MY blog is a resource for ME
Once again Lorelle VanFossen writing for the Blog Herald has inspired me to post. Thanks Lorelle. She says that saying your blog is a personal resource is somehow wrong. I think she misunderstands.
Chris Garrett in Blogging for Readers says that “Before you reap any rewards, with blogging you have to serve your audience. That means putting readers first.” and yet he also has a personal blog (Which BTW is a PR 4 site) that “is written with no audience goals, no monetization goals, no agenda. It just is what it is.”
I completely agree with both of these highly respected bloggers with the caveat that they are both really talking about blogs which have some kind of business agenda - sales, marketing, branding, etc. But I don’t agree that in order to reap ANY rewards, you have to put your audience above all else.
If you read my about page you will find that I say this blog is a personal resource, and it is. However, I know that it is also available to the public - not in a vacuum. That fact causes me to pay closer attention to everything, write with more clarity and at least try not to embarrass myself. I’m new to blogging, and at this point I don’t have much of an audience, but I try to respect the audience that I have. Everything I write here is like a message in a bottle - I hope it will be read, but I’m not staking too much on that hope.
I think that saying MY blog is a resource for ME is a completely legitimate position. I do hope that others will find value in it also, but as long as I find it worthwhile I’ll keep at it. Make your blog worthwhile for yourself, and maybe you’ll stick with it long enough for others to find it useful as well.
If your blog is for you and you alone then you *are* putting your target reader first
@Chris - True. Thanks for the comment.
Which is what I was going to say. If your blog is for you, and you alone, then treat it accordingly, and don’t whine about readership. If your blog is about your audience, then make it accordingly.
But never forget, it’s actually for both, as I said in the beginning of the article. It’s for you, but never forget that when you hit the publish button, it’s also for someone else. Otherwise, just keep it in a notebook.
“when you hit the publish button, it’s also for someone else. Otherwise, just keep it in a notebook.”
Exactly, the fact that you publish it changes how you think about and construct your post. You can’t get that if no one else will see it. Thanks for your comment too Lorelle.