What NOT To Do As a Blogger in 2013
I suppose I’m a few days late for a post-year wrap-up, but it’s definitely something that I’ve been thinking a lot about. Perhaps you spent some of your time off thinking about the past year as well… About things you did for your business… Successes and failures…. Things you never got around to doing… Lessons learned and proud moments of accomplishment. Here are just two of the lessons I learned in 2012… And the things I WON’T be doing in the year ahead. Business Before Pleasure In my teens and 20s, I loved to write. I wrote all the time just because. When I started my blogs, I thought writing would be the easy part, and so I really focused on the parts of blog management that I wasn’t quite as comfortable with…. Generating ad revenue, learning about SEO, analyzing web traffic, etc. and by the time I was done with all of the “business” part of it, I had little energy, motivation or inspiration left to write. I miss the urge to write… The pleasure of writing… The part of me that used to feel like I HAD to write. Have you ever gotten so caught up in managing, marketing and analyzing your business that you forgot the reason you wanted to start the business in the first place? In the coming year, we should remember why we do what we do… And why, at one time, we LOVED what we do. Too Much, Too Fast, Too Thin There are seemingly endless opportunities to interact and/or promote oneself online. Each network and group is different, and interesting and perhaps valuable. Each does things a little differently, and the latest and greatest are so much fun to play in! But eventually, you have 150 accounts and are regularly active in only a handful of them. And then, the guilt and stress set in. Sometimes, even with a well planned-out strategy with defined goals, there are unexpected detours along the way. Flashing lights, alluring music, laughs from a crowd and potential promises draw us in. And sometimes, we get so caught up in it all that it’s only when the smoke clears that we realize that we’re dancing alone. No more. In 2013, I’m sticking to the basics… My trusted friends on the networks and platforms that most often lead to real conversations, meaningful connections and learning opportunities. I don’t need to reach everyone… I just need to reach the right ones. And the right ones are right in front of me. What about you? Have you spread yourself a little too thin? Do you ever get the urge to scale down? Or do you like being involved in a wide variety of social networks? If so, how do you keep up with it all? In 2012, I experienced many opportunities, many successes and many lessons learned. And I came out of it with a desire to really focus, prioritize and simplify. It’s so easy to spend hours, days, weeks focusing on the business and technology of what we do. And sometimes, it’s absolutely necessary to to do just that. But this year, I will also try to remember that what I need may be right in front of me, if only I settle down and pay attention.
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