In a few days I have a new book coming out. The topic is the same as that of my program, How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites. But I am using the book format to look less at the “how to” of this topic, and more at the “how come?”
How come more and more people, without any credentials as writers, editors or publishers, are attracting huge audiences to their made-at-home websites?
It is happening. Thousands of people are writing wonderful websites, packed full with information on topics about which they are interested.
How is this possible? How can an amateur gardener write a website about gardening and not just survive, but prosper in the face of competitors like Garden.com?
I think it is because we like to learn from the expert next door.
The expert next door is someone like us. He or she understands what we want to learn. He or she actually gets her hands dirty in her own garden. He or she is more likely to listen to us and be responsive to our information needs. He or she writes in our language, without looking down on us.
In my last post I talked about how people online are no longer facing towards big media, but are now spending more time facing each other, and paying attention to each other.
Increasingly, we feel more comfortable learning from the expert next door.
They don’t sit in editorial meetings. They don’t come under pressure from a large marketing department to focus on topics that might lead to more sales. The best experts next door are trustworthy, empathetic and hit the nail precisely on the head when it comes to giving us the information we want.
Experts next door are like that friendly old neighbor who grows fantastic vegetables in his garden. We can just lean over the fence and ask him how we can grow better vegetables in our own garden.
How come more and more people, without any credentials as writers, editors or publishers, are attracting huge audiences to their made-at-home websites?
It is happening. Thousands of people are writing wonderful websites, packed full with information on topics about which they are interested.
How is this possible? How can an amateur gardener write a website about gardening and not just survive, but prosper in the face of competitors like Garden.com?
I think it is because we like to learn from the expert next door.
The expert next door is someone like us. He or she understands what we want to learn. He or she actually gets her hands dirty in her own garden. He or she is more likely to listen to us and be responsive to our information needs. He or she writes in our language, without looking down on us.
In my last post I talked about how people online are no longer facing towards big media, but are now spending more time facing each other, and paying attention to each other.
Increasingly, we feel more comfortable learning from the expert next door.
They don’t sit in editorial meetings. They don’t come under pressure from a large marketing department to focus on topics that might lead to more sales. The best experts next door are trustworthy, empathetic and hit the nail precisely on the head when it comes to giving us the information we want.
Experts next door are like that friendly old neighbor who grows fantastic vegetables in his garden. We can just lean over the fence and ask him how we can grow better vegetables in our own garden.
Comments