Why Your Blog Will Fail - Part IV
March 27th, 2008Why Your Blog Will Fail
Part IV
Control Your Destiny
(Fourth of the five part Why You Blog Will Fail series. Click here for the previous part).
We’ve identified many points that can cause your blog to fail. But, how can they be avoided? How can you take control of your blog’s destiny?
Following are five points that all bloggers should keep in mind when they’re writing, especially when they begin feeling less-motivated.
Advance Writing
Most writers, blog writers included, find their creativity comes in cycles. They will go through periods of great productivity, with tons of ideas, and the words just flow through to the keyboard. This is followed by times of distraction, lack of motivation, or just plain writer’s block.
To help make sure that your blog will survive the latter, the blogger should always try to complete as much advance writing as possible when the creativity levels are high. Just save those posts and use them as backups.
Of course, these posts need to be more generic in nature, so rule out current events. Write about any general subject that would be a natural fit within your blog.
Mix It Up
Whether you write a general interest, niche, or personal blog, mix up the content. Even a serious blog about investing or the funeral industry, for example, has room for a variety of moods in the content. Not all posts should be serious. Not only will it bore the reader, it will bore the blogger.
Likewise, even a humor-centric blog has room for serious issues. Just don’t let them become the focus of the blog, or allow them to divert from the humor.
No matter what the main blog theme may be, mix it up.
Change It Up
Are you, as a blogger, losing your motivation? Have you already posted all of the posts written in advance? Maybe it’s time to change it up.
Try a new theme on your blog, or apply other cosmetic changes. Often times this will spark some new creativity and help the blogger become interested in writing new content again.
Even simple things, like some new categories for example, can give the blogger additional freedom to write, covering new topics or new ideas.
Downtime
All writers need downtime. As mentioned previously, blogging is stressful and demanding. Taking a bit of time away from it to recharge your brain will allow the creative thoughts to return.
Just be sure to let your readers know that you’ll be away for a bit. And, if at all possible, let them know when you’ll be returning. Even better, if it’s possible, consider having a guest blogger fill in while you’re away.
Visit Other Blogs
Try to visit other blogs as much as possible. You will not only get some great ideas while reading good blogs, but you’ll see just how bad others are, and realize how wonderful the work you’ve been doing really is.
Be sure to leave comments on the blogs you visit, even the not-so-great ones. Those links back are priceless.
Up Next: Why Your Blog Will Fail, Part V - Final Destination
Secure Telnet At It’s Best
March 26th, 2008Secure Telnet At It’s Best
A Better SSH Solution
As an IT professional at a software company, I’m afforded the opportunity to use, test, and evaluate a wide range of software – both from my company and others. Every once in a while I run across an application, utility, or system that really stands above the rest, either in function or design.
While evaluating several SSH Client applications for one of my customers I was very impressed with the solutions offered by Pragma Systems. These guys provide some incredible telnet and SSH technology.
Their end-to-end solutions of servers and clients are highly secure and will provide my customer with the secure connectivity they demand for their business.
The Robin Williams Endurance Test
March 26th, 2008The Robin Williams
Endurance Test
Know When To Fold ‘Em
Robin Williams and his wife are splitting after 19 years.
19 years…
19 years with Robin Williams.
Not only should she get half of everything, she should get some type of medal for 19 years of mental anguish. I can’t imagine spending 19 minutes with this guy, much less 19 years.
Vacation Rental
March 26th, 2008Vacation Rental
Better Than A Hotel
Spring break is just over a week away for many of us. And, do you know what that means? Right, once again I waited too late to make reservations for where we wanted to go. The hotel is booked.
But, this time I’ve redeemed myself. Thanks to my procrastination, I was forced to think outside of the box – or, outside of the hotel as the case may be. After some brief searching I found a perfect Florida Vacation Home for just slightly more than the original hotel would have cost.
This home rental is owner-operated and offers more space and privacy than any hotel I’ve ever been to. The family will love it, and the kids will have a lot more fun than they would have cramped up in a hotel.
I knew that procrastination trait would pay off eventually…
V
March 26th, 2008V
It’s Everywhere You Want To Invest
Brokerage Fees: $19
500 Shares of Visa Inc. Stock (V): $25,000
Buying those shares during the first week of trading: Priceless.
Have A Heart?
March 26th, 2008Have A Heart?
Protect It!
Consider this the official Blog About Nothing Public Service Announcement of the day. But, this one is only directed to the visitors out there with hearts. You heartless people can move along, but for the rest of you…
I’m sure you already know what a heart attack is. It’s also pretty likely that you even know some of the symptoms and risk factors, especially if there is a history of heart disease in your family.
But, are you familiar with Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA)?
Sudden Cardiac Arrest and heart attacks are not the one in the same, and each has unique symptoms and different risk factors.
I’ve just happened upon an excellent website presented by St. Jude Medical, with tons of information and resources specific to Sudden Cardiac Arrest. You owe it to yourself, and your family, to spend a few minutes on their website to learn about risk and prevention of SCA.
