The Reluctant Blogger by Holly S. Warah
For a long time, I went to writers conferences and heard the same message over and over: To make it as a writer, you need a blog. I read it again in magazines, websites and books on publishing: You gotta have a blog.It seemed it was no longer enough for me just to write fiction. It was about promotion and web presence. A writer needed a platform and a brand—words which sent a chill up my spine.
I waited and hoped this trend would pass.
Meanwhile, it looked as though every writer had a blog. So many aspects daunted me: the technical requirements, the privacy issues, the blatant self-promotion—not to mention all the work involved. And the most troubling: What if I had nothing to offer?
I began reading books about blogging. I took an online class. The syllabus included posts versus pages, content and tags, audience and niche, social media and community.
I dutifully studied these topics, including the super-human skill of search engine optimization (SEO). I created my proposed blog concept Arabic Zeal; I decided on my niche topics (culture, books, and food); I came up with lists of titles for hypothetical posts. I imagined my make-believe audience.
But I never actually blogged.
I discussed my blogging ideas with my writers group and shared my concerns: “What if no one reads it? What if everyone reads it?”
They sympathized. I went on with my fears: I would run out of ideas. The blog would take over my life. I wouldn’t be able to keep up. I would be hacked!
My writer friends chuckled at my worries. Finally, someone told me, “Stop talking about it, Holly, and just do it.”
“You’re right,” I said, shaking my head. “Of course, you’re right.”
So, I took another online course. I knew the material well. Like the parenting expert who has no children, I knew all about blogs. But in this 4-week class, we students were required to launch our blogs by Week 3.
Quelle nightmare.
Without the deadline, I might never have taken the leap. I hired a technical helper from dubbizzle (Dubai’s online classifieds). Like hiring a neighbor’s son, he was the cheapest guy I could find. I launched my self-hosted WordPress blog with my first post, and I was off and running. Three posts a week, just like the courses said. Look, Mom, I’m blogging!
And then it happened. One month into my blog, I went to check for new comments. Instead of my homepage, I found ugly graphics, horrible audio, and the message: You have been hacked.
In hindsight, it was good to get this hacking out of the way in the beginning. However, if you had stepped into my house that morning, you might have thought something truly tragic had happened.
So, I re-grouped and re-built the site (thankful for my hired help). I hardened my blog’s defenses, and I was back in business.
With the hack behind me, I had to deal with more mundane problems—adding plug-ins, editing photographs, embedding video, controlling spam, fine-tuning, and never-ending tweaking.
One tool I found to be useful (and oh so addictive) was Google Analytics. I discovered that my food posts, mostly recipes of Arabic dishes, were getting the most hits on my blog.
What’s more, I enjoyed creating recipe posts, and I was getting encouraging feedback from readers. And so, my content gradually shifted towards more food.
I quickly realized that with food topics, the quality of the photography was just as important as the writing. Blurry snapshots of dinner are no longer acceptable in the blogosphere. So, I took a local food photography workshop. This was a turning point for me because I gained more confidence, and it led me to join a local group of food bloggers.
How great to be able to discuss blogging with others. To be honest, the eyes of my friends and family tend to glaze over when I mention my blog. So, I was pleased to discover this supportive community of amateur bloggers, as well as professional food writers and photographers.
Another perk of this community is that I now get invitations to various food events, most of which I’m not required to blog about, but some I am. I’ve learned I need to be very careful about the events I attend, so I don’t end up selling my soul.
I began to fixate on the amount of traffic to my blog. Facebook delivered; Twitter did not. And I discovered these photo-based sites: Pinterest, foodgawker and tastespotter. And my traffic jumped.
But wait. This social media and messing around editing and submitting photos was time-consuming. Was it worth it?
Sally Prosser, the blogger behind My Custard Pie, told me that the goal was not to achieve a spike in traffic, but to gain loyal readers who come back again and again.
Yes, this is true. And yet—maybe some of these traffic spikes could result in a few loyal readers, no?
But was this how I wanted to spend my time? More and more I was setting aside my fiction writing (my “real” writing) to maintain and promote my blog. This was not what I had intended.
Fastforward to now. I've been blogging for a year and a half. I’m returning to my fiction writing while aiming to blog once a week. Sometimes I fall short, but that’s okay. I’m striving for a balance of culture posts, recipes and book reviews. I’m more focused on creating useful content rather than traffic statistics. I now check my “stats” once a month or less.
I’m never short of ideas, but I’m sometimes short on motivation. It can be a challenge to be the editor, the writer, the photographer, and the designer—all rolled into one.
What keeps me going? Namely, the thoughtful comments and emails from readers. Yesterday I got a message from a new reader: “I can’t get enough of your blog!”
That keeps me going. One loyal reader at a time.
Questions: What's stopping you from blogging? How do you fit blogging into your life?
Resources for Reluctant Bloggers:
Create Your Own Blog by Tris Hussey
The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging
Are you There, Blog? It's me, Writer by Kristen Lamb
Using WordPress by Tris Hussey
ProBlogger by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett
Resources for Food Bloggers:
Will Write for Food by Dianne Jacob
Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling by Helene Dujardin
Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots by Nicole S. Young
