I recently wrote a blog post about my search for a more fit version of myself and realization that my goal is and should always be to KNOW I am fit, strong, confident, happy and healthy-inside and out-and not to rely on a number on a scale for validation. We all know that a persons weight, that number, does not necessarily mean a person is healthy, happy, fit, strong or thriving.
It occurred to me this morning while reading a fellow blogger’s question in a blogging forum, that in blogging, for me, my goals and feelings about my blog should reflect those that I’m trying to achieve for myself as a person. Then I realized that my blogging goals have been what my life should have reflected all along and I’m just now discovering this truth in my personal life!
What number?
With regards to blogging, the common questions are pretty commonly centered on numbers. Pageviews, Unique Visitors, Google Rank, Alexa…
“What’s normal?”
“I’ve been trying so hard to get my rank above a 1 and I can’t! It’s depressing.”
“I feel like giving up. So and so gets so much traffic and hardly anyone reads my posts.”
As a blogger we measure our success in terms of popularity, comparing our blogs to others, and we take it personal if we feel no one cares what we have to say. The problem is that we need to be confident in what we have to say, and we need to say it regardless of who we think is or is not listening.
Numbers can lie. We all know that with the popularity of contests, giveaways, link shares, etc. that numbers can be doctored and do not actually mean that blogger is on her way to becoming the next Dooce.
My Blogging Goals vs. Your Blogging Goals?
As I wade through writing this I realize, maybe it’s okay if a person’s blogging goal is solely based around numbers? It seems like a terrible predicament to be in, always seeking that mega rank or number of your dreams, always feeling you’re not good enough compared to XYZ blog, letting your dream number affect what you write about and how you write it… And I also realize that one blogger’s idea of success is and can be different from another’s.
What I can tell you is that numbers achieved organically, on posts you actually loved writing, feel better than any numbers you can achieve from a giveaway. Those numbers mean someone’s reading, that you’re developing a reputation, making a connection-those numbers are what’s really valuable.
Just as I have had my husband pack our scales away in the closet so I can’t weigh myself every day, I encourage you (you know who you are), as a blogger, to take a break from checking your numbers. Get back to blogging, pretend no ranking system exists, that there’s no way to compare yourself to another, and see if it doesn’t help you get your blogging mojo back and help get the creative juices flowing again.
I look forward to continuing to attempt to practice what I preach. Let me know your thoughts!
I’m Julie, a former cloth diaper retailer who discovered a passion for the industry. Now, instead of selling cloth diapers, I advocate them and promote small businesses I love who sell and manufacture them.
I’m the wife of a fireman and mother of three. I have a daughter and identical twin sons.
