Blogging Advice from Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~ Robert Frost

Obviously Robert Frost wasn’t giving out blogging advice when he wrote this masterpiece but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still apply. One of the things I hear talked about in blogging is differentiating yourself from everyone else. You have to stand out from the crowd in some way. Whether that means you are THE news source in your niche, whether you are a maverick in your niche, whether you’re funny and more laid back, whatever it is, you need to be recognizable.

One of the easiest ways to achieve that recognition or separation from the pack is to follow Mr. Frosts example: take the road less traveled by. If everyone else is offering up regurgitated news posts, abandon that and provide in depth analysis of that news. If your niche is full of people posting several shallow posts a day, post only once a week but make it long and authoritative in nature. If everyone in your niche is a “fanboy” of some company or product, become the devil’s advocate, picking it apart. Try introducing new strategies into your niche or importing elements from a different industry. In whatever industry or niche your blog is located, try to think outside the box and come up with ways to create an online identity for yourself and your blog. When everyone else zigs, you zag. It’s not that the “zig” is wrong or that it’s not a good idea, it’s just going to be much tougher for people to see you and recognize you when you’re surrounded by others doing the exact same thing.

Quite simply, look for the opportunity to take the road less traveled by. For your blog, it could make all the difference.