Read Again?Always over-deliver on content. I’ve thought about this a lot recently, Alex! If you want your blog to be truly successful and innovative, you have to provide something that people will thank you for having the opportunity to share, to associate themselves with you. Too many bloggers think of retweets as favors to the blog owners. It should be a favor to the reader.
.-= Nick Tart´s last blog ..Interview: Lindsay Manseau, Freelance Photographer and Beyond =-.
That’s a really good way to put it Nick. If you want other people to share your content you have to make it worth sharing. Just because you write something doesn’t mean anyone is actually obligated to share it..how you write it is what gets people talking.
I was going to write the most awesome comment ever here… but I totally want to continue under-delivering my way to success!
Instead I’ll just say: Nice post.
.-= Jordan Cooper´s last blog ..Don’t Worry About Privacy… No One Cares About You =-.
Don’t you ever want to get somewhere with your blog? I’m not even going to take the time to write out why you’re not a pro blogger, I think you’ve got it.
So I’ll leave you with: Thanks for the insightful comment, Jordan!
Over! Otherwise why do it? I try to make the most thorough posts I can. Plus, I want to show up on the first page of Google for both organic and image searches! The only way to do that is to excell at it.
So you try to rank in the image search? I’ve never heard that! Is it easier than ranking in the regular web search? Anything different to it?
Same strategies. But you have to have good images. I learned that putting text on the images works. It makes them readable, and more clickable. Especially if you’re in a niche like I am.
Almost all of my images shows up on page one of Google image search! Plus Google has added images to it’s organic search page and mine show up there as well. It’s win-win!
That’s awesome man! I’ve never heard of anyone having real success from optimizing images. I guess I just never really saw enough value in it where I would optimize them for anything other than the ALT tag. Thanks for sharing that bit of wisdom with me. :p
If you want to see it in action. Type in “cz vs diamond” into Google. I show up number one for 3,810,000 results. I show up number one in the 5 images on that page as well. And I show up number one in image search. I get huge clicks for both organic and images. It works!
This one works wonders, people looking for images often end up reading your post and discovering your blog.
Using alt tags for images in and near post, and using related words near image works well enough.
.-= King Sidharth – 64 Notes´s last blog ..Niche is Dead – It’s Time to Go Wild =-.
Some how and some time we all are go through such phase.
One blog which always overcome these kind of problem is Darren’s blog – http://www.problogger.net/
Everyday you will get and read useful posts may be they are old but now with new words and new approach.
.-= Web Marketing Tips´s last blog ..New keyword targeting Adwords feature for advertsiers in Canada & UK =-.
Darren always puts great content on his blog. Not every post is his of course, but at least he doesn’t let crap guest posts go up!
Nick has already explained the very essence of over-delivering. Though it’s also risky to over-deliver contents (especially if it’s turning to be more promotional than informative). This is where our writing styles are usually tested. It is a fact that the attention span of most online readers are getting shorter every day, for the fact that there are a lot of new contents poofing every where over the internet. It’s best to still keep boundaries when writing, since we can always make a sequel for a certain article (which is also very effective when it comes to linking your pages internally). And it also reduces the chances of driving away your readers. Quality of a blog entry is never measured by it’s size, but with it’s substantial, informative and easy-to-read content
well that’s only my opinion. Great thoughts Alex, at your age, you really are supreme in this industry, I envy you brother.
The best way I fight those short attention spans are by using tiny paragraphs, lots of headings, bullets and I try to get more images in. Basically, I want things as neat as possible to keep people like that around. But it’s not bulletproof!
But I do think however that if you can impress people with those short attention spans (because honestly, how hard is it!?), then they will respect you. And if a lot of people respect you, you can of course build a pretty big community. One thing leads to another and well, you’re making money!
Appreciate the comments though Jason, I’m doing my best!
I am not really much into blogging but I’m planning to take a plunge very soon. I am going to have a checklist exactly like this. Thanks for the great post Alex.
No problem Deelip, thanks for leaving a comment!
Really appreciated the email about the affiliate link issue, things should be sorted out now.
I have posted things that haven’t been the best that they could be. I am however a firm believer in not letting perfect be the enemy of done. A blog post that’s posted is guaranteed to get more hits that a post that forever remains a draft. Like many others I want to lead a balanced lifestyle, that doesn’t always include the time to bring everything to a fine polish. I am however proud of all my work, especially if I can room for improvement because that means I’m better now than I was then.
.-= Tom´s last blog ..30 Relaxing Activities =-.
Honestly, if you’re proud of what you have put out then more power to you. You don’t have to hit the front page of Digg with each article, you just need to have something that people can use. If that’s what you have, then mission accomplished man.
But I really like how you put that!
As long as you can go out and over-deliver as much as you can, it’s understandable. But there’s definitely no excuse for posting or doing things “not the best they could be” all of the time.
Great thoughts Tom, thanks for stopping by!
