Once Upon A Time In BlogLand…
Post by BlogPaws CEO Yvonne DiVita
Once upon a time in BlogLand there was a blogger who was frustrated with everything about blogging.
“I hate writing,” he said, to no one in particular (and, as we know, no one in particular is a very good listener!).
“I hate my blog platform,” he said.
“I hate the day I was born!”
Now, of course, he didn’t hate writing, nor did he hate his blog platform, and I can tell you honestly, he did not hate the day he was born. He merely felt lost in the system. Day after day, week after week, this talented blogger would compose wondrous copy and share marvelous insight and add excellent links to his resources… but he felt that no one was listening. After all, no one ever left a comment. No one ever noticed his Facebook page. No one ever shared his work. As you can see, no one is a poor friend… unlike no one in particular, who is an attentive friend, at least.
On this dreary day of complaint, when the blogger was hang-dog sad, the sun was out shining with all its might, as if the brightness it created could cheer the blogger up. To no avail. The blogger merely sank further down in his chair and refused to put fingers to keyboard.
The other citizens of BlogLand were concerned. They loved the blogger. They read and enjoyed his content, maybe not every day, but they did look at his Facebook page, they did RT him on Twitter, and they admired his work. Yes, their attention was often short and fleeting, as is most attention on the Internet, but they gave a good bit of it to this blogger so his dejection and sudden (to them it was sudden) depression was confusing.
What should we do? they asked each other.
How can we help? they wondered.
What if…what if he stops writing altogether? the shocked realization was asked in whispers!
Here’s the moral of this story – I am that blogger. You are that blogger. Every one of us has lived with doubt. Every one of us has contemplated moving on to something more rewarding.
When you’re feeling lost and invisible – when you’re sure no one is paying a bit of attention to your work – the temptation to move on is so strong, it wraps you in a death grip and takes your very breath away.
This past week I was talking with a few bloggers from my long-ago past. These are people who are like me. They started when blogging was new. They were excited and thrilled with this new platform for communication. They put their all into it and saw their influence grow, along with their desire to keep doing more.
“It was so easy in the beginning!” one of them said.
“Yes,” the rest of us agreed. “You wrote what you were passionate about, people read it, and you turned the attention into a business.”
“Then, it got hard,” someone slipped in. “It got hard because once it became a business, we had to learn how to treat it as a business.”
Therein lies the truth. The moral. If blogging, which is your passion because you are all about …whatever it is you write about… has become more work than play, you have a problem. If you no longer enjoy blogging, because you don’t feel it’s returning the results you want, you will begin to drift into frustration and dejection as if struggling in a pit of quicksand.
To bring the passion back you have to do one of two things:
- You have to return to the days of writing because it pleased you. You must get that desire to share for the sake of sharing, back.
- You must learn how to turn what you’re doing into a business. If you want your writing to support you, or merely bring in a few extra dollars, there is no other choice for you other than learning to be a business professional.
Choosing #1 means you must be bringing in a salary elsewhere. The job or career supplying that salary must not be so time-consuming and energy-draining that it does not allow you to write in your blog – given you’ve identified the reason for blogging as… it pleases you.
Choosing #2 means studying how to be in business; studying how to build a list, gain attention, become influential. It means taking this passion for writing and adding a level of professionalism that demands… more than writing skills. When you choose to turn your blog into a business, you become much more than a writer. Without the proper training, this new business will eat you alive!
If the story of the blogger in Once Upon a Time in BlogLand resonates with you – step back and rethink your blog. Take a break from life in BlogLand to refocus your goals. I promise you this, when you are ready to return to BlogLand, it will still be there, and most of your friends will welcome you back with open arms.
The world is a big place. The Internet is an even bigger place. There will always be a place…in each…for you.
