If
you’re a blogger, there’s a good chance that somewhere in your mind,
you are not the blogger you want to be. You had this idea once, for how
your blog would look. You saw the layout, you imagined the crazy-unique,
mind-blowing contentthat made viral news and you pictured all these
loving, adoring readers who had nothing but good things to say and who
made it all seem worthwhile.
Right? Right.
Of course. If we had never had that picture in our minds, we would never have put the effort forth to begin a blog. However, here’s the catch. In spite of our efforts, quite often our blog doesn’t look the way we thought it would, our content just doesn’t always have that pizzazz we thought it would and well, our readers? Finicky, at best. Fairweather friends. They love us, they hate us. We do what we can. If any of this resonates with you, here are three easy “R” tips to become more like the blogger you thought you would be.
Right? Right.
Of course. If we had never had that picture in our minds, we would never have put the effort forth to begin a blog. However, here’s the catch. In spite of our efforts, quite often our blog doesn’t look the way we thought it would, our content just doesn’t always have that pizzazz we thought it would and well, our readers? Finicky, at best. Fairweather friends. They love us, they hate us. We do what we can. If any of this resonates with you, here are three easy “R” tips to become more like the blogger you thought you would be.
1) Re-Design
So
this one is actually fairly straightforward and simple! You can easily
pick up the skills needed to do a simple re-design with a WordPress for
Dummies, or relatively inexpensively, hire someone to re-design for you.
The key is figuring out just what you had in your head for what you
thought it would look like. Because clearly, at some point, something
went awry, or you’d have that in front of you right now.
What was your ultimate feeling? Professional? Silly? Sassy? Comforting? Healthy?
Make a list of your top 5 adjectives.
Make another list of your top 3 colors.
Then, go find at least 10 blogs that have a style you like.
Pay particular attention to the font(s); the fonts can truly make or break your overall feel.
And, we all know just how much impact our blog’s look has upon our writing. Even though we type it into our Blogspot or WordPress, it doesn’t matter; there’s nothing like seeing it on the blog itself that makes us feel inspired.
What was your ultimate feeling? Professional? Silly? Sassy? Comforting? Healthy?
Make a list of your top 5 adjectives.
Make another list of your top 3 colors.
Then, go find at least 10 blogs that have a style you like.
Pay particular attention to the font(s); the fonts can truly make or break your overall feel.
And, we all know just how much impact our blog’s look has upon our writing. Even though we type it into our Blogspot or WordPress, it doesn’t matter; there’s nothing like seeing it on the blog itself that makes us feel inspired.
2) Re-Inspired
Forget that you’re bored with the topic.
Forget that you think you’ve exhausted all there is to know and to explore (that’s impossible by the way).
Start reading other blogs who have the same topic matter/theme that you do.
What are they doing to stay active in it?
Can you interview key people?
Can you even interview those other bloggers?
Maybe take a step back and allow for some guest posters to come in.
Chances are, you’ll at least have something to say in response to them, and that itself might be enough to get you re-fired up. Research some controversy surrounding your topic. Trust me, it exists. I don’t care if you write about how much you love ice cream.
Somewhere the prices are escalating for unknown reasons. Somewhere people think it’s unfair that small town folks making ice cream from their mobile kitchen is unsafe and should be shut down because it’s not up to code, even if it is the best ice cream anyone’s tasted in a 250 mile radius. Get irritated. Get irate. And then go write about it. You’ll find yourself re-inspired, no problem.
3) Re-Connect
If
you aren’t connecting with your readers the way you imagined you would,
there’s a good chance that the fault lies more with you than with your
readers.
Are you giving them opportunity to get involved?
Are you inspiring questions?
Are you asking them to respond? Really, truly asking?
Hints don’t work online. And, if you are doing all that, are you sitting back and watching the comments come in, or are you actively participating back with your readers? Ask the tough questions. Ask the easy questions too. Be entertaining. Be witty. Be smart.
Just be engaged with them. Friend your consistent commentators on Facebook & Twitter. Promote their work and question them as well. If it’s not all about you, you’ll have a much better shot of creating a really loyal, dedicated reader base that cares about your work as much as you care about theirs. Remember, it’s a two-way street.
You’ll also find that the more inspired you are, the more interested your readers will be. You can’t blame them for taking a step back from a blog that doesn’t even inspire its own author.
When you’re passionate, your readers will become passionate.
When you’re active, your readers will become active.
So, go get yourself a new template, a new look, a new attitude, and a new dedication to respect your readers with the same respect you seek from them. Chances are great you’ll be very pleasantly surprised with the results.
Are you giving them opportunity to get involved?
Are you inspiring questions?
Are you asking them to respond? Really, truly asking?
Hints don’t work online. And, if you are doing all that, are you sitting back and watching the comments come in, or are you actively participating back with your readers? Ask the tough questions. Ask the easy questions too. Be entertaining. Be witty. Be smart.
Just be engaged with them. Friend your consistent commentators on Facebook & Twitter. Promote their work and question them as well. If it’s not all about you, you’ll have a much better shot of creating a really loyal, dedicated reader base that cares about your work as much as you care about theirs. Remember, it’s a two-way street.
You’ll also find that the more inspired you are, the more interested your readers will be. You can’t blame them for taking a step back from a blog that doesn’t even inspire its own author.
When you’re passionate, your readers will become passionate.
When you’re active, your readers will become active.
So, go get yourself a new template, a new look, a new attitude, and a new dedication to respect your readers with the same respect you seek from them. Chances are great you’ll be very pleasantly surprised with the results.
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