Every day thousands of blogs shrivel up and die in the vast, parched expanse that is the blogosphere. I know the corpses of many of my own blogs litter the field. Sometimes I sit and watch the death happen with a grim determination, and other times I keep my head down and keep pressing onward.
Either way, it’s usually not too much fun to think about all that time spent blogging and not having much to show for it after the blog is dead. But there’s a secret to keep your blog living – a fountain of youth for your blog, if you will – that will help ensure it stays happy and healthy for a long time to come.
The secret to dramatically increasing the odds of your blog surviving (making it to its first birthday, for example) is…
TIMING.
You might be thinking, “Pffff. Tristan, that’s lame! Give us a real blogging tip!” But seriously, all success or failure I’ve had in my blogging really comes down to this one principle.
Before I go into detail about what exactly I’m talking about here with regards to blogging, let me dive into a parable about another one of my passions: climbing.
Why Timing Is So Important: A Parable
Me rappelling 2 days ago after an awesome climb in Moab.
I’m a very avid rock climber. I’ve been climbing for about 15 years now, and have been seriously into it (climbing multiple times a week) since about 2004. On top of that, I’ve been into ice climbing and mountaineering since 2002. I’ve done more than a thousand rock climbs (maybe two thousand? I don’t even know), including a couple hundred first ascents (climbs that no one has ever done before). Despite all of this, I’ve never gotten seriously hurt or been involved in an accident.
In other words, I know what it takes to come back safe and alive every day. In other, OTHER words, I know how to survive.
Timing is an extremely important component of this whole don’t-die-when-you’re-in-the-mountains thing. If you go mountaineering just after a winter storm, you could get buried in an avalanche. If you go ice climbing too late in the season when the temperature is getting higher, you could get crushed by collapsing ice. If you rock climb on sandstone (like I did over the weekend; that’s what the pic is from) after a storm, you could break off friable holds (causing you to fall) or your gear could rip out. You need to know when to climb and when to stay inside.
Timing and Blogging: My Personal Story
Just like with climbing, in blogging you need to know when to spring into action and when to sit back and bide your time.
There are a number of different ways timing plays a huge role in your blogging (and I’ll go through them in a series of future posts), but here I’m going to talk about timing and starting new blogs.
I’ve been blogging since 2003, and for the past few years I’ve wanted to start a blog about blogging. In fact, when my school semester ended at the end of 2009 for the Christmas holiday, I decided that it was a perfect time for me to start the blog. I had a lot of free time and I was super excited about it. I came up with a name for the blog, bought the domain, installed WordPress, got the blog looking the way I wanted it, got my RSS feed and email newsletter all set up, and wrote a few awesome posts.
But the blog never got beyond that point. I never publicized the blog and I never told anyone about it. I never got any comments, and nothing else ever happened. I aborted the mission before I’d even left the launch pad.
What happened? I realized that it just wasn’t a good time for me to start the blog. I was still in school and knew what I had to do in order to grow it at the pace I wanted. I also knew that I simple wouldn’t have that much time throughout the semester to work on it. If I started the blog then, I knew I’d eventually drop it.
Fast forward a year later to October 2010. I was about to graduate from school (I had actually already finished the required classes but hadn’t officially graduated yet). I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life except that I wanted to have a location independent business.
And then it hit me. “Hey! You’re not doing anything right now except being a climbing bum! Now is the PERFECT time to start that blog about blogging!”
And guess what? It was!
It took me a couple more weeks to come up with exactly how I wanted to approach the topic of blogging, to decide on a name, and to get everything set up. But then Blogging Bookshelf was born, I started blogging, and haven’t looked back since. It’s been absolutely fantastic, and I couldn’t have chosen a better time to start this blog.
Starting a Blog, Timing, and YOU
SO. Back to the title of this blog post: How to dramatically increase your blog’s chance of survival. To dramatically increase your blog’s chances of survival, you need to blog when you’re ready. First I’m going to talk about starting a new blog, and in the next section I’ll talk about to do if you’ve already got a blog.
I’m guessing that most of you reading this have about a thousand ideas for a bunch of different blogs. I’m no different. If you’ve been following the blog for very long, you know that I really want to start another blog where I pretty much just write about everything else that I want to write about: foreign language study, lifestyle design, lifelong learning, personal development, etc. But starting that blog is about the dumbest thing in world that I could do right now. I have my hands full with this blog and with product creation, not to mention everything else I’ve got going on. If I were to start that blog now, not only would Blogging Bookshelf likely suffer, but that new blog would probably die sooner rather than later, too.
