I think it’s part of the blogging package deal that sometimes insecurities will creep up. With stats being so in your face, it’s hard not to get caught up in them sometimes. It can also be intimidating to come across bloggers who’ve won awards, have high follower counts, or get loads of likes/comments, and you might start wondering what’s wrong with you and your blog that you’re not managing to keep up.
Well, I’m here to tell you that you don’t need any sort of external recognition to be a good blogger. If you’re still posting on your blog and putting your words out there into the world, you’re doing a good job. The quality of your blog is only a small factor in the number of visitors you get. You can only have one person reading your blog and that doesn’t mean you’re a lousy blogger.
So, in this week’s blogging chat, I invite you to share some of the things that intimidate you or make you feel like you’re not a very good blogger. I suspect there’s a lot we all have in common because, as I said, insecurity is part of the package deal. And if you’ve managed to opt out of that particular part of the package, please share how you’ve managed that feat.
The blogging toolbox series has tips to support you in your blogging journey. It includes these posts:
Serendipity freaks me out. This was the second in a row in my inbox on blogging. All while I’m struggling. I hate mysterious ways lol.
The technical stuff bugs me. I can do it via a windows interface easily enough, however, I don’t code. And I’m always worried about the “one true way.” Like the whole “ask a question in your title.”
I struggle with caring about follower numbers, about how much I interact and if I’m doing the commenting thing write. I worry about changing it up and offending people. It’s sort of like my life: I love it but it’s also a source of anxiety. I also don’t spend hours a day learning the ins and outs and nitty-gritty (any day you can say “nitty gritty” is a good day). I vary between thinking I don’t have to and thinking I’m failing WordPress.
This is one of the things I’ve always admired about you. You’re knowledgeable about the topic (blogging) and the venue.
Every day with a “nitty gritty” is definitely a good day.
I think that the technical stuff and all the shoulds about title and content and all that jazz don’t make a blog any better; they can just make it easier for new people to stumble across a it. There are better ways to spend time than learning the technical stuff. I just spend time on it because I don’t really do much of anything besides blogging, so it keeps it challenging. A lot of the nitty gritty I’ve crammed into my head isn’t actually of any real use; mostly it’s just frantic attempts to exercise my brain to slow its atrophy.
🤗 I feel that. Sometimes I think my neuroses are eating the parts of my brain that are smart from within.
Damn these silly brains that don’t cooperate…
I might look for a new one on Amazon. I’m ordering more sheet masks anyhow. I wonder if I can get it with Prime delivery 🤔
Lol
Great blog post! The technical stuff definitely intimidates me. I wish I was more clued in about website design and widgets etc but I just don’t get it 🙈.
I think most readers probably care more about the content than the technical stuff anyway.
Yes that’s true I guess, thanks for the reminder 😊
I think I just want a nice looking blog. With good content. I sometimes wish I had more readers, but then again… it is what it is. Im content personally with a handful of supporters. That is fine with me.
Quality is definitely better than quantity.
Yes it is! Thanks…
I struggle not to get caught up in the numbers or lack thereof. I hardly get any views, we’re talking single digits. I need to make more time to read others blogs and comment, I try but i’m not doing a good job of it and I know that.
I’m finally being consistent on my blog with a plan and think i’m going to stick to it so hopefully that helps. I enjoy blogging so i’ll continue to do it. Thank you for this post. 🙂 Even if it’s just 1 view, it’s something.
Enjoying it is definitely a great reason to keep doing it!
Oh I relate to this so much! I only follow a few blogs, I find it difficult to find something I like – so commenting is even more difficult 😅
It is difficult not to judge yourself on the success of others when we have that shoved down our throats on a daily basis. Especially when we are so passionate about writing it might feel disappointing to not have yourself heard, or heard by only a few people.
As you mentioned, seeing the stats come across can be disheartening when you put in so much effort. It’s the desire that drives us.
I maintain another blog that deals specifically with literature, and wrote about this similar topic in another way. You may be interested in that as well:
https://uponavon.wordpress.com/2022/05/10/why-we-write/
Blogging seems like it should be a “build it and they will come” kind of deal, but in my experience, it just isn’t. I’ve seen lot of bloggers who put in a lot of effort into their writing who didn’t attract a lot of visitors, and I’ve also seen bloggers who really aren’t very good writers but they do a lot of self-promotion and get a lot of visitors.
For sure there definitely isn’t a ‘justice’ to it all, if you want to call it that. We just keep doing what we’re doing because we enjoy it. There definitely is a thought in the back of my mind that recognition will come in time. Here’s hoping!
Indeed!
I enjoyed reading the post and the comments 👍It seems all share similar worries when it comes to blogging 😍
Yes, lots in common.
I always worry about comments. I feel like if no one comments on a post or their aren’t that many then maybe I did a bad job writing or expressing myself. I also worry about follower count, while my blog is only a few months old, I still worry about it.
Sorry about the delayed response – WordPress sometimes marks legit comments as spam, and it did that with yours. I know for me whether or not I comment on a blog post has less to do with how effective the post is and more to do with how slow my brain is and whether or not anything comes to mind to say in response.
That makes sense. I get that way too.
I used to want to have more readers, when I was writing more discursive posts on different subjects (really before this blog, when I was blogging on Livejournal and Blogger). This blog drifted fairly rapidly into daily updates about how my life is going coping with mental illness (originally) and autism and I realised I was never going to have many readers and that’s OK.
