The best blogging advice I ever received
This week, BritMums has issued not ONE but TWO blogging prompts. One is a personal prompt (If I wouldn’t be judged too harshly I would say _________ out loud!) and one is a blogging prompt (The best blog advice I have ever received is_________.)
I know exactly what I would say for the personal prompt but I have to decide if I’m feeling brave enough. It very well may turn into a rant and we all know what happens when I rant!
So let’s give the blogging prompt a go: “The best blogging advice I ever received”. I’ll break it down into two mantras for you which have a lot to do with each other. Ready, steady…
Don’t worry about Stats/Rankings: If you are a remotely competitive person and have higher aspirations for your blog, steer clear of rankings and stats monitoring. There’s nothing wrong with either of them, however, if you can’t maintain a sensible head about them and find yourself in the doldrums because your blog dropped 20 rankings or your stats counter looks like a peaky mountain range, then you simply must take yourself away from that place. You will end up trying too hard, taking away too much time from your life to remedy the situation and potentially not achieve much in the end.
Moving up rankings is tricky business. It takes effort and perseverance to make sure you are ticking all of the boxes. If you can be mature about it and shrug off any slips, dips and bumps, then by all means, give it your all. If you get cross, start checking out the “competition” and spending the majority of your day online, then it’s time to back off. You will be much happier in the end and your blog will flourish as a result.
Step away from the laptop: This is actually my own advice (which I need to take more often as well) from last week’s post, Not now dear, I’m blogging. You cannot possibly blog well if you’re focusing too much on the end result. I would hazard a guess that a majority of Mummy bloggers are perfectionists and are exceptionally keen to move their blog forward. However, there are so many more important things in life, including your sanity. Turn the laptop off, set yourself parameters as to when you will blog and when you will shut down and be happy about it. It is a good thing, trust me. I’m even considering proposing a week of “Silent Blogging” where the only thing I post is a photo. No words, just images of our life/week. It might help to get the creative juices flowing in a different direction.
What is the best blogging advice you have ever received? Do you find it hard (as I do) to step away from the laptop? Could you change something about your daily/weekly blogging routine to make it more positive and healthy? I’d love to hear your advice as well!
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For a couple of newbies just starting out this sounds like some pretty sound advice! Thanks.
More than a mum,
I hope you find it helpful. It’s best to start out on the right foot than having to learn the hard way. One of the bonuses of our great wide community…advice on tap!
Karin
Thank you for your advice! I’m a stat watcher but after chatting to another blogger yesterday a few hints and tips have got my mind going in another blogging direction and this just confirms that
Thank you
Great advice. Definitely agree with stepping away from the computer. I mean how interesting can a blog really be if all you have in your life is your blog? And I am seriously considering giving myself ‘working hours’ for my blog as I could quite easily spend every baby-free moment on it and I don’t think that’s terribly healthy for me, or the state of my house which gets neglected. x
some good advice there! I need to ‘step away from the laptop’ more than I should – but I guess we are all guilty! Helen x
I so agree with you. I went through the competitive aspect and found myself chasing away good blogging friends. As soon as I relaxed a bit, they all came back. I never look at stats on my blog, they mean nothing to me because I don’t understand them anyway. Being in the tots100 has been a massive boost of course but I’m not blogging quite as much now and realise my rankings will drop probably dramatically! At the end of the day, I have a life away from blogging. I can live without blogging. I can’t live without Amy. Enough said!
CJ xx
That is good advice. I am in danger of getting addicted…..somebody help me…….
Debbie,
Karin
It truly is an addiction. Just ask my husband! STEP AWAY FROM THE LAPTOP! You can do it!
Crystal Jigsaw,
I can’t live without my family either. Well done you for stepping back when you needed to!
Karin
Helen,
Oh yes, I am just as guilty!
Karin
Lucy at Dear Beautiful Boy,
Karin
EXACTLY! And my house gets very neglected too, as a result of my addiction! Must go hoover now. Or was it, have a nap??
Paula,
Karin
I still find stats interesting and like to know what’s happening with mine. But now that I’m not in the Tots any longer, I don’t STRESS over them. That’s the key for me!
Fantastic advice, all of it – and thank goodness I didn’t read this before i posted as I would probably have felt you’ve said it all!
Potty Mummy,
Aw, thank you. Amazing how much you learn along the way, eh? Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Karin
Fab advice thank you. I am guilty of spending too much time in front of this thing and the longer I sit the less I actually end up blogging. The stats thing truly is a minefield, some people take them awfully seriously and others dont bother. For someone relatively new it’s great to have some sensible pointers!
Fran,
Good luck.
I’m glad this is helpful to you. It’s very easy to get wrapped up in it all. Know where your limits are and remember to STEP AWAY FROM THE LAPTOP when you see IT happening!
Karin