How can you know if you’re ready to start a new blog? Well, it’s obviously different for every person, but here are some general guidelines and things to ask yourself:
- Do you already have a blog that is taking up time, or will this be your first?
- If you start a new blog, will the time you spend on it be taken away from your current blog(s), or will it be in addition to that time?
- How much free time to do you currently have?
- What will happen if you devote less time to your existing blog(s)?
- What are your blogging goals and corresponding time frames?
Timing and Your Existing Blog(s)
If you’ve already got a blog but have realized that now isn’t the best time for you, just stop blogging and come back to the blog later! This is exactly what I did with my rock climbing blog. I blogged there daily for the better part of a year before quitting it for 4 and a half months, only to start it back up again recently. Almost all of my subscribers stayed subscribed. No big deal!
I suppose someone might wonder, “But wouldn’t it be better to keep blogging but maybe at a reduced rate?” Well yes. If you can pull it off and still be happy with the results, yes. But keep in mind that writing blog posts is only a small part of the equation, and that blog promotion and product creation and everything else needs to be done. I’d say if you can’t do all of it, don’t do any if it. If you don’t have time to promote your blog, why bother writing post after post after post? You won’t reach your blogging goals (assuming that your goals are to get traffic and stuff like that), and you’re wasting your time and your readers’ time.
A Word of Caution
Now, having said all of that, let me warn you by saying that waiting for the right time to start a blog does NOT give you permission to put off starting a blog because you’re lazy or scared! Procrastination is a horrible aborter of many, many blogs before they’re even born. Don’t fall into that trap. But every blogger is different, and you’ve got to make that call for yourself and try to figure out the real reasons you’re not blogging.
And finally, if you want to start a blog and your future doesn’t look like it’ll be any better or easier to start a blog in, you’ve got a few options
- Just start the blog anyway and see what happens
- Don’t start the blog… and see what happens (see if you still want to start it in a month or three)
- Stop watching TV, or give up something else that you enjoy, and spend that time on your blog
- Wake up earlier or go to bed sooner
- Quit one blog and start the other
Again, this all really depends on you. There is no one-size-fits all advice to be had here.
Remember that when climbing in the mountains, you need to wait for that right time or else you’ll die. You really need to do the exact same thing with your blog… or else it’s toast and you’ll just be wasting your time working for .001 cents an hour (the AdSense earnings you’d earn from your blog before you quit).
- Did you start your blog(s) at a good time or a bad time, and why do you say that?
- How have you decided when to start a new blog?
- How many blogs have you started? (And how many do you currently have?)
- How many ideas for new blogs do you have? None? A few? Bazillions?
{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with you that timing is everything. Its a trite phrase but its soooo true. There are so many examples of mediocrity succeeding thanks solely to timing. I think that might make a good post btw :-) I’ll get cracking on that one…which brings me to the answer to one of your questions….
Im overflowing with ideas for blogs, blog posts, and a million other things. If only there were 38 hrs in a day :-)
Even with 38 hours in a day, I don’t know if I’d be able to do everything I’d like!
And I totally agree about mediocrity and timing. There are some huge blogs out there now that are successful because they get in the game at the beginning. More power to ‘em, but it makes me wonder if they’d be able to duplicate their success! How cool would that be… A problogger duel?
Thanks Dino!
Hi Tristan,
Sound advice. I have one blog that I’m focusing on right now. And I made some sacrifices to make it a success.
Thankfully, I’m not a TV fan. Since I’m now participating in a blogging challenge (posting 5days a week), I have started waking up earlier than before (6am) and my productivity has improved and by blog is growing by leaps and bounds.
Thanks for the inspiration and for sharing your personal story, Tristan.
All the best,
Mavis
5 days a week, huh? Yikes. That’s definitely more than I’d like, but that’s awesome that you’re on top of it!
That’s really awesome that you’ve been waking up earlier to get more done. I lived in Ukraine for 2 years and spent most of that time studying Ukrainian. But about a year into it I’d wake up half an hour earlier to study Russian. By the end of those two years, I could speak both (and I’d thrown Polish into the mix, too). It’s amazing what you can accomplish in a little extra amount of time each day.
Question: How do you think your blog and blogging will change once you tone down your post frequency?
Thanks for the great comment, Mavis!
