I read an article in Blog Herald last week about a resurgence in blogging. Sure wish I could find it now . . . It feels true, but I can’t speak for any one except me – and yep, I’m blogging again. And I don’t know why particularly I chose this January, along with so many others according to that post – which brings me to another cool post I read – why do I blog?
So, why do I?
1. I’ve always kept a (sporadic) journal.
2. I have a few friends and family members I’d like to keep in touch with, but I’m terrible about calling and emailing.
3. I have a few (crafty) skills I’d like to share.
I guess those are good enough reasons to have a blog. One question asked when starting a blog is however, do you have enough time? Well, I do have enough time; I guess it’s the imperative to actually do it. I tend towards depression which makes it hard to do ANYTHING, let alone write cheerfully. (I never intend for a blog to become a litany of my woes!)
So, now that I’m blogging, I want it to be good. Again, Blog Herald came to my rescue (I really can’t recommend them enough – so many interesting articles, and tons of help). I found a series of articles by Lorelle Van Fossom – I’m posting bits of what she says, but if you’re interested in improving your blog, please go read them – they’re great, as Tony the Tiger would say.
1. Clarity or what’s my blog really about?
So. Between reading this, and checking out my buddy’s blogs (one for each purpose), I’ve come to the conclusion that I really need to run several blogs.
1. Crafting/gardening/cooking – Home Arts, mebbe?
2. Reviews
3. This rambling stuff
Which means moving posts . . . ah well. It’s not like I have a ton of followers!
There isn’t a resurgence in blogging. It’s always been a growing industry. Just because a few celebrities start blogging or blogs make it in the news makes people think it’s “new” or “revitalized” again. It’s the same old same old.
But having the clarity of purpose and goals with your blogs says a lot. When I look at your tag cloud, it’s clear that books are the most important thing to you, and yet it is stuffed with a lot of other topics that may or may not have anything to do with books.
Maybe you need to have several, but why not focus on what thrills you to no end and focus on that, with occasional additions of off-topic stuff. Or just ignore all that and have your say because YOU are the focus of your blog.
I do know one thing. Turn off the possibly related posts feature. It really does you no good and has some very off beat things in that list that have nothing to do with your blog. Why confuse your readers with off topic stuff you have no control over.
And good luck. You are on the right course!
Wow, and double wow!
Thanks for the advice and the encouragement. That, coming from such a good writer, means a lot.
So, as anyone following may have noticed, I have separated the blogs. More about that on my About Page, fixin’ to be updated.
And then, on to Lorelle’s next article . . .