I had promised Amit that I was going to write a guest post for his blog for a while now, but being taken in the web of my online business, I just couldn’t free enough time to think about what I wanted to write, and more importantly what topic would fit the theme of his blog.
Nowadays, very few themes if at all haven’t been covered yet, and it’s all about telling the story YOUR own way that makes your content may be more attractive or even more valuable than someone else’s. Most people who have a blog have already written about blogging, no doubt about that, but what makes it interesting every time is that each is telling their own specific story about blogging. We all have a different story and a different WHY. The question you need to ask yourself if you are not sure is why am I blogging?
In this post I am going to tell you why I am blogging, briefly, so you could use my own example to help you decide what you could be blogging about. I also would like to help you if you are already blogging, but can seem to be able to move forward with your blog or maybe find it difficult to blog on a regular basis.
Why am I blogging?
When I first started to blog I was strictly blogging to sell affiliate products. While there is nothing wrong with that, it did tire me out. Some people would want you to believe that it’s easy to write once a week about a product that you don’t know much, but the truth is that it’s not. If you are not passionate with the product you will eventually get tried trying to promote it. Unless you develop a true passion for such product and are using it yourself, so you can write about it days in and days out, it is not going to be easy to keep the machine going forever.
A little over a year ago, I decided to get rid of all my selling blogs and keep only three blogs that are directly related to what I do. This is the best option I would suggest you to choose. If you offer a service or a specific product, concentrate on that and blog about it. As a matter of fact, you should be using your blog as a front store for whatever you are trying to sell, while not trying to sell in your posts.
What you need to do instead is help your readers with your content as much as possible. We call this, giving value. Your blog is a give and take. You give value with your posts while your blog becomes the vehicle for your business.
What should you blog about?
What you should blog about depends to a very large degree on what you want to accomplish and what your online business is. For example, a lot network marketers blog about various facets of online marketing that are related to what they do. Freelance writers, such as myself, should have a blog related to writing. However, it doesn’t hurt to have another blog that could be related to a totally different niche, because what you are still showing through ANY blog as a writer is that you can write. That’s exactly what I do myself.
If you are interested in cooking, gardening, electronic, personal development, travel or anything else, you can use your interests and passions to be the back bone of your blog while you can use such blog as a platform to sell related services or other items.
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What if you have a blog but are having a hard time blogging regularly?
If you already have a blog, but are finding it hard to post regularly (by regularly I mean at the very least every other week, but more ideally once a week) then, it probably means one of three things.
1. You are not blogging in a niche where you feel enough passion to write about often.
2. You are not prioritizing your blog as an important business platform.
3. Blogging might not be for you after all.
Do you really love what you are blogging about?
If you feel that you are not blogging about what you are really passionate about, you need to shop around and do some research or try to think about what it is that you REALLY want to share with the world. What do you like? What makes you tic? What are you passionate about worth sharing?
Do you have a hard time prioritizing?
If you feel that you have no time for your blog, then you need to redefine your priorities, and decide to take your blog as a real business that you need to attend to each and every day for a specific amount of time. The best way to do this is by setting a specific time where you are not going to allow anything or anyone to disturb you from doing your work on your blog.
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Is blogging really for you?
If you are falling in the third category you will definitely know it rather rapidly by making sure that you understand all that is involved in having to maintain a blog year after year beside the fact that you have to produce original content on a regular basis. Blogging and selling online is a real business and it takes time and dedication like any other business. Be honest with yourself by weighing all the pros and cons and decide if blogging is really for you.
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About Amit Shaw
Well, as for me is having a day job and blogging at night is quite tiring sometimes. So when I am tired I don’t force myself to blog.
Hi Arsie,
It all depends how far you want to go with your blog. If you want to replace your job with your online business or if you just want to blog as hobby will make a huge difference.
I blog because I’m extremely passionate about it and it’s my profession. And I also love to share my expertise with others.
Blogging becomes easy when you don’t focus only on results. It becomes intimidating when you focus ONLY on results.
Hi Rahul,
You really nailed it here. When all your focus is on the money it will affect what you are putting out there. Focusing on helping people is much better and much more rewarding as well. Lots of people are forgetting about this.
I see many blogs dissapear without any warning. It’s like one day they’re there and the next day they’re gone! Financial problem, lack of time and interest seem to be the common reasons a blog calls it quit! Some dissapeared without even knowing the reason, it just a mystery! So making the right decisions when it comes to blogging is vital. After all, you don’t want your blog to fall into the category of “Now you see it, now you don’t” 🙂 Great article, Sylviane. I enjoyed reading it.
