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Yes, Im still on a vlogging trip. Do you ever think about quitting blogging or atleast quitting the way your blog has become? Are you happy or unhappy with all the PR, trips, reviews, giveaways, page rank, technorati, and “best mom blog” lists to compete with?
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I know what you mean–sort of. I am still at the stage of being obsessed with making it: writing great content, getting traffic, going above a google rating of 0, getting more than 8 visitors a day, etc. So, I slave away at this and continue to educate myself on marketing and it is all so fun…but there certainly have been times I have considered quitting. In fact, I may give myself a deadline of one more year to at least get some traffic, then it will off to another arena of writing.
I have barely been checking on Momdot lately b/c I have been SOO down on blogging. I’m barely 1/100th of the ratings you are but I have been SO down and out on my blog!!
NO one cares when I talk about my children’s milestones b/c hey..they cant WIN anything!!
I feel silly feeling that way b/c my blog is “so small” in comparison but it really upsets me, what I started it for got SO lost in the process!!
Thanks for the reminder Trisha =( I’ve felt so “lost” and just swept away in the madness of the PR & giveaways & reviews..which HEY!! I love.. but I started blogging b/c I genuinely like talking & thinking SOMEONE is listening to me!! I felt SOOO at home when I found MomDot & then things just spiraled with the PR & reviews & fun stuff, but then O began to feel like yeah..I COULD walk away from *my* blog..but I brushed it off b/c I thought it was silly to feel that way when I was “insignificant”
Thanks for this. I needed it.
I’ve missed ya’ll & felt “left out” in a way..I needed this to come back!!
I’m a blogger for over 2 years now. I used to do it on a consistent basis, but over time, I started feeling like my life is a bore and there’s not much I can say to make it interesting for my readers. Then I thought, who am I doing it for? So, I changed my course and blogged about my daily/weekly/monthly life as it applied to me. I had this vision of telling my readers how life is like for a true Native American, without all the romanticism you see on movies. But I found out I had writer’s block.. on a daily basis! How nuts is that? And visiting some pretty blogging sites advertising free giveaways, with ads filling up the sidebar… well that kind of killed all the joy of blogging. So it was back to the basics for me and maybe my life isn’t exciting, but it’s real. I’m just glad I didn’t hop on the bandwagon to ‘promote’ other advertisement that I can see on any given site. So to answer your question on quitting blogging? Maybe someday down the road, but for now, it’s all about Me, Me, Me…. and every once in a while it could be about you (not you personally, just people in my life).
I love coming to your blog once a week.
Awesome video Trisha!!And Cat I hear you on the numbers.
I started blogging last September and it was basically because I wanted to see if I wrote something would anyone really read it. And yes they would. I have amazing commenter’s who have been on my blog from lets say my 3 post. I love it.
Now PR are always putting me down. My blog is page rank 3 and most of my pages are ranked 1 or 2 also most reviews and giveaways, but they always give me hard time with stats “Oh you don’t really have enough visitors, or look at Alexa ranking it’s so bad, and it makes me so angry.
I’m doing less and less reviews and giveaways because it’s not worth my sanity trust me. I can write every day for me and my readers and always come up with something new and interesting, but I feel so put down that I have to tell PR 10 times to ship damn giveaway and they still mail it to me.
Come on I make nothing except that item for review and they expect me to ship UGH…
So past month I’ve just let them contact me, because really past 2/3 months I’ve been sending emails, begging and all just to get a book or toy for a review/giveaway.
Not worth it.
Wow Trisha! I have been feeling the same way. My blog is going to be changing. We’re doing less for a little while. One big change is that our giveaways will be ending “when we say so”. Love that! Not more Monday night panic attacks, lol! I’m a mom. I want to spend my best time with my kids:). I’m committed to that. Now I’ve gotta go to bed so that I can be fresh for them in the AM…:).
Sounds like you’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Things will get better for you maybe you need a few days or weeks to collect relax enjoy and then return if your’ feeling for it. I admire what you do. I love the blog word and glad to become a part of it.
Your running a business its not just a BLOG anymore.
I am starting to write for me…not for a review, not a giveaway but about me, my life and I love the 10-15 comments I get or even just two whre the readers are actualy talking with me.
