Seven Mental Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers

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1. Think big.
I really have to start living the the way I’ve come to blog. On unsure terrain in those early days, I put out safe posts, ones within my interests. On homeschooling, for example. I felt assured I was “doing the right thing” looking like other bloggers. But gradually, I began to tap deeper into the ideas that really grabbed me. Last year, blogging stopped being a train of posts I shot out one at a time wondering what I’d write about next. Rather than post linearly, I started architecting this blog, figuring out how many floors (that is, topics) I would erect in the next six months, going backward to furnish the rooms (the posts for each topic). The blueprinting gave me direction, control, and purpose. But I didn’t stay bound to these plans. Plenty of posts arose from whimsy and those moments where life happen.

2. Stay flexible.
Stay tuned to your hot topics and see what you can do with them. Moving into 2014, I watched the post on Black Santa generate enthusiastic discussion and was reminded that everyone has something to say about race. It is, after all, as close to home as you can get. So I bit the bullet and launched the ambitious Race Around the World. The cultural tapestry we pieced together those 80 days gave way to more series. On class, identity, belonging, guilt, shame, money, opportunity, hope.

3. Stay happily discontent whether it’s wanting more out of your content or your subscriber base.
We never arrive, do we? And success, especially in cyberland, is an endless stretch of horizon. A word on unfollows. I’ve seen funny posts with bloggers screeching that they lost three followers. I value every reader, especially the active supporters, but feel dependent on none. You will get unfollows. It’s the ease and democracy of blogosphere where people come and go. Don’t pin desperate hopes on anyone. Set your sights higher, and higher still. I tend not to reach out to readers who seemed to have stepped away. I don’t want to obligate them to visit if they’ve moved on, though I often discover life pulled them away for a season. Or WordPress wiped me off their radar, an unfortunate glitch in our system.

4. Don’t play it safe.
The empty post page is a blank check I write myself. Create opportunity, for yourself as well as others, which can birth more opportunities. Twenty-two months ago I never imagined I’d host a forum where a worldwide community of artists and thinkers could share their history, fears, and dreams. Blogs are a safe place to test the boundaries that in life you may not be able to play with. Experiment, try new projects. You’re limited only by fear and imagination. Staying static is like painting your whole blog one color and keeping it that way.

5. Remember how small you are in blogging and in life.
There’s always someone with more readers, someone faster, smarter, more talented and savvy. You’re not all that, and neither am I. That’s why I try to keep it real. For all the rewriting I do here, I don’t want to end up editing my image when you’re coming to me with a level of trust in my honesty.

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zimbio.com

6. Know how big you can be.
Not only are quantity and quality not mutually exclusive, they can feed one another. Have you thought about why it is you want to grow your readership? The answer can be more meaningful and fulfilling than your own popularity, your ego. There is a satisfaction that comes from resonating with a larger crowd, degrees of insight and perspective a larger following can offer. You expand possibilities for yourself, viewers, and your community.

7. Know why you’re here.
I got chills watching him carve in the sky the triple somersault and half-twist before slipping clean into the water. Last summer, the commentator said of Gary Hunt who was known for his inventive cliff diving, “He knows exactly why he’s in the air.” The power, the grace. The hours and hours Hunt devoted in the search for his best self. In the writing, dreaming, collaborating, I’m exploring my capacity as an artist and a community builder. I create something bigger than me, something that extends beyond the bounds of my own life. The extraordinary discussions, synergy, stats were not my goals but the unexpected payoff of one simple purpose: excellence. I’ll never be a medalist but my blog is where I test my reach, and enjoy visible and lasting rewards for the time I put in. Know why you’re in the air and why you want to get there. Doesn’t have to be serious or profound but if you don’t know why you’re here, we don’t either.

 

367 thoughts on “Seven Mental Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers”

  1. I will honest in saying that as I read this post, I started to shrink back. Not in a sort of self-pitying or playing it small kind of retraction, but in both fear and in not being to identify in some way. I try not to compare blogs, but I see a blog like mine being quite restricted in its capacity to grow. It’s a niche type corner of the world, and I am not sure how much more I can grow it keeping to that one topic. I *have* been trying to expand slightly, trying to “humanize” the topics, keeping them more general, but fear alienating my core readers. It’s a leap of faith I suppose, but in the end I have to figure out what it is I want the blog to be. And that’s the first step before I can apply your wonderful points there.

