8 things bloggers can learn from Perez Hilton

I hate gossip rags at the checkout counter, and my opinion is no different when the medium is a blog. But I love this post on 8 things bloggers can learn from Perez Hilton by Marko Saric.

The fact is, Perez Hilton is a fantastic success story. According to Saric, here’s how he got there:

1. Find a topic there is an audience for
2. Find a topic you have passion for
3. Be consistent
4. Be unique
5. Do not censor yourself
6. Be provocative
7. Experiment with the blog monetization
8. Expand your blog

More details and expansion of each of those points in the original post – if you’re a blogger, I recommend you read them.

A couple of provisos:

1. Be careful about the no censorship rule
   If your blog is not where you make your money, be careful. It can have a backlash with colleagues, your boss, organization, or family. My advice: don’t write anything you don’t want even one person you care about knowing. That includes your boss!

2. Be careful about being provocative
   If you’re writing a trashy celebrity blog, maybe that’s a good rule. It’s probably not quite as good an idea, however, if you’re writing a legal blog, a business blog, or diplomatic blog. Sure, you want to be interesting. But it’s never a good idea to go out of your way to insult, disparage, or denigrate others. And picking fights simply in an attempt to be interesting is juvenile and likely to backfire.

Being careful may not be the way to create exceptional art. But it does have some advantages in building relationships and getting things done.