Hey Tristan
What I’m coming to realize – this is tangential to your post btw – is that blogging is an endurance sport. In that sense, the ‘climbing the mountain’ analogy fits perfectly. Most people who start blogs do so with the mentality of: I’m starting a blog to make money. Fuelled no doubt by the ‘get rich quick’ ebooks and courses out there.
I think Darren Rowse was the guy who wrote: You don’t make money blogging. And his point was that blogging is an activity that can lead to income generating opportunities, but that in and of itself it doesn’t really lead to generating income.
This is why most blogs die within the first year. Because once the initial enthusiasm – and goal of making money quickly – begins to fade, and the realization sets in that this is a long and lonely road – well, most people can’t handle that.
To answer your questions more directly, I’ve got two blogs. But the second blog is withering and I’m just debating when to pull the plug. I just found for that blog that the topic was wayyyyy too narrow, and also there was no readership. Which is disheartening as I’m sure yo know.
And there is no optimum time to start a blog – you just have to do it. If you wait for an optimum time, it will never come.
Catch you later.
paul
Loved the comment, Paul. I agree whole-heartedly with everything you said. Well… almost everything :)
I disagree that “there is no optimum time to start a blog.” In fact, that’s kind of the idea behind this whole post! Sometimes there IS an optimum time to start a blog, as I related in my personal example. I started this blog at what was the perfect time for me.
Is there always an optimal time? No, of course not. But there very well might be, depending on you and your situation.
Thanks for a great comment!
Hey Tristan
I hear ya. What I meant was by saying that there was no optimum time to start a blog was that if you wait for the perfect confluence of events before you start your blog, you’ll be waiting a long time. Better to just get started and let events align behind you as you go.
People often using waiting for everything to align before getting started as a very creative way of procrastinating. That’s why I made the point that it’s probably best to get started and actually create some momentum.
Paul
BTW – your emails from your comment plug in have been stuck somewhere in cyber-space. I’ve had four come in in the last half hour or so, one from nearly a week ago. Thought you’d wanna know.
Hey Tristan,
I bought the domain for my blog in June, but never actually wrote anything until late July. I realized afterwards that it was a bad time for me to really get into it with a newborn in the house. My daughter’s sleeping schedule was horrendous, which meant ours was even worse. That left little time to be inspired to write much of anything. Now that her schedule has turned around, I’ve had a lot more time in the past several months to devote more time towards planning posts, marketing more, and having more time to think about what I’m doing. It’s starting to pay off. Subscribers have gone from 5 to 25 in the past month (which isn’t much, but it’s more than 5), and I have a featured guest post spot at Big Red Tomato. The only way to go from here is up, and up I’m heading.
As for the number of blogs I have, well, Four Sides is the sixth personal blog I’ve had (I bounced between services a lot.. Blogger, Wordpress.com, Live Spaces, Livejournal, etc). I have five domains, four of which have Wordpress installed. I stopped one site due to a lack of time, another sits waiting me to finish the content, Four Sides, and the last is the site for my consulting work which is still in progress. Lots on the go, and it’s difficult to balance at times, so I give you kudos for being able to manage all your various projects and sites.
Thanks for sharing your story, James. That’s awesome.
Question: Are you glad that you started your blog when you did, or do you wish you had put it off until now-ish, when your daughter’s schedule is more normal?
Your personal blog journey sounds a lot like mine! Xanga, Blogger, WordPress.com… Finally it’s landed at tristanhigbee.com and it’s been there for a couple years now, so I think that’s where it’ll stay.
To be honest with you, I’m NOT very good at managing my various projects and sites. It’s definitely something that I struggle with. I think the thing that’s helped the most is simply keeping my priorities straight. This blog is my #1 priority, and everything else gets done only when I can afford to take the time away from Blogging Bookshelf. As a result, this blog doesn’t suffer but I’m still able to spend time here and there on other things.
Thanks again for an awesome comment, James. You’re a stud.
Timely post my friend. Going through a difficult time right now due to time constraints, and it’s causing me quite a bit of stress because I cannot “fit in” all the activities that I know I need to do (3 kids and a 10-hour work day will do that!). After reading your post, I think the best course of action is to take a week to clear my head and come up with a long-term workable plan that may not be as aggressive as I would like but at least would leave time for consistent content and promotion. Thanks a s always, Tristan …
Best,
Scott
Awesome, Scott! Let me know if you’ve got any questions or would like to bounce ideas off of me. Good luck with your week-long fast, and I hope it helps clear some things up.
I have recently started my blog but I’m not able to give it enough time but I still feel that I can manage it so I’m trying my best here lets hope everything goes well.
