Blogs... bah! Any advice?

[Jessica Peter]

I've been blogging for a while, but have been increasingly slacking in the last few months. I know I've been overwhelmed with life lately, and the blog is falling by the wayside. I'm trying to figure out what the point of keeping up my blog is, and whether it's worth it to keep going, or what else I should do.

In my blog, I combine three main interests: writing, crafting, and travel. These flow naturally together in my mind (writing, crafting, and the photography part of travel make up "creativity", I also write about travel). Does it make sense to you? Could this alienate potential readers?

My newest plans one "major" post a week (list, interviews, my thoughts, etc), plus themed days such as Travel Tuesday and some giveaways too, all seasonally-organized. I think the purpose of my blog is to a)build an online platform as a writer (fiction and travel writing); b)show off my stuff to the world; c)have people actually see said stuff; d)collect things that make up "me" in one place. I don't know if I've bitten off more than I can chew or I'm being too ambitious in my goals. Is that too many things to ask for in one blog?

I also don't feel that motivated to post because I haven't had much success in actually drawing an audience. Bloggers: how do you draw traffic to your blog?

Also, a few more questions for bloggers. Do you plan your posts - and is it often? But most of all, WHY do you blog? What does it bring you?

Of course, any other comments would be appreciated. :)

[charlotte49ers]

I'm probably not the best person to answer because I've been a HUGE blog slacker as of late, but the way that I drove traffic to my blog was posting it in blog threads (like the ones here, on AW, etc.), tweeting when a topic was kind of interesting, trying to pay attention to key words to help my SEO (search engine rankings), holding contests, etc.

I also try to write like myself and not make my posts too formal.

I love all of the categories you are incoorporating, but you might want to narrow it down. People who want to read about crafting don't necessarily want to read about writing and vice versa.

*I* would, though, but all of those things are my interests.

My posts aren't planned or themed really, but that's not really a good thing, I don't think. Nathan had a blog post the other day about about building your presence and one of the things he talked about was consistency with your posts. Pick a schedule and stick with it so your readers know what to expect.

Good luck!!

[Quill]

most of all, WHY do you blog? What does it bring you?

This is something I've been wondering about myself lately. I was planning to start a thread about it, in fact. I'm glad you did because you're a blogger and I'm not. Still, I've been curious because I see what a lot of work it is for people. Sometimes, it seems, or would figure, or I've heard, to the detriment of actual writing on one's work in progress. (This would seem counter productive at first glance, the idea of building a platform, but not building the product to sell from the platform) (almost like putting the cart before the horse) (or like building a cart without having a horse).

I can kind of see blogging after one has a book out there. Or starting in the interim between selling the book and it being published. I'm thinking out loud here.

I know there are other reasons for keeping up a blog. For one, the satisfaction of writing finished pieces, of publishing them, of having readers, of having them comment, of building a network of writer friends. But is it worth it? I see more and more blogs lose steam, as it were, after starting with a bang. It's understandable. It's a lot to keep up.

I don't twitter, but I suppose that's another avenue of publicity building. And websites. What's wrong with having a website and updating it with blog-like entries from time to time, and new art, photos, etc, to keep it fresh. What about a facebook page as one's main face to the world? What option is best and for what purpose? How does one's purpose change over time, through the different stages along the path to bestsellerdom?

I also notice a sameness to subject matter. How could there not be? The world of writing and publishing is huge and there are lots of aspects and angles. Still, don't you run out of material? There's a lot of repetition involved. Necessarily. How can one really be original. Or is that not the point. Is the point to sell one's personality? One's name? To whom? Is the idea to have followers tell friends when one's book is released, so as to help it become viral in the marketplace? Is there hope Oprah will notice one's blog? Or is it to make the first steps in creating one's own confidence out in the world, or to perfect one's written communication skills, or simply to express oneself creatively? All of the above?

So yeah, why blog?

[Nathan Bransford]

I have two main posts on this topic for further reference:

The Key to Marketing Your Book: Time Well Spent
Seven Tips on How to Build a Following Online

[sierramcconnell]

I also don't feel that motivated to post because I haven't had much success in actually drawing an audience.

Here is your bottom line, biggest problem.

You are blogging for the wrong damn reason.

If at the root of the blog you are only doing it for the fact that you want to gain an audience and you don't care about the subject matter or you're just wanting to draw people, you are being very, very false. No one wants that. They want YOU.

I don't 'blog-blog' yet, but I do online journal with a few friends (LJ, not facebook or any of those virus gatherers). I'm more of a private person anyway. I like forums more than just displaying myself because really, if I did blog, it would be about dolls, religious experiences, and my book. And there's enough resources out there for people. I just don't see a point in having my attitude thrown in for fun.