Hi Peter,
Ahaha I like the “now you see it, now you don’t” I’ve noticed that sometimes as well. Lot of times is because of two main reasons. 1) The blogger was never serious to start with and 2) They had no idea about what they were getting into. I’ve coached quite a few people who could fit both categories.
Thanks for your input.
Well currently I’m doing full time blogging (approx 16 hours) because I’m having leave these days. But in working days I do blog around 4 hours. I’m really passionate about blogging. i can’t live even a day without it.
Hi Rudraksh,
I really love that! I am passionate about blogging myself. Once you get hooked, it’s like a drug, right?
I’m glad you love it!
Hey Sylviane,
I’ve recently published a similar post in which shared the reasons of why do I blog and also asked from my blogger friends why do they blog. You’re absolutely right that writing about a product which you never used and don’t know much about isn’t going to make you any money. If you do, you’ll be tired of blogging. That is something which happened with me.
I blog about those topic in which I’m interested and I’ve passion. I love to write about my passion and that is the main reason of why do I blog. On the other hand it is also getting me a lot of knowledge and also improving my English and writing skills.
Thanks for writing on this here,
Ehsan U.
Hi Ehsan,
Well, I see that like me English is not your first language so all the more merite to you. If blogging is your passion, then there is no way you could fail. All the best in your blogging career.
When I start blogging I love to become a passionate blogger to share the things what I experienced on the web and slightly transformed my career in to Internet marketing and sell affiliate products.
But sadly as peter Lee said most blogs are vanish that the people quit from blogging when they doesn’t any earnings in 3-6 months without realizing what efforts they’re putting in it.
Hi Naveen,
That’s why when you start blogging even if the ultimate goal is to make money it can’t be your “primary” goal from the get go. I think that would be a mistake. I never understood people who expect to make an instant jack pot from their band new blog. I never did myself 🙂
Blogging simply means interest,time,money,quality the combination of all these things ll make u a successful blogger….nd if u dn’t hv nything from above in th post then don’t do blogging…nice post for reminding me that i m blogger…:)
Well,
Blogging is not about just writing posts.
Blogging is not about just being active on social media.
Blogging is not about just making backlinks.
And also it’s not just about making MONEY.
It’s something more –
And It about VALUE 🙂
Hi Dhruv,
You are so right, blogging is NOT only about all the things you mentioned above. It is also about loving what you do and adding value. When you send out value out there it comes back to you a hundredfold.
Yes Sylviane, you are absolutely correct at your point. Blogging definitely plays an important role and for this special concentration must be given. An informative post definitely attracts visitors towards it. So, one needs to be very particular while blogging. This is infact very essential. Thanks for the share. I hope this post would be a great help for all the bloggers.
Hi Aditi,
The more specific you are with your blog the more you are going to attract a specific “targeted market” and this is the key to success.
Thanks for your input 🙂
Hi sylviane,
I started my blogging courier on wordpress within 4 mnths before that i used blogspot for blogging. i m student also so i don’t get much time to blogging. Hardly i post article once in a week. That’s why yet i don’t have much visitors on my site. i want to know it is required to write articles everyday to improve visitors.
Hi Rahul,
I don’t thing that you need to post every day to get more traffic. Once a week is not bad at all. That how often I post on my blogs. What you need is build relationships and write high quality content, that’s what will improve your traffic in the first place.
Hi Sylviane
When I started blogging I was all over the place with topics as I was unclear where I wanted to go. I was very regular – daily for about 45 days then became very irregular.
I am not more focused and do stick to a schedule. I do not think everyone can blog daily but it needs to be regular.
I definitely do not think blogging is for everyone. I built my husband a blog and he has not written one post yet. It was more about what I thought he needed than he did. 🙂
Sue
Hi Sue,
No you don’t need to post every single day to be successful at blogging, but regularly is a must, for sure. Sometimes I see totally abandoned blogs, and it’s as like the person as died or something. Kinda weird.
Definitely some people are just not bloggers. Not everyone is a writer or even wants to be 🙂
Thanks for you feedbacks over here, Sue 🙂
Hi Sylviane,
I would like to add my views here. One should take up blogging only if it interests and not for any other reason. I have been doing this as I enjoy it. You can write meaningful posts on your blogs, as and when you have the urge. Never do it to increase the traffic. Only quality matters and not quantity. Throwing insight into useful topics will draw a good traffic to your site/blog. All these should be driven by passion.
Regards,
Sanjib Saha
You’re right Sanijib,
While you can be smart about know how to attract traffic the best way to do so is be delivering quality content and showing that you are a real person with a beating heart. That’s what pays off in the end.
What a wonderful post Sylviane and you did Amit proud.
