6 Keys to Help You Be the Boss of Your Blog





I can't quite believe I'm in the midst of my 10th year of blogging.  Sitting down at this keyboard and sharing my heart, resources, and learnings with you has become as natural {and necessary!} as breathing.

And even though I've coached others on the subject of their blogs, I'm still very much a student.  

I don't know anyone who's arrived, and have discovered that when someone seems to be perched near the blog world pinnacle, she often fades off the screen, burns out, finds other creative endeavors to embrace, or has no choice but to move on to focus on more pressing matters.

Like family.  Work.  Ministry.  Life.

It costs something to be out and about online, to produce thoughtful stuff that matters, to share relationship albeit from afar, to be in the place in your head and your soul where there's actually something of value to offer others.  




A few things I've learned ...

1.  Write when you want.
Too many 'experts' seek to inform us on the most efficient ways to hone our craft.  The number of minutes each day to write, what time of day to do so, what days of the week and most profitable hours to hit the 'publish' button.  Calendars and schedules mean well but can burden and bully, leaching away our joy as they attempt to corral our creative energy and our precious hours.
  
I beg to differ.  

Go ahead and write when you have something of value to say.  Write when you can't not write.  Write when there's a fire in your bones that just can't be extinguished.  You'll feel freer and lighter as you discover and embrace your best rhythms and pace yourself accordingly.

You're the boss of your blog.  You get to decide when you pick up your pen.

2.  Write what you want.
Many bloggers have a specific niche, an area of expertise.  And over time that works for them.  They are known for their wisdom and insight on a specific subject and faithful readers regularly head over to their place, knowing they're going to get another heaping portion of good stuff on a particular topic.

Example?  Beth at MessyMarriage.com.  Fabulously wise counsel, godly inspiration, meaningful conversation.  

But if you don't have a niche, no problem.  We're multifaceted beings so it makes sense that our posts will reflect that reality.  Know the needs of your readers and appreciate your own bent to head in a certain direction.  Aim to encourage.  Cultivate and share your own unique giftedness.  The sky's the limit, isn't it.

You're the boss of your blog.  And this is a venue where your creativity and wisdom can morph and soar.

3.  Try to avoid the numbers.
Nothing steals our joy or squelches our creative juices more than an ever-present eye on stats.  Obsession with our / someone else's hits, comments, shares, likes, followers, subscribers can siphon off our exuberance and our ability to relax into what we're producing.

Or fill us with a rather unattractive pride.

Go ahead and be aware of what those numbers are.  But don't let your day rise and fall because those babies will most certainly fluctuate.  Claim the truth that we are not defined by our stats, we are defined by our Savior.

If you want to publish a book, I know that numbers can assist you in getting your foot in the door.  But no matter.  You're the boss of your blog and you, not those pesky lurking numbers, get to shape what defines your online presence.  

4.  Dig into your archives.
It's ok to rustle around through your posts from some years back, rediscover the goodies, dust them off, give them a face lift ... or a total redo.

And then hit that 'publish' button yet one more time.

This tidbit is one of the coolest things about being the boss of your own blog.  Your stuff?  It's your continued call on what to do with it.  I like to link up the new post with the old one.  When you spy the red adapted link at the bottom of a post around here, click on to see the original.  Chances are that there's some significant updates.

5.  Offer relationship when you can.
I've met a number of wonderful people in my online travels and I know you have, too ...  writers, creatives, counselors, ministry leaders, motivators, wounded healers.  I can't begin to tell you how much I've learned from connecting with people just like you.

One feature of blogging is the whole relational piece.  Over time, 'iron sharpening iron' connections develop as you mingle with others.  You meet people who prize what you prize ... and others who make you stop and think hard about issues you hadn't fully considered.  

Hearts connect, we stop by each other's sites on a regular basis to leave encouraging words.  We rally around when the tough times hit and share joy during the celebrations.  We pray for each other, feature each other's work without expecting payback, and applaud each other's successes and accomplishments.  

Because you're the boss of your blog, you get to decide how much of your energy goes to your online friends ... and how much should be going to the real life people that you live and work and do community with.

6.  Don't let FOMO {fear of missing out} be your motivation.
Sometimes you feel like you're back in 7th grade.  It seems like everyone else is hanging out together and you're off in the corner by yourself.  Fear of missing out leads to frustrating, shallow places. 

It's way too easy to run from hither to yon, racing to endless linky parties, looking to connect, to be known, to get others to come visit and leave comments.  But can I encourage you to venture forward from a place of peace, confidence, and joy?  Be your own authentic self.  You've got perspective to offer that no one else has. 

It's a very needful gift to limit your social media presence to the venues that give you joy and are a good use of your valuable time.  And it's always smart to know when enough's enough and not hesitate one single minute when it's time to close down the laptop and move off to fully embrace the real life people that are just waiting for you to fully engage once again.

So go ahead and proactively unplug for a week, a month, a season when you're starting to feel a bit crispy, dry ... maybe a tad anxious or obsessive.  There's an art to being in a place in life that's healthy, sane, and wise ... and it sometimes requires difficult choices.

We do best when 'we make it our goal to please Him' {2 Corinthians 5:9}.  Because He's the ultimate boss of our blogs.  And isn't that a truly awesome partnership?

What's your best blogging advice?  Do tell ...

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