Why do you blog?
I was reading a great article from Crafty Pod last night discussing another article (follow along with me now) that talked about how reading less blogs will make you feel more productive and creative. I really started to think about some of the great points that were brought up. How many of us out there struggle to keep up with our feed reader only to feel less than adequate if we can’t keep up or follow along with blogs that we feel we “should” be reading instead of blogs we enjoy reading? I have been a victim of the “perfect blogger syndrome”…you know following along with those “perfect” blogs that do everything right and have all of these comments and droves of followers. I start to get envious and WANT to be that blogger. Of course, because I have a family, two businesses and a LIFE I never actually made it to the stardom that I so desperately sought.
photo by Linda Gavin on flickr
After reading the two articles above, I had a bit of a lightbulb moment and a question emerged for myself. Why do I blog? I started to think back on why I started my blog and there were a few reasons…none of which involved fame, fortune or recognition. Mostly, it was to promote my business and share my life with the world. I honestly didn’t care if anyone read it since it was more about me having the courage to put myself out there. I started to wonder where that went and why I got sucked up into the “perfect blogger syndrome”. I don’t need to be the popular kid in school and as long as I am happy with the content that I am putting out to the world, I honestly don’t care if I have 10 or 10,000 followers. In this day and age, there are so many blogs out there that I think we just get overwhelmed and it starts to make us question ourselves and our value as bloggers, writers, crafters, etc. That is why I like the idea that we are in a “post-keeping-up-era” (phrased coined by Sister Diane). We shouldn’t have to feel like we need to keep up with everyone and everything. With Twitter, Facebook and the like if something is important enough there is no doubt that you will find out about it pretty quickly.
papercut postcard by AshleyPahl on Etsy
This all brings me to my next point, quality over quantity. How many of you have overstuffed feed readers that you just can’t keep up with? Blogs that you never comment on but feel that you NEED to keep up with it? It’s time to clean out and lift some of the weight off! Elizabeth made a great point in her article about how guilty she felt if she deleted a blog from her feed reader and honestly at first I thought that was silly…until I started deleting. A horrible feeling of guilt suddenly started to come over me. My advice, push the guilt away and move forward! She gives a great example of how she prioritizes her feeds. I went a slightly different route and really thought about WHO interests me and who I want to get to know on a personal level. These were people that I had met on Twitter or Facebook and really had a great connection with. Normal people like me that aren’t trying to be perfect. ;) This narrowed my feed down quite a bit. I did keep a couple of trade magazine blogs and fun inspiration blogs that I mainly enjoy for the photos.
this is my happy place by Merriweather Council on Etsy
Now that I have lightened my inbox, my next step is to really make an effort to participate in the blogs that I follow. Participation = Comments After all, blogging is suppose to be a conversation so if you enjoy someone’s blog post, show some love and comment on it! Everyone loves comments. :)
If you feel like your feed reader is dragging you down, I suggest reading the articles above, they will change the way you look at blogging…for the good. :)
*Just a note – Most SEO people will tell you that it helps to comment on popular blogs to help with link building for your brand or website. While this is sometimes true, it can be extremely time consuming and unproductive in other parts of your business. I would recommend using other ways to help to build your brand that will not make you go bonkers. In a niche market like handmade, there are a lot more creative things you can do that won’t suck you dry.
amen! I feel like I spend so much time these days reading about being creative rather than actually being creative. the “perfect” blogs are an unrealistic standard that we hold ourselves up to.
This is great reading, Moxie! And your Flickr image search skills are clearly ninja-like. :-) I love your point about the whole SEO practice of commenting on popular blogs. I’ve never thought that was a productive tree to be barking up. The more crowded the online space, the less likely we are to make actual connections. And targeting popular blogs just perpetuates the mass-media attitude that’s gotten us into blog-overload in the first place.
In other news, I just added you to my RSS reader!
Hahaha thanks so much Dianne. I have some mean search skills…you should see me on Google. LOL
I feel the same way Lisa! I follow so many blogs/ tweets/ facebook groups– it got to be TOO MUCH!!! Oh and not to mention Pinterest. I’m really glad I deleted my facebook account, one less thing to fiddle with and none of the drama. I find I have way more time on my hands that I can devote to family/ reading and crafty fun.
So true Amy. It can just be plain overwhelming trying to keep up with everything. I decided to just weed out all of the stuff that really didn’t matter and that frees up a ton of time for other things…umm like living life! :)
I’ve actually been thinking about this subject recently. I have 174 blogs on my feed and find I don’t care about the majority of them. I subscribed because I liked their projects, not because of their giveaways, yet that seems to be what most of the posts are about. I think I’ll do some cleaning out today!
Leslie,
It is amazing how much lighter you will feel. :)
Such an encouraging post! Thank you!
So agree! I mean I would love to sit and read all my feeder blogs but that would take forever. I use a more serendipitous technique and that is reading the first few that pop up first. Those were the ones I was meant to read:)
Moxie, thank you for the link and your thoughtful post! I’m so glad you’re feeling lighter and more where you want to be as a blogger. Understanding -why- we read who we do, and -why- we blog the way we do are SO important our enjoyment of them! It’s so good to think through once in awhile, since a daily habit for many of us.
Thanks again!
p.s. Loving your pencils!!