The Truth About Seth Godin and Indirect Benefits of Blogging

When I first took an interest in internet and marketing as a whole, people kept referring me to the blog of this guy who had posted a strange image of himself (look to the left), saying that it was a must read, because he offered great advice on the niche. That guy was of course Seth Godin.

If you are not familiar with it, I suggest that you subscribe right now, because this guy certainly knows what he is talking about. He is also the master of sticking to the point, and providing value, even with posts no longer than a single paragraph or two. Read the blog, and you will understand what I mean.

Yesterday Seth posted another short post, where he answered a question from one of his readers who asked why he doen’t monetize his blog. This was his response (full post):

Not only can’t I imagine charging for my blog, I’m practically in debt to the people who read it. I ought to pay them, not the other way around.

Certainly a noble response from a humbled person, and while it is true that his blog would most likely be non-existant had it not been for his readers, certainly there must be some incentive for Seth to keep his blog alive? After all the blog is ranked as the 16th most popular blog of them all over at Technorati.

And yes, Seth most certainly has plenty of incentives to keep posting and promoting his blog, but seeing how he doesn’t monetize it directly, it is safe to say that he is more concerned about the Indirect Benefits of Blogging, which is also sometimes referred to as the Non-Monetary Benefits of Blogging.

You see, Seth Godin is actually the author of several successful books, a renowned speaker, and on top of that founder of a online service called Squidoo. By continuously updating his blog and demonstrating his knowledge with his posts, he is reaching out to new people, and proving the worth of his other products. I know I for one learned about him for the first time through his blog, and as a result of it I have also ordered a couple of his books.

I am also willing to bet my bread and butter for the next year on the fact that I am by no means unique in this, and that Seth has sold hundreds if not thousands of copies of his books as an direct result of his blogging ventures. Are you still convinced Seth blogs because of the goodness in his heart?

Please don’t misunderstand what I am trying to point out here. There is nothing wrong with this approach, and blogging because of the indirect benefits is something that many bloggers out there should consider, especially those who brand themselves with their own names. In the long run, it can probably mean much more beneficial results than what you can harvest from a few AdSense and WidgetBucks ads on your blog.

Another great example of this is Nate Whitehill, who has even pointed out this himself at several occasions over at his own blog. Nate started blogging, and used his blog as a tool for branding himself, and when the time was right, he launched his latest project Unique Blog Designs. Needless to say it became an instant success, partly due to the work Nate had already done to promote himself and his brand through his personal blog.

There are many bloggers out there who spend too much time obsessiong over PPC clicks and the easy dollars they can generate, who could benefit from considering the potential indirect benefits their blogging ventures can give them. To help you get started, I will give you a quick guide to how you can maximize and control the indirect benefits of own blog:

• Who are you? A big part of blogging is showing people who you are. If you make a conscious decision about who you are, and how you present yourself through your blog, people are more likely to gain a perception of you that matches how you see yourself.
• What do you know? If you to be famous, or at least somewhat known for something, you need to identify what you know, and demonstrate that you know more than most people about a certain field. Just like Seth does with his blog and the field of marketing.
• What do you want? Do you have anything you want to achieve by blogging? If you know what you want, it will certainly increase your chances of getting it. Are you blogging because you want to sell your books like Seth, or are you an aspiring web designer like Nate who wants to sell his work? Find out what you want, and show everybody why you should get it.

Those are the three most important things to think about if you want to directly influence the indirect benefits of your blogging efforts. It isn’t hard, it doesn’t take a whole lot of starting capital, all you really need is dedication and persistence, and your blog can get you the things you crave the most!

Note upon restoring this post to my archives in 2024:

I referred to Seth Godin as "Creepy Looking" in a particular profile photo in the original version of this post. It was edited out by the time the Internet Archive had archived the post. The discourtesy even prompted a comment from Seth, in which he displayed his typical brevity:

Creepy looking? - Seth Godin

I was shamed and embarrassed. Deservingly. My response, after promptly removing the offhand remark:

I apologize, I should have thought twice before I used that particular word. I didn’t mean it that way - The image of you on your blog is a tad bit scary the way you cut it off just below the eyes ;) I’ve seen other images, I can assure you and all of those who read that particular word that you don’t look creepy at all. Then again I’m not the most photogenic of the bunch, so I guess I’m in no position to judge =)