I’ll also keep your points in my mind after all you’re a experienced guy.
I think most of us feel like we don’t have enough time, Shailu. You’re definitely not alone. The question is, do you have enough time to get the essential things done?
Thanks for the comment, and good luck!
Hi Tristan,
Very well said, timing matters most for the success of any blog. If you’re really dedicated towards your blog then you need to give it as much time as you can plus you need to check what your competitors are doing now a days so that you don’t get behind.
Exactly, Sam. Timing is HUUUUUUGE! And I liked how you touched on checking out what your competitors are doing. That’s a super important step.
Thanks!
First of all T’, awesome photo. You’ve got some serious stones bro. I went to Zion’s once and just doing one of their normal ‘walking’ trails to the top of one of their highest mountains made me want to vomit at certain points, so the fact that you’re fearless on a rock really seems to carry over to the rest of your life, which is very cool.
Timing, as you said, is HUGE. It’s importance can’t be stated enough, but it is a slippery slope. One guy says he’s too busy and never starts his blog because of it (although, as you mentioned, he was really just scared or lazy). One gal starts her blog but is in the middle of a major project with her 9-5 job (not likely a good idea).
There are thousands of examples really, but either way you shake it, its tough. I thought your most telling point was this one:
I’d say if you can’t do all of it, don’t do any if it. If you don’t have time to promote your blog, why bother writing post after post after post? You won’t reach your blogging goals (assuming that your goals are to get traffic and stuff like that), and you’re wasting your time and your readers’ time.
I’ll agree with that 95% of the time. Most blogs (especially anything to do with self-improvement, spiritual, blogging, marketing, tech, social media, etc), are so saturated and competitive that they require tons of networking and other ‘stuff’ to become successful. Other niches, albeit not that many, do not require much at all. For example, most blue-collar industries would fall into this category.
Anyway, great read, nice insights, as always…
And glad you made it back alive from your climb…..again. :-)
Marcus
Your Zion walking experience wasn’t Angel’s Landing, was it? (You mentioned the “normal” hiking trails up a mountain and that’s probably the most well known one.) Because I climbed up the steep side of that sucker last year :D
Pics:
http://goo.gl/dnJ5g – Looking down from near the top
http://goo.gl/Pg1QM – I’m the one on the top
Anyway, regarding fear and climbing and that carrying over into other aspects of my life… It’s just all about keeping in mind what you can control and what you can’t. I can control whether my blog is successful or not by the amount of time I spend working on it. I can control whether I’m safe in the mountains by realizing my limits and being well educated about the dangers that are out there. That doesn’t leave much room for fear.
Hiking that mountain made you want to vomit, but trying to install an in-ground swimming pool would make me want to vomit :D It’s a good thing we’re all different, eh?
I get what you’re saying about work required in different niches, but I think that having a successful blog in any blog in any niche requires a lot of work. The type of work and the difficulties just vary. Niches like something blue collar or rock climbing aren’t nearly as saturated as blogging or marketing, but you face entirely new challenges. Like how would a steel worker get people to come to his blog? Seems to me like finding and retaining an audience would be a LOT more work in that case, and it would be harder to get social media shares and comments, too.
Great comment, Marcus. I had a chuckle recently as I was eating cereal about how you had a dream that we talked blogging over cereal :)
Hi Tristan,
Good point made comparing starting a blog to climbing. “If you don’t have time to promote your blog, why bother writing post after post after post?” – that made me squirm a little bit thinking of the blogs I have that are a bit neglected, but you’re right.
I sometimes think I can make “timing” happen, which causes huge amounts of stress. But I’d like to think I’m getting wiser as I get older. :)
I always have ideas about new blogs and love starting them. That’s why I think I’d make a good blog flipper… do the fun parts and then sell it to someone who likes to carry on from there.
I’m enjoying watching where you blog is going.
Thanks,
Peggy
P.S. I thought of you yesterday when I was hiking around Red Rocks Amphitheatre, looking at all the amazing rocks you’d like to climb and aren’t allowed to.
I’ve actually had friends go to Red Rocks Amphitheater and take pictures for me of the signs that say “No Climbing!” That’s funny :) I almost went to Colorado over the weekend, btw. I was going to go ice climbing in Ouray, but the weather was bad, and I don’t like driving my little car on snowy mountain roads.
