“Content is King” as the saying goes… though it always seems like so much more when you actually get down to it.
Just this morning, the goal was to complete a few articles for the upcoming weeks. After several cups of coffee and strained eyes, it seems all I have to show is an updated Twitter and Facebook page.
Content is indeed kind, but so is Search Engine Optimization… and Daily Unique Visitors… don’t forget to update those WordPress plugins… and actively engaging followers on social media… oh, and commenting on other blogs…
Writing, the foundation of blogging, can get swept aside as websites grow. The increase in popularity is intoxicating and the focus shifts towards: further increasing web presence, improving rankings like SEOmoz or Alexa, entertaining advertisers, and researching the “next level” of blogging status.
From what I’ve been told, the typical lifespan of a blogger is 1-year.
Developing an immediate web presence early happens simply from the tenacity of being new. The novelty of blogging and learning about the business promotes aggressive writing, commenting, and socializing. Yet the effort required to make it in the Top 10 is a considerably more than making it into the Top 100. And here is where blogs eventually start to taper. Once that happens, it seems like only a matter of time before a site can crash & burn into non-existence.
How bloggers handle this transition is critical to a website’s success. Many handle this flawlessly, maintaining the core focus on consistently publishing quality content. Me on the other hand….not so much!
Allowing several stints of inactivity, I’ve chalked up this site’s different hiatus’ to a variety of reasons, like getting married, and it has impacted the site tremendously. The delicate amount of commentary quickly faded away, daily visitors shrunk to the low teens, and my Alexa ranking plummeted.
Training for an upcoming half-marathon and studying for the GRE exam, the site has been on autopilot for more than the past 3 months. Thank goodness for guest posts because there would be ZERO new content otherwise!
What I’ve come to realize is the slickness of the design or smoothness of the website don’t really matter if there’s nothing there to engage the readers. This is why personal finance bloggers with distinct online identities are so popular – visitors have either formed a connection with the author or are regularly entertained by what’s published.
So here’s to the original FinEngr – who not only enjoyed writing, but took the time to engage readers with quality content like:
Stick with it brotha, quality content is the best thing you can do for SEO, increased visitors, and improved Alexa rankings (for whatever they matter).
I’ve been through a few patchy areas myself with the birth of 3 kids (since I started blogging), my full time job, studying for the GMAT, and now being “full time” in business school!
It has been crazy, but I find my blog a great place to vent my frustrations (like the recent downgrade by S and P).
Good luck and good luck on the GRE! Blogging only gets more fun once you start going to graduate school!
Ben:
Thanks for stopping by the site! I went over to comment on your articles, but I couldn’t comment from work ;)
Ha – wow… that’s definitely a lot more to keep up with I’ve got on my end. More fun when you start school???
I can really identify with this feeling. There is so much to blogging that after a while it feels like you aren’t really blogging anymore but being swamped by the mundane aspects of “running a business”.
But, when you get that feeling it can sometimes just be best to put on the brakes and focus on content again and you will get a renewed sense of well being and focus.
Saving Mentor:
Thanks to stopping by! I got wrapped up in everything else and just became overwhelmed. Like you said – pushing the “reset” button and refocusing on writing is what I needed.