You’re dismissed. Now, go there… (insidecardiacarrest.com)
Warning: A Gun Is Not A Drill
March 26th, 2008Warning: A Gun Is Not A Drill
Shouldn’t That Go Without Saying?
So, apparently, it’s not a great idea to use a handgun to drill a hole through the wall in your house.
As least that’s what Deepwater, MO resident Ronald Long learned this week – but only after killing his wife in the process.
As reported by Kansas City’s KCTV5, Mr Long decided that firing a couple of rounds from his .22-caliber handgun through the wall while installing a satellite TV system would be a suitable replacement for actually using a drill.
According to the report, the second shot hit his wife and fatally wounded her.
Normally I would chalk such stupidity up to Darwinism, and write it off as appropriate thinning of the gene pool for the overall improvement of mankind. But, sadly, in this case the death was that of an innocent bystander, and a mother, and not that of the dumbass with the ingenious idea.
Oh Great, I’m Superman
March 26th, 2008Oh Great, I’m Superman
Hey, Is That Kryptonite In Your Pocket???
I love taking the quick online “What Are You” type of quizzes. Especially the quick and short ones.
This morning I happened upon a website with various quizzes of this type and I wanted to determine which superhero my alter-ego might just happen to be. Apparently, I am Superman. I’ll admit, I’m a little disappointed.
Don’t get me wrong, Superman is cool enough - flying would be a pretty good superpower to have and would really help out with the morning commute. And, he is Jerry Seinfeld’s favorite superhero, so that’s a plus. But, I’d really like invisibility to be my primary superpower. Unfortunately, when I lied on the quiz answers in hopes of obtaining the invisibility powers, I ended up as the Incredible Hulk - which is hardly a superhero.
I’m going to keep trying for the power of invisibility. Not only will this be perfect for work, it will allow me to stalk my favorite UGA cheerleader… you know… without getting arrested this time.
More fun quizzes by Settlement Quotes- Annuities.
Why Your Blog Will Fail - Part III
March 26th, 2008Why Your Blog Will Fail
Part III
Low Interest
(Third of the five part Why You Blog Will Fail series. Click here for the previous part).
The term “low interest” is great when referring to mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. However, when the term is applied to blogging, it’s one of the blogger’s worst enemies. But, it might not be what you’re thinking.
A blog with well-written content could appear on the surface to be of low interest to readers – by the way of very few visitors for example. That is unlikely to be the case, however, if it does indeed have good content. The more likely case is that the readers who would have interest in the topics covered in that specific blog just haven’t found it. After some work with SEO (search engine optimization) and spreading the word on various websites, directories, and blogs, the readers will eventually show up.
The bigger threat of “low interest” is actually on the part of the blogger. Is the blogger really interested in the topic about which they’re writing?
I have seen many people visiting various public message forums with questions such as “I want to make money from writing a blog – what topic should I write about?”
That question is wrong in so many ways that it’s hard to even decide where to begin with an answer.
While it is true that a blog can be profitable, you need to first create a great blog, and then consider monetizing it. With enough research, someone might be able to create a blog that could earn money right from the start, but how long will it take them to become bored writing about a topic which they have no interest in? Sooner than you might think.
With boredom comes lack of quality content and fewer posts. This will surely lead to the failure of the blog.
Money is great. If you have enough visitors – think several thousand per day – then you can make some decent spare change from a blog. But, letting money become your motivating factor is not the path to success.
Write about something you’re interested in from the beginning, even if you know little about it. You don’t need to already be an expert on the topic in order to write about it. Share what you already know, then continue to learn about the topic on your own. As you learn, share your new knowledge with the readers.
There will always be the possibility that the blogger truly loses interest in a certain topic. For example, maybe they are learning to play guitar and are initially very much into it, so they create a new niche blog about guitars, or certain playing styles. Then, some amount of time passes and they discover that guitar playing just isn’t their thing. As the guitar fades from their life, so will their interest in writing about it. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee against something like this happening. The best way to keep the odds in your favor though, would be to focus on that topic of initial interest.
Remember, the topic, or theme, of a blog does not need to be exciting to the world. It only needs to be interesting to the blogger. With the right marketing, like-minded people will come along, and the blog community will grow.
Up Next: Why Your Blog Will Fail, Part IV - Control Your Destiny
Self Publishing
March 25th, 2008Self Publishing
It’s Easier Than You Think
As a writer, I have been researching the possibilities of self publishing.
While my primary goal, of course, is to actually have my work published, my secondary and equally important goal is to retain all of the rights to my work. I would also like to be very involved with the editing process, but will need assistance along the way.
One of the companies I’m considering is AuthorHouse. They provide the exact services that I’m looking for.
Publishing your book without the blessing of a major publisher is now easier than ever. One of the many key benefits of self-publishing is that the author maintains complete creative control of their masterpiece.
After you’ve poured your heart, soul, and a significant part of your life into your book, why wouldn’t you want to retain total control of the editing process, cover design, page layout, and even marketing and distribution?
From what I have learned so far, AuthorHouse appears to be the perfect solution for writers interested in self publishing. By providing the highest level of customer service, and supporting the author during every step of the publishing process, they have grown into the largest self publishing company in the world.