Have you ever flipped a blog? I haven’t, but it’s something I’d like to do. I actually bought another domain recently with the intention to sell it at some point in the future. Haven’t gotten around to starting it and I don’t know when I will, but flipping is a gap in my blogging resume that I’d like to fill.
Thanks Peggy!
I did build a blog to flip once on Flippa but it didn’t sell. I learned a lot from the experience and know what I would do differently now. I just haven’t had the time! Or really, it’s not as high on my priority list as some other things are right now.
I know some great resources for flipping so give me a shout when/if you want to read up on it and I can point you in the direction. ;)
Peggy
Awesome. Will do :)
Thanks Peggy!
Waiting ’cause you’re scared or lazy indeed isn’t “waiting the right time”.
Personally I have been curious about blogs since a while, but I decided to start in summer 2010 just ’cause I thought it was the right moment. Probably because during summer work is a big slower, people are in vacation, you find more time at work to do “side projects” (like a blog can be for a business, at least at the start of it) and grow them into something more organic. You definitely can’t do something if you don’t feel the good vibe about it.
Gabriele, I like how you said that you started because you thought it was the right moment. Sometimes everything just comes together and it feels right, you know?
Thanks for the great comment!
Tristan, the most important thing I did was to combine three related blogs into one blog, a process I did in late September. It’s allowed me to have much more time for my freelance writing career and also for creating and promoting my products.
I have ideas for 3 other blogs, but for now they are total backburner, and may stay that way. I did put up basic Wordpress sites and submitted them to Google so I can start getting credit for site longevity.
John, I remember you telling me about how you combined the three blogs into one, and I think that’s great. It’s good to hear that it’s still working out well for you.
I’ve done much the same as you with my other blog ideas. I’ve got the domains and have WordPress set up and everything, but haven’t quite started doing anything else on the sites.
Thanks John!
While I do think that timing is of vast importance, I think that effort and persistence are MORE important. There will always be something to do, always an activity to take up your time.
And especially if you are attempting to make a HUGE leap into blogging full-time, or making a living related to your blog, there will never be the “right” or “perfect” time to make that jump.
I think that most people can set aside at least one hour a day to work on a blog/site. Will you get everything done? Absolutely not. In fact it will take a long time for things to start feeling right and having an effect. But at least you’d be in the right path and in the habit of working on a blog.
I think sticktoitiveness is more important than timing.
“And especially if you are attempting to make a HUGE leap into blogging full-time, or making a living related to your blog, there will never be the “right” or “perfect” time to make that jump.”
I disagree. Did you even read this post? :D The whole point of this post was that there definitely WAS a “right” and “perfect” time for me to start this blog. Had I started this blog when I first intended to, I probably would have soured on the idea. I would have wasted so much time and so many great ideas.
“There will always be something to do, always an activity to take up your time.”
Yes… But some activities and hurdles are definitely bigger than others. For example, if I’m considering starting up a new blog but am about to go study and live a semester abroad in Florence, would it really be the best time for me to start up a new blog about blogging? No. Who knows if the host family I’d be staying with would even have internet. And if I’m in Florence, do I really want to be spending all of my time blogging anyway?
And what about my example about having another blog that I want to start up right now? It would be REALLY stupid for me to start up a big new blog. It will be much easier for me to do it in a year when I’ve already got products that are selling and I’m making more money.
Of course perseverance is essential. I’m not saying it’s not. But I think timing is more important. Perseverance can help you drag a crappy blog through to greatness. Timing will help you start off great in the first place, without you having wasted all of that time and energy mired in crappiness.
“But at least you’d be in the right path and in the habit of working on a blog.” The habit of working on a blog is an easy one to get into, and one that doesn’t take months of suffering to establish!
Anyway, really interesting stuff here, Eugene. Of course to have a successful blog you really do need both timing and perseverance. One without the other won’t get you far. Thanks for the great comment and discussion!
Haha. Yes, I read. Bad phrasing.
There are definitely better times to start than others. I would be stupid to argue that. I just think that most people will still try to convince themselves that it is a bad time even if it really isn’t. Big changes require a lot of mental preparation. So while circumstantially the time may be right, there will never be a “perfect” time to make a big leap as far as your mind goes.
I guess it all depends on what your ultimate goal out of blogging is.
And you’re right about traveling to Florence. That probably would not be the best time to start a blog about blogging. Might be a great time to start a blog about traveling or Florence though :)
Agreed, it might be a good time to start a blog about travel or Florence :D
I think we’re pretty much on the same page here. You’re right, if people put off starting a blog by making phantom justifications, that’s no good.
