The 80 20 rule states that 80% of results come from only 20% of work or effort. This rule has been observed by many researchers in various situations. Here are some examples to illustrate this rule:
- 80 percent of revenue of a company is made by only 20 percent of workers
- 80 percent of software bugs come from only 20 percent of the code
- only 20 percent of the population in a country enjoys 80 percent of its wealth
While not everyone would agree on the percentages, the important thing to learn from this rule is that most things in life are not distributed evenly. That is to say, the ratio is never 1 to 1. For 1 unit of input you will not get 1 unit of output.
Keeping the 80 20 rule in mind is important for your success. You have to identify the most important things that are key to your success and then set your focus on them. Let’s apply this rule to blogging. To maintain a successful blog you have to do a number of activities. These activities include creating content, designing your blog’s layout, socializing, replying to user comments and emails, creating informational products such as ebooks, search engine optimization (SEO) etc. Successful bloggers are those who have mastered the 80 20 rule (either consciously or unconsciously). These bloggers do know what are the key things they need to do in order to get the best out of their blogs. For example, take the blog The Infopreneur by James Richmond. The blog only started 3 months back. Within this short time frame James has achieved very impressive results. I can see two reasons why The Infopreneur has been so successful. The blog is super focused on two important things, Content Creation and Discussion. James has an objective of publishing two posts every day. He also spends a lot of time in socializing with his readers by replying to their comments.
The 80 20 rule is a valuable tool for bloggers who have a day job and can only commit an hour or two each day for their blogging activities. So the next time you do something with your blog, ask the question is this really important for the success of my blog? Can I spend the time and resources that I am about to spend in something that will be more effective and one that produces more results.
If you are going to spend your time on the key things, who is going to do the rest of the tasks to complete the remaining work? Outsourcing is the answer! For example, if you are not good at graphics design, don’t spend your time designing a logo for your blog. Outsource that work to someone else who can do a much better job than you. If you are not in a position to spend money on outsourcing you could exchange expertise. For example, you can get your logo designed by a designer and you can return the favour by helping the logo designer with something that you are good at.
Do these all make sense? Love to see your responses.
Here is another 80/20 scenario in a blog from my own experience – “About 80% comments on a blog usually come from 20% of readers who leave comments”!
hey brother thanks for the link love, very kind of you to mention me. I think there are a lot of theories and and strategies regrading marketing and website promotion, but I honestly don’t follow any of them. I’m just to thick, I really am the original dumb ass and don’t understand all these huge web guru explainations that the experts say.
I totally get this post though as you have a real talent for breaking everything down so it’s easy to read. As far as my site goes, I publish what I would like to read and comment everywhere I go….If anyone want’s any advice on how I do it, just ask.
Cheers again Aaron
I find that the main reason my blog doesn’t grow as quickly as I want it to is because I focus on the 80% of things that I think will grow my blog instead of spending time finding out what they 20% that will actually grow my blog!
@TechChunks, It is a good observation. Only a small percentage of readers care to comment.
@Tom, you are spot on! To become successful one has to focus on what ACTUALLY works.
@James, Thank you for your comment. I like your Just Do It attitude! May be that’s the key for your success
The 80/20 is so obvious and yet so hidden.
I think James is very focused and diligent. A real go-getter.
Now if you would only tell me what things that I do are in the 80% and which are the 20%, I can get busy.
Ralph, I am happy that you raised this point. How do we know what works and what does not? I think the answer lays in experimentation. Through experiments we can learn what works for us. Thank you for your comment.
Everyone agree with this rule, are there any other rules we could start talking about…don’t get me wrong its a great rule, but not all of us are extremely successful at figuring out what’s the 20% and what’s the 80%
really……very few readers are intrested in comments….
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