If you say to yourself that you want to blog, but you don't, what are the underlying reasons for why you're not blogging?
I want to be blogging more, especially on this blog but I haven't made it happen quite yet. So I am closely looking at my own motivations too.
Time Commitment
Many people say they want to blog but they don't have the time. I'm with the folks that say there is no such thing as too busy. It's like in personal relationships when you ask someone for help but they say they are too busy. What they are really saying is "You're not important enough for me to spend my time helping you." I so strongly believe that. (And we should think about our relationships the next time we are the ones who say that to someone.) We always make time for what we want to do most or for the people who mean the most to us.
When you say you are too busy to blog, you are really saying "I'm not disciplined enough to make a commitment" or "Blogging is not important enough to me to make the time in schedule."
This leads us to our next theme...
Value
When you don't make a commitment to blogging you are saying "I don't really value blogging." So we need to understand what exactly we want to get from it and why we think we won't get that result. Perhaps as hobbyists we are hoping to connect with distant cousins or as professionals we are trying to build our businesses or show our expertise. Perhaps we simply want to find a vibrant community of folks to interact with.
If we believe that we won't really benefit from our efforts then we definitely will not continue the effort to do the work.
How can we demonstrate to ourselves that blogging is worthwhile and valuable?
Fear
Maybe we our afraid of what will happen if we put ourselves out there. Maybe it is self-doubt that what we have to say is not interesting enough. Or fear that we will share too much.
Discipline
I think this really ties back to the time commitment issue but what if we just get so distracted that we have a hard time staying focused? I think that discipline is one of my issues. I WANT to blog - so how come I'm not doing it every day? If it's because I'm busy then how come I'm not reserving a specific hour every day to blog? Does life truly get in the way or do I let it get in the way?
Mood/Writer's Block
Sometimes I don't "feel" like writing and sometimes I feel like I can't NOT write! If I had better discipline I would force myself to write all the time. Sometimes it just doesn't happen. Sometimes I just stare at a blank screen and no ideas come to me. If I could get over this aspect of myself I could probably write more frequently and more consistently.
What motivates you to blog? What are the true underlying reasons as to why you're not blogging? Have I left out anything in this discussion? Let me know!
photo by Ramunas Geciauskas
Two years ago, I decided that my blog would be the cornerstone of the marketing strategy of my genealogy business. I committed to a schedule of three articles per week: one Dutch term, one quick tip and one longer article. This drives enough readers to my site, a portion of whom become clients, to quit my job and do this full-time. If I stop blogging tomorrow, the visitors won't stop the day after, but they will start to dwindle. So I have to blog, or soon I will find myself in a position where I need to get a job again.
ReplyDeleteI have consistently kept up with that scheme. While my output is very linear, my writing is not. There are weeks when I'm inspired, and I'll churn out dozens of blog posts per week. And there are weeks when I can't be bothered, or when vacation or other commitments make it inconvenient to blog. By scheduling my posts in advance, I can write when I want. I usually have at least several dozen blog posts scheduled in advance, so that even if something unexpected comes up, my blog still has fresh content.
When I think of an interesting topic, I try to associate what else I can write about that topic, perhaps a related term or tip, and will write several blog posts at once which I will then schedule months apart. This is far more efficient and fun to do.
As someone who has blogged for over a dozen years, I've seen a lot of blogs come and go and only a very few survive. The ones that come and go are often written by people who only write about a narrow area of topic. They often write for an audience and need comments to sustain their creative energy. The few blogs that survive for the long term, write about anything that is happening around them or in their lives and are more personal diary to themselves than for the amusement of others.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that keeps me from my genealogy blog is commitments and time with my present day family. I've been blogging steadily for more than five years and I have a list a mile long of more posts. If I could do it all I would, but I'm not Wonder Woman.
ReplyDeleteMy big issue is time. I currently have a goal of one blog post a month. If I do more great. If I do less I don't beat myself up over it. I started blogging five years ago, and I'm still at it, so I guess I'm doing okay. Do I wish I was writing more? Sure. But I'm doing the best I can right now. Hopefully, I can put more time in somewhere down the line. Slow and steady wins the race.
ReplyDeleteMarian,
ReplyDeleteI want to let you know that your blog post is listed in today's Fab Finds post at http://janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2015/07/follow-friday-fab-finds-for-july-10-2015.html
Have a great weekend!
What a great post. I would add what are your goals. The amount of time you spend on blogging should be equal to your goals. If you're just doing a hobby, then you don't need to maintain a strict schedule. If you're shaing wirh your family.. Same thing. If you're trying to support a business or be a servant leader you'd need/ want to blog more. You're goals determine if something is worth doing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. I would add what are your goals. The amount of time you spend on blogging should be equal to your goals. If you're just doing a hobby, then you don't need to maintain a strict schedule. If you're shaing wirh your family.. Same thing. If you're trying to support a business or be a servant leader you'd need/ want to blog more. You're goals determine if something is worth doing.
ReplyDelete