Lesson Two: Bad Blogging
What makes for an unsuccessful blog? First of all, determine what “success” means for your blog. Is it money (there is such a thing as getting paid to blog, but that’s probably not you – at least for the duration of the Race)? Is it a large readership? Is it quantifiable action done by those whom you have reached? Then, make some goals and objectives as to how you will achieve such success.
The root cause of the lack of success may be many reasons:
- A niche already dominated by other superior sites or blogs.
- A lack of consistency with too many posts varying from topic to topic, with no clear focus.
- Laziness or an inability to stay consistent.
- Insular blogging.
- Not enough knowledge or experience from which to draw from to produce content that people love.
(http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/616/professional-blogging-as-a-business-model/)
Let’s tackle the first bullet point. This is why you need to take some time and really develop your theme. What is your blog really about, and who is your audience? On what subject will your main content focus? Although you don’t want to “reinvent the wheel,” it would do you well to do some competitive research to see what people are blogging about and to whom they’re blogging. Then, after tallying your own passions and skills, find something in which you can invest and not grow weary, but don’t walk the same path as countless others and think you will bring something new to the table. Find a niche.
The second reason for unsuccessful blogging can also be included in this point. Once you choose a theme, stay consistent with it. This is not to wall you in and destroy your creativity; conversely, such structure will help your creativity flourish. For example, what do musicians do without a key in which to play? Well, they produce jazz music. Just kidding. Even jazz musicians use keys and chord progressions, albeit loose ones at times. The point is that in writing, you want to give yourself something to work with. Otherwise you’re writing about nothing, and there can only be one Seinfeld (sorry, another jab).
The third point calls us to be honest with ourselves – sometimes, we fail because we don’t work hard enough. If you want a successful blog, you are going to have to work for it. Most assuredly, it will not just happen. You will not coincidentally get thousands of daily readers without some real effort put into your blog. This is where many people simply don’t try. They narrow-mindedly limit the use of their blog to some kind of online journal where they can express their inner feelings… with an audience. They miss out on the power and influence they can have, if they were to utilize the resources their readers offer.
Although there are blogging entrepreneurs out there who actually make a steady income off of their blogs, that may not be your calling. What I mean by “resources” is not only cash flow, but the chance to reach a large group of people at once with something compelling. If they are coming back for new content every day, chances are that you have them hooked; they are bought into you and your cause. You can call them to social action or global awareness. You can start a charity fund-raising campaign with your readers as supporters. You can share information with massive amounts of people and ask them to do the same with their networks. You have the world at your fingertips; do something with it outside of feeding your own ego.
The fourth point touches on a term with which you may or may not be familiar – insular blogging. What is insular blogging? Here’s what one pro-blogger says about it:
“Insular blogging is when you sit and post content to your blog, never linking to or talking about other bloggers, blogs or websites. You need to interact with the blogosphere and other people online in order to grow your traffic rapidly… My blog tip is to take action by getting out there and meeting other bloggers via your blog. Link to other blogs, review other blogs, email bloggers, do content exchanges, write an e-book with another blogger and join in with the discussion started by other bloggers.”
(http://www.blogtrafficschool.com/blog/)
Insular blogging is another practice rooted in ego. If you can rise above the teeny-boppers and use your blog for more than bringing attention to yourself, then you might actually have something worth reading.
Again, I ask: Do you have something worth saying? Have you enough knowledge or experience in your writing subject? If not, perhaps it’s time to choose another theme, or pick up a book. There’s nothing wrong with discovering things along with the reader. Such an exploration, if pursued in humility, might actually make for a compelling blog.
If you don’t know a lot about your subject, though, just say so, and don’t try to pass yourself off as an expert. This is important overseas when you’re writing about the country you’re in – be sure to cite sources and refrain from making overarching comments about a people group or institution with which you’ve recently become acquainted.
While saying something obvious like, “Poverty is a problem in Africa” isn’t bad, you don’t want to make what could be misguided evaluations, such as, “The government in Tanzania is a bunch of evil communists.” Even if this is true, your saying this without any long-term frame of reference or reliable source tends to come off as arrogant and ethnocentric. Plus, it could potentially hurt AIM’s relationship with a ministry, organization, or government and damage the potential for future ministry. So, don’t do it.
If you’re new to blogging and/or to your subject matter, the best thing you can do is good research, if the content requires it. Make lots of references to other articles, blogs, and websites. This will get you out of a potential insular blogging rut and make you not sound like an idiot (to be perfectly frank). That’s why I like writing stories – no one can argue with you.