So the first thing to remember is to present yourself and have fun presenting yourself and not be dishearted because people aren't watching you. Do it for you, not them. If that makes you sad, writing will really make you depressed.

I don't want this to sound harsh, though it probably does as I tend to come off that way, but yeah. You're not motivated because your being motivated by the wrong thing. I know that, because I've been there. More than once.

[Jessica Peter]

Thanks everyone!

I actually renewed my blogging motivation, and got back into it again! Sierra, I actually am blogging for myself, not to gain an audience. I was also just hoping for one on the side. For now, I've decided to follow a sort of natural progression, and gain followers as I can but not make a career out of it (gaining followers I mean. Not writing - writing I would like to make a career out of). And Nathan - thanks for those links. Funny, I missed the more recent one, but it's perfect.

[Sommer Leigh]

In my blog, I combine three main interests: writing, crafting, and travel. These flow naturally together in my mind (writing, crafting, and the photography part of travel make up "creativity", I also write about travel). Does it make sense to you? Could this alienate potential readers?

My newest plans one "major" post a week (list, interviews, my thoughts, etc), plus themed days such as Travel Tuesday and some giveaways too, all seasonally-organized. I think the purpose of my blog is to a)build an online platform as a writer (fiction and travel writing); b)show off my stuff to the world; c)have people actually see said stuff; d)collect things that make up "me" in one place. I don't know if I've bitten off more than I can chew or I'm being too ambitious in my goals. Is that too many things to ask for in one blog?

First, the purpose of your blog should not be to build an online platform as a writer. That can be a result, but I don't think that should be your main purpose. Blog readers can spot someone trying to build a platform a mile away and those are not the blogs people care about.

Second, the reason you blog should be because you love to blog. If you don't love doing it, don't waste your time or those coming to read your blog. What I mean is, you're not going to get out of it anything but extra work and your readers will be able to tell. Do not make blogging a job. That being said, you must be consistent. If you can only post once a week, fine, but always post on the same day at the same time. Readers do not tolerate checking back repeatedly. If you can do it more than once a week, that is better (it is easy to forget a great blog you found if they only post once a week) but don't promise more than you can provide.

Here is my totally unsolicited advice: it sounds like you've got great content porential in your travel work. It is both visual and interesting especially tied into the creative life and writing. Don't try for some splashy professional's blog, keep it you and keep it simple. Talk about what matters to you, talk about things you find exciting and interesting, talk about things you have learned and avoid "teaching" at your readers. You are the interesting part of your blog. You are the reason people will read and stick around. Do not let the idea of building a "platform" put more anxiety on the process than necessary. If you've got content people will care about, the platform will happen on its own. As a reader, there is nothing worse than feeling like a blogger is trying to sell themselves at me.

I also don't feel that motivated to post because I haven't had much success in actually drawing an audience. Bloggers: how do you draw traffic to your blog?

This is the tough part. It can take a long time to draw interest and there isn't anything you can do about that but keep going and wait. There are things you can do to help yourself, but they aren't hard and fast rules. Find others like you, other authors or author hopefules and other forums you can participate on. And participate you must. It is like your blog, people will come because they like the personality of your comments. Make sure your blog address is easy to remember and easy to spell. Your name works best, but otherwise keep it simple. Invest in a domain. Use a top blogging site to take advantage of their internal referal system. Wordpress is the one I use, but I have also used Blogger and Livejournal in the ten years I've been blogging. Wordpress has by far the most options, but that can also be overwhelming. Blogger is easier to use and is very popular but does not have the same options and risks looking like every other Blogger site. Livejournal has the best community and might bring readers faster, but it has the least amount of options and very little customization.

Also, a few more questions for bloggers. Do you plan your posts - and is it often? But most of all, WHY do you blog? What does it bring you?

I plan most of my posts. I post five days a week, monday-friday and I hate missing days. I've designated most of sunday as my blog day where I write my posts, set them up, create graphics and upload pictures and schedule each day. Then I don't have to worry about it for the rest of the week unless something comes up that I really want to talk about.

I blog because I love to blog. I've been doing it since 2000 back when Livejournal was the only game in town and you had to have an invite code from another Livejournal user to get your own Livejournal. I enjoy writing and talking about things, yes, but I LOVE other bloggers. I love interacting and discussing and collaborating. I love sharing. I understand the world and what I believe in better by writing about it. I get about an average of 100 unique hits to my blog monday-friday, but I've only got a handful of people who comment regularly and that's fine. They are people I've come to know and whose blogs I read religiously every day. It has stopped feeling like I live on a lonely blog island and more like I live in a neighborhood of awesome people. The community is why I blog. I absolutely do it for the people I meet.