Propaganda is a way not only to achieve surface objectives such as traffic building and branding for bloggers, it also enhances influence and authority, making persuasion much more easier.
Relevance of Propaganda to Blogging
Propaganda, as I mentioned earlier can bring a lot of benefits to your blog. When we plan to launch a propaganda exercise, we tend to leave deep marks in the subconscious mind of our readers which will lead them back to our blogs, opt-in for newsletters and purchase a product based on our recommendations.
Propaganda can be seen as a blogging style, which combined persuasion and interaction with the aim to influence. Seems like it is a difficult term for you? If you have a "Yes" answer to all the following questions, it is highly possible that you have a propaganda plan in mind.
- Are you trying to reach a large audience?
- Will you be using powerful words and implementing mesmerizing actions?
- Is your message trying to convince, persuade and influence your audience?
It is basically a mass movement to persuade and influence. Techniques of propaganda has been covered thoroughly by Maki’s The Art of Propaganda: 7 Common Tactics Used to Influence Behavior. Today, I will be guiding you to pick out some subject matters which you can orientate your propaganda plans around them and what are the effects that they can bring for your blog.
Subject Matters of Propaganda in Blogging
When we talk about subject matters of propaganda in blogging, it is more than whom you should relate your blog posts to and which party should be used within your propaganda statement. It also consists of who should you be marketing your blog to and the type of response that you will be giving to the comments relating to your actions.
Self Promotion
Promoting yourself is a fundamental propaganda method which most bloggers are trying to do. We have our expertise, we publish it via our blogs, we market it, hoping someone can be our readers and eventually setting off a viral effect. The same goes to other attractions of a blog such as designs but it will be the same if you are promoting your own efforts and creations.
Photo by: MegElizabeth_
However, self promotion is a hard way unless your attractions are compelling enough within your niche to set things off as others will be promoting and recommending your blog after reading what you have to offer.
Slow and steady growth will be what bloggers using this method of propaganda should be expecting. First time targeted readers are more likely to stay and the consistency of the main attraction is what a blogger needs to focus on to maintain the effectiveness of such method.
Blogging Peers
Blogging peers can be bloggers within the same niche as yours or bloggers that share almost the same status (stats or recognition) as you. You might see them as friends, competitors or just another blogger all this while but they can all be the target for your propaganda movement.
- Positive elaboration. Positive elaboration includes positive reviews, praises, constructive criticism made to them via your blog posts, comments on their blogs or even a positive review just about them.
I find praises able to gain a blogger’s attention easily but please remember to uphold the value of your praises by not giving out complements easily.
- Negative elaboration. Downright criticism, sarcasm and humour elements aimed at your peers can be a good way of getting attention from them as well.
Bloggers normally give explanations for negative claims about them. A huge controversy about them may deserve a blog post from them. This method can be a good way of leeching traffic but please make sure that your claims have a firm stand as backfiring yourself is possible.
Photo by: Leonid Mamchenkov
It can be a mutual effort such as holding a cross-blog contest and a planned quarrel as long as the message to gain attention is being spread among readers of both blogs.
Specific Community
Even though a product has a huge market to tap, its marketing campaign should be aimed at a small group of consumers rather than a broad promotion which will only bring a skimming effect. Being specific about a certain community does not only create a deep impact, it also creates discussion that contains both support and disagreement.
When I say specific community, don’t think small. What about a Digg community? StumbleUpon user base? Or even the whole blogosphere? Want to appear on the Digg front page or StumbleUpon recently popular websites list? Blog on something controversial about their users.
This is what we are aiming for with a propaganda movement. The longer the discussion is on and the more specific it is, likeliness of someone to come back and check how the discussion is going on is high. Aiming this subject matter can bring in spikes and rapid growth with the help of niche social media sites if such targeted contents are being produced constantly.
Public at Large
In contrary with the point before this, using this subject matter for your propaganda needs is totally for a different goal. We aim for mere responses (supports and disagreements) from layman readers right up to specific researchers in our niche by blogging about common world views of the public.
Photo by: victoriapeckham
Using common language without jargons is vital to promote interaction to this type of audience. I am sure that you are more likely to answer a question that is easy and does not require a lot of thinking.
However, a niche blog shouldn’t be writing blog posts aiming for such audiences continuously because swaying from the niche and shallow coverage of an issue in a blog post will not keep readers for long because people mostly read blogs to gain information and knowledge, not to do surveys and add in their opinions.
Stories
Stories are very useful to gain traffic for a blog. If you have been in the blogosphere long enough, you will find taglines like "make money online with a kid", "a mom’s journey to make money online" and "parenting tips from a child" do sell.
