When you’re caught up in the daily blog writing whirlwind and focused on churning out fresh content, it is hard to see the impact or potential impact your words might have. Yet a breed of outspoken bloggers from all parts of the political landscape have proved that messages with passion and conviction will eventually find an audience. Andrew Breitbart, who was died last week, was one such blogger who turned his opinions into a media empire.
Love or loathe Breitbart’s methods and message, it cannot be argued that the 43-year-old former Huffington Post researcher had guts. Breitbart’s blogging star exploded with the famous whistle-blowing exposés on Shirley Sharrod and Andrew Weiner. But the journalist and publisher saw the power of blogging and blog marketing long before many of his contemporaries. In his memoir/manifesto Righteous Indignation, Breitbart describes himself as “reborn” after tirelessly researching the Internet in 1994. He then set out on a lifelong mission to turn the platform into a stage for his own beliefs and brand. After blogging for highly-read sites like the Drudge Report, he launched his own blogging empire which includes Breitbart.com, BigHollywood.com, BigGovernment.com, BigJournalism.com and BigPeace.com. Breitbart’s brand was built on his raging, loud and unbridled persona that most recently could be seen in a YouTube video where he screamed at OCCUPY protesters “stop raping people.”
While many (this blogger included) found his theatrics to be over-the-top, misguided and bombastic, his popularity can’t be disputed. His book was a No. 1 bestseller and is currently skyrocketing once again on Amazon.com, while the blogging conglomerate he owned and operated included some of the Internet’s most-visited conservative websites.
What normal blogging for business schmos like you and I can take away from the life and career of Andrew Breitbart is persistence. When it comes to blogging, every day counts. Small companies and brands only have a limited time to get their message across, and capturing the interest of fickle blog readers is tricky at best. Breitbart’s impressive content output, coupled with a strong narrative, is an example of how to keep audiences continuously on their toes and coming back to your blog.
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