Thanks Eugene!
Tristan, I liked this post although it didn’t really help me any. I started my blog last November. For me personally, it was the right time. I had just gotten back from an experience that would give me a fair number of posts that I could be passionate about. Nothing but the daily trivia was going on. It might not have been the right time for readers seeing that the holidays were coming up fast. Right now I average about 250 readers per day. Not bad but not good either. I can’t seem to get anyone to subscribe to my ezine which I think would help me some.
Anyway Tristan, it was a good post.
I’m glad you liked the post, Glynis, even if it didn’t help you :D
250 readers a day great! But more important than quantity is quality.
As far as getting more people to subscribe to your ezine… I think you should focus more in your free ebook as your selling point, rather than getting “an interesting article.” Get a nice cover done for it, give it a title that draws people in, and prominently display that sucker in your sidebar. I think that’ll significantly increase your subscribers.
Thanks for the great comment!
Oh, good one Tristan. I must say I love repelling. Yes, repelling, not climbing. I did a lot of repelling at work and it was really cool. Sometimes it was of a rock but most of the time it was down the building, including entering through the windows, lol…good ol’ times.
I am not even sure what to answer. After narrowing the topic of my blog, I was sorry to loose travel but at this point of time, when I see how my blog moves up every day, I am not sorry and I don’t miss it. I would not start a new blog now, cause I have more ideas for the current one.
Of course they are taking away a lot of time (plus I am not really a good organizer) so my niche sites are suffering a bit, being neglected. I am just happy I built them on good foundations, so they are receiving more visitors and making more money without me doing much.
I am loving my blog so much that (this is weird coming from me, that like to do 1.000 things at once) I wanna work only on this one and not bother with anything else for a while.
Rappelling is actually my least favorite part about climbing :)
That’s awesome that you’re loving your blog so much! I love my blog, but I love a lot of other things, too! It’s really, really hard for me to focus on only one thing at once. It’s a problem I’ve always had and it definitely has carried over into my blogging.
Thanks Brankica!
“If you don’t have time to promote your blog, why bother writing post after post after post? You won’t reach your blogging goals (assuming that your goals are to get traffic and stuff like that), and you’re wasting your time and your readers’ time.”
I am glad that I have already some traffic, because for the past six months, I haven’t been doing much promoting. I’ve been so occupied, that I haven’t found the time to do the most important stuff when it comes to blogging.
When it comes to timing, I haven’t thought much about it when I started my blogging journey. I just started, and it took me several years to understand what I was doing. Now, when it comes to writing the novel, I just felt that it was the right time. It was like now or never. But it’s hard to explain the timing. To me, it’s about feeling it. If it feels like the right thing to do, I just do it :)
I haven’t been doing too much promoting recently, either. I’ve noticed a slight drop in comments and traffic, but I’m ok with that.
I think you summed up this whole timing thing perfectly… If/when it feels right, just do it!
Thanks Jens!
I’m a new fan of your blog (if you haven’t already figured that out from my other comments on older posts!) I occasionally come up with ideas for blogs but I know I could never keep up with another blog on top of the one I already have! By the way, your rappelling picture is awesome – scary, but awesome!
I’m glad you liked the rappelling pic :) That was a lot of fun!
One of the most painful things for me is not starting up a new blog when I have a great idea for one. It’s really hard!
Thanks Laurie!
That’s a great post to read
keep posting
Will do. Thanks!
Hey Tristan,
Good topic and one that had me thinking quiet a bit.
I started my newest blog last November, toward the end of the month. Although creating it at the end of the year wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, I went ahead with it because I joined a training community and I wanted my blog to be my journey of how I’m building my business online. I take what I’m learning throughout the week and post about what I’ve done at the end of each week. I’m SO glad I started it when I did and although I am only posting to it once a week, my traffic continues to pick up each month and I’m making sales each month too.
I still have my main blog and I continue to post to it 3 times a week so although it’s a lot of work, I really enjoy it. But, I’m done for now. No more in my immediate future. I have to take the time to promote them both which is double the work but I’m enjoying the ride.
Always look forward to your posts.
Adrienne
I think that if I start any more blogs in the immediate future, I’m definitely going to have to shift my priorities around a bit and get rid of blogs and sites that are taking up some of my time but not really in line with my goals or producing real results. Hmmm… Yeah, definitely going to have to think about that…
I think posting to a blog once a week is fine if it’s not your main focus. It’s often enough to keep people coming back, but not so often that it dominates all of your time.
