As there are barriers in life, there are also barriers in blogging. I’ve actually got this post idea from my church’s sermon last Sunday, about “How to finish well by starting well“. We were taught on how to focus on the goal and eliminate the barriers in our life. As far as practicality, this goes the same to blogging too, surprisingly.
So what are the barriers in blogging and how do we eliminate them?
Some barriers in Blogging
- Not Focused.
Most bloggers have more than 1 blog (including myself). The reasons can be varied from bloggers to bloggers. Some do it to get more income/money from multiple blogs and some do it because they want to share different area of their expertise. I’m not against having multiple blogs. However, once you find out that you can’t simply cope with maintaining them regularly, then do re-consider! I’m having a hard time maintaining the other blog of mine (a Christianity blog) simply because I don’t really have the time to write posts regularly to both blogs. I can’t imagine having 5 or 20 blogs!So once you know that you can’t cope and aren’t focused anymore, choose your primary blog (or blogs) and stick with them. - Trying to please people.
Often that as a blogger, you try to please your readers and your subscribers. Why would you want to please them? Of course to get them coming back to your blog (or to get some free marketing for your blog, oops
). As a blogger, having loyal readers, subscribers, and commentators keep you going and give you the spirit to maintain your blog regularly. This can be dangerous however, as you can end up focusing on how to please your readers rather than focusing on what you want your blog to be. On my blog, I can’t please everyone. When I post game reviews on this blog, non-gamers may surely ignore the post completely. When I post blogging tips, non-blogger subscribers would probably throw my post into the bin. You simply can’t please every reader or subscriber on your blog! Focus on your original blog’s vision (hopefully you do have a vision to your blog!) . - Procrastination.
So you have just found out a ground breaking news of your blog’s area of expertise. However, it’s a holiday and you’d really want to spend some time playing around or simply being in bed the whole day instead of writing a post about it. Think again. Hundreds if not thousands of blogs out there may have covered that same news by the time you’ve published your procrastinated post. If you find something good (or if you have an idea of a good post), write about it now! Don’t procrastinate! - Indiligent.
Know how to rest, but also know how to work hard. Most people can’t maintain these two in a good balance. However, if you really treat your blog seriously, maintain your dilligence. Write posts regularly. Reply your readers regularly. I’m sure you must have heard this tip everywhere on the net: If you plan to write one post every day, then do it. If you plan to write on each week, then do it! - I, me, and myself.
The “Me” mentality. “This is my blog. I can do whatever I want with it!”. Well, wrong. It IS your blog but there is no point having it when your readers hate your blog. If everyone says that your blog is too cluttered with ads, then reduce them. If everyone says that they can’t read your black color font on a dark brown background, then change it. Maintain the balance between this point and my point #2 above.
What’s your primary blogging barrier? It can also be something that I haven’t mentioned above (there are so many other barriers to cover: time, family, etc).
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post Michael!
Encountered most of those barriers that you have stated.
My personal website “http://www.arnoldaranez.com” is kinda suffering as a result.
Well, you’ve got so many things at the same time, man
Not to mention taking care of your family and business too. Hope you don’t get a burn-out, buddy
Michael — this gives even the seasoned blogger like myself something to think about. I’m currently maintaining 5 blogs (!) and of the 5 one is rather neglected, I’ll admit. With the others, I’ve developed a rhythm of posting that seems to work well for them.
I *do* try to please my readers with subjects they’re interested in and responses to their comments that indicate my genuine interest in them. But my writing style and frequency of posts are my own brand. Like your readers, some are more interested in some subjects than they are in others.
Thanks for a well-thought out article.
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Wow 5 blogs? I even find it hard to maintain just 1 blog
There’s nothing wrong in trying to please your readers (it’s good in some ways), but I guess don’t make it into your primary vision of your blog, heh heh
helped me a lot this article,thanks
Great post. It’s good to see someone going through the same problems I do. Well not good. You know what I mean. I have beat myself up for each one of these reasons in the past. AS long as yo u are stubborn and keep correcting yourself, you will stay on course. But it does get old.
Haha yeah.. I call that “persistent” perhaps, rather than being stubborn
Good post Michael. This is Chrissy17 from DP.
Nice post mike!!!
The point number 3 and 4 applies to me. Sometimes, i feel very lazy to publish a post.
Also regarding multiple blogs, i think it is better to have a single blog. Let it be a mixed bag it won’t be a problem.
Well a mixed bag blog does have a problem though.. subscribers don’t normally like to subscribe to a mixed bag blog, unless they really like the blog or/and the owner
Trying to please people sure can be a large problem-causer, as one can get stuck in a cycle of not producing what they once desired to. This can start to eat away at their motivation to continue writing, and that would cancel any benefits of pandering to one’s audience. It is a slippery-slope that is not worth heading down.
True although pleasing your readers are not totally wrong
It’s not bad to please your readers in your blog. Blogging for me is a way of entertaining the readers.
Well, not saying that it’s wrong but mainly pleasing your readers are not supposed to be the goal/vision of a blog
I can’t agree more.
And your theme is an eye candy.
Thanks Bendz, and glad to still see you around
Great post.
I’m a inconsistent blogger, but I really try to stay focus. Sometimes I write a post a day and then there are weeks without an update. You hit the nail on the head with your post. Thanks
All of the things you have mentioned is true. Blogging is not an easy task to do, it requires a lot of dedication in order to sustain a blog.
Yups i agree, don’t push to hard to the limits, and yes stick with our main blog vision
I meant to say that i really like your new blog design, but earlier my email address was not being accepted for some or other reason.
You mean when you were commenting? Did you see any error message? It might be one of my plug-in, rather than the new theme’s fault
Nice post Michael. I think many bloggers are facing with road blocks because they don’t have a good road map to follow. I was lucky, and enrolled Blog Mastermind by Yaro Starak. He has just released another blog mentoring program called “become a blogger” which could be useful for both startup and established bloggers. Also it is better to discover the passion within before choosing your blog’s topic. This will eliminate most of the barries, because you will be writing about something you are passionate about. Defining a small niche within a large topic could be useful to eliminate blogging barriers.
True. Most barriers and burn-outs happen because the blogger is not writing what he/she’s passionate about
Procrastination is my best enemy. The mind is willing but the flesh is weak. And I ended up forgetting everything about my post. I like this post, it reminds me that I’m not a certified blogger yet.
Procrastination is I guess everyone’s best enemy (and not just in terms of blogging). I’ve actually wanted to create a post on procrastinating as it was quite damaging on blogging, especially
Nice pints. Currently, I have two blogs, one personal & another tech blog. It has become very difficult for me to juggle both the blogs. And also, I am not in a position to leave either of the blogs. Don’t know what to do..
Well if you really can manage them both, then go for it. I’m having lots of issues with having a mixed bag blog. I’m moving more towards a tech site now, but I guess I’ll still throw in some other posts here and there occasionally
Good post Michael
I have decided to focus on a single blog. But its really difficult to keep it to one topic as ideas come randomly. Thanks for the nice post.