Why Donald Trump has a Blog That Sucks
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I really tried to be a fan of the Trump Blog, I mean I really did but I have just removed his feed from RSS reader. It is a shame too, I really admire Trump as a business person, I loved a few of his books like,
andThey are great books and belong on the shelf of any would be business owner along with many of his other books. I enjoyed a few seasons of hit TV show The Apprentice but have not watched the last two seasons, I have just been too busy.
Trump is an arrogant jerk at times, however, I do believe he really wants you and me and anyone that wants to have it all, to take the shot and is happy when someone makes it. He is a guy that ticks me off at times but he is also one of my real heroes. So why do I say his blog sucks? Simply because it SUCKS!
The question then is why does it suck and what can others learn so that they don't make their blog suck too. There are several reasons his blog blows, here are the big ones.
1. The posts are devoid of any real "voice". They are written by MBAs in "proper English", probably each post is labored over for hours, debated around a table and then finally approved for publication. While some 17 year old blogger is makeing 10K a month with a few crappy sites and blogs, Trumps folks are debating syntax and sentence structure of one line in a post that no one will actually read anyway.
2. 99 times out of 100 every post on the Trump is nothing but a big blantant sales pitch for his business school. Look people don't mind being sold to a bit on a blog some of that is expected but people read blogs for opinions, unique commentary and ideas. It is ok to do some selling in a blog but you have to blend it with something unique and different. When blended with the first reason, well it just gets worse.
3. Trump does not post enough, most of the posts are by his team. That is not all bad, Ben Fitts and Mark Barrera both post here at times, but when they do they do with the voice that is lacking on Trumps Blog. Besides Ben, Mark and I are not big names like Donald. People read this blog to learn about tech and search marketing, they read Trumps to HEAR TRUMP and they seldom do. In fact on the few occasions when Trump himself posts, it is actually pretty good, and seldom a sales pitch. Like this post on Experience vs. Education.
There is a lot to learn here as more and more CEOs, Top Executives and Company Presidents, etc. start blogging. There is such a tendency to have a marketing person ghost write their posts or for them to write what I call brochureology. Most of these blogs are written like typical sales copy or academic articles with no feeling, no true voice, no passion and that makes them suck and honestly not worth producing.
So how do you make your blog rock? In the words of my friend and client Val Riazanov, "you are what you are, be what you are". Be yourself! That is the key, if you knew me personally, knew what I sound like when I talk you would be able to hear my voice when you read my posts, I simply write like I talk. That is the key to good blogging, be original and write with you own voice. I don't care if you are some bigwig, some superstar even to the magnitude of Trump, if you are going to blog, do it right, write your own stuff and write it in your personal voice.
I just love the morons (yes if you spell check my blog you are a moron), that insist on critiquing my spelling on my blog! They write like an English teacher but no one ever reads it! Want to see a great example by a rookie blogger, a guy that "got it" the day I set up his blog for him, check out British Entrepreneur Neil Franklin's Blog. Neil is very successful, has a lot of things "done for him" and has plenty of employees. I have worked with him to get him up to speed with his blogging but every post is his post in his words. When I read it I can "hear him" refined British accent and all.
That is the key to be a good blogger, blog, don't write prose or sales copy or brochure style text. Let people hear you and let them feel who you really are.
Donald Trump has a lot of things that you would do well to emulate, but his blog is not one of them. Keep that in mind as you build and post to your blog, the sad thing is Trump's blog does not have to suck, he could kill off his MBA poster, post himself twice a week and it would have a lot more and far more loyal readers.
~ Jack Spirko
Technorati Tags: donald trump, trump blog, blogging, blog, blog voice, sales, marketing, seo, sem, search marketing
P.S. - I actually think Donald Trump has a pretty good blog, despite the issues pointed out in this article. To be fair I have since posted an article about the positives and the improvements at the Trump Blog. That post is called, - Why Donald Trump Has a Great Blog that is Getting Even Better
Popularity: 24% [?]
Josef Katz said,
May 1, 2007 @ 4:23 pm
Jack,
Sometimes it hurts to hear the truth about your company’s blog but I look at this as an opportunity for change. I am not sure how long you have been reading our blog but we have been making changes and trying to make it better. When I started with Trump University I shared a few of the same comments you pointed out. I am sure you understand that it sometimes takes time to make changes in larger organizations. I have posted a few guest blogs and would be interested in your feedback on those items. If you would like to discuss the blog in more detail feel free to contact me off line and we can discuss. I would love to win you back as an RSS subscriber.
Thanks for your input.
