I’ve been spending the last week or so reviewing my goals of the year in terms of this blog and taking a look at my analytics and metrics and seeing if they’re in line with my projected estimates. A few disappointments here and there, but overall it’s looking pretty good.
I’ve also been doing some introspective thinking in terms of my “mistakes” thus far. It hasn’t been a “straight shot” to the top by any stretch of the imagination and I’ve done a few things that I’m not necessarily proud of, but they’ve all been opportunities to learn.
Here are some of my recent thoughts on a few “mistakes” to avoid:
- There was a period of time where I was a complete statistics nut. What a waste of time. It got me depressed and anxious. I now check weekly instead of hourly. Ah, what a refreshing thought.
- Some of the posts that have done the poorest in terms of engagement and traffic are the ones that are just plain “useless.” Posts that “solve problems” or have “high value” have always had better traffic and engagement.
- I wasted about a month’s time of design and development on a theme that never went live for ChurchCrunch. Why? Because it was a theme based on monetization rather than content. I quickly scrapped it, but not after sinking about 50 or 60 hours into it. Too bad.
- I had a great run of engaging on other people’s blogs. I haven’t done that as well as I have in the past. I want to do that better. I’ve seen some good returns as a result. Spend more time with others than just on myself.
- I haven’t always cared about “reputation management” but I care much more now. I could probably speak on this at length, but I’ll leave that there.
- I wanted the world and only gained an island. I wish I had pared my content focus even more when I first began; it would have saved me a lot of headaches.
- I’ve teeter-tottered on the edge of the “debate-type” posts for a while. I think choosing one side would be better than not doing anything at all. Encourage debate and controversy, but not at the cost of being offensive and rude.
- Don’t quit. There have been a few opportunities to take a break but I’ve stayed true to my 1 year goal.
- Take a break, strategically. I could do this better.
- Spend more time on design. I’ve spent quite a bunch but it’s not completely “me” yet. Design matters.
- A few of my titles could use a little more thought. I could spend another 20 seconds on them. Better for SEO and better clickthrus if I did.
- Write about what I love. There are a couple times where I’ve “forced” it. Bad move. Burnout. Ugh.
- Provide more opportunities for others to write. This has gotten better and I’m proud to be on target for my yearly goal of guest posts.
- Even more time on SEO optimization. I cared at the beginning, but didn’t care enough.
- Clutter. It gets ugly, and fast. I’ve done a better job, but took lots of time (and grief) that wasn’t necessary.
Finally, I think the reality of running a blog of this size for myself (instead of a big business or organization) is very different than I had imagined. Reality really sets in after a while…!
stephenbateman says
#1 killed me at the beginning, and I'm in the midst of learning #4, engagement works.
human3rror says
Hmm.
chrissulli says
You are doing great. Keep it up.
Yes to #4. I'd pare down my content but I don't have a topic I want my blog to be about yet. Just threw up a new site design. Lots of work still to do.
tymm says
word up. good list. I just passed the 365 days of blogging mark… it's definitely s challenge but rewarding as well…
human3rror says
congrats! that's awesome.
JimMartin says
This is such a good post. I needed to read this. Thanks for the helpful list. I will be back.
human3rror says
sure thing!
Jeff Holton says
I was sent here by Michael Hyatt, or at least by his tweet.
I've been blogging since 2001 or 2002, but it's only in the past six months or so that I've reversed a number of personal habits and been able to see it as anything more than frivolity. At least, I *thought* it was just a timewaster. Now I see it as a personal development.
Thank you for this list. It will help me further.
human3rror says
Sure thing! Thanks for stopping by!
Craig says
16. Quantity rather than quality?
Seems you're aiming more for quantity rather than quality as you throw out posts for monetisation. A big thing I learned with my blog. 🙂
human3rror says
Well, if you've been around here long enough i'd hope you'd see the quality.
i take blogging pretty seriously in terms of not just wasting my time.
andydarnell says
#12 – When I'm writing about my loves, I am much more pleased with the writing.
I don't write about my family, that is a personal choice. If I did, there would be much more content related to them, because I love them most.
Jim says
blogging is a lot of work…my first goal is to blog for one year.