Digging Below The Surface Of Zen Habits

10,000 subscribers in 120 days is a vertical take-off in the blogging world. The rise to fame of Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits is extraordinary. Writing for Lifehack, guesting on Copyblogger - how does someone manage a meteoric rise like that?

A recent post for Copyblogger suggested it is all about going bold - and a reply in the comments section reiterated that it is only to do with writing quality articles. Of course, it’s not just that - it’s about boldness of a different sort.

1. Have An Edge
Sorry to start with this one - it’s a botheration, but it has to be acknowledged.

Leo Babauta’s got an edge and, according to Freelance Switch, it goes something like this:

Leo Babauta has been a reporter, editor, speech writer and freelance writer for the last 17 years.

The man writes, and he writes well. He has 17 years of experience to draw on, and it shows. The good news is that he is extremely generous with his copywriting tips.

His edge is one of those secrets Leo likes to keep under wraps, and it is a great kindness that he does so, because the message he wants to present is: “Anyone can do this!”

It could be argued that it has taken him 17 years to attain his 10,000 subscribers.

2. Join The Right Niche
GTD/Productivity is a well-loved niche. It is broad and spacious, and peopled by generous-hearted individuals who are more than happy to share their webspace. Absolutely any subject can be tackled, from blogging to parenting to efficiency of any kind - a total field day for Blog Carnival choices. It takes chutzpah to dive into the Productivity niche because it is so popular - but it is this very popularity that has carried Zen Habits aloft. Internet users simply can’t get enough of Productivity and Positivity. But you would disappear under a blizzard of whitespace if your writing didn’t give you an edge.

And, don’t just join any five-and-dime blog circle - join one with a touch of the elite about it.

3. Be Prolific
Leo spent the first sixty days cramming Zen Habits with pillar articles, so that anybody who came upon his site would be faced with an embarrassment of readable articles. An article is produced every day - an average of two per day, to begin with - and not just a scattering of words, either, many of these are absolute humdingers. Additionally, there is barely an ounce of fluff - a glance through the Archives proves it to be wall-to-wall resourceful.

As well as his own website, Leo writes lengthy articles on several other high-subscriber sites: Dumb Little Man, Freelance Switch, LifeHack, Web Worker Daily - and again, these are not short, throwaway items - which brings us to the next point:

4. You’ve Got To Give Away To Get Back
It takes a great deal of boldness to give away your best stuff. A move that pushed Leo Babauta into the spotlight was writing Firefox OS - Why My Hard Drive And Software Are Obsolete for LifeHack. It netted 2011 diggs, and contributed to doubling Zen Habits subscribers from 2500 to 5000 - it was like turning on the rocket-boosters. Any posting done on neighbouring sites is going to get your own blog noticed, and Leo does not short-change any site he writes for.

Dumb Little Man is open to anyone to contribute - but you have to release your material to them. It takes boldness to do that - but with 70,000 subscribers, you would be a fool not to give it a go. (See Jay’s comment)

5. Push Yourself Forward
Leo states: “I wrote to other bloggers (like Brian Clark) and suggested that we collaborate.” It’s the like Brian Clark that catches the eye. When a blog already has 15,000 subscribers, they are barely going to notice a request to collaborate - not unless the email is compelling, and the writer has an edge: There are not many people who are going to ignore the experience of 17 years of freelancing. Add to that the growing list of accolades already achieved and it’s “welcome to the fast-track”. All the same, it takes a certain boldness to throw caution to the wind and compose an email to the big hitters, offering your services.

Along with pushing yourself forward is the notion of calling out the failings of a much-loved productivity genre and setting up your own brand - now there’s boldness for you!

Push yourself forward by getting noticed early - but that has more to do with this next point.

6. Lay The Groundwork
“Patience, Luke.” (Did Obi Wan ever say that?)

Leo has been a commenter on Lifehacker since June 2006. He regularly commented on a variety of subjects - and by January 2007, when he launched Zen Habits he began boldly to link to articles on his own site. By March 20, 2007 - just 60 days after Zen Habits was launched, Leo’s Productivity Interviews Series gets highlighted. Lifehacker makes it easy to trace someone’s commenting, it is highly likely that Leo has been doing the same thing throughout the Productivity niche.

7. Be Humble, Genial, Affable, and Amiable.
Leo is a wonderful example of an interactive blogger. He’s a community man. Many of the major players knock off a one or two word reply to a handful of their commenters. Not Leo - he makes personal replies, pouring out his appreciation, requesting further details, thanking them for adding to the conversation. Even when commenters are anonymous and gruff, Leo finds something to compliment, a positive message to glean.

He is also remarkably inclusive - some of his most popular posts are the Let’s-Do-This-Together type challenges, like How To Make Exercise A Daily Habit (With A May Challenge).

Oh, and Link BIG!

Thankfully, stratospheric websites are few and far between - it saves the vast majority of us from getting disheartened. In truth, anyone could rise like a rocket in the Zen Habits way, but as can be seen, it takes boldness, hard work in the writing department, and a healthy edge.