How to improve your blog and make blogging fun

You need to know how to improve your blog before it’s too late and it ends up controlling you.

Some time ago I found a blog post entitled ‘letting down my guard and writing what I want to write’ by Miriam. Google it now and you’ll get this message – This site can’t be reached.

That may sound extreme. But the post was so moving in its honesty, and it was disturbing to see a number of emotive comments from people who felt the same way as Miriam did.

Blogging should never leave you like this.

 ‘The more followers I have, the more I feel obliged to write for them. Then I spend more and more time ploughing through posts and commenting on other bloggers work. I started out full of enthusiasm, I read and listened to all the experts. Now I am overwhelmed, my in-box is overflowing, I feel out of control and it has started to become too much for me. I feel like I’m working for charity — full-time and unpaid. I know it shouldn’t be like this so I am taking a rain check, posting what and when I want and commenting on other blogs when I have time. If I don’t do this I may close my blog altogether. Life is too short!’

Why I wrote this post.

I was motivated to write this post in support of all those bloggers who have been through or are in the middle of a similar crisis.

If you don’t know how to improve your blog, and it isn’t fun anymore, don’t despair. You don’t have to throw in the towel. Answer one simple question. Was it ever fun, and was there any benefit in it for you? If the answer is yes, read on to find how you can take back control and have fun again.

Why did you start a Blog?

Turn the clock back and investigate your motivation for starting a blog. Don’t pussyfoot around. The answer is important even if you don’t like the truth.

Was it a whim, like it was for me. Yes, I started a blog without any purpose, other than it might be fun. And it was for a while, writing about anything that took my fancy. But it was not sustainable for long. Luckily, I had a purpose later and was able to develop it into something meaningful. It took a long time and many long breaks.

But I recognised, when I found a purpose, there was value in it.

When you know why you started a blog, and you have a new purpose, the next big question is;

Do you need a blog, and do you know how to get visitors to your Blog?

Let’s assume there is a good reason, and you need a blog. Rather than start again, you should take a critical look at the content to see if there is value and if any of it is a fit for your new purpose. And then think about how to get visitors to your blog.

When I did the exercise, I trashed 200 out of 300 posts. I hurt like hell, but I felt much better when I realised not many people start a new blog with a hundred posts.

Be clear on your purpose before moving forward.

If you are an author, a blog is a great way to drive traffic to your author website and introduce people to your books.

If blogging is your bag, focus on a topic, write or re-engineer 30+ posts and you can then monetise your blog with affiliate links and ads to make some money.

You should be in control now

By now you should be feeling a lot better, because you;

• will have cleared your mind.
• have a purpose.
• know how to improve your blog.
• are in control.

None of us wants to feel out of control, like Miriam did.

You want to make blogging fun, not a chore.

I suggest you re-assess your situation every six months and change what needs to be changed.

After my first six months of blogging, I assessed my progress and I wrote a post on how I tackled the task of becoming a blogger.

My purpose though clear, is constantly evolving since the big assessment and clear out. I regularly clean-up posts and do re-writes from time to time. Things change constantly and I have modified my views on blogging and social media many times.

When I do a periodic assessment, I re-affirm the reasons why I blog. At the start, the reason was I love writing, and blogging gave me the opportunity to improve and share my thoughts and interests with others.

Later it helped others to get to know me and maybe read my fiction books. Then it became a means to earn through monetisation.

All that was impossible when I was a young man. There was no internet, and no such thing as a Blog until 1994 when Justin Hall created the first blog on Links.net. Sharing knowledge and information is now an everyday occurrence.

We all have our reasons to blog and they vary greatly. Make sure you know what your reasons are.

Now you are in charge of the beast and you know how to improve your blog, it’s time to find out what makes a blog successful and then make blogging fun again.

Even successful bloggers have problems.

Accept there will be problems. They are part of life and if you don’t have a problem when blogging you will be unique.

If you are like Miriam you are normal.

