Did you blog today? How about yesterday? Last week? Last month? Come on man!
Consistency is the key to blogging success. You must post on high-traffic days like Tuesday & Thursday, write SEO-friendly copy, targeted headlines, include a photo…you know the drill, right? Right.
Enough of the BS. Yes, it’s true, consistency is important if you’re looking to grow your audience – and all of the other things mentioned above are good practices for any blogger to put into action – but if you’re focused on all the things you’re “supposed” to do – you forgot the most important thing about blogging – the reason you started blogging in the first place – because you love to write, you love to communicate. You have something to say and you need a place to say it.
But sometimes you don’t have anything to say. Sometimes you draw a blank. Maybe for a day, maybe a month, or maybe you decide blogging just isn’t for you.
Whatever the case, the message today is simple: Stop apologizing.
I’ve done it. You’ve done it. Odds are we’ve all done it. We “slack off” a bit with our blogs for some amount of time and in our first post back we apologize for being gone. We invent the need to apologize to our readers for our absence, and we come up with reasons why we didn’t have time to write (note: you always have time, if you make time, and if blogging is important to you).
Stop apologizing. It’s just a blog. Seriously. It’s okay. Life happens and sometimes your blog isn’t at the top of your priority list. The beauty of a blog? It’ll always be here when you’re ready to write on her. And your community, at least your loyal readers and followers, will be right here reading when you make it back.
The point? Priorities change all the time. I used to spend hours and hours every week writing here and reading other blogs, commenting, tweeting, etc. At that time, my blog served a different purpose – it was a place for me to build my own “personal brand” and in short, was something I could point to when looking for a job.
Now? I’m in a much different place in my life and my blog has taken a bit of a back-seat. I have time for it when I make time, and I don’t when other things take precedence. There may be a time when I start writing more, or maybe not. It’s as simple as that.
Stop apologizing, focus on what’s important in your life, and go be great at those things.
(Photo c/o monkeytraffic)