How to keep you motivated to blog

I started blogging around October last year. I never meant to be a blogger, nor a dedicated one. I simply posted a “mini review” of my new phone, the HTC P3600i in an Australian PocketPC forum. The post received a good feedback, especially to those who were thinking to buy the phone. I thought of myself, “Hm maybe if I put it on a site/blog, it can help other people around the world to decide whether they want to buy it or not”. Since then, I became a dedicated blogger.

So what are the things that keep me motivated to blog up till now?

How to keep you motivated to blog

1. Blog out of passion, not for the money
   If you know that blogging can make you money (from John Chow’s blog or other blogs) and started blogging because of it, you’ll lose interest in the first months, especially if you find out that making money is not as easy as they said. Some are luckier than others. Some can’t even make a dollar a day. If you blog because you love sharing ideas and info to people, you are good. The money can always come later.
2. Blog the thing that you are familiar and passionate about
   If you blog about parenting but your spouse is the one who actually does the parenting of your kids, then ask him/her to blog instead of you! Or if you heard that blogging about health and mortgages can make you more money, don’t do it unless you are familiar or at least an expert in the area! Because at difficult times, you’ll tend to give up and just let your blog dies.
3. Install or use some analytic tools to your blog
   I’d recommend using Google Analytics as it requires a minimal effort and it certainly works for me. When I started blogging, I found out that I get about 5 visitors a day, reading my first article about the phone. I couled even check the keywords that people use to get to the post. I was excited. I thought, even if there is one person reading my post, it’s still worth it.
4. “Even if there is one person reading my post, it’s still worth it”
   That’s the attitude that you need to have in mind. Once it’s “glued” to your mind, no amount of traffic can make you sad or feel down!
5. Don’t let the criticism brings you down
   When I asked a comment about my blog a few months back on a forum, I got this reply:
   “There is something about the coloring of the blog template that makes me want to die….” Well at least he/she liked my content, in which he/she explained next (I cut-off the next positive sentences). You may get a much harsher comment about your blog, but think of it as a step to improve your blog even more. You can’t make everyone happy, but you should at least hear what they say.

6. Visit other blogs and if you like the posts, comment on them
   ..and don’t expect anything back! Comment because you like the post and you want to comment. If they visit and comment you back, good. If not, move along. Having comments on your posts is good. It shows there is “life” on your blog. This brings us to the last point….
   
7. Connect with other bloggers/people
   I always wondered why nobody wanted to comment on my posts before. The post receives hundreds of visits a day, but not even one single comment?? I even double checked whether there’s something wrong in the code. I even went further and put a fake comment on one of the post (ahem) just to see if there is another life out there! The problem is: how do you expect people to comment on your posts if they don’t even know about you? Now, I write comments on blogs even though I don’t know the owner. However, if you do know the owner, you’ll always want to write something as a form of communication to the owner. By connecting with other bloggers, you’ll make friends. “Virtual friends”, I call it :) You don’t see them but yet they are real. Sometimes you don’t know their names, or don’t even know if they look like what they claim to be. I can put a photo of a model and you won’t even know it’s me :) I can even claim I’m a 10 years old or even claim to be a nice sexy looking hot chick. Once you start commenting on their posts, exchanging emails or messages, you’ll find out what kind of person each of them is. Some of them are nice enough to encourage you and you’ll need that kind of encouragement. Not to get you cocky, but to keep you going! And you should do the same to them too!

There are more things that can keep you motivated and these points are just some of them. One thing that you need to know, you are not alone. There are people who care about you and about your life. They may not be your best friends, but they are real enough to be considered as your friends.

Happy blogging!