Don’t Be Cameron Diaz

Don’t Be Cameron Diaz

Reader Comments (26)

  1. Good post Brian.

    For us, bloggers, this could be applied by giving nice replies to the comments we get, like you always do here, and getting back to emails (if time and volume allows it of course) from our “fans”.

    Have a great week!

  2. I always wonder what is the return on investment when I take the time to reply to a mail send by a potential customer. Like Brian always replies to any comment, and I guesss that is what keeps me coming, but is it enough return on Brian’s investment of his time

  3. Excellent post, as usual, but I have a few doubts. My $0.02 worth:

    It would seem by your argument that the Blogger names you mentioned should never have fan clubs. The reply to comment ratio is quite low, ranging from 1:10 to 1:50 or even none, sometimes.

    A little contradictory, eh?

    Yes, I do agree that they have a plethora of comments to attend to and they could not possibly reply to all of them, but yet, they have a large reader-base (read: ‘fan-club’)

    Well, I feel, you only have to answer comments while starting out. When your reader base develops into the five figure category and your posts receive comments in three figures, you can sit back and relish those AdSense cheques.

    After all, you have earned every cent of it, by answering all those runts in the past…

    Regards,
    Shri.

    PS: It happens. No offense meant. 🙂

  4. Answering comments can be one way of treating your “fans” right, but as Shri points out, sometimes that isn’t feasible. In fact, people like Seth Godin have tons of fans, and he doesn’t even have comments enabled.

    The point I’m trying to make is that you need to deliver consistently. If you start off talking about marketing, get a big following, and then start going off on tangents (despite the complaints of your readers) because you now think you are way too important to worry about what your readers think… then you’re being like Cameron Diaz.

  5. I am a z-list blogger (well, maybe not that unknown), with a small following of sweet fans, and occasional comments. It is a luxury to be able to respond to each one. There are just enough comments to enter into a few relevant conversations, and my partner and I stay on target, delivering our core message, that is: how can independent professionals use blogs and the Internet to get clients. What I like about your writing, Brian, is that you tie the issues to big-picture thinking. It’s not about celebrity status, or having huge numbers of readers, it’s all about delivering relevant, valuable information to them. You can’t sacrifice that to post about a topic that is controversial or ego-driven just because it’s your blog and you want to express yourself and get high traffic. Smart bloggers never forget their core, ideal readers.

  6. Nice.

    I always figured if you weren’t into the fame/giving your fans what they want, you can always go back to flipping burgers in Ohio. Don’t see that too often though.

    There are enough waiting to take your place, for sure…

  7. I think blogging is all about people looking for a bit of fame or identity.

    Gosh I wish I could ask Cameron Diaz for autograph. I’ve never asked anyone for one before, but I’d enjoy the chance to lecture her back on how rude she is. 🙂

  8. That’s up to you Glenn. But if she’s that harsh about autographs, make sure you don’t have any glaring insecurities! 🙂

  9. Ideal Readers: nice

    Brian, Great Post, and good work on the links, how to you manage to pull it all together all the time?

    good job

  10. I just love this site. Really and truly. For whatever reason, Bloglines or feedburner or whatever just pooped back out a half dozen or so of your posts. And you know what?

    I loved reading them again.

    Keep up the amazing work. We should do a podcast interview together soon.

    –Chris…

  11. We all have personality quirks and preferences and maybe there is something about certain people at certain times that fans or non-fans will dislike so much to the point of bringing down these people.

    In any case, I do see the point of relating with people and that it is important in blogging too. I am one of the people who wish I could comment on Seth Godin’s or Steve Pavlina’s blog every once in a while but the comments are off so, well, that’s it. I am relegated to plain reader.

  12. Interesting post, one which I would have to agree with almost entirely. My only contention would be that Camercon Diaz is doing the right thing by standing up and voicing her beliefs, however hypocritical. She is already catering to her audience by performing for them, I don’t believe she should have to cater to her fan-base beyond that.

    Bloggers are somewhat different, they need a reader-base, it is a priority for bloggers to accumulate and cater to readers. Actors, on the other hand, don’t need a fan base (in the same sense) to maintain their careers, they make a movie, do a couple of press releases, and spend their time plugging the movie and themselves to executives, not to their audience.

    Basically what I’m saying is that bloggers communicate directly with their public whereas actors don’t, for the most part. We can’t expect actors to act like bloggers, or vice versa.

    I guess it depends on what specific point you were trying to make with your post.. If it was simply “be respectful to your fans”, then yep, I’d have to agree. If it was “be nice to your fans even if it violates your personal code of ethics” then, no, not agreeing so much.

    Great post!

    Thanks kindly.

  13. Was that a technique to mention Cameron Diaz in the title and not talk about her until near the end of the article? (to make me continue reading) I actually found it distracting because I wanted to look ahead to the Cameron Diaz part.

    I listened to a radio talk-show about a study done where they concluded that telling people the outcome of the movie actually makes for a better viewing experience – partly because the viewer is not anxious to find out what happens and enjoys the journey instead. My Cameron Diaz comment supports that conclusion.

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