Don’t Waste Your Time on Blogging
Megan, Fuel’s awesome Intern, passed this clip along to the rest of us recently. I think it’s worth your time…
Procrastination from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.
Let me ask you a tough question… Why should I waste my time reading your blog? I don’t intend that question as any kind of harsh slam against your content. Rather, it’s a question we seriously need to think through. Is your blog worth my time? If not, then you’d have to admit it isn’t worth the time you put into it either.
I wouldn’t begin to suggest that blogging, in and of itself, is a waste of time. It’s the reason this online magazine exists to begin with. We believe that blogging is not only a beautiful artform, but also a powerful mechanism to shape thought and culture. What I would suggest is that the blogosphere is filled with fluff written by people who wasted their time producing the fluff.
No matter your niche, no matter your industry, your blog needs to matter and to justify its own existence. I want to issue some challenging statements to get you provoke you to think hard about whether you should waste time on your next blog post or not. I’m writing as your potential reader, so hear me out…
- I have a certain amount of time in my life to read blogs and I’m afraid of wasting time on content that doesn’t matter.
- I don’t want to waste my time reading another regurgitation of the content I just read in the last five articles I wasted time on.
- I want to read articles that make me think, that add something to my life, or that cause me to think about something I hadn’t thought about before.
- I want to read an article that you felt strongly about. Show me a little passion.
- I’m smart enough to know whether you wrote your article for me, or for a search engine, and if you wrote it for Google alone, I feel cheap.
- I like news, but I read news sites for news. I don’t mind a blogger re-hashing news, but I read blogs for perspective, so tell me why I should care.
- I like your articles even more if I discover that I like you… that is if I can find you underneath your blog somewhere.
- Entertainment isn’t always a waste of time. Don’t be afraid to make me laugh… or cry.
Think like a reader and your writing will change. Think like a content consumer and your blogging is forever affected. Is blogging a waste of time? It depends on how you’re going about the discipline to begin with. If your blog doesn’t waste my time, then you’re not wasting your time writing it.
So don’t waste your time on blogging. Make your minutes (and mine) matter.
Brandon has been doing web and logo design and this blogging thing for about six years. He’s also a Pastor at Saddleback Church in southern California, where he lives with his wife and kids. You can catch him on Twitter or Facebook.
Sage advice, Brandon. I think I’ll post this list next to my writing space.
Thanks Phil – glad to help!
Hey Brandon, its really interesting and engaging post. Especially i like this sentence : “Think like a reader and your writing will change.” But i want to ask you that when someone like me starts a blog, who is not so professional but wants to be a pro, then do i need to consider all those questions that you quoted?
I think they’re all decent thoughts for improving our excellence. For those who consider themselves “beginners” realize that there will always be people more experienced and less experienced than where you are right now. The key is to push yourself just toward a slightly higher level from where you are. I sure haven’t arrived yet and have a long way to go. Keep up the good work!
Very nice “wake up” for us sometimes unfocused bloggers.
Wife and I once live in Fort Smith for almost two years
Arkansas, we thought, was a hidden “national treasure.”
Well, maybe not Hot Springs.
I was stationed at Fort Smith National Historic Site. Have you
ever heard the story of the “Hanging Judge, Isaac C. Parker?”
National Park Service tells Parker’s and other historic stories
there.
Thank you,
Bob (born in MA, but retired in NM)
Bob, I am familiar with your Judge. We were there for a conference once where the Mayor welcomed us. He was a fun individual who “pardoned” the President of our group from a hanging.
What a bunch of drivel, and self-centered drivel at that. Look at how many times you used “I” and I’m” and “me” and “mine.” What you may consider a waste of time may be just what someone else is looking for.
I’ll not waste my time or yours by continuing to read here.
Amazing how we interpret the same piece of writing in such different ways. Your reply is ego-driven, as mine is as well.
Bob
I immediately bookmarked this site and plan to revisit. Just a different
perspective.
Still Bob
Oh, I forgot to add, “Don’t make me heckle you!”
*lived
I have tried to update that picture above as grandson Jimi (named after Hendrix)
is closer to five years old than that age at which that pix was taken.
I do several blogs and have used retirement time (five years) to self study this
fascinating topic.
Bob Hoff.
I’m glad, Bob, and hope that we can be a resource to you. Don’t ever hesitate to reach out to me/us if we can help in any way – great to have you here!
Thank you, sir.
I have recently started to use Windows Live Blogger to post to my Google Blogs. To me, everything about using WLB seems easier than using Google. Google Bogger. It’s amazing to me how WLB allows users to post to their regular blogs.
Have you used it or had anything to write about WLB?
Thanks,
Bob
Great post Brandon! You really hit the nail on the head here. These are going to be good points to think through as I write each new post!
Thanks Kevin – glad you found it helpful – you do great work, keep it up!
Wow! Powerful statements. And sooooo true. Time is a nonrenewable resource that we get only one stab at – and because I’m always so crunched for time, it sometimes upsets me when it’s been wasted. I don’t want to produce content that no one will care about, because my heart is in there…my time is there.
This post definitely makes me think… uncomfortably, because I don’t want to write another word that’s just fluff…but I don’t want to stop writing altogether, either.
Oh! the challenge…
Kiesha, these kinds of posts are hopefully helpful, but definitely don’t give up – you do awesome work!
Kiesha,
Our writing, all things being equal, improves as we practice. In addition, as we write more, we discover useful techniques and topics for our future writing…and the process goes on, as long as we write I believe.
Today’s “fluff” (and it is probably not total fluff even though we sometimes feel that way about what we produce) is tomorrow’s and the next day’s non-fluff.
Keep writing, keep thinking, keep posting.
Good Luck,
Bob Hoff
The truth may be harsh but it will set us free. Though it has hit me hard, I agree to what you have shared. I’m glad to be different. :-)
Thanks Walter – keep up what you’re doing!
Brandon, I don’t really want to be one of those commentors who just drops in and says ‘good job’… but I really don’t have much else to add. You’ve supplied a great roundup with the bullet points as well as something to think about.
Trying to spread your word!
Thanks Ted, and I don’t mind – drop by anytime! ;)