Playa Dominicalito Costa Rica
I toyed around with a few plug ins earlier this evening.
At the end of the day, each hurt your user experience. I trashed those suckers pronto.
I cannot lie; even though I use tools sparingly it seems addictive in moments. I get this idea that the tool will make everything far easier. I may believe that tools do far more work for me than reality indicates. This is the curse of plug ins. You skip the real work because a plug in does it for you…..or so fellow bloggers claim.
Tools are cool. Plug ins can help readers and yourself. I embed related posts via a plug in. Readers click through to learn more. Followers tell me so. If they find the plug ins helpful I keep these tools.
But everything not helpful for readers needs to go.
Why is that?
Plug ins take a heavy toll on your blog.
The Downside of Plug Ins
The most obvious downside is that plug ins slow down your blog. Those suckers are heavy. Some almost cripple the blog load time.
But a sneakier downside exists.
Plug ins distract readers from doing what you want readers to do.
I want readers to:
- consume my content
- share my content
- drop genuine comments
I keep this triple threat in mind because success flows from:
- being truly helpful
- building community
- gaining referral traffic
Look up and down my blog. What do you see? Detailed content, social sharing buttons, related blog posts and a wide open blog comments field. I hit the mark by using two plug ins to facilitate social sharing and encourage referral traffic. Embedding related posts goads readers to visit and share similar content if the current post tickled their blogging pickle.
I use minimum plug ins to maintain a streamlined blog. Nothing much slows down Blogging From Paradise Dot Com from the tools side of things.
But imagine if I added plug ins that did not:
- reach my goals?
- extend true helpfulness to you?
- ensure a fast loading blog?
Think your plug in usage through.
Look at Your Plug Ins
Do you need your plug ins?
Some distract readers with extraneous functions. Do you really need to display stats? How about reader locations around the globe? Do readers need to see where folks hail from? Does that truly help your followers? Or does embedding such a tool slow things down, offer unnecessary information and distract readers from your helpful content?
Blogging becomes a study in stripping not adding. Trash plug ins that need to go. Keep what enhances the user experience. Get rid of the fat. Streamline your blog. Keep readers focused not overwhelmed.
Social Proof Is the Scourge
I know most follow lock step with the social proof thing but any plug in boasting follower numbers needs to go.
Numbers do not buy anything. Human beings buy stuff. Numbers do not drive referral traffic. Human beings drive referral traffic. No one knows how to put a number to a human being. The 50,000 followers is a number. 50,000 humans do not follow you around like a puppy stuck to its master. A few humans out of the 50 K follow a few of your updates. Everyone else moves on because life goes on. Sorry; I mean it. I apologize for tossing cold water on your social proof plug ins but none make any sense if you think things through.
You know what other plug ins need to go? The ones that you stare at in your backoffice when you need to be writing and publishing posts like this one. Metrics plug ins feeding a stat obsession do not help you or your readers. Stat checkers fawned over distract you from helping your audience.
How do I treat blogging metrics?
I imagine myself cruising by a 65 MPH sign on the highway. I glance at numbers. I note the numbers. I make any necessary adjustments. I move on. No big deal. Certainly not a time consuming venture.
Consider this Basic Rule of Thumb
Every plug in directly drives:
- organic traffic
- blogging income
Deep six everything else.
Talk about a minimalist approach, eh?
I have never been big on tools because skills drive success not aids. Human beings learn how to walk based on their own effort. We practice as toddlers. We become skilled based on trying, trying then trying again. Unless an unfortunate child has been paralyzed, none of us learns how to walk with canes, crutches or walkers. You and I need to practice to develop muscles, to get our motor skills down. People need to go through the process organically or none walk. The tools or aids prove helpful near the end of life for those struggling to walk, not at the beginning when you need to do the grunt work.
Bloggers need to write blog posts by practicing consistently. Write and publish a long form post. Do it again next week. In between, write 500-1000 words daily via blog comments, social media or even offline in a Word document. The organic traffic flows from this writing. Blogging income originates here, too. Write, write then write some more. Plug ins never factor into this process at all. I recall a guy who earned $10,000 monthly through a WordPress Dot Com blog sporting the old school Kubrick theme. He wrote his ass off; that’s how he earned a pretty penny through blogging.
Plug ins are just light aids, tiny tools, adding enhanced functionality to your detailed blog posts in some way, shape or form.
Never put the tools before skills development or you will get lost on your blogging journey.
Practical Tips to Keep in Mind
- use plug ins to be truly helpful for readers
- every tool drives organic traffic and blogging income
- do a plug in review every 4-6 months to spot any weak moments of giving in to temptation
Hold that last bullet point in your mind.
Blogger *need* certain plug ins like a hole in the head.
Some pro says they need it, the bloggers feel lacking, believe they need it, then hinder blog performance in the name of a distraction.
You only need to be able to write your rump off.
That’s how you become a successful blogger.
