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I feel dirty

by erichammer
10 replies
So I've succumbed to the pressure to play off of popular media in order to drive traffic to my blog.

I have no idea if it will do anything, but I at least didn't create a piece of pure gossip. Instead, I wrote a post called What Would Justin (Bieber) Do?

In it, I wrote about taking a lesson from his initiative (he started out busking [working as a street performer] and posted his videos on YouTube) and going out to do whatever you have to do in order to succeed in whatever it is you want.

I also used his mother's initial reluctance to let him sign with the record label that contacted him to point out that one shouldn't let opportunities slip out of one's hands.

Now like I said, I have no idea if anyone new will read my blog and I have even less thought that anyone reading it because they're a Bieber fan will become a regular reader or buy something I advertise but frankly, I feel dirty, exploiting pop culture in order to drive readership to my blog on personal finance.

Anyone else ever feel that way when you try one of these tactics?

Eric
#dirty #feel
  • Profile picture of the author WebRank1
    Well, what you want to do is perfectly legitimate and nothing to feel dirty about to be honest.
    If you would make up his dead and thus driving desperate traffic to your page where you sell autographed photo's..then you could feel dirty.
    But this is perfectly ok buddy.
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  • Profile picture of the author SmartHealthShop
    hey its all about trends and the one you are writing about would definitely be a hot trend right now - its a tactic, not a dirty move.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Faber
    I did it in a guest post for someone on what American Idol can teach you about marketing. I didn't feel dirty, but the info was all very valid and closely correlated to the blog's theme, which was technology and business.

    It's all about leverage, whether that's other people's/site's efforts, money, or popularity.
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  • Profile picture of the author erichammer
    Yeah, I'm not feeling dirty because I used a tactic which everyone says works well. It's more that I feel like I'm taking what ought to be a noble concept -- a blog which teaches people to manage their money better and am pandering to the lowest common denominator in order to drive readership. That's what's bothering me. I may do it again occasionally since that does seem to work and ultimately, reaching out to people is what I want to do (and also make a living at it), but I still feel a little uncomfortable to have done it...

    Eric
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Nice post headline, a grabber for sure. But I don't buy it. Have you lied? Have you misled? Have you done anything morally wrong? Only you know.

    What you have done is something smart marketers have been doing for ages. It's called riding existing momentum and it's not wrong, it's smart.

    I wrote a book in 1999 about the possible fallout from the anticipated Y2K computer crash. No one knew exactly what might happen but there was a massive amount of media buzz over the issue. And I sold tons of books. I didn't feel dirty or exploitive in any way. The overall theme of my book suggested "be ready, just in case." And may people agreed.

    I'd suggest that if you really feel dirty, you don't do this anymore.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
    Originally Posted by cosmokid View Post

    Playing off such an extreme general pop trend probably won't increase your bottom line of traffic and sales
    It may not increase sales, but I know for a fact that name dropping can increase traffic as I have toyed with it myself.

    But, it is untargeted traffic and really does nothing positive for you in the long scheme of things.

    If you felt "dirty" doing it, then it is perhaps because you were forcing the issue. If you are a true fan of the person and follow them relentlessly then you would have no dirty feelings about it.
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    • Profile picture of the author erichammer
      Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

      If you are a true fan of the person and follow them relentlessly then you would have no dirty feelings about it.
      This was actually my whole point. I'm 37 years old and a little out of his demographic to be even remotely interested in him. I've heard the name before, I saw the Glee episode where they did a tribute to him (and then I went and found a couple of his songs on YouTube to find out what the fuss was about). I also like when Jay Leno does his jokes about "too old for Bieber hair" but that is the extent of my interest in the kid.

      The only reason I wrote this post was because I happened to read in the paper today that Bieber is on tour right now and how he's a lightning rod of controversy with thousands of Facebook pages devoted to either loving or hating him (when a facebook page titled "is this garbage can worth more than Justin Bieber" or something to that effect can get 40,000 likes, then you know it's a hot trend) so I decided to give it a shot and see what happens. . .

      However I do like the idea of doing traffic more targeted to my niche while still riding the coattails of someone better known than me.
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      • Profile picture of the author AgentHomes
        I was expecting something far worse than this when I started to read the thread. As long as you created you own content and you got your facts correct it's all good.

        As most you've cost a person a few extra clicks if you're website isn't what the person was really looking for. Any if any of your extra traffic buys one of your products they have done that willingly and it's probably not because they have been blinded by your Justin Bieber story.
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  • Profile picture of the author erichammer
    Originally Posted by cosmokid View Post

    Playing off such an extreme general pop trend probably won't increase your bottom line of traffic and sales, since you don't run a site which would entice that type of visitor to buy anything - like if you sold DVD's or mp3's or something. But if you drill down to find the "Justin Bieber" in your niche, a hot trend maker with lots of buzz in your niche, and make a post about that, that's another way to do this. You're still piggybacking off of natural interest in a "star," but because the star you're writing about is more directly related to your niche, you'll have more benefits. Think TV star, columnist, Fortune 500 company in the news, celebrity notable for his or her wealth - and try posting about that. I'll be that will work out much better for you and you won't need to keep such a big pile of soap and bleach on hand!
    That's actually a great idea, thanks. Maybe something on Suzie Orman or Liz Weston...something to think about.
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