Blogging success is difficult for most of us to come by, but some people have the gift of timing backed up with excellent content and their profile skyrockets in a matter of hours.
London PNer Jon Brigden – aka Briggy Smalls, aka The Oracle – recently moved his unique brand of satire and sarcasm online, kicking off his new blog: The Oracle Speaks (part of a network of blogs which carry my branding, for disclosure’s sake).
Jon’s posts are invariably funny, and he’s had some great feedback from friends and colleagues. People appreciate it when someone makes them laugh. But Jon’s success has gone through the roof today thanks to a post he made last night which ticked all the boxes and has received its just reward – the spike you see above (that’s over 1000 hits today, on a blog which is only a few weeks old, before 10.30am).
Jon’s post “reported” that London Twestival, last night’s get-together for Twitter folk – ended in mass violence when a flashmob of Facebook users showed up looking for trouble. It was quickly retweeted and has raced its way through Twitter thanks to pushes from a couple of well-followed and respected posters.
What’s so good about the post? Why has it been picked up by so many people so quickly? And why has this n00b now had a bigger day for traffic than I’ve ever had before it’s even lunchtime? (Just kidding, JB)
Here’s what I think:
- The post was topical and brilliantly timed. As all good satire should do, it hi-jacked a hyped-up event and made it a figure of fun. In fact, it was posted while Twestival was still in progress
- I still have faith that great content wins through, and Briggy’s work is just that. When people get drawn in by whatever route, they enjoy reading his stuff and it makes them laugh. Then, it gets shared further
- It was about Twitter, and Twitter is a link-baiters dream. Not only is it the flavour of the month, but it’s a handy way for the story to spread. Two birds, one…er…bird
- The post has also benefited (from its timing) because it has been tagged with #LDNTwestival by many of the people who have retweeted. This is quite an active hashtag at the moment and still has a new post added roughly every minute (although several of them are Jon’s post!)
- Twestival remains kind of a big deal, and many of the well-followed people in London have an ear to the ground for something to write about it. This opens the right eyes, and if they like what they see they recommend it to their followers
Note: in the time since I’ve been writing this post, Jon’s traffic has jumped to 2373. Someone really pushed some buttons!
blogging, Twestival