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Blogging Guide > Unsorted Posts > Understanding the lifecycle of your blog
Instead of answering that question, it would be better to look at how you can ensure your blog can survive in the long run. Here are some tips to get you on your way. Even if you have a blog already, these tips can be used to review whether your existing blog might benefit from a change.
There's not much point starting a blog with only one post in mind and then finding you don't have anything else to say.
Don't start a blog to make money. Pretty much the only blogs that make a decent amount of money started without the money focus. The blog became popular and then the owner decided to make some cash from it. You can't make a lot of money from a brand new blog, no matter how many ads you put up.
It helps to keep it simple - focusing on ONE subject with a very clear angle is the best way, at least in my opinion. Break my site down to the core and it's actually just website tips. But the angle is providing tips that you don't need to be technical to understand. The "blogging" is just included so people don't think it's not for blogs. As far as I'm concerned, a blog is a part of a website. But that's another topic for another day.
But it's not necessarily a linear journey. It doesn't have to be followed in sequence, and you may revisit earlier destinations in the future. People may join in partway through or only look at certain things. It's up to them to make of it what they want to.
Now think about what happens if your journey doesn't have a clear direction. People might be curious about where you're going, but when they get on, they find that you're taking a totally different route to the one you were on last week. You write about so many different subjects that they don't know whether they're here or there. Most people will leave, disillusioned.
It's OK for people to stop reading if you have a clear direction, because they know that if they return in the future, you'll still be on that journey. It may have moved on to a slightly different focus, but it should be fundamentally the same. However, if you don't have a clear direction and people do return, they're probably going to give up on you. A blog needs direction!
That doesn't mean you can't have a personal blog where you write about a lot of different things, and it doesn't mean you can't ever change your direction if it's the right thing to do. Just make it clear what your blog is about and why people should read it. You'll do better in the long run.
Do you think it's important to have one?
Understanding the lifecycle of your blog
< Web Jargon Buster | Unsorted Posts | The personality of an online writer >
Before you start blogging, you really need to think about where you'll be taking your blog in the future. How much is there to write about on your chosen topic? Where would you like to be in three months, six months and so on? This is your blog's lifecycle.What happens if you don't plan?
Chances are, you'll reach a point where you get stuck. Maybe you'll run out of things to write about. Maybe you'll lose interest. Maybe you'll find you're not happy with how your blog is going. What do you do then?Instead of answering that question, it would be better to look at how you can ensure your blog can survive in the long run. Here are some tips to get you on your way. Even if you have a blog already, these tips can be used to review whether your existing blog might benefit from a change.
Start a blog for the right reasons.
Blogging is all about writing - if you don't like writing, you may find you get sick of it. You need to choose a subject you know well and you enjoy. And it needs to be a subject you can write a lot on.There's not much point starting a blog with only one post in mind and then finding you don't have anything else to say.
Don't start a blog to make money. Pretty much the only blogs that make a decent amount of money started without the money focus. The blog became popular and then the owner decided to make some cash from it. You can't make a lot of money from a brand new blog, no matter how many ads you put up.
Finding your niche.
Who are you writing for? Who is your target audience? You need to decide how to approach the subject(s) you write about - what kind of writer are you?It helps to keep it simple - focusing on ONE subject with a very clear angle is the best way, at least in my opinion. Break my site down to the core and it's actually just website tips. But the angle is providing tips that you don't need to be technical to understand. The "blogging" is just included so people don't think it's not for blogs. As far as I'm concerned, a blog is a part of a website. But that's another topic for another day.
Taking your readers on a journey.
A blog should be a journey that you are leading. It needs a clear direction, clear objectives, a clear goal. People can join you and add their comments. People can leave and come back later.But it's not necessarily a linear journey. It doesn't have to be followed in sequence, and you may revisit earlier destinations in the future. People may join in partway through or only look at certain things. It's up to them to make of it what they want to.
Now think about what happens if your journey doesn't have a clear direction. People might be curious about where you're going, but when they get on, they find that you're taking a totally different route to the one you were on last week. You write about so many different subjects that they don't know whether they're here or there. Most people will leave, disillusioned.
It's OK for people to stop reading if you have a clear direction, because they know that if they return in the future, you'll still be on that journey. It may have moved on to a slightly different focus, but it should be fundamentally the same. However, if you don't have a clear direction and people do return, they're probably going to give up on you. A blog needs direction!
That doesn't mean you can't have a personal blog where you write about a lot of different things, and it doesn't mean you can't ever change your direction if it's the right thing to do. Just make it clear what your blog is about and why people should read it. You'll do better in the long run.
What do you think?
Do you have a clear direction for your blog?Do you think it's important to have one?
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Comments on Understanding the lifecycle of your blog
Those are some good points. I didn't know anything when I started my blog, and in retrospect, I wish I had done more planning up front.
blogzilla - thanks once again for your positive feedback. :)
Daisy - glad you find it useful. It's never too late to use this information for an existing blog, though. You can always start planning now!
Thanks for the comments.
Well said. A Blog worth reading.
I found you thru Entrecard by the way.
Hi offgrid, thanks for the comment. Glad you approve! :)
Ben,
As always you provide great information that readers can learn from!