Sometimes Success Lies in Moderation
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Just yesterday I noticed that I entered the Adage 150 top marketing blog list at #143. Today I'm at #149. This might change quickly again so I'm not here to solely brag about it. The exact point in time SEO 2.0 has seen this surge has surprised me.
For those who don't know the Adage 150 list, you can submit your site for consideration (I did a few months ago) and in case your blog really deals with marketing related topics you get listed. You probably will be at #500 or below though. Even the flagship blog for the British SEO company I write for most of the time doesn't perform as good in the list.
So I kept wondering because I add two posts a week to the SEO agency blog I work for and sometimes don't write for SEO 2.0 for a week at all. In June I even paused for two weeks. Also the posts I've written lately, were, with one exception, not the typically popular list or how to posts you usually succeed with on social media. The Adage 150 takes its data from several sources. Some rely on sheer traffic like Alexa others on multiple metrics like Postrank.
For a while already I've been quite envious of blogs with high posting frequency like
They manage to post daily or even more often and the bloggers are often whole teams. Even Micheal Gray who is a lone ranger like myself blogs very often.
Then it dawned on me after reaching the Adage 150 that sometimes success lies in moderation.
Sometimes it's better to do less and say less to succeed. It's not just the quantity vs quality point. Moderation is about finding the perfect balance when doing things.
In business blogging and SEO 2.0 we tend to go for the most traffic, most social media recognition and most subscribers or links. Sometimes that's too much though. When you have to ask too many people for a vote on a particular social media site or you have to spend hours daily there to achieve some modest results it's too much. You have to try to do less of it to achieve your goals.
A few weeks ago for instance I decided that I don't want to follow more than 700 people on Twitter.
[I actually follow 704 because as the number includes for of my own accounts.] At the same time I didn't want to unfollow hundreds of my followers lie some social media mavens do. I have followed thee people for a reason.
I don't want to follow only 100 people just because I think I'm so important that i can't spend more time with reading updates by other people. So I started reviewing the people I follow on Twitter on a daily basis. Whenever I encountered someone in my stream where I didn't remember who that is or what website s/he owns or writes for I considered unfollowing the person. I only followed as many people as I unfollowed to achieve balance.
It worked. Lately I noticed that more often
I remember who the people are whom I follow on Twitter, I recognize the avatars and the people behind them.
Before, the number of clicks I got for links on Twitter was dwindling all the time. Now it depends again on the quality of the links. Whenever I share something that is really of value for the people I get many to click them. I got the attention of my Twitter friends because they got mine. I was able to reconnect with many.
Of course I could go on adding examples for ages but I decided to make my writing both more concise and valuable in future. The goal is less information more wisdom. I will try to achieve balance. Sometimes success lies in moderation. I want to make it happen more often.
*Creative Commons image "Balance" by Liber.
Well great article i like this simple and easy.
Success sometimes truly does lie in moderation. On the web, the sites I return to the most — and any site I evangelize or buy things from — are those that truly deliver quality. And when there’s constant posting — that quality often dilutes.
Brevity is the soul of wit — w.s.
I like the way this article is written as well. I do beleive in having a small amount of tweet followers because it leads to a more intimate setting for getting news and sharitng your news
Thanks for a great tips and advice. I strongly agree that true success come from moderation and also lots of hardwork and perseverance
very simple and effective…great job
At first glance of your title “Sometimes Success Lies in Moderation” really caught my attention, and I do agree with that. Its a perfect balance when doing things. The quality of work is more important than quantity then combined with patience and hardwork.
A really insightful article, quality rather quantity seems to count. In doing this, you should write good quality content for a blog or site which has a solid perspective and target audience, instead of constant content of a lesser value.
Yes, indeed. Thanks for the great tip that we don’t have to rush things. Thanks for what you posted. More power and good luck to future aspirations.
yes, “slow & easy wins the race”, so to speak. Plus hard work & dedication. Also, success is finding happiness too in what you’re doing.
I never thought about it that way. If it looks like you are “trying too hard” you might get knocked for it. Success relies on confidence… even in internet marketing.