Josef Katz
www.trumpuniversity.com
Barry Lenson said,
May 14, 2007 @ 9:37 am
Good morning,
I am the editor of the Donald Trump Blog. I am also a business journalist with 25 years of experience in the profession. I have written more than a dozen books and literally thousands of articles.
Just so I understand the full scope of your wisdom, you are saying (among other things) that if I lowered our editorial standards so that our content became as shoddy as what you have on your blog, that would be an improvement?
There is a word for that kind of reasoning; it is, “delusional.”
People who can’t write often construct complex defenses to shield their egos from people who can. It is just one of those things that good editors and writers learn to live with.
By the way, our readership has grown exponentially in the last year. So we clearly do not “suck.” In fact, not a single person in our organization, from Mr. Trump down, does anything that sucks. I would never go out their and say that anyone else’s content does. But clearly you have no problem doing so.
Best regards,
Barry Lenson
Executive Editor, Trump University
jspirko said,
May 15, 2007 @ 9:55 am
Gentleman
Let me first say I am honored that you both took time to comment in my blog and I will take the time to reply to each of you individually. Both of you certainly deserve to be answered.
First to Mr. Katz,
I would like to thank you for being open to the criticism I directed at your blog. My intention was never to slam Mr. Trump (whom I admire greatly) or the authors on your blog. Clearly you understood this and heard my “voice” in my writing. You see the reality is this post was never, at least directly about Donald Trump, his staff or even the Trump Blog.
It was more about all large corporations who are making the leap into blogging with out the full understanding of what today’s blog readers expect. If I had pointed to let’s say a lesser known figure making this same mistake (and there are plenty of them) the effect would have been far smaller then pointing to someone like Mr. Trump.
In essence I pointed to Mr. Trump’s Blog because he is one of the people I admire most and is most well known person that I know of who is making the mistakes I pointed out.
On your invitation to speak off line about this I am more then happy to. One issue I don’t know how to get in touch with you. If you could provide me a means to contact you I will do so. You can email me at jack@marketingice.com
Now on to Mr. Lenson,
Clearly you did not understand my criticism at the level that Mr. Katz did. I am assuming by your titles that perhaps you report to Mr. Katz on some level. That may be inaccurate but one way or another you may want to discuss this with him as I believe he did in fact understand what I was trying to say. In any event I will attempt to clarify for you the reality of what I meant in the above post. Let me try to do so by responding directly to a few of your points.
First you stated - “I am also a business journalist with 25 years of experience in the profession. I have written more than a dozen books and literally thousands of articles”.
See that is exactly my point your understanding of what makes good writing is based on your EXCEPTIONAL understanding of how to write books, articles and other types of commercially published hard copy. In other words the true concept of “Blogging” is foreign to you. People DO NOT read blogs to hear polished content, proper syntax and well crafted prose.
There is nothing wrong with those things! And having them does not make a blog bad nor does the lack of them automatically make a blog low quality either. What I am pointing out is that your staff seems to believe that simply by “writing well” that your blog is effective.
I am not even saying your blog is not effective I am saying it sucks because it DOES NOT realize its’ full potential. Because it lacks voice, because it lacks emotion and because Mr. Trump himself does not post often enough.
Second you stated – “Just so I understand the full scope of your wisdom, you are saying (among other things) that if I lowered our editorial standards so that our content became as shoddy as what you have on your blog, that would be an improvement”?
No that is not what I am saying. What I am saying is if you told stories, spoke from the heart, gave some controversial opinions and by and large use the same “voice” you spoke with that your blog would improve. Now I never claimed to be a great writer but I am a pretty damn good blogger. My point is you can be BOTH or ONE or the OTHER but being a great writer will not mean that you are also even a good blogger.
People read blogs to get away from traditional media, they want direct honest opinions. They want to see something a Magazine, News Paper or TV News would never publish. When it comes to something the size of an institution with the Trump name they really want to FEEL connected with the people behind it.
Much (not all), of your writing on the blog is devoid of this connection, this voice. Now if you do it with college level English or my personal poor skills as a writer doesn’t matter in the blogoshpere, it is getting that opinion and true voice into your publishing that is the most important skill a blogger can develop.
Third you said – “In fact, not a single person in our organization, from Mr. Trump down, does anything that sucks”.
See this is your problem! First of all this is a blatant lie, no organization of any size is devoid of some things and decisions that “suck”. Your statement is typical of a corporate person that must defend the internal decisions he and his fellow employees make no matter the reality.
You know who would say parts of his organization suck? Donald Trump would! When something sucks Mr. Trump says it sucks that is WHY PEOPLE BOTH LOVE AND HATE HIM. It is certainly what his fans love about him. Mr. Trump is always honest with people about the way he thinks, right or wrong, agree or disagree you have to respect him. Not for his money and power, Rosie O’Donnell has power and money (I don’t respect her nor does Trump), he is respected because you ALWAYS KNOW WHERE HE STANDS.
