Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock recently or you don’t follow any of the current blogging A-listers like Chris x3, Naomi, Jonathan, Pam, Darren, Brian et al (if you know who I mean when I use their first names, they’re most definitely A list) then you’ll know that they’ve all been coming under some fire.
Not personally nor directly but certainly en masse. It seems people are fed up with the clique, the guest posts from the same few people, interviews & teleseminars with the same bunch of people of and then of course, there’s the launch fatigue that’s been doing the rounds…
They’re all valid points and I think Jade touched on an important point when she noted that it wasn’t just launch fatigue but networking fatigue. If you’re a fan/admirer/whatever of one of the A listers, you very probably like them all – it’s become an incestuous, close-knit clique (both the A listers & their followers) which is why there’s the backlash: The pond is now too small to support so many big fish.
The criticism is somewhat unfair though…
- These guys all put out quality stuff . Ok, so much of it overlaps but they all have different experiences, different approaches and different strategies so there’s no doubt you can still learn from each of them.
- They’re all genuine and they *do* care (despite the deliberately provocative title of this post). Have any kind of personal interaction with *most* of them and you’ll see that they care, that they’re genuine and that they’re not about so throw some hissy fit diva if you don’t know who they are. Note: I say most, some are not “all that” IRL – we’ve experienced it first hand.
- Most of them are working to “expand the pie” and reach out to wider audiences, despite the seemingly incestuous network. Ok, so many of them could expand the pie a little more when it comes to joint ventures & collaborations but it’s tough to find the quality out there – I’ve tried for us & for clients and in some cases, it’s just not there (Good niche alert!!).
But there’s a reason why you haven’t seen any of them directly and publicly respond to this criticism: They don’t need to because they’re on their game.*
* A few of them have responded but in an elegant and measured way, not with emotion nor with haste.
They all have big visions, they all have a master plan – and they’re all working to their plan. This is what sets them apart from the less successful entrepreneurs online. It’s not that they’re not listening, nor taking note of what’s been going on around them and the criticism that’s being levelled at them – they most definitely are.
The difference is this: They don’t get derailed every time someone criticises them, they don’t change their master plan just because someone moans about an onslaught of launches and they all keep their eyes focused on their overall mission even when it feels like an uphill battle, which I’m sure it does at times.
If you don’t like what they’re doing, you have a choice – don’t follow them anymore, don’t buy from them anymore. But before you choose remember this, you can still learn a lot from them by watching what they do & how they do it.
You can watch & learn all almost everything you need to know for free…don’t relinquish that front row seat just because you’re annoyed at a current trend – watch & learn.
Jonathan Woodward Studio
Kinetiva
Location Independent
Vibrapreneur
Hi Leah
This is a really timely post, I wasn’t so aware of the backlash actually but do follow almost all the above, and know them by first name.
They have the right to be A List bloggers as you say because they do great work, deliver consistent value, innovate, care deeply, engage and ship.
They have the right to be where they are and doing what they do as they’ve worked very hard to get there and still do.
We can create our own pools of awesomeness by engaging with other bloggers in our realm and forming close collaborations – in the end it’s a sharing community, give and you’ll receive.
Natalie
In the comments of his launch fatigue post, Dave talked about how he had hired someone to help him network in other ‘ponds.’ Guess who that person is :-)
My thing is that there are so many other niches and it’s really hard to get an ‘in’ in those groups. But, when you do, you often have a lot of success. But instead of targeting different groups people target the same people. I only pay for about 20% of the products I review and even I feel kinda ripped off ‘coz it feels like I’m getting variations of the same stuff. To clarify, it’s no-ones fault. It’s just networking fatigue, like I said.
What I’m trying to help people do is network horizontally. That is, encourage their audience to spread the word for them. That helps them get more traction in certain niches or subniches. A fantastic example is what Darren is doing here: http://www.problogger.net/archives/2010/06/18/become-the-blogging-expert-in-your-own-niche-by-running-a-blogging-course/. Something else I’ve been recommending people do is creating badges so people can share that they are part of the community or creating a wall of fame.
I’ve interacted personally with a lot of the big guns and I know how hard they work. But I also know that you don’t need to pay to learn from them. If you want, you can learn so much just by observation. I did :-)
- Jade
@Natalie – Hey Natalie, thanks for stopping by. Good points but I think one thing we must all try & do is look and reach *beyond* our realms if we really want to make a difference. Got your email btw – email processing today/tomorrow :)
@Jade – I agree, networking horizontally is a smart move. I also think most people tend to ignore offline opportunities these days – that’s certainly an angle we’re exploring at the moment.