    We are all in stages of growth, and often we are blind to those spurts, but it’s when I am through to the other side do I see the journey. As someone once told me, resistence is usually a precursor to a spiritual breakthrough. So perhaps my resistence to change, or accepting the idea of it at least, is a preface to a story yet to be told. I see how you comport yourself on your blog and I realize mine is a more meandering affair than a focused construct where I display my utmost best. Good food for thought.

    Thank you for this, Diana. You always have me examining myself and my beliefs when I read your posts.

    Blessings
    Paul

    Reply

    • Love the honesty, Paul. You raise some interesting points. I can’t insist that every post of mine should speak to every person out there. =) Having said that, I think it fair to say one might “shrink back” not only from reading something but in fact bring trepidation into the reading. We filter what we read and hear through the grid of our own experiences, yes?

      You bring up something I had wondered about your blog. How long will you “be in recovery”? Esp when you sound saner and wiser, and write more beautifully than many sober folks? =) On the flip side, I obviously write to the masses, workaholics perhaps the one group of -holics I favor, and yet you have connected with (I think) and enriched our discussions deeply and immensely. I apply the adverbs to the second clause. All this is to ask just where is the boundary between those in recovery and those like me stumbling through our daily challenges and fighting our worst enemy, our self? Another point of consideration is what you mean by growth/expansion. Because the many readers who received this post as they did (saying nothing negative about you) have a fraction of your following.

      “You always have me examining myself and my beliefs”. I have done my job. =) This is always my aim. I wasn’t trying to convince you that you had to identify with this post. No obligation to respond. Just glad you might think more about your work (not bc I thought it needed it but bc that is my aim with everyone).

      Xx
      Diana

      Reply

  3. I’m in tune with much of what you say here Diana. I too plan my blog and did so from the beginning – but with that flexibility for whimsy, as you say. But I do love your image of the architecture of your blog and its topics, wonderful way to look at it. But ‘know why you’re here’ resonates most of all. I had an inkling of that when I began, but it soon grew into a confidence – I’m very happy in my purpose now and that – usually – means that writing for my blog is always a pleasure for me.

    Reply

    • “but it soon grew into a confidence – I’m very happy in my purpose now and that – usually – means that writing for my blog is always a pleasure for me.”

      LOVE it. The confidence which went on to shape your purpose, which gave life and joy. No wonder it is ever our pleasure there, too, Andrea.

      Reply

  5. The pursuit of excellence and knowing why we’re in the air…lovely. People worry about unfollows? Geez, i hadn’t thought to notice, let alone care 🙂
    I am here because i love writing and love to practice my craft anytime I can. I am also a connector, a bridge – not exactly a community builder, but a vital piece of infrastructure if you get my meaning. Plus you know, i love my blogging friends and that feeling of being globally connected. Lovely post Diana.

    Reply

    • Guess whom I was thinking of yesterday? *grin* Really funny how you drop in at those times, S. It doesn’t cease to fascinate me, how we love the feeling of being connected as we are. Thx for sharing.

      So though I caught the subtle humor in the preface of the Signature, I wasn’t sold right away. And then I really got into the contrasts EG set up: the entirely credible nonfiction of the fiction made obvious from her humor (like the glaring sore of the poor living at the feet of the rich, so relatable to the situation in parts of present America) and the character, the orchardsman’s youngest son. AND THEN…you won’t believe this. Peruvian Bark (Cinchona) is in the herb mix I take. I yrs ago studied the history of homeopathy and how Samuel Hahnemann came upon the Cinchona and discovered the law of similars (that like cures like). Omg the book is right up my alley just for the history she weaves in!!!

      Reply

  6. Interesting thoughts from you, Diana (no surprise there!). I’m not sure what my blogging goals are. I find it ‘catch as catch can’ most of the time. At the end of the work day, I try to squeeze some writing in and hopefully get a blog post or two out weekly – then I crash. 😀 I’m grateful to the folks who visit my blog and put up with my too often last minute posts.

    Lately, a very personal reason for blogging has begun to flower in my heart, but it’s not something I wish to share publicly.

