Be Yourself.
I was washing the dishes last night when I realized that the next day would be Monday, which in Blogland is the prime posting day. You generally start off on your best foot on Monday- when everyone is back to work and back to their computers- with something big and important to share and then work your way into the week. And so as I was standing at the sink I realized that I had no posts ready to go, and the posts that I do have in draft aren't nearly ready, and I didn't have anything great there to share with you. And with that statement, let me explain.
In my blogroll right now are some large blogs and some small blogs, almost all ladies who post rather frequently, with lovely content meant to teach you something new, show off a great product, give you the top 5 best whatever, and explain to you how to blog and use social media to the fullest. I realized last night that I have no such type of post in the works and there would be no time to whip up something at that point of the day (or probably the next day and the next day), so Monday was going to be a wash this week. But then I got to thinking about it, my mind wandering as it does when I'm doing any sort of mindless task like dish washing, and realized that said blogroll has probably ninety percent posts like the ones above. Everyone seems to be out to offer up a quick DIY, provide you with the top nail polish colors of the season, explain to you the latest and greatest app to make you a better blogger, and enthrall you with pretty pictures taken on the perfect weekend away.
But what I find that I am lacking in those blogs, ones I find myself skipping over day after day, are the personal posts. And I don't mean in-depth personal/deep dark secret territory, but just hey-how're-you-doing-posts that talk about what they're up to, what they're thinking, how they're feeling about something. In this Pinterest-driven world of blogging for money and secretly hoping to score a book and/or movie/television deal, everyone is out to be an expert on something (or everything). And while I love a nice tutorial and I probably need some tips on using social media properly, when it's nearly every single post nearly every single day, it starts to feel lacking and forced, as though every post needs to present with some awesome information.
I miss reading posts getting to know the blogger behind the blog. If I discover a new blog I think I may want to follow (and I do take some of Bloglovin's suggestions) I want to find out something about who's writing the blog. Sometimes I can tell right away that I'm not going to be interested in what the blogger is talking about, but then there are some blogs that are so visually appealing that I'm sure I want to keep following even though I have no idea who's behind the words and the pretty pictures. So while I still want to offer a mix of content because I think it makes for a more interesting blog, I do plan on trying to write some more personal pieces. I don't plan on doing sponsored posts any more, and I don't plan on having any/many guest posts unless it's something that really jives with my blog. And overall, I think that's the best way to get to know me and be engaged with me and what I have to say.
Does anyone else find that these "professional posts" are becoming the trend? Do you like to read them or do you find them lacking? Can you share a great blog that you have to follow and read a new posts right away? (Two of my favorites are Little Nostalgia and Betsy Transatlantically.) I'd love to hear what you have to say.
I love reading posts that I get to know the person. I also love the good, the bad and the ugly. No ones life is perfect and I hope a little comment can help that persons day be a bit brighter.
ReplyDeleteI love what you wrote about today! I'm always working on finding a balance between professional and personal. As a reader, I love reading different types of posts, it really depends on my mood and what I'm up for reading. Some days I like the tutorials and other days I pass over them. Blog reading is just as personal for the reader as it is for the blogger so I try to keep that in mind. I rather just not post at all if I don't have something meaningful to me to share, than post something "empty" ya know?
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to post about this topic also. Contrary to you, I currently follow almost no blogs that are "instructional" for lack of a better word. I probably should. I definitely don't know a lot about SEO or even that you are supposed to blog on Mondays (I frequently don't). And there are some diy blogs that I check in with now and then, but that's not what got me interested in blogging and reading blogs in the first place. Likewise, I don't follow many blogs that primarily re-blog content from other sites. For a while, there was a trend that everyone was trying to make their blogs look like online magazines to attract corporate sponsors, and almost always, removing any sort of personal posts or personality in the process. Every post became a shopping list, a trend report, "expert" advice on some topic (and yes, the quotes are intentional on that last one). I stopped reading most of those. Most of the blogs I read regularly these days have a genuine voice and person behind the blog. Some of them, I have almost nothing in common with, but they have a unique perspective on the world that's intriguing. That's what I try to do in my blog...share bits of my life and my work, with an occasional diy or shout-out to my fellow artists and Etsy sellers.
