Are You a Robotic Webmaster?
I define a robotic Webmaster as one who goes through the motions of managing and updating a website, without a clear understanding for what it takes to succeed online.
They haphazardly throw up content without much regard to how their target audience will interpret it.
They’re more concerned with quantity of tasks than measuring the results and seeing the big picture.
Instead of developing their own voice and personality, they often mimic other successful sites.
So they end up re-inventing the wheel instead of redefining themselves as a credible Webmaster of niche XYZ.
Robotic Webmasters Focus on Quantity Over Quality
One of the most common questions I receive is “How much content do I need to make money?”
As if there is some golden rule out there that says “Build 150 pages of content and you will begin seeing $3 per visitor.”
Or someone will say, “I created 45 pages but I haven’t made any money yet. How much more content do I need to write?”
First of all, you could build 400 pages of content and never see a dime. Making money online goes far beyond robotically putting up content.
You have to define an audience, understand how your content impacts them, and do your best to meet their needs.
In addition, you have to build credibility by showing you are a trusted source and that you are providing information that can’t be found anywhere else.
Finally, you have to find where your audience is and market to these people. Where you go may depend on your niche, talents, etc.
Social Networking sites may work well for one Webmaster while another may find a gold mine in writing guest articles for another site or blog.
You may be clever enough to master pay per click marketing and someone else may find success building relationships through a newsletter.
Not every Webmaster takes the same approach to marketing. You have to think outside of the box, experiment and find what’s best for you and your site.
Don’t feel you have to take the same approach as those who’ve come before you. The Net is changing fast. What worked in 2006 may not work as well today. You have to discover what works with your talents, site goals, etc.
It’s your job to stay abreast of the latest marketing strategies and discover ways to apply them to your site or blog. Remember, this is a business, so these are things you must do if you want to thrive online.
Robotic Webmasters Have Trouble Coming Up With Content
This often happens when a Webmaster is not passionate enough about their topic. They find similar articles on the Web and paraphrase them into their own words.
This may be OK for the first 5-10 articles, but this gets boring after awhile because the person is obviously not into the topic.
So they end up with another personality-less site with no voice and no unique spin because they don’t have a personal attachment to the topic.
Another reason robotic Webmasters have trouble coming with content is they don’t take the time to define a specific audience, or they try to appeal to everyone and end up appealing to no one.
When you’ve defined who your site is directed to, you shouldn’t have to wonder what to write about. Anytime someone asks me to give them advice on what to write about I know they are taking a backward approach.
You don’t write content and then hope people will find it useful. You define who you are trying to reach with your site and make sure it meets their needs based on what you’ve defined.
As you develop traffic, you’ll begin getting feedback from your readers and that will further define the questions, problems and issues you may want to address. This will help you produce even more useful content down the road.
You may discover along the way (as I did) that your content is off-target. That’s OK. That’s all part of the process, my friend. Take what you’ve learned and work to make your site better.
Robotic Webmasters are Overly Obsessed With Small Details
When people don’t understand the big picture of Internet marketing, it’s easy to get sidetracked on little things that don’t matter as much. For example…
How long do my articles need to be?
Perhaps the important question to ask here is, “What is the goal of this article and how much do I need to write to get my point across and make it useful?”
An article should be as long as it needs to be. And of course that will vary depending on the situation, goal of the article, etc.
Some articles need to be longer to get the point across. Others can be shorter. But the point is, don’t stress over size or character length. Focus on the usefulness in relation to your audience.
While there are certain steps you must follow as a Webmaster, if you find that you performing the same tasks over and over again with no results, perhaps you need to step back and look at the big picture.
1. Have you clearly defined an audience?
2. Is your audience definition narrow enough?
3. Will your content have a direct impact on your audience’s needs?
4. Does your site look as if it wants to inform/help or are you bombarding your visitors with ads?
5. What can you do to set your site apart from the competition?
6. Are you focusing more on quantity than quality?
7. Are you trying to mimic someone else’s successful idea or do you have your own path?
8. Are you interested enough in this topic to remain creative and motivated?
9. Do you challenge yourself to think outside the box in terms of marketing your site?
When you can answer these questions precisely, developing a useful site and writing content becomes much easier and less robotic.
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While there are some repetitive tasks involved with owning a website, it’s the creativity and thinking outside of the box that is going to set you apart from your competition and make you successful.
If your site is a year old with 150 pages of content and you still only have 10 visitors per day, something needs to be adjusted. Step back and answer the 9 questions above and see which ones need attention.
Robotic Webmasters have short lives because their batteries die quickly. They start out full-speed ahead completing task after task, writing article after article, submitting to directories and social networking sites as if on queue.
If you want success out here, you cannot be a robot. Robotic Webmasters have no emotional attachment to their sites and often perform tasks as if they were programmed, while not seeing the big picture.
Step outside your box. Make sure the goals of your site are clearly defined and look for creative ways to market. Remember there several ways to make it to the top, so if your methods aren’t working don’t be afraid to try something new.
Being successful online takes more than robotically publishing content, submitting to various sites and waiting for results.
You have to be proactive, creative, take risks and you can’t be afraid to fail. And last but certainly not least…
Enjoy yourself.