    Sorry to have gotten behind in reading and commenting on your posts. I enjoy reading your thoughts. You always challenge me – and you never write ‘down’ to the reader. Good for you. Intelligent and intrepid. That’s you.

    Reply

    • Well goodness, for last-minute posts, they’re even better than I took them to be. =) That’s wonderful that blogging has become so meaningful, Kate. No need ever to apologize! I appreciate whatever precious time you afford me and you actually beat me to it – I’d planned to visit this wknd. You always have a golden word of encouragement for us out here, my friend. You’re something. I look fwd to seeing how our work will evolve this year. Xxx D.

      Reply

  7. I appreciate the way you take the time to write such kind suggestions, Diana. I found myself agreeing with you all the way through your post. Such wise reminders.

    Number 5 resenates with me… Just about a year ago I was reminded of how easily we forget to humble ourselves in front of creativity. A fleeted blessing, one we’ve all been given here and will take advantage of, rightly so, but often without thankfulness, I believe. The bigger blogging fish…the published authors…the wiser souls…we learn from all of them, however, I enjoy when I can help teach them something new, open their eyes or even humble them, because I do continue to learn so much when I can appreciate their journey, as much as my own.

    In my own experience, WordPress has a strange collection of perfection when we mingle with one another.

    Enjoy your weekend, Friend. xx

    Reply

  8. I have to admit, that after reading a few of your posts, that I was further nudged to evaluate the content and style of my blog. It, of course, was already in my mind but reading someone talk about the very things that are bubbling in the back of my head, well, it’s a bit discomforting.
    Like others, I try not to compare my writing to others. To do so would stop me in writing and possibly delete my blog.
    Readership was never my intention in beginning a blog. I never cared about numbers. I still don’t care about numbers. What I am desiring is conversation. So, in that I am wondering what I am doing wrong. My blog continues to evolve and once the original journey for beginning the blog is over with, I imagine it will evolve again or dissolve.
    Thanks for the brain worm. 😉

    Reply

    • Sounds like that brain worm’s been digging… =)
      In my last (recent) post on blogging But Everybody’s Doing it (Dec 29), I did talk about the engagement. Gotta initiate. =)

      Thanks for sharing.

      Reply

  11. Just what I needed to hear, at just the right moment. That’s you all over, my dear. A joyful and productive year ahead for you, no doubt about that at all! I’ll try to have the same. 😀
    Much love,
    Kath

    Reply

  12. Think big! Yes. I tend to start off small, with low expectations, and then adjust when I realize that I’m penalizing myself by not raising the bar. But even realizing that I do this does not prevent me from continuing…

    Reply

    • I am a tenderfoot in Big Land, Robert. I’m willing to bet your tendencies in this regard have to do with your upbringing.

      Well, I so enjoy your work. You of all people should indeed expect more out of your blog because you have so much to offer.

      Diana

      Reply

  15. I have a long way to go I guess. I never thought of my blog in this way. I just write because I love it. And I hope to help someone else along the way. If I gain or lose people along the way I don’t care. God will bring the people to me that need to be there. And if I only have seven people than those seven would be the best seven and close to my heart. Thanks for the ideas though and for stopping by and liking one of my posts. Meghan

    Reply

  16. Diana I believe if we are true to who we are, the readers can sense it. Im not a fighter. I have been told to have a successful blog I should be. Pick a fight and see them come running. Im a gentle soul and my Father told me that we need the gentle ones to smooth things over sometimes. We are not all the same, thankfully. I enjoy a diverse range of reading in the bloggy world and I only blog when I feel inspired, I know thats not the way and everyone thinks I should plan a weekly post. Its not me and sometimes if I follow someone who does many blog posts in a week I get a bit over it. I think what I am trying to say is….. be YOU, which you do very nicely. I love your feisty attitude to life.

    Reply

    • Kath, you look just great and fine to me on your blog. =) And I know you were just picking out an example, one way some bloggers “succeed” but no, I certainly don’t believe in being provocative or trying to be to gain popularity via the door of notoriety. And I planned to address this sometime, the posting schedule. I don’t believe in the injunction to post regularly, either. Thanks for sharing. I appreciate the new knowledge about your father. =)

      Xxx
      Diana

      Reply

      • Yours is certainly the gift of encouragement, K – among other things. You are just too sweet but I find your praise funny; I was never the entertainer. Who knew? (The next post falls in this category of humor for sure ha ha.) And actually, the last few wks I have bit my tongue and strapped my arms to the chair – forced myself to post less LOL. See you on your board.

