What's the purpose of your web site or blog? Is it to entertain, educate, vent,
practice your writing, or what?
There are times when you need to stand back from your blogging and re-evaluate
your goal for blogging. Whether you started blogging a week ago, two months ago
or 5 years ago, self assessment is important to your success. Did you start out
with the goal to educate visitors on a certain subject; but, now you are only
venting about things you don't like? Were you interested in practicing your
writing, but you fall back into the same old habits you started with 4 years
ago?
Look Inside Yourself
This article really is about you looking inside yourself, slowing down and
doing a self-appraisal. I know five years ago when I started this web site, I
had hopes of educating my readers with information on programming and database
SQL language. I became bored with that direction. During the summer I was
involved in gardening so I started a landscpae and garden section. Then when
the harsh Illinois winters arrived, I moved indoors to articles on weight
lifting. When my doctor told me I needed to lose weight I started a section on
losing weight.
For me the blogging/web site has been a hodge podge of my wandering mind. When
our two children finally graduated from college and got married, my wife and I
began to travel. So, I have a ton of travel articles to write. I should
probably get separate web sites for each of these interests. But, I am a frugal
man and I don't want to spend any more on a web site than necessary. I don't
earn enough to really go throwing my money around like a spendthrift.
And yes, I do sit back on occasion and try to look back at why I started my web
site and if I am achieving the goal I set out to achieve. I haven't written a
programming article in over 2 years - maybe even 3 years. Though, I enjoy when
my co-workers and friends will message me in the middle of the night and say,
"I was looking for some information on programming and you had the perfect
information I needed." I originally thought I could help educate users on
little problems they might encounter with the C Sharp language. And since that
section still gets a ton of hits each day, it is helping someone.
Watch Me Vent
I rarely vent on my blog. Though to be honest, in my head I think of all kinds
of things to vent about. I want to write about them, but I am concerned you
would think poorly of me. The current vent that wants to become an article is
titled, I Will Not Drop My Entrecard on You, So Stop Bothering Me. It
has great promise, but what will it gain me? A few will agree with me, some
will be mad and most won't care. But, if the purpose of your blog is to allow
you to vent, then spout away. I hear it is very satisfying. I think I got
smacked too often as a child for "expressing my opinion."
Many web sites are meant to entertain. I run across many funny bloggers on
Entrecard. Whether they post photos that tell a humorous story, tell their own
funny life stories or just relay jokes they make up or hear from others, the
Entrecard community has a great sense of humor. And if the purpose of your blog
is to tell us about entertainers and their foibles well many people gobble up
your delicious exposes.
Hone Your Writing Skills
Did you start your blog to hone your writing skills? As you prepare your
composition do you review and correct? Are you eliminating poor grammar? Are
you writing in a passive voice? Do you use a lot of misplaced modifiers? If you
are blogging to improve your writng skills you may want to hook up with other
writers and review each other's blogs. I know I can look at a page of words and
think it is perfect, but once someone else evaluates it, all kinds of red
lights flash around the errors.
Did you start your blog for another reason? What was it? Is it still valid
today? Have you ever sat and just thought about your blog and did some
self-evaluation? Maybe today would be a good day to review your reasons for
blogging or maybe you need to create some reasons for blogging. If your
writing has been sparse and your ideas lackluster, then maybe you need to
re-evaluate your writing and blogging goals. There is an old saying I first
heard from Brian Tracy, "Feeling listless? Make a list!" I hope you stop a
moment before running to the next blog and write down some of the thoughts this
article brought to you. See if those thoughts can blossom into a call to
action.
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