I recently wrote a post about not being in the mood to write. Of course it was my birthday and I should have written my post ahead of time because I went off and ate too much and was sluggish the rest of the afternoon. So although that’s not a normal situation, I had plenty of comments saying that they never feel in the mood to write and wanted my suggestion of what to do. In my opinion I told them apparently blogging isn’t for you because if you’re in the right niche and doing what you enjoy you’ll be in the mood the majority of the time. Maybe not always but 99.9% of the time.
I think some of us venture into blogging for one reason and then as we learn and grow it takes on a whole other direction. I know for me I just love helping people and connecting with them along the way so it’s totally worth the time for me. I know you also feel the same way and I still don’t know how you do it all. Either way you put it, I’m glad you find the time.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne,
I know you are saying, again Sylviane! You know the beauty of blogging community is this… I was able to write two guest posts this week, because someone wrote his guest post on my blog 🙂 How great that is?
You are right about what you told your people. If they don’t have something to write about at least most of the time, blogging is probably not for them. Heck with three blogs plus guest posts and I manage to find a way, and I’m not super woman. So really it comes down to having the passion or not.
Thanks for commenting for like the 4th blog posts of mine this week Adrienne 🙂 Your’re wonderful!
The ‘why’ question is always a good way to get things in perspective. I don’t know (much) about other people’s / bloggers (Yes, bloggers are people too) experiences, but from my own experience I can tell that blogging has become an important part of my life. Because I have to compress all my blogging in just two or three hours per day (including reading other blogs, commenting, Social Networking, etc) I have to be creative with the amount of time I have available.
I always try to have a few ‘spare’ posts ready for when I’m not in the ‘mood’ to blog and a few ideas in store. I try to post a new post around 3 times a week. And – because I blog about ‘current affairs’ too sometimes there’s as little as one hour between the idea and the post itself.
Blogging for a niche can be difficult sometimes, depending on the niche you’re working on and the subjects available. I mean… How many blog posts can you do about the migration habits of the white spotted south African male chningolingo bird… 😉
I am a firm believer that fun should (at least) be one of the major reasons to blog, even when you’re facing deadlines sometimes.
Hi Jan,
Well, my dear, you seem to have it all down, and I wouldn’t have a thing to teach you about blogging for sure. You are saying it all here and you are so right, no matter what, blogging should be fun, even if you are blogging about a serious matter. I love it. I so love blogging and commenting.
Thanks for your great comment 🙂
Second that. Great post. Holler ‘why’ of ‘how’ and I just need to know the answers. 😉 Blogging IS fun.
Hi Sylviane, Just wrote a long reply and lost it…so here I am again.
You have done a wonderful job (as usual ) with this post. These key points of blogging makes one think. I do believe that if one blogs as a passion and gives good content for others to read it will succeed. Also, engaging with your readers is very important. When there is a comment, reply the best you can. I love blogging because I love to get to know people. On this platform, I get to meet people all over the world. It doesn’t get better than that!
Donna
Hi Donna,
Dido, that’s what I was just saying in my reply just above. I love blogging and commenting. I love to meet new people who become real friends. Great relationships are born that way.
Thank you for finding me here too 🙂
When I started blogging, I had a few websites and it was work. One was a coupon site and I put more work in that site than any other site I have ever worked with. My return was dismal and it wasn’t worth its weight in gold to continue. At the end of the day, I wasn’t really passionate about that topic and I am glad I moved on.
Do I regret it? Not at all, and I am glad I experienced it. That failure taught me to focus on stuff I can see myself talking about each and every day. I find myself losing track of time because I soak up everything I read and I love what I do now and that’s helping others. Great post Sylviane…so many new bloggers need posts like this to remind them of what’s most important.
Hi Sonia,
I don’t think that your site experience was a failure, it was just something you did, you learned from and decide to let go.
I am glad that you found your true niche now with your blog. I can tell that you have a lot of fun with it. And I sure know that blog of yours well 🙂
Thanks for passing by, Sonia 🙂
Hi Sylviane,
You have written a great post taking in mind what Amit has to say.
Blogging is about Passion and one who have no passion then it may be possible that he will quit doing it after some time.So its better to know your worth earlier and take a decision which don’t make you feel like you have done a mistake before its too late.
Hi Aditya, and thank you for coming to see me here as well 🙂 I think that anyone blogging without passion will not be able to blog for long. That’s as simple as that.
Thanks for your input 🙂
I have been thinking the same from past 3 months. Whether blogging is for me? and whether I can blog daily along with my college and personal life. Really its a tough decision to chose!.. Blogging is not that easy!. .. thanks for sucha good article!!!