Adventures

Slicing up 6 Lessons for the Part-Time Blogger

Shelley

When I started blogging, I had no idea how much time it would take for the genesis of my blog to happen.  Let alone, keep it alive and vibrant.  I struggle with how to articulate what nourishes me the most about blogging, and how to stay mentally healthy as I keep my blog efforts going?

There are a lot of things to keep in mind to have a successful blog.

Those items are time-consuming enough, but there’s more to it that you have to figure out to maintain any sanity as a part-time blogger.

As a learning as I go blogger, I gobble up great tips on blogging whenever I can, for example, I love to check out Christian at the Art of Blogging.

But, research takes time too.

IMG_596431SRWDay18csskrupa

So if you’re new to blogging, or you’re a part-time blogger and you’re feeling your efforts aren’t producing the results you’ve been hoping for, stick around for a bit (yeah…sorry, take some time to read!).

6 lessons I’ve learned so far:

Lesson # 1 – blogging takes a lot of time.

Don’t let anyone fool you into believing it doesn’t.  It warrants me to tell you again…it takes a lot of time.  If you’re in this as a part-timer, like me, beware, it will take a lot longer to get anywhere in the blogging world.

How do I know that?

Because that’s me and my blogging life.

I’m a part-time blogger, devoting 1-3 hours per day to my blogging efforts.  I have a full-time job, and I want to do other things besides monitor and maintain my blog.

When I started out, it looked so easy…I had the “I can do that, too!” mindset.  If you’re not careful, it can consume way more of your time than you ever thought it would.

There’s more to life than blogging.  For example, I love to look for things to photograph and blog about and other important stuff like that.  Like eating healthy and getting exercise…and…

IMG_7528csskrupa

Laundry comes to mind.  Yeah, so…I’ve only re-set and re-fluffed the clothes in the dryer 3 times since starting the post for today.

My scattered efforts show in my blog stats and wrinkled laundry.

AblogstatsCapture

The minimal time I have available causes me to feel lost and confused about my efforts.  That can be disheartening when I focus on it instead of on the fun of blogging.

Lesson #2 – There’s a lot to keep track of to be successful.

I had no idea there was so much to keep track of.  The blues I’ve often felt had to do with that crazy, mixed up, where the hell am I, or what am I doing feeling?.  I was starting to think I had dementia or some kind of learning disability.  I’ve never been diagnosed with either, but I was tempted to go get checked out.  By the way, I’m a big proponent of memory screening in your forties and fifties.  If only insurance paid for it…but I digress.

What do I mean by stuff to keep track of?

  1. Followers.
  2. Prompts to participate in and what prompt goes with what day of the week.
  3. Comment threads (aka, Reader or Conversations…I had no idea what those were for the longest time!)
  4. Links to the blogs I read or want to read on a regular basis (I don’t want to be just one of those click to follow so I get another follower kind of blogger.  Sorry maybe you do – that’s up to you?) aka, the ones I clicked ‘follow this blog’ button for a reason.
  5. Participation in awards.  I’m an award free blog for a reason. The lesson I learned early on is that awards work to build #’s of followers, but it is even more work for you (me) the participant (if you want my full rant on it, click here).  I’m sorry if I’ve offended you award participants.  I understand the concept, I get it, and those who enjoy participating seem to have fun, but I can’t justify the time investment just for #’s.
  6. Your (my) own plan for what you (I) want to blog about on your (my) blog.  This should be at the top of what you keep track of, but it ends up being at the bottom when you’re working on all of the above!

Lesson # 3 – if you don’t have a plan, you’re gonna to bounce around, and you’ll feel like you’re going batshit crazy.

You’re gonna go off track from your purpose and miss out on growing your own blog.  I literally felt like crap as I bounced around in so many different directions.

AUrbanDictionaryBatshitCrazy

I had to figure out what I was doing so I could focus my efforts.

So I created a tool.  I’d recommend that you create a tool, too, to keep track of what you’re trying to do with your blog – i.e., focus on your DREAMS for your blog.

I found a great sense of peace in my spreadsheet I created.  In the process, I found the blogs that are focused and organized are the most enjoyable for me to visit and those I chose to follow.

I want to be like that – focused, organized, and less random!

I wasn’t there…still not there (working on it though), and I see how spending my time and efforts in less than valuable ways was causing my confusion.

And wasting my efforts as a result.

The data in my spreadsheet helped me make sense of my blogging efforts.  I’m probably weird that way…but until I studied it, I felt lost.  Now I know why my head was spinning!

ABlogSpreadsheetCapture

My spreadsheet has 11 columns plus 7 more for the days of the week (18 total).  That sounds excessive, but holy shit when I filled it out, I was amazed at what the data told me.

