User blog:AYET/Successful blogs are like successful movies...

The making of a successful (Wikia) blog is pretty much the same as the making of a successful (Hollywood) movie. At least that much is true in my personal opinion. Those who know me know that I am one of the hardcore blogging users in here. Most of my wikia time were spent on blogs, I don't do article contributions and seldom enters chat (nothing personal, just I usually find myself not fitting into the topics discussed in the chat). Having done a number of blogs of my own over the past 2 months plus, I am finding similarities between producing a blog and a movie as well as the factors which contributes to the success of a blog.

Generally speaking, I have found blogs that were successful were caused by one (or more) of the following factors:
 * Author
 * Content
 * Timing

1) Author of blog (= producer / director of movie)

The popularity of the author indirectly affects the reception of their blog, much similar to a famous producer / director indirectly affects the reception of their movie. Authors who are very popular with the community can easily attract a good number of editors and comment counts, hence contributing to the success of their blogs, a few examples (but not limited to) like MDM, Neo and LPK. Likewise, a famous producer / director's name is enough to generate an interest to the viewers into the movie, examples like Spielberg, Lucas, Nolan, Bruckheimer, Cameron, etc.

2) Content of blog (= storyline of movie)

A critical factor for a successful blog, the content must be able to generate enough interest in the reader to comment on the subject. This is similar to a movie's storyline contributing to its success. With so many blogs in this wikia discussing almost everything and anything related to OP, the challenge for people nowadays (including me) is to either find a fresh new idea or a different approach to a used topic.

Usually one dwells into their creativity mind when looking for fresh new ideas to blog about. I have been fortunate to be able to come up with a few fresh idea blogs which were quite well accepted by the community, like for an example the one which I find my similarities with the Soul King. This aspect can be compared to producing a movie that has a fresh new storyline.

Being innovative is key to find a different approach to a used topic. To ease explanation on this part, I relate to an example from the movie industry. I am sure many of you already know there has been a lot of Batman themed movies produced in the past, so much so its becoming a cliché on its own. But what Chris Nolan did was exploring the same (Batman) theme but using a different view on the superhero. Though the movie still has the same theme but why is Nolan's Batman so well accept by current moviegoers? Adding the different approach into a used topic was what Nolan did and he did it with successful results. See what I mean?

Neo once told me of her success with one of her blogs, which were: I am very much in agreement of the points that Neo stated and those were points worth bearing in mind when one makes a blog and in a way her points are also applicable to producing movies as well
 * an easy question that concerns everyone
 * it sparks people's curiosity
 * people are emotionally attached to the outcome
 * the simple and fool-proof instructions of what to do

3) Timing

By Timing I mean the release time, which is essential for both blog and movie. A poorly timed release of a blog will likely cause it to be ignored or missed or less emphasis received and the same can be said about movies. One of the good timing for release is when there are not much blogs being active. Publishing a blog during that time easily gets attention from readers due to the less of blogs active concurrently. The equivalent for the movies is the same, a good movie released when no others are active ensures a well response from public as no competition were present. Not to say that a good blog released during a fiesta of blogs will mean a certain doom but I mean its more impactful if you can spot an empty period void of blogs for the release timing.

One of the bad timings is when a certain event is happening. I personally observed during the period of the chat mod issue, mostly blog responses are poor. The equivalent for the movies is when a movie is release during a a certain nation state issue like war or mass scale disease.

Another not-so-good timing that I personally observed is on Wednesdays - Fridays every week, when a new chapter of our favorite manga is release. Unless you are doing a chapter review or something relating to the recent release, other kinds of blogs are less likely (not totally doomed!) to be successful due to the lot of attentions focus on the content of recent chapter release.

Tips from a regular chapter/episode reviewer: "You are likelier to get comments on a review blog of the latest chapter if you are the first person reviewing about it"

And there you have it, my review of the likely factors which affects the success of a blog in this wikia here and somehow the similarities I find that I can relate to those of making a successful movie. I hope this has been an interesting and entertaining read. Feel free to comment your thoughts if you have any. If you disagree on any of the contents, please go easy on the flaming and I would appreciate some constructive criticism regarding your disagreement.

The feeling of seeing your blog turning into a successful one is exactly the same as the makers feel when their movie becomes successful - A MILLION BUCKS!