        Xxx
        Diana

  17. Thanks for the post HW. It came in quite timely after thinking about what I will write about next. I guess that if you squeeze hold of a rigid structure and subject base too tightly it will inevitably slip through our fingers. I should take a leaf out of my karate, relax and let the fingers type freely. I hope you had a great holiday season and all the best to you for 2015. x

    Matt

    Reply

  18. Great advice, hw. Right now am not thinking big..just grateful I already have a few blog posts lined up. Blogging actually sucks a lot of my energy right now in my injury recovery.

    Reply

    • The post was for those who might see their blogging in a new light and those who might take anything – even something SmALL, away. =) You’re ahead of yourself to have several lined up. Rest your brain!

      Xx
      D.

      Reply

      • You mentioned about thinking big for a personal blog and also it being a safe place to try things:

        *I like your advice, about thinking big and chipping at that goal, blog post by blog post while also developing blogging camaderie with other bloggers regulairly. I simply wished I had the motivation to devote a ton of time to change my theme ’cause that would mean resizing photos, planning, etc. I’m a lot more visual than you, blog-wise. Also for some topics, it does require abit more thought for me.

        But there will be some atypical topical posts over the next few months, which still will be within the spirit of my blog. There is stuff already cooked up and waiting to fly. 🙂

  19. “We never arrive, do we?” is my lifelong battle. I keep reaching for success without ever having defined what success is. Maybe that’s the way it should be. Maybe life should be an endless journey, so we always have a purpose – to strive for more…more of whatever.

    Reply

  20. Hello, my friend 🙂
    As I mentioned earlier, I read this piece last week and took every bit to heart. It’s so well thought-out and positioned – I wanted to think on it a bit before commenting.
    As with most of your posts, I look for the parts of my life that overlap with the topic and/or message in your words. Not surprising, this piece hits a pillar of relevance for a LOT of fellow bloggers. Immediately, my brain goes to comparison. Human nature, perhaps?
    What I found were two areas that I’m definitely lacking in: Don’t play it safe, Don’t underestimate how big it can be.
    Ouch. I’m sooooo guilty of playing it safe – I can’t quite figure out why, either. Something I’ll investigate and maybe test my boundaries a bit. Baby steps, right?
    As for resonating with a “larger crowd,” I’ve certainly had hopes, but perhaps it’s time to put some structure behind those hopes.
    The best is yet to come.
    Thank you again for a superb article. Thank you for being such a wonderful and honest friend.
    xoxox

    Reply

  21. This post is very helpful as a relatively new blogger and initially resistant to the process. As I started putting the pieces into place to start my own practice, I couldn’t help but think “Does the internet really need yet another blog about natural medicine?”. Regardless of whether it does or not, I am truly enjoying writing and would love to spend more of my time doing it. I look forward to reading more of your work.
    Anne

    Reply

    • Thanks for the glimpse into your journey, Anne. As one who approaches health and wellness (and homeschooling) holistically, I appreciated your site. If you scroll down my home page, you might see the post on The Virtual Revolution where I talk about the cyberlandscape and how we no longer need permission to speak up or lead. I hope you enjoy the browse and thank you for the support. All the best to you. I’d love to keep in touch.

      Diana

      Reply

      • Thank you for the kind words, I appreciate it! Yes, I’d love to keep in touch. Nice that it is so easy to connect with a wide variety of people and enjoy each others talents.

        Take care,
        Anne

  22. Don’t Play it Safe is especially true in my case. I’ve been going through a rough patch in my life that I should, of all intents and purposes, be blogging about. But if you read the general gist of my blog, you’ll note that some members of the peanut gallery just love to throw in their two cents as to how “wrong” I am. Then their bullying makes me wary of sharing anything on my blog and for all I know, the people who are actually benefiting from what I write are being denied.

    I need to get back the drive I had when I started this blog and I need to not let the naysayers get to me so badly.

    Reply

    • Well NS, you seem to know what you need to do and not do. But remember, our behavior and even feelings are just symptoms of heart issues. You might take a good look at just why/how it is these naysayers have affected you (though understandably they’d affect the rest of us, too).

