On Formulaic Blogging
Copy Blogger offered a post, 3 Reasons Why You Should Be a Formulaic Blogger. Much of such reasoning is sound, yet. . ..
One of the main reasons I’ve neglected this blog for so long is that I was rebelling against that type of blogging. Oh, there’s nothing wrong with writing posts titled 7 Seriously Successful Secret Slogans, or Ten Totally Teriffic Tips.. Many people like that kind of content, yet. . ..
The question is, who are you writing for? I once read such blog posts voraciously. I don’t’ anymore. I know others who have been involved, both as bloggers and blog readers as long as I have. Those posts attract novices. If my own experience is any kind of guide, it seems that those posts don’t attract readers who want more information or who appreciate considering aspects of their craft in deeper detail.
I starter my first blog in 1999 and ran it for four years, eventually totaling over 1500 posts. The blog, Mystic Cowboy, slowly attracted a following. I noticed that the depth and variety of the content shifted during that time. What I found was that as long as I kept exploring topics that interested me, there was no problem coming up with content. The blog eventually achieved 1,000 unique visitors a day. That’s nothing compared to what Joe Konrath sees, but does represent modest success, especially since it wasn’t intended as a promotional tool.
I hit an emotional wall when my personal life took a downward turn and stopped writing. That wasn’t because I had no more to say, but because, well, let’s just say that nothing held much of my interest for several years.
As writers and authors, we are encouraged to create and maintain blogs in order to build a platform. Unless we get extremely lucky, gaining a following takes continuing dedication and discipline. And, for most of us, that requires that we gain something personal from the act of blogging, itself. Just blogging because some agent, teacher, or publisher tells us that we should isn’t a great enough motivation to sustain long term effort. It’s a prime reason why most blogs fail.
I’d say the same about writing as marketing. I you enjoy marketing, and the formulaic type of blogging that most often comes from marketers, the impetus to sustain your blog will not fizzle out. If you aren’t fed by writing that kind of content, you will quit.
So, is formulaic writing bad? Not if you enjoy it, but that isn’t the only way to blog. If you find that another format motivates you better than writing formulaic blog posts, that’s the one that most likely will keep you coming back the many, many times it takes to build a following.
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