3by9

Acknowledging the Need to Improve

We recently closed Round 6 for 9rules submissions and I honestly am floating on air. One of the problems for me was going through submissions and being able to give feedback that I think writers need in order to improve their sites. Obviously it is up to the writer to accept our criticism but for many writers it is the first time they received feedback on their blog and it prompts them to take an objective look at their site.

The problem many entrepreneurs have is acknowledging there is a problem that needs to be resolved. This is particularly difficult if the site is a part of the echo chamber - a group of people who admire what you do and encourage you because they like you…not because you’re doing a good job. I realized there was a problem with the submission/acceptance process at 9rules and decided to fix it.

Part 1: Scrivs

If you remember previous rounds they were random, with perhaps a month or so lead time to submit during a 24 hour period. I always hated that. I mentioned it to Scrivs in the past but it was the 9rules style to hold submissions that way. You can imagine my surprise when Scrivs said that we should announce the dates in advance.

Once I realized he was serious, I jumped out of my chair and started dancing. I couldn’t help it. While he’s asking me how I wanted it handled I’m trying to dance and type at the same time. I said I wanted to have submissions once a quarter, he nailed the dates, and moved on to something else. I was spent from dancing and being so excited.

Why was this so important? It makes it very clear we are adding new members and for those that don’t agree with that, 9rules isn’t the place for them. There are a couple of other reasons I’ll get into shortly.

Part 2: The Quality of Submissions

I wanted to improve the quality of submissions. This round the quality was fantastic. We received a ton of submissions from new blogs that are awesome…but we require 6 months of consistent posting to be a member so they will be submitting next round. Anyway, 9rules is often mentioned as a place to go to get exposure for your site. The site mentioning 9rules rarely mentioned we require quality content. Getting submissions is fine but I hate telling people no. Especially large numbers of people.

Instead of writing the normal site tips I tried to get people to take a deeper look at their blogs. By announcing the rounds in advance it detracts from the need to get in “right now” and make the improvements they feel the need to make to improve their site. I encouraged people to take the time needed to improve their blogs even if it meant submitting in August.

Part 3: Going Through All Those Sites…

I wanted to educate people how we go through sites and what we look for. One way of doing this: we held a stream where we showed our reaction going through sites. Again, this is something the average site owner never sees. We spent an hour going through sites and a couple of hours having fun with our members and readers.

At a later date, Scrivs called for a meeting to go through sites, which we did on Skype. I set a date for the remaining part of the list (the bigger part) to be complete (in a very authoritative tone too). We then combined our results and I made the final decisions on acceptance.

Two weeks vs. two-three months. Yeah baby! Thanks guys because I know you guys were jammed with work! XOXOXOXOXO

Part 4: Feedback IS Important

The only way to improve is to know what was done wrong in the first place. This time I tried to address this in a more “blunt” manner. On the acceptance list I named the common reasons why blogs were rejected. Most people could view the list, realize their blog fit in one of those categories, and have closure. I made myself available to answer questions and it’s working out well. I couldn’t be happier.

Mission Accomplished: Now What?

I accomplished my goals and I’m ridiculously happy. Don’t mistake that for me being done. Many entrepreneurs slack once they reach a goal. Not this kid…I create a new goal! Since 9rules is a more mature company I love how “maturely” we handled the submission process. Thanks to the guys for helping me make Round 6 a kick-ass success.

Thanks to all of you for believing in us.