      Peace,
      Diana

      Reply

  23. Brilliant post. Each point resonated very well. Especially “Remember how small you are “. When we step back, reflect and take a look at the world, we realise that the world doesn’t around us. Probably a million people won’t care what we have to say. So in that sense, why not just be ourselves, loud and proud of it 🙂 And I love how you manage to segway so smoothly into : “Know how big you can be”. Oh yes, we all can be big and sometimes it’s just our minds and doubts holding us back.

    I’ve admired what you’ve done here in the blog world over the last year, D. Love how you engage so many readers across the globe through a diverse range of writing – short stories, poetry, posts like these. Get us talking non-stop, or at least a lot about the smaller yet significant things in life. I applaud you for that 🙂

    Reply

    • So very sweet, Mabel. Love seeing how you processed this, and appreciate the encouragement. You’ve also done a smashing job over there. =) I know it takes days to plow out of those comments. And the wonderful thing is you’ve just been doing yourself. =) I’m so glad we became better acquainted (and that I can match your voice to your words), and I look fwd to what you have coming this year.

      Xx,
      D.

      Reply

      • Thank you, D. You are too kind. I am certainly looking forward to reading more touching pieces from you this year. Blogging is a solitary activity, yet a very communal one in many other ways. Keep writing and blogging 🙂

  24. good advice, its been nearly a year since i’ve started…stable is the word that comes to mind. I still haven’t decided my goals yet, I guess its just the love of writing for it.

    Reply

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    • Thanks for the greeting, Susan. It’s funny, I said nearly those same words to a fellow blogger in MY New Yr’s greeting to her. You hadn’t posted in a long while. Good to see you’re back. Let’s make it a good one this year.

      Xxx
      D.

      Reply

  29. Brilliant post Diana. I started blogging to improve my writing, build a training journal as I entered classical music training knowing no-one who had gone through it and detailed what to expect. It became so much more than that, I met so many wonderful writers, poets, photographers just to mention three. So much variety. I see parts of the world I’d never have glimpsed and people’s perspectives I’ve have never come into contact with. I just need more hours in a week.
    Best wishes
    Charlotte 😊

    Reply

  31. Diana, in you I see where I want to go and I can’t tell you how supported I feel by you, your blog, and this post in particular! While I’m well behind you as an experienced blogger, I love love love where you are going and literally am glad that I follow you. January is the perfect month for me to collect and refresh my blog, especially in the “brave content” category, which I wrote about here: https://familyanswersfast.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/i-resolve-to-be-brave-what-about-you-happy-new-year/ . Seriously, I’m printing this post and hanging it by my desk!

    Reply

  33. Wonderfully said Diana. Many readers follow you for your wisdoms and athough barely two years, I feel as though you are a blogging expert. Your sharing of thoughts and experiences enlighten many more than you might even imagination. It’s always great when we have something to learn from a post, as yours. xo Deb

    Reply

    • All I can say is thanks, Deb. You’re one of the most humble bloggers I have met and I am keenly thankful for the faithful support. It’s commendable you even keep up with your blog, btw, in light of the books you’ve been putting out.

      Xx
      D.

      Reply

  34. Thanks, I especially like number three. We need to get comfortable with discomfort, and embrace it as a friend, or perhaps enemy. In either event it can be a formidable motor.

    Reply

  35. I needed to see this. You left a comment on my blog ages ago and I never replied to it because I think I viewed the notification by accident, therefore never realizing it. Anyway, this is my first visit to your blog that I can remember and such an appropriate post. It’s one of those thinking/unthinking things for me. I soak up all of the information, embrace it, then close my eyes and jump into the pool. And you’re right, it is a place for you to test the limits a bit. Fear has been holding me back for about 5 years now in many aspects of my life. I can’t take it anymore and today is just a breaking day for me. I have important decisions to face tomorrow but I think seeing those words, although meant for blogging, really helped me put something else in perspective. Thanks. Great post.