What I get from most of the postings done by anyone but Trump is sales pitch or polished brochure text devoid of PASSION and FEELING. I can get that anywhere!
Fourth You Said – “I would never go out there and say that anyone else’s content does. But clearly you have no problem doing so”.
No I don’t! That is because I am a BLOGGER not a WRITER at least when I blog that is the case. Believe it or not I am actually “decent” as a writer when I want to be, when I take the time to edit and really think about my writing. That just is not how I blog. I blog by saying what I think or feel at the moment, the same way I would talk to you over a beer.
Next back to your boss, Mr. Trump, he will and does say someone or something sucks. Perhaps the words are different but the message is the same! For your review I present from your own blog the following post by “The Donald” On Rosie O’Donnell
http://www.trumpuniversity.com/connect/newsletters/itt/issue63.cfm
Calling someone a loser and saying they always were a looser is far more direct and far more negative then saying one thing a person does sucks. Trump is honest, direct and to the point, he blogs with emotion and he does not try to sell his courses in most of his posts. He builds a relationship with his reader and his reader feels that they know him as a man better. In short when he takes the time Trump himself is a master blogger.
So you have two ways to improve the blog. Blog like your boss does or get him to blog more.
I have four or five tests you could run and would be happy to tell you how to measure the results that would prove what I say to be true. I know how to market and sell online far better then most people. That is my true skill and I know how to reach across a cold screen and resonate with my readers so they KNOW WHO I AM.
That is blogging. Mr. Lenson, I have no doubt you are a better writer then I am, nor do I doubt that to be the case for most of your staff. Yet writing is ONLY ONE part of the over all skill of blogging. I write sufficiently to communicate; the rest is just about informing people with real voice. That is the part your blog needs work on and again I was trying to other CEOs and Executives by pointing out the mistakes made by an organization I actually admire a great deal.
You know with an open mind it just might be the case that you can indeed learn something from me.
The biggest thing I can teach you about online marketing if you want to learn is that what I think and what you think both are meaningless. Everything you do online can be measured based on goals and or metrics.
My goal with this post was to get members of Trump’s organization to engage me, so you tell me how well that worked out,
Jack Spirko
Inside the Mind of an Internet Marketer said,
May 16, 2007 @ 8:30 am
Is Donald Trump’s Blog Failing?…
My friend and business partner, Jack Spirko, recently wrote a post that was saying that Donald Trumps blog sucks. It is an interesting post that has stirred up some debate between a few members of Trump University and Jack.Basically, Jack……
Barry Lenson said,
May 16, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
Mr. Spirko,
Your reply is - got to admit it - well written.
Just let me make two quick comments, then we both have more important things to do I am sure.
First you say, “You know with an open mind it just might be the case that you can indeed learn something from me.”
I submit that the best way to get people to have an open mind is to not start out by saying that their work “sucks” and that they should be fired. I don’t think that opens a whole lot of minds, do you?
Second, you say that “The biggest thing I can teach you about online marketing if you want to learn is that what I think and what you think both are meaningless. Everything you do online can be measured based on goals and or metrics.”
So from that, it is pretty clear that The Trump Blog does not suck, per your own definition of what sucking means - a failure to achieve desired metrics and goals.
I’ll sign off now,
Barry Lenson
Gene Carbonell said,
May 16, 2007 @ 2:39 pm
Jack, I just loved the way you snookered Barry Lenson. I’m new to blogging and this really opened my eyes. My blog will go live soon and now it will go with a slightly different perspective and expectation.
Be well,
Gene Carbonell
jspirko said,
May 16, 2007 @ 9:51 pm
Mr. Lenson,
First let me say thank you for your compliment to my response. You are clearly a gentleman to be able to do that in this situation. Rest assured you have a TON of my respect at this point.
Now let me respond to your two points you sure as heck are entitled to my response once again and again I thank you for commenting on my blog.
First Point you said - “I submit that the best way to get people to have an open mind is to not start out by saying that their work “sucks” and that they should be fired. I don’t think that opens a whole lot of minds, do you”?
Actually I have found the opposite to be true, well, mostly. I did read my post over and get how you could have gotten that I said you should be fired out of it, that was not my intention but I do get how you could see it that way. Yes I would be PO’d if I were you and read it that way.
