You’ll often find that the best creators of content are also some of the most voracious consumers of content.
Film directors have often seen hundreds and likely thousands of movies. They are usually obsessed with watching movies and rewatching movies and sometimes to excessive amounts. They’re looking to learn every little detail about movies. They’re not just watching the hit movies, either. They’re watching the obscure ones even if just for curiosity or to learn what not to do.
It’s the same with authors. They’re often voracious readers. they read all kinds of books. Sometimes they have to in order to research a topic they’re writing on. Sometimes it’s just for fun. Most of the time, though, it’s probably just curiosity. They love reading and that’s a natural partner to the love of writing.
It’s probably no coincidence that my lifelong passion for reading led me into the blogging world. I was never really that into writing until after college, but throughout my early years I was usually reading some kind of book. I remember in college that I would usually have some big novel or biography on my nightstand. Friends would make comments like, “You’re reading something that isn’t for a class?”
The more you consume, the more you learn about the world. As far as blogging, that helps you to expand your knowledge, which bleeds into your writing. It also expands you as a person and your perspective on the world. And the more you consume, the more unique your perspective becomes.
Those are appealing to readers.
Let’s look at a few reasons why variety is important in your reading, at least when it comes to your blogging…
1. Analogies
For several years I was really into music biographies. Rock stars, country singers, etc. I loved all those stories. They all had similar themes, but they also were all unique. And one thing that was crazy to me was how similar the stories were to entrepreneurship stories.
Starting out with nothing. Collaborating with a partner. Working for years with little to show for it until you finally find a breakthrough into the world you’ve been dreaming of your entire life.
The more you read the more you learn how many things in the world are similar or the same. This can lead to great and unique analogies for blogging.
In business blogging, I’ve been able to use all kinds of analogies that connect the music world to the business world. For blogging, I often compare the process to that of songwriting.
Not many other bloggers make that connection.
2. Repetitive History
Another genre of reading is history. Biographies are examples. Really old biographies are better examples. Just history in general. The more you read about history the more you learn that many aspects of life are cyclical versus linear. Things repeat themselves. Folks that lived 160 years ago had many of the same experiences that we have today.
The more you see this the better you become with predicting the future. You can use that to your advantage in blogging. Obviously you don’t want to be spouting off all kinds of predictions, but if you pay attention you can see where we are in the cycle of something and change your blogging strategy or make a few predictions that make your content really stand out.
3. Vocabulary
Reading is a great way to expand your vocabulary. Not just in the sense that you learn complex and impressive words. That will come. But what you’ll actually find to be really useful is how all kinds of people use language in different ways.
The more you know about how people write, read and communicate, the better you’re able to connect with them. And in blogging, as with all content creation, this is critical for success.
Final Thought
Some of the greatest creators are some of the greatest consumers. They take a learning mindset to their craft. They want to know what others are doing and what others have done in previous generations. They want to learn as much as they can so they can pick and choose the strategies they feel they can do the best and take further in terms of innovation.
Do you want to be a better blogger? Read a lot and read a lot of variety.