I haven’t been blogging here as much as I usually do.
It’s a combination of factors. Work has me writing more right now than I’ve ever written. I’m also blogging over at Thoughtwrestling, and doing more stuff over at Jester Creative’s blog too. I’m writing content for clients, proposals, scripts – you name it. Many days I’m cranking out at least 5000 words. By the time I get back over here, I guess I’m just all written out.
I feel bad about it.
There are thousands of blogs about blogging. They tell you to “be consistent”, and blog every day, or at least a few times a week. You’ve got to “keep your audience interested” by continuously pumping out compelling content. I believe all of those things to be true anytime you want to give something legs, build an audience, a community. I coach my clients on this and I do it pretty well with them.
But like the cobbler with holes in his shoes, I don’t always stay on top of things in my own house.
But it’s not like I’m doing nothing. 5000 words a day? That seems like something to me. At least my brain and my fingers think so. But I can’t help but feel guilty sometimes that I’m letting things slide over here.
When I started this blog back in 2007, I really did it for myself. I probably had about three readers, including me, my husband, and my Mom. But suddenly, other people started to take interest. They were leaving comments, and that was super cool. They were posting links on their blogs, and Twitter, and that was flattering. My subscriber count started to go up, and I realized that, even in my own small way, I had an audience that seemed to give at least a small crap about what I was typing out every day. I’m grateful for that, and I think the feedback I’ve gotten, positive and constructive, has helped me grow immensely.
So, I guess it stands to reason that if I’m posting less often, or if my content isn’t as strong, that I’ll feel like I’m letting people down. Now don’t get me wrong, my ego is still in check. I know you have a lot going on in your life, and you’re not going to be too adversely affected if SuzeMuse doesn’t pump out a blog post every day. I totally get that.
I am starting to think that I’m the one being let down. If I’m not contributing here, then I’m not opening the door to the conversations that can happen when I unleash what’s rolling around in my brain.
Perhaps it’s that I miss YOU when I’m not here.
[photo by Frederic Poirot on Flickr]
6 Comments
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Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.
[…] draft queue. The awesomely-awesome Sue Murphy admitted a few months ago to suffering the pains of blogger guilt. Hell, one of the smartest guys I know started his own PR/web/social media consultancy two years […]
It is tough. It is hard. It is gruelling and dirty and sweaty and rough to keep up the pace need to “stay in touch” with your “audience”. We have to much stuff to sift through. I love your blog but I also love your Jester Creative blog and the dozen or more ideas I get from you on Twitter EVERY SINGLE FRICKIN' DAY!
I salute anyone who can crank out fresh content EVERY SINGLE FRICKIN' DAY no matter the canvas. You are building a wonderul company and I am one of the fortunate who has seen it in action – amazing. That doesn't happen without a lot of hard work EVERY FRICKIN' DAY!
I'm sure you have hovered over the keyboard with the desire to share a concept or idea or opinion on many topics on many a night but the juice isn't there because you have just spent the entire day sharing with clients and working on your business.
The online world is a wonderous place filled with unicorns and butterflies. But it is also crammed with really smart people like you building companies that are making a difference. If you disappeared from the world of sharing, then we'd all wonder. If you don't have time to share another 5-800 words after you've given us all the rest, we'll be okay.
And to anyone who has read this long comment (which is longer than most of my blog posts) – read everything you can get your hands on by Sue, she's a rock star.
Thank you Kneale. So much. 🙂
[…] motivation to blog or forgot about my awesome and smart community here (though I do feel a bit of guilt), I’ve just been in power up […]
The whole 'be consistent' thing makes some degree of sense, I guess, for a corporate blog or a blog with a specific mandate. But to be perfectly honest, I think it's kind of silly.
Yes, Sue, we love reading your stuff. But that's largely because it's written with passion and purpose. You can't force that.
It's something I struggle with too. When I see my blog go quiet for weeks at a time I feel like I should post something. But if I'm forcing myself to do it, subjecting myself to some artificial deadline or editorial calendar, the people who read my blog won't be getting my best work.
I'd rather get two posts of SuzeMuse awesomeness in a month than four contrived and forced posts. I'd rather you be out there hustling for your clients and side projects so that when you DO have time to bang out a post here, you've got actual experience to talk about.
You don't owe us anything other than what you've got the time and mental capacity to produce. Have enough respect for your writing to realize it can't be forced.
Thanks Joe, that means a lot. 🙂