ReplyDeleteI have thoughts about why I blog the way I do too, but maybe I should save some of this for a post. :)
I agree! I know how much I appreciate comments on posts I've spent a good deal of time on, and it's really nice on a "get real" post. :)
ReplyDeleteYup, I know what you mean. I definitely appreciate a good DIY or informational post, but it seems like what's been in my feed is a majority of "perfect" posts. I need to unfollow some of those blogs and find some more. I totally agree with it depending on my mood- some days I'll be totally into them- but if I've been following for awhile and have no sense of the author then I'm likely to just skip it.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see this in a post! You hit the nail on the head with the corporate sponsorships and "expert" advice. There are some blogs that I really love with that type of content, but it seems like there are just so many trying to do the same thing, and all I really want to do is snoop on what's going on with other people! Who do you like to read? I'd love to add some newness to my feed.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thanks for the shout-out in the post! :-)
ReplyDeleteI've been subconsciously weeding out blogs because of a lack of personality/connection for a long time, but didn't actually realize that's what I was doing until recently. One of the main reasons I blog is to meet people (or at least find things we have in common) so if all of somebody's posts are sponsored, or re-blogged from somewhere else, or just a bunch of top 10 lists, then I'm not going to stick around, either. If I want to look at pretty pictures without any backstory, then I'll check out a photo spread in a magazine. The Internet has made connecting so easy and when I run into Professional Bloggers who are really business-focused, it kind of throws me off a little, almost like they're an ingredient that doesn't quite mesh with the rest of a dish. But! I also know that there are people out there who use the web differently than we do, so that kind of perfect post must be appealing to someone or it wouldn't keep happening. Haha.
HEY that's ME! thank you - what an honor, really :)
ReplyDeleteand yes, I do feel like so many blog jump straight to professional straight out of the gate, even if the bloggers themselves don't yet have expertise in what they're blogging about. there just seems to be this message that says you have to know what you're talking about to be worth reading. I 100% disagree! I'd rather read someone figuring it out than someone who claims to know how it's done!
I don't know if you read Jaybird (Alicia - I tweet to her a lot!) but the other day she asked how we felt about the idea of her blogging about things happening in Chicago - reviews, events, restaurants, etc. I said that I don't care what's happening in Chicago. honestly, if I go to Chicago, I'm more likely to ask a friend for a restaurant recommendation or check urbanspoon or zagat or something than go look up a blogger's picks. but if a blogger writes about HER Chicago - not just what's happening but how it affects her and how she lives in her city - I'll be invested and I'll care. (and she'll become my friend and I will eventually ask for restaurant recommendations!)
that was a bit of a ramble, sorry. it's late. but I hope it made sense!
I really prefer the low-key personal blog posts with a smidgen of professional posts. I like to read about new things people did, like find a new recipe, go to a new place, or try a new skill. The routine posts are kind of dull and I find myself just skipping over them and after I do that I don't have that many blog posts to read. Also don't care for blog posts about kids. As soon as I see something about parenting or child raising.. I don't even bother looking at it. I don't hate children but I don't like to hear other people's opinions on parenting. Its just not interesting to me. I used to blog all the time but lately I have found it difficult to come up with ideas and I have been evaluating what my purpose of blogging is especially since my blog is not combined with the business website.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually finding the same thing. What am I here to say? Is what I have to say important? What should I be talking about and who's reading it? It's definitely things to think about.
ReplyDeleteI think we're doing a really good job of de-personalizing the personal these days. I read a memo going around the office about how some of our clients are basically out-sourcing their social media feeds to their sponsors for them to curate content and provide optimized feeds, and I just stopped and said WTF??? The whole thing with social media is that it's supposed to be personal engagement at all levels. If we take that away, we've got nothing.
ReplyDeleteI am so with you on this!! I mean, I understand that there are large companies that one person would not be able to tackle that type of task and have it be effective, but for smaller operations, if you aren't creating your own content and have someone personally invested in the feed and the interaction and the outcome, then what is the point? We will have nothing- but a bunch of pretty, stylized photos and sayings that mean nothing.
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