Inspired by a girlfriend, my husband, children and I had previously written a blog to document a month long trip and I had enjoyed sharing photos and experiences with friends and family. Setting up Room Rx was easy and fairly painless, and there were certainly a few learning curves as the content was more complicated than personal photos and journalistic writing, but I savored it and found confidence in my writing and posting. I have learned how to use a helpful internet site or two along the way such as Polyvore and Pinterest and have become a voracious reader of other design and creative blogs. In the process, I decided that it was important to post every day and try to be original in the content I was sharing in order to increase my readership. I tried to read anything and everything about "blogging" that would potentially help me and institute what I could of the advice, things such as commenting on other blogs, joining "blog parties," entering give-aways and so on. I have truly enjoyed my blogging experience and feel I have achieved a modicum of success and am proud of what I have accomplished. But, the thing is, all of this takes time, lots of time and I am not sure what I am actually gaining by doing it.
Now, I am at a crossroads, I need to decide where this goes now, what my goals are for writing Room Rx and the act of blogging. A crossroads is not a bad place to be, but rather a place where one has to make decisions, it's not an ending point but a point along the journey where there are many directions to go and choices to make. So far I have made many choices simply by gut, but to spend so much time on something with no concrete goal(s) seems a bit silly, so I need to take the time to take stock and think it all through. Do I want to continue to post everyday? How do I get past having only 38 followers, and what, really does being a follower mean? Is there a larger group out there reading my blog and how do I better reach them? How do I attract more readers? Is my content truly unique, helpful and interesting? Can I find a way to build my design business by writing my blog? So many things to consider......
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Feeling the weight of all of this over the past week especially, I have found myself seeking out any information on blog writing and what it takes to be successful. The other day I came across an article on Style Me Pretty Backstage about how to attract more traffic to your blog, it was one of the most helpful pieces I have read yet! What have you fellow bloggers read that has made a difference for you? What tips have you found to be most helpful?
Today I put this out to all of you my blog reading and writing friends... what do you think? If you write a blog, why do you do it? What are your goals for your blog and how have you made it through the many crossroads and detours along the way? Have you ever felt that it was not worth it? If you are a reader, why do you read blogs? What makes you come here to read Room Rx? What would you like to see more of? Less of? What inspires you to comment on a blog? So many questions and a million more spinning through my head....truly, I would love to hear from any and all of you, your thoughts, ideas, etc. so please, share away!!!
Thanks for listening and sharing....Now I need to find a quiet place to think and reflect...!
5 comments:
Interesting post for sure, people blog for so many different reasons and those can change along the way. I started for the same reason as you, it has evolved as different opportunities have come along. I'm also at a crossroads in terms of content that I post on, we'll see how it goes. In the end it has to work for you, addressing your goals and requiring the amount of time that makes sense. Good luck! Janell
I agree with Janell. Blogging for me has certainly evolved over time. It started as a place to detail projects and inspiration. For the most part this hasn't changed, but I have made a few tweaks here and there as opportunities have come along.
One thing is certain - blogging is time consuming. Good luck as you sort through this.
Third time is a charm...my posts never seem to work. All i can say is that your blog is the very first blog that i go to everyday. I love your blog. I would miss your blog. I think you have a great eye and interesting finds. I think it takes awhile to get blogs going...but only do it if you are still having fun!!
I've been thinking about this post all day, and I wanted to chime in with my .02. I came to a blog crossroads late last year, in which I needed to either take the pressure off myself of blogging every day, or quit. I actually decided to bump down to blogging three days a week and it's been immensely helpful. I've gained so many followers because it's freed up time for me to visit other people's blogs, and it's also freed up time for me to write more thoughtful posts. All around, better, at least in my position. I say this because I think it if you do what's best for you, it'll reflect in the quality of your product. There is so much advice for how people made it big with their blogs, but since it's all so different I just started taking what advice fit my lifestyle the best :). Also, have you checked your google reader stats? I have way more subscriptions there than actual *followers*.
And one more thing, I love your blog and your style and would miss your posts if you left blog land. Also, I don't know how you feel about sharing the work you do, but I would LOVE to read about your projects, see afters and hear more about your design process.
Jeeez... like Rochelle, I always forget to "Post Comment", so my comment from Monday wasn't posted.
I'm not a blogger, just a reader. I really enjoy your blogs and check in nearly every day. Perfectly understandable if you decide to focus your time on something else, but you would be missed!
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