Contrary to popular perception, blogging is hard work.
Or, at least, unceasing work.
Post every day, visit lots of sites, be generous with likes and comments, and your traffic will climb steadily. Life is good.
Stop posting for a few days and when you come back to it, it’s like the very first day you signed up on WordPress. Zero traffic. No comments. A post that was previously showing up in the top 20 or so hits under a relatively popular search term at Google has disappeared.
The tide has erased your footprints in the sand.
So the takeaway, my fellow bloggers, is to never stop posting, even for a minute. Post like your life depends on it. Post even if you have absolutely nothing to say.
Post, post, post!
And when you think you have finally posted enough, that is when you should really jump like a frightened rabbit and post some more.
Post til you drop.
Then post some more.
And always remember, blogging is a marathon with no finish line.
This inspirational message was brought to you by the fine folks at The Society for the Prevention of Indifference to Bloggers (SPIB).
Biff Sock Pow 
How true, I’m just a blogger on the edge of the playgound, trying to explain to Cyberspouse why I’m still on the computer when I said I would be down to cook dinner, down when he says dinner is ready, down to watch the next episode of our favourite Scandi Noir, down to wash the dishes… Here I am checking Likes, responding to the occasional comment… and trying to get on with my novel. No sleep of course, wake up in the midle of the night with idea for next blog….
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Yes, we all seem to be suffering from the same addiction. I hope there is some sort of 12-step program for people like us who are addicted to writing and of recognition of our writing.
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I like your blog and your brand of humour. I can understand that that may not be enough to sustain you – it is all unsexy hard work. Lots of sweaty pushing boulders uphill. Hemingway said writing was easy: sit down in front of a typewriter and bleed. That gets a bit messy, of course.
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Hi Wilt! Great comment! You speak the truth. I do enjoy writing. Very much. I try not to get caught up on the treadmill that makes it seem like work. I just try to do it because I enjoy it.
Getting to meet people like you who’s sense of humor is a lot like my own is rewarding in its own right.
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Yes Biff. What sustains me is the knowledge that what I create is mine alone. All my content is a repository for my kids, too that at some future time they will realize how nutty as a fruitcake i REALLY was. ☆(❁‿❁)☆
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That’s a good way to look at it! I’m not sure I could ever look my progeny in the eyes if they read some of the stuff I post on here!
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I agree. I have slowed my pace due to many variables lately and now I have the viewership of CNN.
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Hiya, Billy! So great to hear from you. I’m sure both of our numbers will improve soon. Our persistence will be rewarded. 🙂
And your CNN comment was great! 😀
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I’ve been here Biff. I was lacking inspiration for a while but I’m back. You may actually like my latest series. I think I know your sense of humor
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Glad you’re back, Billy. I’ll definitely check out your latest stuff. I’ve gotten quite behind on my reading and I’m trying to catch up. I’ll move your posts up to the top of my list.
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You don’t need to do that. Catch up at your own pace. I’m doing the same thing
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I will. Perhaps this weekend will be calm enough that I can catch up on some of my reading.
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True that. I hit a wall a while back, after coming to the conclusion that spending all that time reading other blogs and trying to come up with something new for mine was chewing into real life too much. Feeling I was compelled to post even weekly (and sometimes weakly) made me feel like I was a post hole digger. I mean, how important is it getting that 500th follower if 450 of ’em were just trolling?
Of course, it’s the other 50 that make it worth while. Post for fun. If it was fun, post some more.
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So true, Dave! It does feel a lot like work some days. I am so glad to have all of the followers I do, and certainly some of them have become great friends. Like most things in life, blogging is a mixed bag of blessings and frustrations. But the blessings always outweigh the frustrations. I always try to keep that in mind.
