This post was guest blogged by Alan Johnson, who is hosting a $1,000 contest at The Rating Blog.
On a slightly different note compared to my previous guest post, “What Bloggers Can Learn From Donald Trumpâ€, let’s see what Mr. Trump has done wrong and where you shouldn’t follow his example as a blogger.
1 – His Hairstyle
What on Earth does his haircut have to do with blogging? Let’s analyze it for a moment, shall we? What does his hairstyle tell you?
First of all, as any person with common sense will admit, it’s just doesn’t look right. If the same thing applies to your blog’s design then you are doing something wrong. Did his hairstyle keep him from being successful? Of course not, but it hasn’t helped either (he really could have done without this “branding†aspect). Sure, people can tell you that a lot of successful bloggers have started out with a bad design, but that doesn’t make it a good approach and, rest assured, if they were to start over again, they would invest in a decent design as well (let’s face it, a lot of talented designers are working for more than affordable rates these days, so that anyone can afford to have a blog designed in good taste).
Ok, so bloggers should not treat their design like Donald Trump treats his haircut, they should treat this aspect with the attention it deserves. But aside from being just plain awful, what other message does it communicate?
His comb-over also tells us that he is trying to hide the fact that he is balding, he is trying to hide the fact that he isn’t perfect, the fact that he is only human. Never make that mistake as a blogger. No, you are not perfect and trying to give the impression that you could never do anything wrong simply makes you look foolish, always admit that even you can make mistakes.
2 – The Martha Stewart Drama
Donald Trump blamed Martha Stewart for the decline of his series, due to the fact that Apprentice 4 was airing the very next day after Martha’s version of The Apprentice. He believed that it was the main reason for his decline and that was simply not a fair approach, since problems have started even before Martha Stewart’s version made its appearance.
Never make this mistake as a blogger, never blame others for your failures. All entrepreneurs fail at some point, there is nothing wrong with that, as failure is an important part of success, as long as, unlike Mr. Trump, you admit your mistakes and learn from them.
3 – His Razzie Award
He has received the Razzie Award for “worst supporting actor†as a result of his minor appearance in “Ghosts Can’t Do It†(1990). While it’s not something which has done that much damage, he most likely regrets the decision of associating his image with that movie at this point.
The lesson? Be careful what kind of projects you associate your image with. Sure, as a blogger, every project of yours automatically receives an important jumpstart, but launching flop after flop will gradually ruin everything for you. Also, be selective when promoting a product as an affiliate. Always ask yourself if it provides value to your visitors since, if it doesn’t, even with the commissions you will be earning, such an approach will do far more harm than good in the long run.
As strange as it may have sounded initially, Donald Trump’s haircut, the Martha Stewart incident and his Razzie Award actually relate to blogging. Even billionaires can make mistakes, don’t follow their examples in such cases and learn from their experience instead.