However, when it comes to being willing to tell someone something sucks I have closed many deals simply by doing that. I know it may seem counter to conventional wisdom but a lot of VP’s, CEOs, etc are absolutely sick and tired of “yes men” I am a marketer first and foremost so when I consult either by invitation or via blogging I am brutally honest and have found for every person I tick off I make 5 into life long partners and clients and that is a ratio I am happy to keep.
Next on this point, let me ask you in all honesty if I posted a POSITIVE post about your blog would you be in discussion with me now, would Mr. Katz? You get people’s attention by pointing to problems at least when they are honestly a problem. In short I would like to work with you or your company some day and I could have called you, emailed you and praised you and 99% odds are that I would be still talking to myself. My way may seem abrasive but it does work.
Second Point and this is WAY MORE IMPORTANT then my first response. You said - “So from that, it is pretty clear that The Trump Blog does not suck, per your own definition of what sucking means - a failure to achieve desired metrics and goals.”
OK I am going to try to be a good teacher here by taking this into your world and putting it in concepts that make perfect sense to you. Let us say that you went to talk to a perspective business partner and were considering investing in or buying his business. Say he said look at our numbers our Gross Sales and Gross Margin have both grown for 12 quarters so you have to admit we are a success. Say he wanted you to make your decision ONLY with that information.
You would know something STINKS. First you would want to know Net Profit (or if any net profit actually existed). You would also want to know the growth trend, sure it went up for 12 quarters but is the growth flattening, rising or constant? You would want to know what other companies were doing in the same niche, what their margins were, growth was and more right?
Well, that is how I would look at your Blog and at T.U. as a whole. I don’t care that your subscriber number is rising, I really don’t, of course it is! You have the Trump name, I want to know how well you are maximizing it. So my HARD QUESTIONS in a board room to you and the total staff would be,
1. What percentage of new visitors to the site show up every day and how many subscribe?
2. Is that trend going up or down or is it flat and why? I mean I don’t give a crap that he number is going up, of course it is, subs always go up. What is your conversion ratio and what trend is it on? That matters.
3. What is your 30, 60, 120 and 365 day retention ratios?
4. What percentage of subscribers buy a course and what is your reorder rate and what trend are they on?
5. What is your VPV? (value per visitor) what trend is it on?
6. What is your ARPU (average revenue per user) what trend is it on?
7. Where is your traffic coming from other then direct requests and is it growing and at what rate?
8. Why do you seek rss subscribers, news letter subscribers but not email subscribers for notifications of each new post when only 12% of blog readers currently use RSS? How do you explain your lack of attention to this detail? What are you doing to improve subscriptions over all?
9. What percentage of users comment? Further how often does the staff answer comments and what effect does that have overall on interaction and comment rates?
10. What is your bounce rate on your main blog and your individual pages? Which pages have the highest and lowest bounce rates and why is that the case?
11. Are you testing and split testing to improve all the above metrics? If not, why not?
Let me honestly ask you how well could you answer those questions if Donald himself asked them in a board room scenario? Would you really want to stare down the barrel of those questions?
When I question the effectiveness of your blog that is how I am judging it.
Again this is not personal just how I view the cold hard METRICS of the web. And I know your numbers are not as good as they should be with the name you have based on the simple rules you are not currently aware you are breaking.
Again I hope this is actually helpful and I offer my further insight to you or Mr. Katz, just tell me how to get in touch with either of you off line,
Jack Spirko
Josef Katz said,
May 17, 2007 @ 11:41 am
Jack,
Glad to see everyone is getting along now… drop me an email at (email removed) and let me know a good time to reach out to you. I will also try your email address from above.
Josef
jspirko said,
May 17, 2007 @ 8:02 pm
Josef,
Sent you an email with my contact info and some times that are open for me. To help you avoid harassment I edited out your email address now that I have it.
Jack
Why Donald Trump Has a Great Blog that is Getting Even Better - ComTech News said,
May 21, 2007 @ 10:40 am
[…] Why Donald Trump Has a Great Blog that is Getting Even Better Posted in Telecommunications by jspirko on May 21st, 2007 Ok this may seem a bit odd given I just said Donald Trump's Blog sucked a few days ago. The reality though was my post was never a slam on Trump or even his blog. It was simply to help my readers understand what is an emerging trend in blogging - large companies jumping into blogging and then trying to blog in the same manner that they write content for traditional marketing. […]
Luis Galarza Marketing Strategies said,
April 17, 2008 @ 1:04 pm
I completely agree with your post, many business and marketing experts have blogs that completely suck. Most of them have excellent information products, but lack the social skill of a real blogger. What’s worst is that their blogs don’t even provide any type of useful information, that can give a preview of what a reader can learn from any of paid content like books, videos, seminars, etc.
Yours truly,
Luis Galarza,
Internet Marketing For The Poor