Now I sometimes feel a little sheepish and narcissistic that I’m basically writing daily posts about my life for eight or so friends. But I guess it’s their choice to read. I sometimes want to write about other topics, e.g. politics, theology, Doctor Who, and I do occasionally write short observations on those topics, but mostly I don’t have the time or energy and I’m conscious that’s not why people read my blog. I’m trying to divert some of that mental energy into novel-writing, although that’s been diverted by paperwork of different kinds and family illness lately.
I don’t think it’s narcissistic to write about your daily life.
I agree with Ashley, it’s not narcissistic. It’s your life, after all! And you never know when someone might discover one of your personal posts and find something they can relate to themselves.
Thanks, I hope so!
I agree! I find it interesting to read what other people are doing in their lives. Keep it up 😊
So, in this week’s blogging chat, I invite you to share some of the things that intimidate you or make you feel like you’re not a very good blogger. I suspect there’s a lot we all have in common because, as I said, insecurity is part of the package deal. And if you’ve managed to opt out of that particular part of the package, please share how you’ve managed that feat.
I state all the time that “I don’t care about the numbers” and I honestly (consciously) don’t. BUT. There’s that nasty little voice in my mind that says “See? Nobody is reading your stuff, therefore nobody likes it and therefore nobody likes YOU”. I know the truth of it of course – there are ebbs and flows in blogging just like in everything else in life. Right now Bloglandia is undergoing an early spate of ennui. Maybe it’s because Covid is sort of bested and people can get out more. Having been denied going out, they’re treasuring the freedom to do relatively normal things again. Or it could be that April wore everyone out in a sense of blogging, and they’re refueling their jets. It’s summer over here and that plays into it. I’m tired ALL THE TIME and that accounts for why I’m less visible. In light of all this you’d think that nasty little voice would STFU, but it’s there all right sniggering and spreading lies. I’m trying to ignore it and do meditation when it gets too loud. That or go and do something else entirely.
Even the greatest authors in history and in the world today are insecure. Writing is an art. Artists aren’t known for being uber confident about their output. It pays IMO to remember that as long as the blogger themselves is having an enjoyable time and is satisfied with their efforts, the effort is worthwhile. And nobody likes EVERYTHING…there’s always one who has something negative to say or worse is indifferent to the writing gems strewn on the ground that they can pick up for free.
I agree, what’s key is for the blogger to be enjoying themselves.
I’ve also noticed it’s been quiet in Blogland lately. I find that if my Reader feed is quiet, I’m less likely to pay much attention to drops in my own numbers.
You know my thoughts on this subject – I’ve shared them often enough (in comments and on my blog) – I don’t give a flying flip about stats, likes etc. I do often muse about never having had a theme – as in subject not how the blog looks – I think blogs with a theme get more play – I prefer personal blogs that are all over the place depending on what’s going on in the person’s life – I’ve got some thoughts about blogs/posts which I don’t care for but I won’t share those because I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings….
I think not caring about stats is the best way to be. I go through phases of caring and not caring about stats. Right now is a not caring phase, which I like.
I find people talking about their stats very stressful. It seems like people who’ve been blogging for only a couple of months have more traffic than me and I always wonder how. I start to feel inadequate, which is why I’ve left a lot of blogging groups and unfollowed bloggers who only talk about blogging.
I try to avoid that kind of thing too. That was something that really bugged me when i was writing on Medium – it seemed like everyone was talking about their numbers and how much they were making. Yuck.
Yuck indeed 😕
My first blog, started about 10 years ago, I guess, I cared way too much about stats and numbers. I was full throttle into social media and linked to everything up the yin-yang.
I started my current blog when I was first in Covid lockdown. I thought ‘OK, time to write about joy, because it’s going to be me, myself and I for awhile!” I wrote for myself back then, and I still do today. Much more fun to keep a narrow focus and write for the sake of writing. 🙂
I agree.
Oh this post was so relatable! I _think_ my current blog is really my fourth try or so, and even if numbers aren’t everything those stats can tell a hard truth for sure! ”See, you’ve been doing this for over a year. Nobody cares!” (or well that’s what the inner monologue can look like at times 😅). I’ve always loved reading and writing to some extent and I want to learn more. The problem is finding good blogs that you can connect with and that you wish to stay tuned to and engage in. Personally lack of engagement is probably what hits my blog-esteem hardest right now 😅🙈
The writing itself is the obvious part of blogging, but I think getting a blog in front of an audience is a whole other beast, and for me that part doesn’t come naturally, so it’s what I’ve had to work on the most.
Thanks for this post, Ashley. While I tell myself that blogging isn’t all about the numbers, it’s nice to have this reminder. This is supposed to be fun, right? 🙂
Exactly!
I think when I first started out blogging, perhaps I looked at that stats page more than I should have. But for me, the only way I have been able to continue blogging is accepting that it has to stay in its place – I do not have the time to “grow” my blog by seeking out hundreds of new sites to follow and engage with. I am very pleased that so many of the bloggers who I have followed for years are still blogging because I look forward to reading their posts. I am grateful that others make time to read my posts. But I have to be content with what I can do in the limited time I have. It is the only way I have been able to keep going.
I’m very glad you have kept going!
🙂 Sorry, Ashley. I do not have any blogging insecurities (It probably has a lot to do with me blogging since 2008).
I also agree that a person does not need external recognition in order for them to be a good blogger.
That’s very good to hear!
I think mine is a consistency issue. It is hard to write when I have a ton of stuff going on and then when I have time-I blog too much.
I can definitely see consistency being hard with a busy life.