Sex, Blogs and Screenwriting

Recently, I read a blog post on Piggybankpie.com about the use of humour in blogs, that contained the following example of a witty misquote.

“Show me a successful blogger and I’ll show you an unsuccessful writer.”

This got me to thinking. Sure, many amateur writers turn to blogging to fill that gaping hole in their creative soul when they realise no one wants to pay for their work. But, as Diablo Cody recently showed us, blogging can be a powerful way to attract attention and avoid the random chance of all those studio slush piles.

The Naked Blogger

Diablo Cody has blogged since 2001. Relaunching her blog under the now infamous name Pussy Ranch, Diablo began experimenting with material of a more salacious nature. But it wasn’t until she blogged about her experiences trying out for a job at a strip club that her readership soared. Detailing her exploits during a year working in the world of ‘exotic dancing’, (now stored in the Blogspot Archive)her blog gained a massive readership, culminating in her discovery by a Hollywood manager who encouraged her to write professionally. Just a couple of weeks ago, Diablo Cody was awarded the Academy Award for Best original Screenplay for Juno.

Blogging was the route that transformed Diablo from a bored secretary into an Oscar winning screenwriter.

Blogging for Attention

Blogging can help to drive the right traffic to you. The right blog can drive a lot of that traffic. Obviously, Diablo realised that sex was a strong attention grabber. This tactic can’t work for everyone and I hope no one is hoping that I start blogging nude or start a career as a male stripper to get noticed. It won’t work for everyone. For one thing, Diablo is gorgeous. And a woman. A gorgeous woman writing about sex is edgy and exciting. A man writing about sex is just creepy and likely to annoy my fiancé.

So how do you create the right blog to work for you? Although most of us can’t hope to have a blog with the profile of Pussy Ranch, we can use blogging in structured ways to achieve solid results.

Smart Blogging

Blogging has many benefits that are important to aspiring writers. Most importantly, there is no better way to draw traffic to a website. The ability to have your website rank highly in Google for a phrase Hollywood execs may use is a huge achievement. Imagine a producer typing ‘unmade vampire script’ into Google in an idle moment and seeing your website on the first page of results.

Blogs can have significant impact on the search engines with the use of carefully thought-out keywords. If you want your website to appear strongly for Google searches for ‘vampire script’ and related phrases, write a blog that allows for plenty of similar references. Think about the sorts of blogs your target audience would want to read. Apart from sex, they would also be interested in issues related to their chosen industry – writing, film, television, music, whatever. By writing strong blog posts on this topic, you attract that audience.

Blogging for Profile

Be sure not to be too forceful in pushing your skills as a writer or pushing your script in every post. People don’t subscribe to blogs that are trying too hard to sell them something. Be subtle about it. The right people will find their way to your page of script samples soon enough if you simply provide a link in the navigation. The goal is to create a profile for yourself. Your profile will open doors, not close a sale, so don’t focus on pushing your wares.

Remember, blogging is part of social media, so you need to be sociable – not so easy for some writers. Participate on other blogs. Invite comments on your own. Join blogging communities. By creating a strong online presence, you increase the chances of being noticed by the right people.