Armchair BEA: Blogging about Savvy Verse & Wit
Armchair BEA has followed many of the activities from Book Expo America in New York City, including the expo floor, panel discussions, what book bloggers are finding in terms of ARCs, and interviewing authors and others.
Today, with the Book Blogger Convention (please check out the agenda), the organizers of Armchair BEA asked for participants to think about their blogs and blogging.
I'm taking my queue from the Armchair BEA blogger interviews earlier in the week, in which some bloggers touched upon the dos and don'ts of blogging and gaining "followers."
I'm not big on just gaining followers, BUT I am interested in gaining readers. Whether all my readers comment or not, I know you're still reading and if you're reading, you must be getting something from my posts.
I struggled for a long time about whether poetry should continue to be a focus on the blog because the posts rarely received comments and as a fledgling blog, it had very few readers. However, after discussing possible alternatives and focuses with myself and Anna, I came to the conclusion that poetry is my passion. Even if the blog had one comment (Anna!), it was out there on the Internet and could be found through a quick search of keywords. While the post may not receive immediate responses, readers will find the post eventually.
In that vein, some characteristics I think you should have in order to have a successful blog include passion, determination, and patience. Without these, blogging will be a fad . . . a fleeting moment in time for you. Moreover, it will be a frustrating endeavor as you watch your stats, chomping at the bit for new "followers" and screaming "why" when some "followers" disappear.
Blogging is a learning process, and I'm just now learning the life-blogging balance as a new mother. When we didn't have a child, it was easier to take up the computer and start blogging away, but now there are feedings every three hours, diapers to change, and crankiness to alleviate.
I wouldn't trade my daughter, "Wiggles," for anything in the world, but it does make it more difficult to find time to read, write reviews, comment on blogs, and be on social media. I know the blog will be around because I've still got the passion driving me, the determination to keep going even when I'm exhausted, and the patience to wait for those few available moments to sit down and write.
How about you? What's your blogging story?