Lesson #4 – Get to know and engage with your followers

Your first followers (if your close friends or family are the fickle type or don’t understand why or what blogging is and/or don’t follow or comment on what you’re doing) are and will be fellow bloggers.

Yep – I had this strange illusion that any followers I would get would be random quirky readers somewhere out there on the web.  They’d be interested in all (yes, every single word I type, they’d love it, drool over it, give me praises, BLAH…feel free to run to the bathroom if you’re gagging…) the random shit I write about on my blog.

That wasn’t the case.  Other bloggers were my first followers!

I had no idea other bloggers who write about their own cool kind of stuff would want to read about my stuff.  Let alone that they’d be on the top of my list of my favorite followers.  They comment and share their own stories.  It brings me great joy to interact with them.  I frankly would’ve quit blogging a long time ago had they not been there on this journey with me.

Lesson # 5 – The blogging community is home base, and where your fondest followers exist.

Fellow bloggers get the (your) personal challenges of blogging, they understand the efforts behind it, and they genuinely (most do anyhow, some will just use you to get a follow or a like – it happens, just ignore it and move on) enjoy reading other blogs.  And if they visit your blog more than once, they enjoy your blog.

Treat them kindly, treat them like friends.  You won’t regret it!

Be a friend to those who follow you genuinely (i.e., comment and interact with you) they are golden blogger friends.  Treat them as such and make sure you read their blogs, too, and comment on their posts.

I treasure the bloggers who still visit and comment since the beginning of my blog.  I miss those who haven’t been back or who stopped commenting, but I understand now how hard it is to maintain those befriending efforts.

IMG_6784csskrupa

Lesson #6 – Focus on comments – reply and share

If you do, you’ll get satisfaction, and the followers to your blog will grow, and hopefully they’ll revisit your blog more than just once.

This is an area I struggle with as a part-time blogger.

My limited time causes me to shortchange those who comment on my posts.  I always reply (sometimes slowly…as in the next day…).  But I don’t have tons of time to go out and check out their blogs and comment in kind.  That is incredibly frustrating to me – I don’t want to be a terrible blogging friend.

I didn’t understand how comments worked in the beginning.  If you’re not getting comments, make sure your blog’s settings allow for comments, and for goodness sake respond to comments.

Take the extra time to read and comment on their blogs, too.

What I haven’t figured out is how not to offend those blogs I do get around to comment on.  Especially when they reply to what I said, or when I don’t get around to liking their comment back to me.  I hate to let people down.

For the life of me…I long to understand how bloggers keep track of comments they share on other blogs…!?!?

That’s another lesson to learn…for another day!

For those of you who made it to the end of this post, or follow my blog and do come back often, THANK YOU – I treasure hearing from you!

PS – What lessons have you learned about blogging?  Did you find any of my lessons helpful or do you have suggestions to help the part-time bloggers?  How do you find the right amount of time to invest?  

 

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

53 thoughts on “Slicing up 6 Lessons for the Part-Time Blogger”

  1. Great tips, Shelley! I have been thinking about making some kind of spreadsheet and/or list of my blogging friends and activities. It is especially helpful to keep track of people’s names. Like, I show up as scr4pl80 (scrap lady) but I’m really Janet. I like to be able to respond to comments with the person’s real name when possible. Happy Sunday!

    1. Thank you, Janet, YES, keeping track of blogger’s names is important, I’m glad you added your thoughts on that! Happy Sunday to you, too!

  2. I am still confused about what my blog exactly is !!
    WORKING on it and i’ll soon get the results. Getting followers is one thing but keep them engaged is other.You may see many blogs with lots of followers but fewer likes and comments.I am also feeling this now a days.But maybe continue blogging will help to improve myself.I spent a lot of time on research more than posting the content.But this is my view point everyone have their own and different.
    At end I would like to say “Best of luck ” 🙂

    1. Ah, yes, that happens in the beginning. We start out thinking we know, but then we take a turn or two and end up somewhere else. My advice is to keep on keeping on, and you’ll find your way! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Best of luck to you, too!

    1. The learning list is LONG! LOL! You have a great start to your blog – it is lovely! Thank you for stopping by to read this post and for sharing your thoughts! Happy Blogging to you!

  4. Sooo much work… you are spot on! I just love your sense of humor and how easy you make all the hard work look. You are an inspiration!

    1. Aw, thank you, April! You’ve made me smile with saying I made it look easy! Your positivity is inspiring to me!

  5. I need to comment the full length of a blog on your blog. Awesome blog and thank you for the great ideas. I am new at this – started in July due to a conference I had been in in trying to write and publish a book. They told me I needed to start a blog, to gain a portfolio- What?? OK. Plus I knew I was going to be stranded on the couch for appx 3 months with foot surgery – one foot then the other. I want to comment a touch on the first of your blog where you talked about being scatter brained. You seem to be younger than me but possibly still the age where they do not understand how ADD effects adults. My daughter calls it “my trains” as I jump from idea to idea without missing a beat which drives her OCD crazy. Just another thought process I thought you could explore. OH, LOVED the Batshit crazy identification. So very appropriate. I will probably be studying you blog and all of it ideas for a while. Thank you for sharing your ideas and thoughts.

