16 July 2007
Outdoor Blog Marketing 101 - Don’t Block The Exits
Posted by Darrell under: Blogging About The Outdoors .
Do you like people that are just completely and unequivocally arrogant? You know the type. The guy that knows everything AND the ONLY expert on any give subject. I personally can’t stand these types of people. And, my guess is that you don’t like these people much either.
However, I run across people with this type of blog all the time. I’ll call them ‘arrogant’ blogs where the exits are all blocked. The blogger does not put ANY links up that point anywhere outside their own site. They want that visitor exclusively for themselves. I can tell you, unequivocally, that only the absolute most famous and reknowned people can get away with this sort of arrogance. It will backfire on you or I (I’m assuming that if you are so reknowned that you can get away with absolute arrogance that you probably aren’t reading my blog).
Imagine, if you will, that you are at the super market and your picking up all the stuff you need for this weekend. Granted, the supermarket has most of what you need. However, you also need a bathing suit. Well, you can’t find your new bathing suit at the supermarket. So, you get the stuff that is available at the supermarket and leave.
But, wait. The doors are all locked. They aren’t letting anyone out. What are you going to do? You will find a way out. You will crash through the door or do whatever it takes to get away. How do you feel about all the stuff you picked up at that store? Not so good. They tried to prevent you from leaving.
Ok, this is far fetched. But, I see it all the time with websites. It started several years ago with the pop-up. There were sites that you couldn’t leave. They’d just keep popping up a new window. The only way to escape was to turn your computer off. Fortunately, most of these sites are long gone. They don’t last because, face it, no one is ever going to return to a site that won’t let you leave.
So your not popping up your site every time some tries to exit out of your site. Good. But why do people have to click the X to leave your site? Isn’t there a way to leave that is better for the visitor and in the long run better for you? Absolutely.
First, Don’t block the exits. Second, make leaving easy. If you have what people are looking for they aren’t going to leave until they are ready. This is what you want. You want them to stay and look around. However, when they are ready to go - make it easy. Help them out. You might just get a really happy ‘return’ visitor.
If that supermarket, instead of locking their doors, gave you a sales flyer and a map for a bathing suit store (along with the charcoal and lighter fluid you just purchased), you’d appreciate that supermarket all the more so. As a blogger, you have this same ability. You can point your visitor towards other blogs and sites that might have the remaining items that your visitor is looking for.
Come to terms with reality: you personally cannot fulfill all the needs of your visitor. It isn’t possible. You can’t have all the information available on every outdoors subject. So, instead of making it difficult to leave (trust me visitors will find a way to depart when they are ready), make it easy by linking to other trusted outdoor blogs. Your blog buddies or friends might just have exactly what that visitor is looking for. If you point the way, there is a good chance the visitor will return to your site. Case in point: Google. People return to Google over and over and over again. Why? Because Google helps them find what they are looking for.
If you don’t have what your visitor is looking for, at least, point them towards someone else that might. Make it easy for your visitor to leave and they’ll probably return often.
7 Comments so far...
Kristine Shreve Says:
16 July 2007 at 7:03 am.
Another great post and so true. It is often very easy to overlook giving people an out from your site because you want them to stay. Often it is as simple as providing a link to a different page, or a different blog. Your site visitors appreciate having choices and you become a resource, not a dead end.
I hope you keep this series going. There’s a lot of valuable information here.
Steve Remington Says:
16 July 2007 at 8:01 am.
Nice post! People with this mentality are not confident in their own product or service. If a person was confident in what they had to offer then there would be no fear. Secondly, they lack long term vision. You might keep them in your store longer, but the long term affect is phenomenal… They will never return and will probably tell others.
The nature of blogs is providing something worthwhile to your readers and linking to other resources you think your readers will benefit from. Personally, I don’t link to link. I like to provide links that are resourceful to my readers.
Take the store example. If you recommended your customers at checkout with a map to a store with a bad reputation and had a bad experience, they may not want your advice again in the future. They may come get charcoal and lighter fluid but they would be real hesitant to actually take advice or recommendations.
So on my personal blogs I like to link out but only to related information that my readers will actually benefit from. That is why I linked here.. good content!!! 
Matt Says:
16 July 2007 at 12:59 pm.
Good post. These ideas are part of why people are increasingly turning to blogs instead of mainstream media.
Eagle Eyes Says:
16 July 2007 at 10:44 pm.
Another good post on successful blogging and what it takes to be well received. Keep up the good writing! Much enjoyed.
Kevin Paulson Says:
18 July 2007 at 9:23 am.
Great Post. The only comment I have is that if you want people to stick around and at the same time keep your site up you can have each link that you put up post to a pop up window or pop up another tab on your browser if you are using Firefox. The advantage to this is if they want to come back and finish reading your post they have that option available to them right in front of their eyes.
Keep up the great writing!
Darrell Says:
18 July 2007 at 2:20 pm.
Thanks all for the comments.
Steve, I totally agree that when you recommend someone or something - it had better be good! You reputation is completely affected by who you link to (in more ways than one).
Kevin, your link recommendation is well received. l forgot to mention that you can set the target to ‘blank’ which will open a new window and leave your orginal page up. Thanks for the reminder!
Matt, good point! it seems like ‘mainstream’ media is much more commercial then blogs. Most non-blog sites would never link to another without being paid for it. Visitors know this. Thus, they don’t put as much trust in those sites. When they see blogs willingly (and without renumeration) linking to one another - it builds their trust in both the linking and linked to sites.
Kristine, I have a custom designed (by me) poster on my wall entitled “The Puzzle Pieces”. One of the pieces of the puzzle: “Consumers Demand Choices!”
Hunting Sense » Blog Archive » Hunting Sense Blog Hunt #5 Says:
20 July 2007 at 7:30 am.
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