"...your blog content isn't boring because of what it's about, your blog content is boring because you are presenting it in a boring way. You have to approach every article as an opportunity to punch everyone you know in the face with Awesome, and you have to believe you can do it (Can I get an "Amen")."
photo © 2010 mr570 | more info (via: Wylio)Over the years I've been blogging (from way back in '02), I've also be a champion for the act of blogging, the habits of blogging, the upsides of grammar and writing skills and storytelling in blogging. I've seen quite a few friends jump on the bandwagon with varying levels of interest and longevity.
It's not a bad thing. You try something, you give it a shot - and it's just not your thing. My advice: move on. Next.
But you'd still like to blog, still like to do it well, still want to make some changes to pick up your blog for your readers and, more importantly, for yourself, then take some time to learn and read and watch others do it well. Learn from their good habits, and take in their ideas.
In the article linked above, Joey Strawn gives "5 Ways To Breathe Life Into Seemingly Boring Material" - spot on suggestions to help you get back on your game. If you're one who's tried, stopped and not been able to get back on, or maybe one who's trying and just not seeing what you'd hoped to see for interaction, payoff, etc. - click through above and look for the encouragement there to make the changes you need on your own site.
And find friends who are making a go of it. Two longtime friends who blog have found their own internal motivations and rhythms to do what they do.
Alan blogs at Greenbeans, basically somewhere between Portrait of an Artist as a Curmudgeon and Ferris Beuller's Comp Day. Talking with Alan the other day about his blog, I could tell in his voice that it's something he just really enjoys doing. It's not about posting to a schedule, more about going with a flow as ideas pop to mind.
One mini-series detailing snowball fights in the Upstate of South Carolina allowed him to flex storytelling muscles and put down "on paper"/online something that he's proud to share with anyone happening by his site.
"Rick, it's just something I enjoy doing, something I can have as an outlet and to leave something positive for my kids, for posterity."
Wherever the writing takes him, Alan's right now in a good spot to just enjoy it as it flows. I told him his short bursts of creativity come through as funny thought-provoking posts in my feed-reader, and I look forward to clicking through each time.
He doesn't take too much time, doesn't draft and edit much beyond the fifteen-twenty minutes needed to get the thought out. In lots of ways, it's the antithesis of what you might've been taught about blogging. But it works well for him, and ultimately that's what will really matter.
Dawn blogs at Everday Ordinary Dawnings, stretching her author's muscles in new ways with new friends and online groups, writing of every day life with teens, family, her walk with God and the surprises and gratitude along the way. In a few ways, she's the opposite of Alan's "post whenever the mood strikes", taking a little more time and planning and editing with her posts:
"When something lingers in my heart and mind for a few days, I sit down and write about it. I don't typically schedule posts in advance, but I do filter almost everything life throws at me through the question, 'Should I blog this?' And it typically works out for me to publish a post 2 - 3 times a week."
She's been able to connect with folks across the country, surprising to her that not only do folks read, but that they like what she writes and keep coming back. And these connections have a feeling of reality to them that maybe doesn't happen that often online.
"I was totally not expecting that. But I have exchanged emails with three perfect strangers and have prayed one's husband through his cancer battle and have guest posted for the second. The third is a published author who has encouraged me to pursue publication. We have actually talked on the phone from one coast to the other, and she has been a great encouragement and resource. She connected me with a devotional website that has featured me as a guest AUTHOR, something I may do more of with that site. I've also become facebook friends with others that I know only from blog-land."
Dawn takes more time to write, to edit, to make sure things look just so before posting (I'm much more like Alan in this regard) - and that fits her style of writing and her approach to life, I think. It works well for her, and ultimately that's what will really matter.
So what's the point? If you're blogging for the heck of it, or blogging for business or trying to monetize a hobby - it will boil down to:
- are you having fun, and
- are you growing through the process?
So if you think your blog sucks - fix it. Have fun. Grow and learn and meet people. And look to other examples of sites/writers that are doing it right, that feel like they're enjoying the journey, and interact with them.