Thanks Adrienne!
Yeah Timing is one of the best role player in blog success . But I think that this pain keep increasing along with blog success rate . The more blog grow , the more faster it needs to get updated . I have noticed many blogs which were best in competition but now any out of competition just after couple of months .
I don’t think you need to increase your posting frequency in order to keep increasing your success. There are a number of other things you could do, like write an extra guest post every week or try new traffic generation techniques you haven’t tried before. Because like you said, if you update it too often, you’ll burn out and be gone after just a few months.
Thanks for commenting!
Good thoughts Tristan. It seems I’ve never been very good at timing. Maybe I take too long to think things through but more often than not I arrive at the party a day late. Ah well, I struggle through anyway.
Thanks for sharing!
Yeah but the party is in full swing when you DO arrive, right? :)
I’m not the best at timing either, but I’m getting better at it… I think?
Anyway, thanks for commenting, Allan. And seeing that link to your Mountain Dew post in your Comment Luv thing makes me want a Red Bull. Mmmm…
Hi Tristan,
Yes, I agree about timing being essestialy to starting and maintaining a blog but would just like to add that starting a blog can actually be a start off point for another big project like writing a book!
Even if you don’t have the time, as you say, to do all the blogging related activities and can’t promote as much as you might like, the content you produce is still valuable and can still be used wisely.
Everything else you said is very true!
cheers,
Mon
Good point, Monica. It all comes down to what you’re goals are with your blog. Your book example is a perfect illustration of that.
Thanks so much for commenting!
“Blogging is an endurance sport.” I love it.
I’ve got my fair share of dead blogs out there, but I euthanized them myself. =) I didn’t have the time, or their purpose had been fulfilled. One blog evolved three different times, and grew each time. But after nine years, it was time to let it die. After a while, I was keeping it alive even though it was no longer evolving, but mutating. Not really fit to live at that point.
This new blog of mine is growing a little at a time, and even though I don’t have the time for it, I make sure to find the time somewhere.
Delena
Hahaha. Yeah, when a blog starts mutating… You know it’s time to put it out of its misery :)
Thanks for the great comment, Delena!
Tristan, what a great post. I couldn’t agree more that so much comes down to right timing and YOU. When I started my first blog it was a complete disaster. I spent too little time, didn’t listen to what people where saying and thought I could do it on the side. Now, I realised if I really put my focus on one thing, I will realise way easier when the time is right for something, what my visitors really mean and how I can help them more.
Many thanks for that, let me Buffer this post for sure :).
Yeah Leo, I STILL start blogs that are total disasters just because I don’t have time for them or it’s not the right time. You’d think I would have learned after all this time… But nope.
Thanks for Buffering the post :) I just Buffered a couple myself for one of my other blogs. Still loving it, man.
Tristan, I’ve started my own blog recently and have to agree about timing.
I’m enjoying what I’m creating and that’s a great motivation to keep going. When I feel a blogging-block coming on, I step back, take time to read and enjoy other blogs, and more often than not, the block disappears.
That’s a great tip for overcoming blogger’s block, Anne. I think that a lot of people are afraid of taking time away from their blog because they think their readers will all of a sudden forget about them or something like that. But that won’t happen, and you’ll end up with renewed blogging zeal!
Thanks Anne!
Timing is everything. Yes Sir!
I did start couple of other blogs before endeavor online only to fail miserably. I never had enough time so they just ended up as the ruins of a lost civilization or something like that (O:
Even when I started this current blog, I never thought I was going to have enough time – ya’ know working 7 days a week, a newborn baby and a whole bunch of other shit – But I did start it and continued it so far. Now, I am so glad I did this even though I don’t have a clue on how I managed it so far. But truly, It is one of the best things that ever happened to me!
Anyway Tristan, before I get too carried away; Great insights here man.
Appreciate it!
Like the ruins of a lost civilization… Hahaha. Awesome :D
I really think that passion plays a huge part in this. It sounds like even thought you’re super busy, you’re making time for Endeavor Online because you’re really passionate about it. And you’re seeing success!
Thanks for the great comment, Adam!
Wow, Tristan! I never knew you were an avid mountain climber. And to go climbing multiple times a week? That’s insane!
You make some good points. The first blog I ever created was built while I was in college. Needless to say, that blog is pretty much dormant right now. There were other reasons as to why I left the blog, but I think the main issue was that I simply had too many other things going on.
