Talking Blogging in Indonesia: Why Content is Still King

It's content, folks.

At IDblognetwork’s blogger event, aka Kopdar Blogger Nusantara, I just spoke with a group of enthusiastic Indonesian bloggers on how our Asia tech blog has grown over the last couple of months.

There were no earth shattering secrets, because I suppose most people already know that good content is what really makes the web tick. If you have good content, distribution is not really a problem. I will call my session a gentle reminder that content is (still) king.

I have broken down my sharing session into three main, and somewhat broad, points: (1) Content, (2) Differentiation, (3) Distribution. I crafted it that way since there are so many different kinds of bloggers in attendance — fashion, food, tech, etc — and there would be no way that I could cover each specific genre in one session. (Nor would I want to!)

I wanted to prompt them to think through what they’ve done with their respective blogs so far and whether or not they have really done it right. Here’s a quick run down on what was shared and discussed:

Content: Bloggers usually blog about things they are passionate about. And most folks start their “blogging career” by sharing what happened in their life or random things that they find interesting. While that may be okay for a casual blog, it may not be okay if you’re trying to build mindshare on certain verticals, say tech in Asia, fashion, or Indonesian food. It depends on your goals. One of the audiences shared that she has been blogging about chemistry and other personal stuff on her blog and also said that Adsense ads aren’t showing up which really frustrates her. From what she described, her blog may be a little too diverse and perhaps that is why Adsense isn’t able to reflect ads to match the genre of her blog.

Differentiation: Differentiating from blog to blog in the same genre can be tough, but it is still possible. Because blogs have gained a more respect in recent years, more readers are expecting good writing from them. Generally speaking, a blog’s writing may not be as polished as CNN or the WSJ. But articles must at least read smoothly, and with a distinct voice. Bloggers should also learn from how journalists work. That is, to interview and investigate to get facts right in a way that’s ethical. On top of that, bloggers can still be free to voice their opinion, which in a way sets them apart from traditional ‘straight-news’ reporting.

Distribution: I quickly skipped through link sharing on Twitter and Facebook and dived straight into building interactions on the web. I shared that most readers enjoy a quick chat or two on Twitter and Facebook. And if you can build a friendly persona behind the blog, chances are, readers will return and spread good words about you. I also got some native Indonesian bloggers to share how they spread their content. One of them echoed that writing in a friendly manner helps a lot in Indonesia. Another blogger says that writing what’s trendy at the moment brings high traffic.

Me on stage. Credit @kukuhtw on Twitter

All this brings us right back to content. I wrapped up with a food metaphor (everyone loves food metaphors, ask Forrest Gump) comparing a blog to a restaurant, where food is like the content. If the food is bad, the customer will be unlikely to visit again. So no matter how hard you market your blog, traffic will not build up if the content sucks.

We’re not a super high-traffic blog, but we’re going alright. Traffic metrics are all well and good, but numbers aren’t nearly as good a motivator as positive words from readers who tell us that they like our stuff. Add to that some occasional kind words from industry folks like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and also investors and founders — all this is great fuel to keep us going. Our team spans borders and our workflow is unconventional, but Asian tech is a fascinating space to watch right now, and we’re lovin’ every minute of it!