Things are changing on my end and I’m liking it. I think creating a loyal readership, even if smaller, can be far more influential than simply one who had a bunch of hits from people entering giveaways.
Great video Trisha! I agree with so much, if not ALL!
Sarah
I’m very apt to get sucked in to trying too hard to be accepted. And the idea of making money or getting free stuff via the blog is hard to turn away. I get very few PR offers but I still turn down most of them. I’ve only done one review, one giveaway, and I’ve got another review coming. I’m trying like crazy not to get too caught up and focus on writing about trying to survive these two heathens I’ve spawned.
Did. Not. Edit.
There are many time I want to write about my life, but than I get so afraid that my numbers will go down and then I won’t be apart of this great community I’ve began hanging out with. Your forums are the first thing I go to when I wake up (after I pee) and the last thing I look at before I go to sleep. I breathe for that forum. And I know that if I just quit my blog, I wouldn’t be in the same place I am today. Also I think a lot of the obsession with stats and PR is the rush. It’s like a mom drug! But I know I should be more personal. I guess it’s just hard that when I put myself out there I get like 2 comments, but when I put up a giveaway I get 100+ comments! Comments are SO addicting! The only issue is those comment aren’t for me they’re for what my blog is offering! I do think about quitting now and again.
I was going to post a video response but I look like crap and I’ll lose my thoughts before I ever get the darn video set up.
So here’s what I think…in the past oh say month, I’ve been feeling really down about blogging. I’d wake up in the morning, look at my computer and get this little rush of excitement while I’m booting up my email wondering “oh, what pr rep is going to contact me today?” “I wonder if there will be a trip invite that I know is going around?”
And then comes the let down when all I see is an inbox of post this release, tell your readers about this, blah blah blah
At what point did I get like this? I don’t know. But what I do know is it was making me feel unimportant, unnoticed, and just plain grouchy. All for what? nothing!
This is NOT why I started my blog. I started writing because I was scared of what the future of my new pregnancy would hold. I wanted to meet women that knew how I was feeling and could offer support. I wanted adult conversation!
All this talk about google PR and stats is bringing all of us down. Commenters are not numbers, they’re people. Real people that want to connect with you and we’re turning them into statistics for what? a box of juice? a stroller? a toy for you kids? Somewhere along the way we all went wrong in some way, I know I have. Every morning I look through my reader comments and don’t say, “oh look, there’s my 14,384th visitor” No, it’s Suzanne, it’s Tricia, it’s Amanda, not a friggin number for some PR rep to drool over.
So I’m taking new steps, it’s a new year for my blog and I’m getting back to why I started. My blog is getting a makeover, (yes, again) LOL Well, at least the order of things in. Those giveaways aren’t taking center stage anymore, my life is, my writing is. Sorry reps, you can’t have my blog anymore!
Great post, I mean vLog, or whatever…
I struggle with this daily. I blogged a lot about my son in the past. My 2 Year Anniversary was yesterday. Now I post more about me, what I buy, etc.
I feel that no one wants to hear about a 4 year old anymore? Because it’s overdone. How weird is that? I question myself.
I totally agree with the overwhelming things that come with a blog..e-mails, PR, giveaways, reviews, opportunities, conferences, etc..
Yes, I have 2 giveaways going on my blog right now..but they are people I’ve dealt with before, MY PEOPLE…not some random product. I find that on anything to do with women, parenting, etc..on the internet there will always be drama and jealousy. I started out on BabyCenter. That place is full of drama.
I think sometimes people need to step back and see what they’ve become. I’m still the same, at least I hope I am..
And dammit..I want to go to WDW for FREEEEEEEEEEEEE…
Too true. Great vlog. That is why I decided long ago to keep my blogs seperate. It does take a lot of time to maintain, but it’s worth it for me to keep my personal blog as just that. I don’t get as much traffic as blog that do reviews and giveaways on their personal blog and I don’t get many comments, but that is ok. I cherish my personal blog and I write in it for me. I love comments and traffic, don’t get me wrong, but not so much that I am willing to compromise the integrity of my personal blog. I write what I feel, I write about arbitrary nonsense I enjoy, I run a few memes that I have fun with, and I love it.
I’m really new to blogging and already starting to feel overwhelmed. I just need to focus on me and not worry about the other stuff!