This guest post is by Ankesh Kothari of SuccessNexus.com.
Psychologist Antonius Cillessen of the University of Connecticut wondered how kids became popular. So he started researching social behaviors and peer relations of early adolescent kids in American schools. And he found something very interesting.
He found that every school had a bunch of very friendly kids who are socially accepted and liked by everyone. But they are never considered popular.
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The kids who are considered popular are often just as friendly as these universally liked kids, but with one difference. The popular kids draw a boundary around themselves, and exclude a few "outcasts" from their circle.
Professor Antonius found that you can't become popular unless you learn to exclude. He stumbled onto a truth that Chinese philosopher Confucius had described years earlier:
"Build small community and thousands will want to join." – Confucius
It's a truth high-end clubs have realized too. The harsher they are in excluding people from entering their premises, the more popular they get. Facebook grew when Friendster and other social sites didn't. Why? because of their initial exclusivity—they only allowed folks with a .edu email address to sign up.
Apple. Rolex. Rivendell bikes. All of them are insanely popular because they focus on only one type of an audience and exclude others.
If you want to make your blog popular, you too have to learn to exclude. You shouldn't cater to everyone. Only by creating exclusivity can you get the crowds to clamor for what you offer.
Creating exclusivity
- Decide who your ideal reader is. What is their one characteristic that you value above everything else? What are their peculiarities. What do they love? What do they hate? (Or if not hate, what are they indifferent towards?)
- Draw a boundary around...