    Reply

    • Alby, it is because these pointers apply to life outside the blog that I opened with the fact that I’d see more progress in my life if I applied these off the blog. =) Hey, thanks for the heartfelt feedback. It was more cerebral than emotional but I got it and appreciate the meaningfulness of where you are today. Thanks for the follow, and I am excited for you! Feel free to keep me “posted” on things. =)

      Diana

      Reply

  36. Very well thought out post on blogging. I often think of ways to improve, but one I never considered was quantity affecting quality in a good way. It seems like it works the opposite way. Knowing why one is here should be something every blogger should consider. I often wonder why some bloggers post with nothing to say.

    Reply

  39. Thank you for visiting and liking a post on my blog. I am but a novice beginner compared to you as a blogger – but I try to take note of some of your thoughts and learn from them.

    After my first year of blogging, I have noticed how much my writing has improved – and I am surprised at how much self-editing I do. I started my blog as a semi-diary and am flattered that anyone else finds my thoughts interesting enough to follow. I love the people around the world I have met through blogging, so many interesting thoughts, photos and ideas circulating. As different as we all are, we are so much alike.

    Reply

    • Thanks for sharing and connecting, Susan. So glad to know your writing’s improved and it’s been so stimulating for you. I’m not yet 2 yrs old out here but it’s been a breathtaking journey.

      Diana

      Reply

  40. Each of these rules could have been their own post, but your sincerity shines. I lose my momentum writing sometimes but want to continue especially if it has meaning to more than just myself. I think your writing does. You connect well. what are your other interests?

    Reply

    • How kind and thoughtful of you to ask. If you tap any title to open up the sidebar here, you’ll see my other blog on holistic nutrition (which I haven’t been able to build, busy as I am on A Holistic Journey). I am also a musician keeping her homeschool boy going on the drums. =) Thx for the support.

      Diana

      Reply

  41. I really like this. Thank you for posting it. I’m very new to blogging and this is good because it touches on wider issues not just “how to make your blog as popular as possible”. It is useful to ask ourselves why we want this and if we can to try and find or create something other than a vehicle for a bigger ego.

    Reply

  42. I really enjoyed this piece. It made me think. I especially liked the idea of knowing why we’re here, why we’re doing this, extending ourselves, sharing, writing. I have been on a journey of writing for a long time. I wrote a lot in journals, did free association writing first thing in the morning, and composed poems. I even tried my hand at screenwriting, which yielded a 57-page unfinished project hopelessly stuck somewhere in the second act. Blogging, however, gives me the opportunity to share my thoughts, my philosophy, my spirituality. It is refreshing to see comments from people who have read my posts. I am fairly new at this, having started a week before Christmas last year. So I really found your post on effective habits to be very instructive.

    Reply

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  44. In the bigger picture I guess we’re all tiny drops of water splashing off the sun…but oh what a moment! You go girl. Thanks for stopping by my tiny blog. xox

    Reply

  46. Not only did I enjoy reading your blog, I thoroughly enjoyed the comments and replies. Thank you for finding the time to write and let strangers into your life. We all benefit from each other. Happy you noticed me so I can notice you.

    Reply

  47. This is a collection of advice and thoughts that are worth their weight in Holistic Treasury Gold ~ all of these habits are great for building a blog (and in building a life). Two items on this list that ring so true: remember how small you are and then understand how big you can be. Humility and dreams tend to go well together 🙂 Wonderful ~ fantastic post Diana.

    Reply

    • I sure appreciate the enthusiastic response on this, R. Yes, it was very much meant for life (outside blogosphere) as well. My faith gives me the understanding that I am but a mist as well as the dignity that I am loved and that wonderful things are possible. Thank you. Thank you.

      Diana

      Reply

  48. I had to put a lot of thought into what I was doing and why I was after it. Beginning a blog and not having anyone one come can really hurt your ego until you realize that no one knows you’re there. My main blog http://mynameisjamie.net was started at another blog site. They didn’t even have a community at all. I had to go out and reel my readers in by going to other internet sites to places where I thought the readers would be that would be interested in what I wrote and would leave comments at online publications. I worked hard at it every day getting my blog out there. But the blog site I was at was crappy for more reasons than not having a community, they’d go down for up to 5 days at a time. It was difficult to leave there because they wouldn’t give me the info I needed and it took me 3 months to move everything to wordpress, so there was little time for new writing.. I was at wordpress for 2 months before i realized there was a community. I still do that. I don’t depend on wordpress bloggers and social media to be the way I get my words in front of people. I check to see where the referrers come from, and more that come in from internet searchers the happier I am.