(And good one about the post hole digger! )
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haha – blogging is like a marathon with no finish line! So true! Blogging is lots of fun, and it’s a lot of work trying to keep up, too. Guess I’m lucky I don’t work outside the home, so I can do blogging all day, if I want to. You’re right, though…if you take a short break, it’s like starting over getting back into the swing of things, and catching up with email notices takes forever. But, I have that FOMO thing – the fear of missing out! 🙂
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Hi! And yes, as much as I love blogging, I do get a little weary of the whole notion that you can’t get off of the treadmill once you get on it. A little rest now and then would be nice.
Happy blogging!
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I hear that. I post every two weeks on my editing blog, and had been posting every two weeks on my personal blog, plus the final Friday of each month for a blogfest. I took a couple months off from my personal one because life was just too busy right then, and I’m struggling to get back to the routine of it again.
I often think the only people who comment on my editing blog are the same people who have commented on it for the past five years, with a yearly turnover of only a couple people. I do love my commenters, because they’re faithful and they often engage with each other, which is always fun, but I’m not sure how to increase the traffic there, other than to keep putting out consistent content and sharing it on my various social media accounts.
I don’t comment here each time, because it’s difficult for me to keep up with daily blogs, honestly. Once a week is about what I can manage for taking the time to read what’s in my inbox (my oldest son has a daily music blog and I still don’t manage to read all of his posts, either). How do we manage to increase the number of available hours in the day? I really need to speak with God about this . . . surely there’s some compromise we can reach.
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Hi Lynda! Please keep working on your quest to get more hours per day! I could sure use them!
I agree with you about increasing traffic. Sometimes it seems hopeless. I don’t know what the tricks are. It is, as you say, just being consistent and reaching out to new readers any way we can. Hopefully, we’ll both be successful in increasing our readership in the near future. 🙂
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A lot of it is engaging other bloggers. Read then and drop a comment. It’s not gratuitous, we all want to be read…. Especially by new readers
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Amen to that!
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Seems to me you have a simple choice: You can blog, or you can have a life. The two seem to be mutually exclusive.
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Hmmmm … decisions, decisions!
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The day my posts come out, I get good traffic, and then on the following days, numbers dwindle. I don’t mind. I never thought I’d get as many followers as I have, and I’m thankful for each one! That being said, I do believe you’re right in saying that successful bloggers post often.
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Hi Candice! I notice the same thing … and, like you, I’m very thankful for each and every one of my readers. I am always supremely honored when someone takes the time to read anything I’ve written
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Tell me about it! People probably don’t even remember I used to write stories 😛
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I find that hard to believe, Sis! Who could forget anything about you?
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Awww… You’re always so kind, Biff 🙂 But I believe that I can be very forgettable…
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That’s not true! The people you’ve come into contact with, either in person or through your writing, will never, ever forget you. I guarantee it!
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This really made me smile, and the timing was quite on spot 🙂 Thank you, Bro! xx
And may I add that you are quite the unforgettable type yourself Bibibibibibibbibibibibibibibiff Sock PPPPPOOOWWW! (you definately have the coolest name!!)
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You’re welcome, Sis. I’m glad I was able to make you smile! 🙂
And you certainly make me smile (and sometimes laugh) at all of the ways you make my name so interesting! I’m glad you like it so much. I’m very glad I picked it now. 😀
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So true! I aim to post then end up reading blogs all night long. I’m entertained but guilty of not typing a single word. Blogging is hard.😜
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Ha ha! I’m glad I’m not the only one who does that.
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A sad but true blog. How do you get a blog noticed when there are billions of them out there? I was in a Barnes and Noble last week. Millions of books. How do you get a book noticed when there are billions of books out there? What’s the answer Mr. Biff??
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Thanks, Drooger. I have had the same feelings of being overwhelmed in a sea of people who are just as talented as me, and often more so. It is hard to stay “up” and motivated when it is easy to find a thousand other people who can do everything I can, and better. But I keep plugging away anyway. Like the person said, sometimes success is just a matter of showing up.
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So this!
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🙂
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