Name: Tess
Home: St. Louis
Blogging Advice
Today, I'd like to share two posts. The first is from Mothergoosemouse about the usefulness of mommy blogs. The second, which I found via a link from that post, is the BlogHer site, in particular this piece about building blog traffic. I know I have many "mommy blogger" readers, so I wanted to pass these pieces along.
I sigh, though, because I know that part of the conventional wisdom about building blog traffic (or landing a blog-based book deal) is to focus on only one topic. I just can't do it. I love my son, but I don't want to write about him every single day. I like wrestling with political and ethical issues, but sometimes I need a break from heavy topics. I enjoy posting pictures, but if I did that all the time it would become a chore, and my photography isn't good enough to justify it.
Another way to build readership is to reach out to the blogging community. I know I'm not very good at that, either. I have certain blogs I read every day, certain blogs I check weekly, and some I check rarely. But at the moment I don't have the time to seek out and comment on a wide variety of blogs. I have a hard enough time maintaining--or justifying to myself--my current level of online activity, without adding more.
I sigh, though, because I know that part of the conventional wisdom about building blog traffic (or landing a blog-based book deal) is to focus on only one topic. I just can't do it. I love my son, but I don't want to write about him every single day. I like wrestling with political and ethical issues, but sometimes I need a break from heavy topics. I enjoy posting pictures, but if I did that all the time it would become a chore, and my photography isn't good enough to justify it.
Another way to build readership is to reach out to the blogging community. I know I'm not very good at that, either. I have certain blogs I read every day, certain blogs I check weekly, and some I check rarely. But at the moment I don't have the time to seek out and comment on a wide variety of blogs. I have a hard enough time maintaining--or justifying to myself--my current level of online activity, without adding more.
posted by Tess | 7:21 AM
3 Comments:
Hmm. To me, the question is "What's the purpose of your blog?" Personal use or public success/attention
If Arch Words is basically for your own personal platform, then, of course, you should talk about anything and everything.
If you want Arch Words to be a commercial success or to have a mass readership, then there are more questions to ask: 1) Who is your target audience? 2) What you want your readers to gain from your blog? 3)What can they get from you in particular that they might not find anywhere else?
I come here because I want to know what you think about anything and everything! I enjoy you! But from a blog traffic standpoint, you can't be everything to everyone. And considering some of the more extreme comments that people have left on your blog, maybe high traffic isn't ideal. :)
Ah, audience, purpose, and strategies.... I went over those a lot when I taught rhetoric to 11th-graders.
I write the kind of blog I like to read, which is more general-interest than issue-focused. From a personal point of view, I write about what's important to me. I write to think through difficult issues, and to try to appreciate the quiet, happy moment in life.
I understand, though, that a broad focus means I risk alienating some people, who may think, for example, that parenting stories are cute but can't stand it when I talk about liberal political issues.
I don't think I necessarily want a mass readership, though I do very much appreciate having readers. I like getting feedback from writing, and blogging is more immediate than, say, writing a short story and then showing it to a few people or submitting it to a literary magazine. This is also more than a journal to me, which is why I think I use a more public voice than I do when scribbling in a notebook.
A post by Ben at Open Switch got me thinking about this issue a few months ago. If you look at a blog as a product, then it doesn't matter how many readers you have--all that matters is the quality of the writing. If you look at a blog as an online community, though, readership matters more.
It would probably help if blogging were my main form of creative expression--then I would be willing to put more effort into being a part of the online community. As it is, though, I'm trying to squeeze it in around all my other writing and my other online communities--not to mention real life.
I feel exactly the same way.
That's why I cheated and titled my blog what I did. I knew, even as I started the blog, way back before I was _telling_ anyone about it, that I had to be varied and couldn't write about one topic.
I like the idea of community; writing for my "kind readers" and reading other bloggers--like you.
I am fascinated by the blog traffic and who comes by and why.
But I guess I am just not that into building it. :)
If it grows, it grows. If not, I won't stop writing. It's just for fun, and the love of using words.
Hh
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