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Level It Up

If I was creating a website right now that was designed to become popular, it would be The Oatmeal. It’s utterly brilliant.

It combines interesting factoids with tons of illustrations. Each page is evergreen content, and will probably still be looked at years in the future.

Remember those Top 10 List sites a few years ago? Well, this is its 2009 incarnation. The perfect linkbait blog, but taken to the next level. In fact it’s probably made by a guy super familiar with SEO (the smart kind). You can tell because every piece of content is designed and targeted to the audiences that love to spread content across the web, through things like Reddit and Twitter.

This is the way to think about your next project– check out the stuff you already love looking at on the web and then take it up a notch. Don’t just copy– level it up somehow.

Update: Hahahaha, oh boy was I right. Good on you Matt, I’m impressed. :)

Also of interest: podcast 2 jan

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3 Responses to “Level It Up”

  1. Melissa Dutmers Says:
    November 10th, 2009 at 9:28 pm

    This statement is just a good life lesson (thanks!)

    “check out the stuff you already love… and then take it up a notch. Don’t just copy– level it up somehow.

  2. Shawna Coronado Says:
    November 11th, 2009 at 12:18 pm

    Thanks! I agree about The Oatmeal – good stuff. Keep sending us these awesome references – educating the world is definitely making a difference. :-)

    Shawna Coronado

  3. Jackson Wightman Says:
    November 11th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    Thanks for sharing. That site is quite something – as is his other work.

    I wish operationalizing “levelling it up” were so easy. Alas, it ain’t. That said – you can’t unless the philosophy of attempting to imbues everything.

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