I’m putting everything into my content and my community right now, while working on a top-quality free ebook. I have been in the shoes of my readers (new and confused blogger) and remember how that feels, so that drives me to give the most I can to them every day.
.-= Jean Sarauer´s last blog ..Empire Building 101: Designing a Custom Content Strategy =-.
I’m right there next to you Jean. I have this blog all by myself to write get 5 posts a week out, and am working on a massive free course to be released soon. I’m always busy in the community here too, but it’s all extremely fulfilling to get done.
So I can definitely say I appreciate seeing other bloggers work their asses off like that too!
Do let me know when the eBook comes out, I’d love to check it out if it’s such top-quality.
As the feeling of guilt began to overcome me, I must say that I do feel proud of my first IM Niche product I just finished over the weekend. I put a lot of time into it, and it turned out great.
That being said, I think we could all strive to make our content 1 notch better. Well, maybe I’m just speaking for myself. Thanks for the great tips.
Brandon
.-= BrandonBurgh´s last blog ..Instant Wordpress Training is LIVE! =-.
That’s great Brandon! Isn’t launching a product fun? I remember launching my own, and it was like a mixture of overwhelming excitement, eagerness and nervousness.
Hope it works out for you man. Thanks for leaving a comment.
ya i also see around couple of blogs daily, which are not updated from months. but i think some blogger don’t have time because of there work and in turn they not update it.
You need to over-deliver in both the content and design. The design is what keeps your readers at your blog for longer than a few seconds and the content is what keeps your readers there for a few years.
I have to agree. I know I spend a lot of time on the design here, and I think it REALLY paid off for me.
How is your Thesis site coming along? I’m really anxious to see it.
It’s actually on the back burner this week because I’m finishing up a Thesis / WP e-Commerce site. First time working with WP e-Commerce and it’s turning out to be pretty sweet……I’m sure I’ll be cursing at it a lot this weekend though. I’ll let you know when it’s ready and any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks!
Ah, I’ve never worked with WP e-Commerce. I don’t like working on anything other than Thesis, I sort of feel bad for you. :p But good luck Nina, and thanks for stopping by the blog.
Great Post full of thoughts.
I have not yet release a product (I probably won’t release until after two months to this period), the reason being that I want to build more traffic, mailing list subscriber, authority, credibility and trust.
The hours i put on my blog that makes me happy is my guest posts, I know I am far popular than the traffic I get because the highest searches to my blog came from my blog name. I so much love guest posting that i won’t even know when I have written two a day.
I wrote a guest post one day, I was unhappy with it because it does not feel good to me, after submitting it to a blog, the number and type of comments it brought made me think if it is really bad? I got lots of positive responses.
Thanks a lot for the great post,
-Onibalusi
Thanks for leaving the comment Oni.
I can definitely respect that. It took me about 10-11 months to get this blog into position for selling a product, and I’d say the waiting paid off immensely.
I do see you guest posting around a lot man. Has it has a huge impact on your traffic?
Hi Alex,
It has helped me increase my traffic significantly, i get over 200 unique visitors a day. It also helps me build respect and search engine authority.
And lastly, I so much love doing it nowadays.
Thanks a lot,
-Onibalusi
Congrats man! What would you is the most valuable part: the unique visitors, or doing what you love?
Hi Alex,
Both. If I have a blog with no visitors, then why Am I blogging? I love doing it because it is working.
Thanks a lot,
-Onibalusi
I know that some days, my content is more spectacular than it is on other days. But I always strive to do my best. I use a lot of images and I’ve been criticized for it, but they illustrate my words and spice up the blog posts. It’s my visual and creative nature I gues.
I dig a lot. I like to research my topics well before tackling them. How else can be the classic over-achiever? I come dangerously close to obsessive when it comes to my blog. Though I live to think of myself as passionate. I spend more hours than I probably should. But I know how far I’ve come and I know I still have a long, long way t go before I achieve my goals. Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to blog I go! Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho, hi ho… I’m an eager little dwarf. Move over Snow White, here I come!
.-= Blog Angel a.k.a. Joella´s last blog ..Contest Alert! Mike Roosa Is Giving Away The Farm And Other Great Stuff! =-.
Sometimes I’m just more “in the zone” when it comes to writing posts and can knock out an 800+ word topic like it’s nothing. Then I have those days where I need about an hour or more to just finish writing the article. Really annoying, but it definitely varies. Do you have those days too?
As long as you’re having fun doing what you’re doing, who cares how long you spend on the blog?
I think my blog is going way over the top. I try to post at least two blog articles a day. Each being and extremely helpful. I think this should wow some people.
.-= Noah Rinaey´s last blog ..25 Ways on How to Make Money Online =-.
Wow, 2 articles a day? I could never keep up with that! How do you do it Noah?
Alex,
An inspiring article. Definately “over-delivered” to the point of perfect deliver! Your words are encouraging! Do not ever stop writing.