    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Anita. I’ve never been diagnosed with ADD, but I do believe all the jumping around on social media platforms and bouncing around different word prompts can lead us to feel scattered brained, at least it does for me. Thank you for the post reads, I hope you find a bit of value in what I’ve shared! Hope your healing continues and that you find success in your blogging journey!

  6. Good points, Shelly – thank you for sharing. I do keep track of bloggers in my e-mail, and I try (at least I tried) to give likes and sometimes comments in challenges…

    I’m not a writer by far and English is not even my mother’s language, but I do my best –

    My blogs are based on photography, and my scope is to sell my prints, and/or as much as possible to get some kind of an income from my travel blog(s) – This is why I started those sites. I cannot afford to make a blog just for the fun of it.

    I’m a friendly person and I love to see GOOD quality photography, creativity and performances in this field.

    I also like to encourage the beginners or those without skills (I’m not saying I’m the best, but I have some years of experience).

    At Fine Art America for example, I made a group on TravelArt and recently, I also made a blog for the artists in the group, so they can expose their artwork (it’s just in an incipient phase): http://www.travelartpix.com/

    It is however frustrating not to receive back from the bloggers, and I’m wondering why… so, I reduced my “free” likes and also participation in some challenges…

    Sometimes I was almost begging for likes, but (almost) nothing changed… It looks to me like I cannot please the others, and again, I’m wondering what I’m doing wrong…

    I’ve been a web designer for many years, but I guess I still have to learn a lot about HOW TO BLOG 🙂

    … So I’m not sure if I should encourage my group to participate in these WP challenges, or tell them about how to market their blog posts.

    Thanks, and I’m looking forward your next insights about blogging.

    Cheers,

    Tatiana

    1. Tatiana, thank you for sharing your insights and thoughts about the blogging world. It sounds like you’ve identified areas we all struggle with and the frustrations and learning that goes along with figuring it all out. I bet we all wish we had the magic answers to our questions. I tend to think more and more that if we lose sight of ourselves and our own voices in the pursuit of likes we’re missing the point of why we wanted to blog in the first place. Cheers to you, and your blogging efforts! Thank you for sharing your http://travelartpix.com link, I’ll spend some time there checking out the gorgeous photos and art! That’s time well spent! xx

      1. Well, likes and comments are not only signs that our work was not a waste of time, but they bring traffic and give value to our websites/blogs, which is important.

  7. Lots of good thoughts. I realized recently that my blog has to remain a supporting vehicle for my creative writing–because if I make the blog the star, I’ll never get my other stuff written. This means I’ve got maybe one good post in me per week (so, maybe I’m a quarter, instead of a part-time, blogger!) and one reblog or share of a post I really connected with. If only I could make another few hours in the day, I’ll be a better blogger!

    1. Thank you, Rebecca. You’re well on your way to ensuring the blogging time doesn’t overtake what’s truly important to you and your creative writing pursuits. Your blog compliments your writing well, and I think you’re on to something great! Thank you, too, for stopping by to read my posts, I’m always honored to hear from you! xx

  8. I enjoyed this post, Shelley, especially the complete detailed definition of batshit crazy. Loved it! I have been blogging for 6 months now and I still feel the learning curve. Like going back to school again…the wordpress platform has many places for different statistics like you describe – if you can find them! Their Help Chat is usually good. I thought at first that the blog had to be about one thing, but I am finding it is more like a place where I can put the different pieces of writing that otherwise might go in random notebooks. (now there’s a run-on sentence!). I have also found that the different challenges are fun, but can distract from what I really need(!) to write about. So I limit it to 2 or 3; mostly to explore different types of writing I might not otherwise attempt (the school angle as well).
    I am just hoping the “jumping” from one type of writing to another doesn’t put readers off. It is fun to discover shared experiences with other bloggers via comments, etc.

    I’ve also learned to watch what words I use for tags. Something I thought was seemingly innocent (“little girl”) triggered some awful vulgar spam emails. Ugh. Live and learn.

    1. Thank you (and thanks to Urban Dictionary for the definition!) I agree, there is definitely a learning curve! Glad you’ve found help chat helpful! Maybe we all are just writing ephemera? By the way – I love that post you wrote, it still has me thinking…! Great tip to be careful what tags you use! Yikes, I’m glad I haven’t had that issue yet! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate hearing from you!

  9. As a blogger, when I read blogs written by others, I comment or like just a few at a time. I find if I try to read too many posts in one sitting I lose my focus and randomly click “like” without paying attention to what was written.