    I see a lot of blogs with thousands of followers and many thousands of replies and I take a look at why. I saw a nothing post with 36 relies and the replies had absolutely nothing to say between two people. “great blog”, “thanks” “did you see mine” “id saw yours” “did you like it?” “yes” But on the outside it looked like she must have written something great.

    I don’t want people to just follow me and not come back. My blog has a timeline. It has a story. It means something. Not to everyone, but I want to those it does resonate with to come back often and for me to do the same. So I’d rather have fewer serious readers than a thoughtless like and a follow. What turns me off is some coming to my post and instead of saying anything meaning about what I wrote they write “Thanks for following me”. I’m not going to approve those anymore, for what? The stats? I never do that. It’s insulting.

    It’s been a slow learning process when it’s important to you – when it’s more than just a diary – although they have their place. I try to acknowledge new bloggers and help with their confidence and reply, but I just don’t follow something anymore that I know I have no real intention of going back.

    Gee, I think I just wrote a post, and I’ll put it at my other blog, http://watchandwhirl.wordpress.com, because that is where I go off topic and even do the ocassional rant.

    Reply

    • You actually knew more about blogging than I did 23 months ago. I didn’t even see WP had its own community, didn’t see it that way. Was as clueless as they came. But WP is the only pool I draw from. As a homeschooler, I don’t have time for social media. Yes, the size – and even more importantly, the quality – of the comment board is the barometer of a blog’s success, not the numbers. You did write a post here =) and I do encourage bloggers to post it when they do that on my threads. =) Takes me hours to get back to all the comments so it could be a while but I’ll pop in when I can, Jamie. Thx for sharing.

      Diana

      Reply

      • I did actually create a post with it, but I didntt use it as a reblog so now I have to go back and put a link to your blog in it so it will ping back to you.

        I do have the time and in the winter I’m a hermit. I ***HATE*** the cold. I sit and write for many hours, getting up here and there to eat and do normal things. it does take a long time to get back to some people. I do rely on the beel on the top right so i can see new comments so i can respond fatster, but other blogs, I try to go back to at least 2 or 3 of them a day, because I want to support them, because although empty likes and replies don’thave much value, it is good for our self esteem to see that someone read our post and it spurs us on to keep writing. Everyone, all ages, and professions have different reasons for writing a blog. I try to support new people as much as possible, because i was once that new person. It has been such a fun learning process. I too, didn’t know anything about the wordpress community. took me a while to see it there. The first place I had my blog didn’t have a community, I just got tired of their server going down and wanted to move it and saw wordpress. I sure am glad I found it!

        Oh, and I’m not Jamie, Jamie is the man in prison who is the father of one of my grandsons. It his life in prison that i write about. I’m Sonni

  49. Great post. I’m new to blogging and often feel aimless. I have a travel blog and it was initially something to help me remember my trip and keep up with friends and family. I would like it to be more though. This inspires me top really think about that, perhaps come up with a blog mission statement. Thanks for the nudge!

    Reply

      • I wrote a mission statement!! I’m going to let it simmer for a bit before posting it to my blog, but here it is 🙂

        Write an authentic and brave blog about my travel experiences and personal growth that brings more sympathetic joy, radical acceptance, and loving kindness into the world by: enhancing my connections with past, present, and future friends and family; inspiring others to engage in adventurous and ethical travel or volunteering; exploring cultural diversity in a steadfastly nonjudgmental way; and bearing witness to issues around social injustice and the experiences of oppressed, marginalized, and impoverished people around the world.

  50. An excellent post, Diana, and I found it at the right time…

    After one and a half years of blogging, I am really trying to find a few answers…

    The most important thing is, why am I blogging?

    When I am at the cross roads of my career why do I spend countless hours ‘preparing a post’ and ‘interacting with fellow bloggers’?

    If I try to infer the points discussed here, I have a few questions already answered…

    You can’t really let go off something you really ‘love’, right?

    Reply

    • O wow, hey thanks for sharing, SN. “When I am at the cross roads of my career why do I spend countless hours ‘preparing a post’ and ‘interacting with fellow bloggers’?” And indeed we can tell you love what you do. I hope you might – at some point – find WoRk that you love. =) So glad to know this was timely.

      Diana

      Reply

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