Loving your Small(ish) Blog | Word to the Newbies | Week 7

We are rounding out this summer’s blogging series – Word to the Newbies with a few more posts. Today I’m sharing about embracing and loving the blog you have. Even if it’s small.

I have never once, in real life or online,  run into a blogger who is completely satisfied with posting, just for the sheer joy of it.

As much as that element is present for bloggers that have any kind of staying power, there is always the desire to be seen, read, and appreciated by their followers. Part of the whole blogging payoff is knowing that what you’ve written, created, or presented to the world through your little online window meant something to someone else.

It would follow, that many bloggers experience a kind of angst after posting their very best work, and checking their stats all day long to find that all of four people viewed their post. One of which was their best friend. Two, themselves checking from different devices and only one, an actual verifiable visitor . . . bless that last persons little heart.

The truth is, those days suck. But I would bet 99% of the bloggers you read on the internet have had a day like that too, at one point or another. Instead of wondering what’s wrong with you/your blog, googling all the things that made successful bloggers successful, and trying to simulate some of their online love – let me remind you of a few very important things:

“Small” is normal

Wikipedia‘s best guess is that there are over two-hundred-and-forty-seven-million Tumblr and WordPress blogs worldwide. That’s not counting all the other blogging platforms that exist across the vast expanse of the internet.

According to WordPress.com’s stats alone, their users publish 42.6 million new posts EACH MONTH. In that same month, 14.4 BILLION WordPress pages will be viewed by over 409 million readers.

Translation: If you’re getting 35 hits PER MONTH you’re doing really, really well.

“Small” is WAY more normal than you’d think.

Maybe you’re not ready for a “big” blog

I know this one’s hard to hear, but if you’re not a self-aware blogger, when you do get big traffic, you won’t be ready.

Dream with me a little. What would happen if your blog magically got 20,000+ hits in a twenty-four hour period of time?

• Would a visitor like the look and feel of your blog enough to read more, and come back?
• Would someone be able to find where similar posts are on your site?
• Would readers be able to quickly find your social media outlets?
• Or would your site just lay down and die for all the stress? (404 error pages are NOT where you want an influx of traffic to land!) 

Everyone’s always looking for their “big break,” but you’ve got to be ready for it when it comes. If you’re running a small blog, you have time to make updates and improvements that a “big” blogger must have. Immediately.

So take that time and work diligently to create consistent, quality content. Post engaging images. Be present on social media. Re-organize your site. Brush up on the things you need help on, and take joy that you have not maxed out your potential. You have room to grow, and therefore so does your blog.

Magic traffic fizzles. Consistent hard work and determination always win.

Finding your niche is so much simpler on a small blog

There is a misconception out there that before you start a blog you must know exactly what you will post, in what style, and how often, from now until forever and ever amen. That rule may exist in the realm of possibility for someone, somewhere, but probably not for you or I.

I met this girl during my last freelance project, who commented how cool it was that I was a blogger. She went on to say how much she’d like to start her own, but didn’t know what niche she could fit herself in to generate consistent posts, and good traffic. So she hadn’t gotten around to it yet.

I smiled politely (because I’m a fan of being hired twice), but could not disagree more with her blogging plan. Frankly, that kind of thinking will keep you from starting a blog – ever.

• If you want to write a big meaningful blog someday, starting small is a quicker way to get there than by doing nothing at all.
• If you don’t know exactly where you fit online, experimenting with different kinds of posts will help you discover your identity.
• If you’re not sure of your writing voice, the best way to find it, is by USING it.

Baseball legend Babe Ruth said, “Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”

Translation: Don’t let the fear of finding your voice, or your niche, or changing the plan keep you from blogging at all.

You have to start somewhere. With a small blog, you have time and space to try things – lots of things, anythings – and learn from both the successes AND failures. Starting small lets you make mistakes, or change course, or find your voice relatively privately. And that’s not a bad thing.

YOU (and your blog) are unique