In my case, the problem was not severe. But I wasn’t enjoying blogging much, mainly because it was taking too much of my time. Time I wanted to write fiction.

Like millions of others, I was sucked into the vortex, the ‘social media’ cum ‘promotion’ cum ‘marketing your blog’ trap. I was desperate to know how to get thousands of followers. Then I found out it was much harder than I thought.

I’m sure you know the stuff I’m talking about. The stuff that sucks hours out of every day, and before you know what’s happened your Blog is running you.

It can feel like a ‘chain letter’ sometimes. And you could be forgiven for thinking, all you need to do to make a fortune is send $10 to the person at the top of the list, put your name at the bottom and send the letter to 10 people and ask them to do the same. In 4 weeks you won’t have enough room for all the money you are receiving.

When I realised my Blog was running me, I had to do something about it.

Is Facebook necessary?

I had a dodgy experience and wrote a post about  Facebook. Would I have joined to subject myself to the mindless ‘tittle-tattle’ daily, just for social reasons? An emphatic NO. I can see how people get hooked, how dangerous it can be and how it can suck the time out of the seemingly unhookable.

But I might have a personal Facebook to keep in touch with old friends occasionally. I have, but I don’t spend any real time on it. So why did I join? Because when I started blogging, I believed what I was told and that it was crucial to do so. I have a social media presence, but I only use it selectively. A Facebook page and selective community sites are useful for authors.

The worst advice I ever read.

Here’s an excerpt from an article I saw when I knew nothing about blogging and was new to the writing game. It read (not verbatim);

‘Many people fall into the trap of writing more and more creative, informative and interesting posts instead of spending their time marketing and getting more followers.’

The writer went on to say (again not verbatim), ‘if you don’t follow this advice you are effectively wasting your time.’ But he did not say who should take his advice. Maybe it wasn’t in his interests to do so.

I was a greenhorn then, but even so, it didn’t seem to be good advice. Now I know it is downright bad advice.

Quality content is a writer’s stock in trade without it you have nothing.

Imagine telling Renoir to stop painting after one creation,  saying; ‘get on your bike and keep cycling around the town until someone buys your painting, then you can paint another if you like.’

Or suggesting to Irving Berlin he should retire after composing White Christmas.

How to be a better blogger is not straightforward

There are too many factors that go towards making a blog successful to include in this post. As I wrote in another post, consistently produce quality blog content and you will be well on the way to becoming a better blogger and creating a successful blog.

Since I started blogging in 2013, I have modified my thinking as my blog evolves. That will always happen.

Success means different things to different people. For a long time, my Blog was a hobby, not a business. I love, observing, researching, recounting experiences and writing about things that interest me.

If people find my blog and enjoy what I am doing that’s a real bonus, but firstly I must enjoy what I do. I must have fun, do it my way and be satisfied that it meets my standards. That is success for me. Any financial benefit that may accrue is a by-product.

Even as I focus more on selling books, my feelings haven’t changed.

You need time to learn how to be a better blogger and how to grow your wordpress blog. It doesn’t stop and there  is no secret sauce.

It’s a continual process of trial and error. I hope I’ve given you some pointers and if you want to know more I suggest you read Should Fiction Writers Blog… and Can Blogs boost Sales..

What will the outcome be for you?

By now you should know where you are going, and I hope I have been able to show you how you can regain control and make blogging fun again.

Quality content must be the priority for any serious blogger.

Without good content, there is no foundation for communication and appreciation of your work. So it has to be the first thing on the agenda. If you bring social media to the fore you will be putting the cart before the horse.

Aggressive promotion of second-rate content will not fill you or your readers with joy. Nor will it impress Google, rank for SEO or bring you traffic to help sell books and monetise your efforts.

You will work out how to improve your blog if you manage it efficiently, identify problems and rectify them quickly.

And by doing it your way, you will make blogging fun again much quicker than you think.

Your blog is you, don’t compromise.

I’m sure you have a lot to say.

So speak your mind, you may surprise

The listeners who came to stay.