As for the delivery of my blog: When I first began blogging, I would say that yes, I was an “under-deliverer”. Now, as my blog had progressed, I realized what I was doing wrong and would never post an article that I was not sure of.
Remember, the Internet is a place where communication should be deliberate and with meaning, because it is stamped there indefinately for all eyes to see.
- Justin
Haha, do you think it’s too much? I hope I didn’t fry anyone’s brain with all of this information.
If you say I keep writing, I suppose I will!
Dude, at least you figured out what you were doing was wrong and changed your ways. So many bloggers just keep going and going with content that they just put out to fill space and wonder why nothing happens. I think people misunderstand what it means to “always update your blog with quality.” Maybe they missed the bolded part!?
But thanks for stopping by man, you write some pretty intriguing comments.
Thanks for the compliment Alex. I like to think that way I say has meaning. After all, whats a conversation with good content? B.S.
Off the subject: I am curious, how come some commenter’s most recent blogs are shown here and others not?
- Justin ?
Well, the plugin I use is called CommentLuv, and it gives you the option to check it and let your latest blog post show. Some people don’t check it, so it doesn’t show up. I really need to add some styling to it, just to differentiate it. Makes things look messy.
Thanks so much Alex! Once again, I have found advice that I can use immediately to enhance my site.
That’s great Sara, glad I could help!
Over Delivering is when you give your 100% and add value to your article by adding insights, bulleting and other formatting. You need to be sure that the article is free from grammatical mistakes. This takes Over-Delivering, otherwise you would have straight away published that article.
I think I was Under-Delivering but through constant learning I have reached a stage where I can deliver better
.-= Gautam Hans @ Blog Godown´s last blog ..Guest Blogging Contest Entries Closed, Let The Voting Begin =-.
Technically, I guess over-delivering would be more of your effort at 150%. But you definitely have the right idea (just messing with you of course).
At least you realized what you were doing and did something about it. For that reason, you’re one of the most successful bloggers on the Internet. Keep it up!
I was really happy to see the part about email subscriptions. I’ve personally contacted countless bloggers asking them to enable the option.
The good thing is, I’m almost always thanked (then visited
) with either the immediate, “I didn’t even know it was an option” to up to a month later saying, “Thanks! My subscriptions have doubled! or more”
.-= Dennis Edell | Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Oops I Lied-HAHA =-.
I don’t make it all that clear here that Blogussion offers subscription through email. So where’s my email Dennis? :p You should be telling me to make it more obvious to people.
But that’s great they actually listened. I know some people don’t like hearing feedback unless they ask for it, so it’s just great that you made that kind of change to someone.
The orange is prominent enough.
Hey it’s not like I tell them their design sucks before being asked. lol
.-= Dennis Edell | Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..10 Social Share Sites Chosen – Do You Agree? =-.
Looks like I am already late for a discussion, again. But it’s never too late to throw your 2 cents in.
I really agree with you on over delivering but people often confused over delivering with quantity while it’s more about answering the question or emotional satisfaction of reader.
Seth Godin, for example, writes super short articles. Sometimes just a pragraph long. But what he delivers in those is priceless, you deliver same in 1000 words articles every weekday. Somewhat same is Copyblogger. While Michael Dunlop takes a 10 min video to do the same. You get the idea…
Over-deliver, in terms of qulality is far more important than quantity (even if you are buying just numbers).
What say you?
.-= King Sidharth´s last blog ..On Receiving Abraham or from Non-Physcical =-.
Great article Alex.
When you say over-deliver, I think of 5-star service. Like staying at the Four Seasons vs. Motel 66.
What you’re really talking about here is authorship – signing your name to your work with pride and making everything you do synonymous with excellence. It’s a serious level of commitment. Stradivarius wasn’t in it for some fast cash on a 4-hour work week. He devoted his entire life to his craft.
That drive for excellence is rare, and Alex, you’ve got it in spades!
.-= SmilesDoc´s last blog ..The Lost Starfish and Saving Broken Smiles =-.
Alex, I notice the little things you’re doing here with your typography and your writing style. Very few people approach your level of sophistication. This attention to detail is going make you an enormous amount of money. Just as soon as you decide that’s what you want to do.
.-= Dave Doolin´s last blog ..The Queen of GPO Speaks – violetminded Spills It =-.
Im guilty
.-= Stefan Jacholke´s last blog ..WooThemes and ElegantThemes Review =-.
Oh man; looks like I’m rather late to the comment-fest on here. I’m really glad I found your site, Alex, as I’m working on starting a new blog myself after having worked for one for a few months.
With formalities out of the way, allow me to answer your question: it is worth over-delivering on the entire blog. A unique design, incredible content, a friendly public image; it’s all part of it, and it all adds up.
I’ve seen this kind of tip before, to really try and make your site stand out from the rest. However, what do you do when you have neither the time to work on “awesomizing” your site nor the money to hire someone to do it for you? And even then, what if you have the greatest blog in the world, but you’re just not getting any readers to justify it?
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