  10. Great post!! I too agree with your first point: blogging takes a lot of time!! I hope you know how sweet it is of you to respond to all your reader comments. It puts a real person behind your blog.

    1. Thank you, your support and visits to my blog keep me smiling (just like the pictures of you and your kids!). Meeting you here in cyberspace has been one of my greatest joys of blogging!

  11. I wish I had more clarity on what my blog is about. I seem to bounce here and there…not too much coherence. So much defining and learning to do. Your spreadsheet idea is interesting. Maybe I can ask my computer savvy husband to help me.

    1. The clarity thing is very important – but, I’ve yet to completely define mine and or stick to it! There’s a neverending learning curve, so that’s why it is hard to define it! Yay – I love it when I inspire someone to add to someone’s honey-can-you-do-this-for-me list ;-)!

    1. Thank you, Claudette – I’m honored that you read mine and that you share your comments and thoughts. Ditto right back to you, your blog is one of my go-to reads on a regular basis! :-)!

    1. Thank you, Laura! Ah…I should’ve added the ‘reblog’ thing to my lessons! My site is a WordPress.org, not a WordPress.com so the reblog button won’t show up! LOL – gotta love all the nuances of WordPress! I’m glad you stopped by to share your thoughts! I’ve been thinking of you lately…I need to revisit my shoe collection and downsize a bit!

      2. Thank you Shelly! Definately an excellent article that I know all my followers woukd enjoy! I need to do a weekly ” blogs you’ll love” series so I can direct them to your page!

        1. Thank you! I appreciate the consideration for the mention – you do so well with spreading kudos – I’m taking notes! 🙂

  14. I enjoyed reading your post! Your tips are honest and helpful. I am a relatively new blogger so have yet to learn a lot from bloggers like you!

    1. Aw, thank you, I’m glad you found the information valuable. There is so much to learn – my wish is for you to find the route that helps your own voice sing and your heart happy! I appreciate you stopping by to read and share your thoughts.

    1. Thank you, glad you found the information helpful! Keep on growing, and don’t stop when you discover you’re an adult ;-)!

  18. I guess I’d have to describe myself as an unpaid, more-than-part-time blogger. As a stay-at-home I’m blessed with more hours to write (and network, which I totally need to do more of) but believe me, my laundry and countertops and home projects suffer for it. It’s just really hard to stop what I love to, say, clean up the office. Blech.

    Damn, Girl. Get Your Shit Together wrote an awesome post on how to grow your blog a few months ago. A *very* funny read but also full of great tips. https://damngirlgetyourshittogether.com/2018/06/07/one-year-blogiversary-dg-blogging-tips/

    1. Thank you for the moral support – I’m right there with you on wanting to do what I should be doing, but doing what I’d rather do instead. It’s easy to let things slide as an empty nester. Thank you for the link, you’re right, that’s a fun read and full of great tips!!

  19. It is amazing how much time anything takes, even something enjoyable like blogging. And you’re right that you (i.e. the generic “you”) have to engage with the other bloggers in your circle, both to be a good blogging friend and to encourage people who enjoy your comments to click back to your own blog. I find it hard to keep up in the way I want to. Last year, I was posting twice per week and keeping up with all the blogs I follow. This year, life got very busy and somehow more stressful. I decided that I have to give myself a break and slack off a bit on the blogging, even if it means my posting and commenting is not so regular. I’m hoping I can get back to the twice a week posting now.
    I actually enjoy participating in “award nominations” and other tags or challenges. I don’t see them as an actual award, really, although it is nice that someone thought of me. I just find it fun to answer an interesting new set of questions and then to give a shout-out to other bloggers I enjoy.
    In terms of comments I make on other blogs, I don’t necessarily keep track, but when someone replies, it will show up in the app and I will also see a notification on my phone. Then I can like the comment back to show it’s been read.
    Thanks for the ideas!

    1. Thank you, Sue, I appreciate hearing your perspective. I’m envious in your 3 vacations in one summer!! I love the pictures and your story that goes along with what you did. Your blog is enjoyable to visit! I’ve not ventured into the app on my phone…I tend to put that back on the charger to disconnect at the end of the day! Thank you for sharing your thoughts!! Much appreciated, I’ll be back again to check your blog out so I can take a virtual vacation!! 🙂 – https://imfeelingthis.blog/2018/08/29/2018-vacation-3-parksville-b-c/

      1. Thanks, Shelley. Glad you could drop by to visit my blog and thanks for the link. As for the phone, I use mine pretty much only for fun and info. I don’t have my work emails on it. I mainly read and comment on blogs via the WordPress Reader, and sometimes I even do my posts on my phone on the go.

          1. Now and then. Of course, once I worked away at one on the beach (you can work off-line), and then somehow deleted the whole post!😯

Comments are closed.