Several months later, and I had another blog up and running. However, after months of working on it, that blog too became dormant for a time. While I was finishing up college, I revived the blog after a 3 month break. Then happened to be the perfect time to start blogging again, since things were no longer hectic in the real world. Today, the blog continues to grow month after month.
So, in truth, I believe that timing does play a major role – but I can’t say that timing things right is the only thing that will help your blog survive. There are other factors as well, such as how skilled you are at maintaining a blog, how determined you are to keep it running, whether or not you’re blogging about your interests (if you don’t like the topic you blog about, chances are the blog won’t last), how much work you’re willing to put into the blog, and the list goes on. But, like you said, timing can and will dramatically increase the chances of survival.
Christina
Yeah, being in the mountains is probably my #1 passion. Love it!
Thanks for sharing your stories about blogging and timing, Christina! I agree that timing isn’t the only factor when it comes to blog survival, but as your experiences illustrated, it’s one of the best ways to determine whether your blog will survive or fail. Because even if you’ve got the passion for something, if you don’t have the time, the chances of seeing the thing through fall significantly.
Thanks Christina!
Tristan, aloha. Thank you for sharing a bit more of your life/yourself with us. That photo is terrific!
While on the one hand it certainly would have been quite helpful to know more about the mechanics of blogging before I started, on the other hand had I known how much there is to know, I would probably still be studying as opposed to doing. In other words, I am glad that I started when I did and so appreciate teachers like you, Brankica and Dino showing me the way with your comments and insights.
Your timing analogy was excellent; timing is everything. The relationships that I have developed with certain people are because I started when I did and they were at the place they were in their lives when our paths first crossed. Because of timing, I have met people and joined groups that are mutually beneficial.
Though currently I have one blog, because of my knowledge and experience, I may well start another down the line to incorporate social networking and social good. There is a tremendous need for non-profits to learn how to leverage social media and I know I can help them.
Look forward to seeing more spectacular photos. Aloha. Janet
Oooo… I like the idea of social media for non profits. That’s pretty cool!
And you’re right, sometimes ignorance is bliss and it’s best not knowing what you’re getting into. But now that you’re into blogging, you know how much work it is and you can gauge when the best time for you would be as far as starting up that new blog goes.
I have lots more climbing photos, so I’ll be sure to use them in future posts :)
Ahhhh Timing, such a perfect topic Tristan.
I actually had Murlu on hold for nearly 2 years before I found the perfect time to get it up and running. It wasn’t that I could have been working on it; I just wanted to get things in order.
Speed of implementation really matters but not at the point where you’re just plain sloppy, ya know?
Taking that extra time lets you look beyond just launching. With Murlu, I saw where I wanted to go after things got up and running, where the blog could branch out to and what other side businesses I could create that would be supported by the blog. Without timing, you’re going to jump in without realizing your strategy overall.
All I can say, Tristan, is: moaaaar! I like topics like these :)
“Taking that extra time lets you look beyond just launching.” Man, I really like that, Murray. So true. Like you said, how fast you jump on idea does matter to a certain extent. But I think it’s more important to make sure the planets are aligned as much as they can be.
And I’m glad you’re left wanting moaaaar, because I’ll be doing more of this kind of stuff in the future :)
When you decide to start blogging, you need to make sure that you’re willing to do everything just to update your blog. The readiness to commit yourself is very important in blogging. This way you could also help you discipline yourself in a long run since blogging is not an easy task.
Timing is everything! Amen to that. No one is born knowing the exact right time to do anything. We learn about “timing” by practicing whatever it is we’re trying to time. I practice martial arts – believe me, I have had to practice and drill to develop my timing so I don’t get my head knocked off. But even in conversations, we have to know when it’s the right time to speak and when it’s the right time to listen.
When is the right time to start a blog? When the passion to start one moves you in the direction to do it. That’s true about anything really.
I love that you rock-climb. Dare-Devil!!
Thanks for this wonderful post. I agree about what you said that timing is very much important. I am a newbie about blogging. I hope you can also give us some simple yet effective tips on how to promote a blog, I believe that in blogging, promotion is second to none. I know it is very important aside from creating a valuable content.
Blogging really does require time. You can’t just sit back and let your blog roll. You have to write post that gives valuable information to your readers and the only way to get useful information is keeping yourself updated and a little research. There are tons of work in blogging. You have to look and interact with your potential followers in social media sites, do research to provide quality information and a little bit of SEO. This methods require time. So if you want your blog to be successful, you should have a lot of free time.