Blogging is an amazing part of my life and I am so incredibly thankful for the way that I can express my feelings, my thoughts and my writing through this public forum.
But you know what I'm struggling with? I'm really struggling with coming up with content
that fits what this blog is even about anymore and even though there are a "few" readers, there's not a whole lot to be impactful. I want it to be meaningful, purposeful and right now, it's not being either of those things. I've joined the blogging world just for the purpose of other bloggers reading it, and I've moved past that. I'm to the point where I want a whole RANGE of people to read my a website! It's just not a great platform and I would like to take a more professional website where I don't post quite as frequently and when I do, it is in a clear cut format where people outside of the blogging world will be able to easily access it.
But you know what I'm struggling with? I'm really struggling with coming up with content
that fits what this blog is even about anymore and even though there are a "few" readers, there's not a whole lot to be impactful. I want it to be meaningful, purposeful and right now, it's not being either of those things. I've joined the blogging world just for the purpose of other bloggers reading it, and I've moved past that. I'm to the point where I want a whole RANGE of people to read my a website! It's just not a great platform and I would like to take a more professional website where I don't post quite as frequently and when I do, it is in a clear cut format where people outside of the blogging world will be able to easily access it.
It's kind of complicated because telling people that they have to go to
"lovingourcreator.blogspot.com" and that they can't google it and that it has to be directly in the search bar. It's a slightly long website name and it doesn't even fit with the overall theme of my blog anymore. (is it possible to change the link but still allow people to figure out where the website has moved to?) And I feel compelled that I have to keep the interest of my audience for the entire post. And if I'm frankly honest, if I go and read other people's posts, I don't usually have the patience to read through the entire thing. It makes my writing seem like a piece of trash I know that it isn't really being processed completely by the readers. And it's not like anyone is compelled too anyway because I don't do it either.
I feel like it's time to start anew completely. A new blog, a new purpose, and a new blog design. I want to move on from my posts from early high school years and move on to an even more professional atmosphere where I can truly minister.
If you guys have any insight for me it would be greatly appreciated and also if you know what etsy templates are the best for new blogs (if you've bought from them before) that kind of information would also be so helpful to me!
Hi, Lauren! I understand much of where you're coming from-- since blogging has been a part of your life for such a long time, your blog will change and grow and it's normal and okay to go through a bunch of name changes-- the difficult part is finding the direction you want to go.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, for your new blog vision, what kind of posts do you see yourself doing? Would it be more posts talking about the ways of our Lord or will you expand to a secular approach, and if so, what kinds of post will you be hovering around? Life posts? List posts (i.e. High School Goals?)
Let me tell you right now that if you're going to end up doing tons of life posts, it's a hard one to do because it's difficult to get people to read and invest what you did in your life. It requires a long time supporting fan base. It's a hard truth to deal with, but if you want to go that route, you may have to blend it with another theme.
Wait, I just read your italicized word for "minister"; it's going to be difficult, but it's not impossible.
If you want your blog to easily be accessible, there has to be a lot of social media coverag and interaction-- the top two platforms for blogger promotion would be Instagram and Twitter, at the moment, so make an account dedicated to that or blend it in with your personal ones.
I'm going to continue writing this comment below because I know that there's a comment limit and I think it's getting pretty close at the moment.
Okay, other things:
DeleteIt's really hard to cater to all people but the best way to do that is to do your own spin on generic posts. Like, "Ways To Have a Great Party," Lauren-style. Personally, it looks difficult-- you have to be in tune to what people want in order to appeal to them and what works, but if you feel this is the way to go, then by all means I'll be supporting you.
Custom redirects are possible-- I've seen several bloggers change their blog URLs, but it's difficult to completely do it because it messes up Blogger's GFC feed thing on the Blogger homepage. Your best bet is to create a seperate page with a clickable link to your new URL (email me if you want to know more specifics on that).
Hey-- YOUR WRITING IS NOT TRASH. You write so much about Him and how we need to follow him and the struggles that we face in today's society like pop music and idolization of friends-- writing about God is something that only a few people have and can do effectively, which you do.
Um... I think that's about it for right now. I have seen some Etsy templates and have some suggestions which I can't list off the top of my head although one of the things you need in order to become a prominent blogger is a "brand" (a way for you to distinguish yourself from others) so if you're going to end up getting a template, make sure that you tweak areas of it to make it distinguishable-- mainly I'm talking about the header, organization and color scheme.
Hopefully this helps! I'll be praying for you and if any other questions or ideas arise, I'll come back and comment on here again. ^.^
xoxo Morning
HEY HO LAUREN.
ReplyDeletei don't have much advice (but it looks as though Morning covered it anyway!), but i just wanted to give a friendly reminder to keep your eyes on Christ. it's so easy to get caught up in wanting to please other people and wanting to be seen, but just make sure your heart is in the right place. do it onto the Lord. i'm excited to see how things are changing, but just keep your heart in check.
xx
galations 1:10
HEY! (because everyone is saying hi!)
ReplyDeleteFollow your heart, do what you want to. Do not worry about the readers, we will follow you. If you want a new start... DO IT! YOU could also just change the format of this blog, you know? Change the layout and stuff.
LAUREN.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness wow. I've been following your blog for a while now, and your posts have always been some of my favorites. There are a few that even now when I think back on I remember that they were really tailored for that time in my life. SUPER AWESOME.
And I understand that you want to branch your blog out more! That is so cool, and I definitely support you in whatever you choose to do. I can't wait to see what happens, and follow God in everything because...bro HE IS GOD.
^^^^ What they all said.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. ^^^^ Everyone else said everything better. ♥
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I love your blog, and your posts (even when I don't always comment). I don't really have any advise, expect that when I changed my blog years ago, including the URL, readers still found me. Whatever you decide to do, I'll continue to read your blog and follow your journey.
ReplyDeleteI think that Morning kind of covered all of the technical things, so I'll just say that personally, I've followed your blog for around two years now, and you always impact me. You were one of the first blogs I really loved, to be honest. So never say your writing is bad, because it's not. <3
ReplyDeleteFor me, what I did, was use my never used but already existing domain, www.ellelovett.com, to route to my blog URL www.elleeverydaysite.wordpress.com. That way, I could just tell my new viewers to go to the simple and easy to fin domain www.ellelovett.com, but my old viewers didn't have the trouble of going to a whole new URL. And your work isn't trash :-)
ReplyDelete