How to Survive the Blog Life.

Ronovan Blogging, , , , ,

I think we need to get a few things straight about blogging. Blogging isn’t what it started out to be. There are very few blogs in the true sense of the word any longer. We have become a world of almost websites. But we are called bloggers because we don’t have a company or whatever.

I’m cool with that. I’m a blogger. I’m a blogger in the 21st Century definition. Why did I explain all of that? Because I want to talk about . . .

How to Survive the Blog Life.

There are some people that don’t realize what goes into a lot of our blogs. The hours of writing, researching, networking, formatting, web layout designs and much more. I don’t really know of anyone that just throws out some words and that’s that.

I’ll make this simple:

  • Write what you like-If you are trying to write in a style you don’t like or are not comfortable in, then you’re likely to feel that eating at you. Maybe it’s just me, but when I am writing, I will just stop even at the end of a 1000 word article if I am not feeling it and trash it.
  • Only write when you want to-Don’t force yourself to write just because you feel responsible for it. Or you want to have content because you are afraid people won’t come back if you miss a day or two. If that’s true then they really weren’t into your site in the first place. Not to sound negative there, but it’s the truth.
  • Be nice to people-There is no reason to be mean to anyone. If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say it. If you don’t want to interact with people, don’t have comment boxes on your posts where people might ask you something. You don’t have to respond to every person, but you can some at least.
  • Set your boundaries-Make your life easy by setting some rules for yourself about interacting with other bloggers or readers. They are your friends and co-workers of sorts. Keep it that way. Makes for an easier life for you and keeps you a  lot happier in the long run.
  • If you like it you like it-Only click like on things you like, and if you really like it then reblog it. Some don’t like to reblog because it doesn’t look good on their blog or reblogs don’t work that great for views and traffic on average. So what?

There is something that I didn’t mention. It’s the most important thing to remember in order to Survive the Blog Life.

Don’t worry about success.

If you ever start worrying about success go to one of those 5 things and see which one you are missing out on. You see, being you, just being yourself is enough. You don’t have to do gimmicks.

I give tips about how to increase traffic to blog sites, but I don’t use them all. You see, I just like giving the tips because I know that a) some people are after success and b) some people just like to use different types of things, okay and c) I just like to share/teach. Sorry, it’s in the blood thing. Once a teacher always a teacher.

You now I added the star rating to my posts a while back and no one really uses it. But yesterday for some reason someone decided to put a 1 on two of my posts. One was my Autumn post and the other was my Haiku Prompt Challenge post. You see if it had been just the Autumn post then fine, but then when it was the Haiku Prompt as well I realized it was someone just being mean.  But I’m good with it. I’ll take down the star rating eventually anyway because it was just for a change and no one was using it anyway and it doesn’t really go with my new theme and layout.

But don’t add things like ratings to your posts if you are sensitive and care what people think. Just sayin’. Oh, and no worries. I know the deal, so I’m good.

So everyone, remember, forget about success, write honest, and take some breaks.

 As a companion to this article you may wish to read Blogging Personality: The Key to Success.

Ronovan

ronovan writes

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62 thoughts on “How to Survive the Blog Life.”

  11. Well said! It’s too easy to get sucked into watching those stats and feeling you have to post constantly… then it becomes a chore, and not a pleasure. Thanks for the reminder!

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  12. Just when I thought you could not possibly have more tips for us all on blogging, there you go and prove me wrong. Great advise as ever Ron, and what an uplifting post to anyone thinking of throwing in the towel and finishing blogging because they’ve had a few bad days/weeks of views, comments, likes, followers or have hit the writers wall called ‘block’.

    Like I have said before, on days or weeks you don’t have anything original to post, then do some reblogging. After all, you’ve liked the post and enjoyed reading it, so pass it on to your own followers as well, as some of them may not be following the blogger who wrote the post. They in turn may really appreciate you reblogging that post.

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  13. Don’t you just love those 1-star type of reviews that tell you nothing? *shrug* I set a goal of 1 blog post per week. Do I make it all the time? Nope, and that’s okay, too.

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    • I have a friend that puts a lot into her one post per week and she has an incredibly successful blog. So it really is quality over quantity. And when she didn’t put anything out for a couple of weeks, her views were almost the same. She took time of because she had to and she’s survived to write more posts. 🙂

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      • *whew* all the “conventional wisdom” I’ve been given says more posts=better blog. Not possible on my current schedule so I’m glad to hear quality still counts.

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        • What really works is good quality and making connections with other bloggers. Yeah, in the beginning you might want to have more content, maybe, but very quickly you want to go for that killer one.

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  23. I like your ‘don’t worry about success’ attitude. Blogging on something that you really love is key, so if you only have a small following, that’s okay. I blog about free classic short stories (mystery and supernatural) and that’s really a limited audience. But my followers are truly interested in reading these stories. Some bloggers just want the high traffic but if they don’t actually read and enjoy the blog, what’s the point? Great post!

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  24. I agree on what blogging has become and what it was. It’s nice to read a post about the life of the writer and not how I should be doing what I do. You’ve put out some very good advice for all of us. Thanks

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  28. Reblogged this on Reviews & Recommendations and commented:
    “Only write when you want to-Don’t force yourself to write just because you feel responsible for it. Or you want to have content because you are afraid people won’t come back if you miss a day or two.” That was what I needed to read. Thank you.

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  29. “Only write when you want to-Don’t force yourself to write just because you feel responsible for it. Or you want to have content because you are afraid people won’t come back if you miss a day or two.” That was what I needed to read. Thank you.

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      • I suspect it will take me some time as well. On one of my facebook blogs I have over 10,000 viewers solely through word of mouth, no advertising. It’s been active for over a year. I have one on book reviews that I started this past April & it now has 500 viewers. I also have two other pages on which I am sole administrator. It keeps me busy.

        For the first year I posted daily & kept faithfully active. The last couple of months I’ve only been active weekly, but felt guilty & neglectful. I haven’t noticed a decline in number of viewers but the ‘feelings’ were harder to take. That’s where your article has helped. Again, thank you.

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  34. You caught my attention by talking about how much time we spend blogging: it is a little crazy how hard I am working at something that isn’t a job. I don’t think non-bloggers get it, but that is okay, as long as we keep our expectations in check. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • I am not sure that it is so much wisdom as it is admitting I have a problem. 🙂 First step to recovery is to admit it. I may come up with a Rehab Program for Bloggers at some point. Thank you for commenting. I liked the way you wrote your comment as well. I guess that’s a writer’s appreciation speaking.
      Much Respect
      Ronovan
      Hope you don’t mind a follower.

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  35. […] Blogging is supposed to be fun. If you aren’t having fun, step back and take a deep breath. And remember this; the only person you are responsible to for on your blog is you. You are the only one that needs to be happy with what you post. The only person that needs to think about when your next post will be is you. If you are getting close to the edge of pulling your hair out or just giving up blogging, check out How to Survive the Blog Life. […]

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  43. I had a mild moment of panic when I got to a certain number of followers and thought “Oh, now I have to write something good! Or think before I post!” Then I started laughing at myself.
    I have been writing on another site that likes (some) of my prose but really dislikes (almost all of) my poetry for almost ten years. So it still amazes me when I get a “like” on a poem.

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