Make money online blogs can show off their earnings stats, a parenting blog can show off a video of the blogger having a fun time with the kids and all bloggers are able to voice out their expertise loud with various awards. All of these are elements of a story, told by you to your readers.
Photo by: Ordinary Guy
You will need to think of what readers expect by reading your blog. For example, readers of parenting blogs expect the blog to guide them on how to make their child happier or becoming more successful in school. Bloggers should show such images, videos, clients’ success stories or other media to tell a story.
A bottle of mineral water with a green and natural waterfall illustration tends to persuade a purchase better. Tell a story that will suit right into what your readers are expecting to launch a propaganda. A story also spreads faster than you can imagine via storytelling by your readers (viral effect will be easier). "That kid makes $100 everyday online" is definitely more compelling than "The blog teaches you how to make money online".
Creating a story that works (which people believe) is hard but if you have read All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin, you will have a more thorough grasp of how you can tell a great story.
Implement Propaganda for Attention and blog traffic
Launching a propaganda plans for your blog doesn’t mean that you can discard all other methods of blog marketing. Even you have some good materials for a propaganda, you will need to get it out, via social media or by pinging other bloggers.
Three golden rules to remember when planning a propaganda are:
- Know your capacity
- Don’t be hypocrite about it
- Expect negative voices
Don’t live and depend on propaganda. It is a way to supercharge your traffic but it can be a way to make all your readers leave as well because this method is revolving around the beliefs and views of others.
Your Say on Propaganda for Attention and blog traffic
Will you seriously think about using propaganda as a way to promote your blog? Do you think you are exercising propaganda in your blog marketing plans? How do you think a blogger can meet success by using propaganda?
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February 15th, 2008 at 12:57 am
I guess that by trying to expose our blogs to the public, we are naturally using propaganda: Digging, Stumbling, trying to be present anywhere online where you know that people will be able to click on a link bringing them to your blog are all forms of propaganda.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Propaganda is more than marketing as you have pointed out. Propaganda has the power to gain supporters, exert influence and of course, traffic building in a more powerful way.
Maybe “creating ripples” is the word but propaganda has the ability to bring in greater effects.
February 16th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Well, for what I write you can’t really write propaganda. But for the office environment, one could write attention grabbing stuff. Or even a little controversial.
Worth a shot.
P.S. Saw your email.
February 17th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
great article. lengthy, informative, and thorough. I’m going to check out some of your other posts now.
February 17th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
@ The Cubicle Guy
You can actually…
Try to find what most office workers will support and blog about the views and beliefs they have. For example, hatred towards the boss, unfair treatment by employer and so on…
I am not working yet but I am sure that you have more ideas that can bring you supporters, indirectly creating a propaganda effect.
@ Matthew
Thanks for the complements and for visiting my blog.
February 17th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Controversy and flaming (trolling etc), I guess, can be considered propaganda techniques, but I try to avoid them as much as possible, actually I try to avoid propaganda in general. Propaganda is a persuasive technique, that I personally dislike. It deforms truth, provides impartial and favorable information (for the propagandist) and worst of all, it manipulates the reader. But that’s just me and my opinion, I’ve seen a lot of bloggers use propaganda in a useful and decent way, for both bloggers and readers.
February 18th, 2008 at 3:31 am
I guess I can agree to this. But I’ve never come up with anything worth using as stuff to get traffic.
February 20th, 2008 at 12:47 am
What has worked for me to generate traffic is to first GIVE my attention and mindful comments toward others’ websites and blogs. By revering others’ work and efforts, usually, I get a nice reciprocating of energies back. And, then some offer to say something nice about my website, etc. It comes down to the active practice of collaboration…this way we generate mutual traffic on the web. Regards, Keith J, Author “The Secret of the Universe”
February 20th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
@ Tibi
Propaganda is more of a way to influence and leave deep effects on a readers, blogging-wise. Extreme propaganda is something which is hard to achieve but once it is achieved, the one who launched it can go notorious.
@ Jenny
Yes, you can. Try to learn about what most of your blog readers are looking for and try to fulfill their needs by publishing what they want.
@ Keith
Yes, collaboration works in the blogosphere as well. Notifying bloggers within our niches can let them know what we had to offer on our blog rather than blogging on our own.
April 14th, 2008 at 5:22 am
Interesting article. Propaganda did just mean “marketing” at one stage. “Propaganda” by Edward Bernays is still one of my favourite books on the subject. Your right about creating stories too. A memorable story or angle will definitely help you get noticed. Here’s the link to the Edward Bernays book
http://tinyurl.com/yogzvr
April 14th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Thanks Chris! I like that book after I finished the first chapter. I just downloaded the whole site to read it if I have time.
I know propaganda is more than just marketing. It is some sort of influence technique which can come from someone who has a strong trait of a leader but still I think it is a powerful term for this post.