Where I blog

I’m going to break a self-imposed rule. I’m going to blog about blogging.

Indulge me, just for this one post. Please?

Right, if you’re still here (Mum, there’s no obligation to keep reading, this probably won’t interest you) then I’d like to pose a little question:

How do you define blogging success?

It’s a question that’s been on my mind a bit recently, on the commute to work and back again, floating at the edge of consciousness in between singing along to Carly Rae Jepsen on the radio (don’t judge me).

I suppose with the latest shortlist of awards announced and a huge conference this weekend, it was inevitable I’d come to write about this sooner or later.

First of all, let me explain something about blogging to those of you who don’t blog. It’s a bit addictive. It’s very satisfying. It can be rather lonely. It can get too noisy. It’s not easy to pin down.

No one really knows how “big” blogging will be, or how it will change now it’s started spilling over and merge with mainstream media. It’s a bit like sitting on the edge of a huge wave, right before it peaks and crashes onto the beach. You can’t yet tell how big the wave is going to be.

There are many, MANY, different blogs out there. Some gain hundreds of thousands of readers a month, some have led their authors on to totally different careers, some inspire, some educate, some ramble and some win awards. Lots of them.

But how do you define a successful blogger?

This time last year I had only just set out on my blogging journey. I was shortlisted for two different awards, every time someone commented on my blog I felt a thrill of excitement and I had just met my first “blogging buddy” in real life, who is now a very good friend.

I felt new, inspired, like an empty sketchbook waiting to be drawn all over.

Now, just over a year on and my blog has changed my life. I owe a large part of my new radio career to it. I also earn money writing because of it. It’s led to a family glamping holiday this summer and many lovely new products to fill our tiny cottage.

But I still don’t feel “successful”.

I don’t know if this is because that’s the nature of blogging. It’s such a wonderfully huge and diverse world, full of wonderfully huge and diverse personalities, all writing and creating wonderfully huge and diverse content, that you never really feel like you’ve “made it” as such. Or I don’t anyway.

It could be my own “ambition”, driving me forward. I’ve never been content to sit and take stock of what I’ve achieved. Nothing’s ever enough. I’m onto the next big thing, chasing down the next big project / show idea / blog post / feature. It’s exhausting and I wish I was able to slow down a bit, but that’s just not me.

So is success in blogging about topping the various rankings sites? Is it about finding and hosting a really popular linky or meme or inspiring other bloggers to blog about your idea? Is it about winning awards or being nominated and shortlisted for awards? Is it about earning money or the amount of free stuff you can get?

I don’t know if it’s about any of these things really. Not for me anyway.

Of course I want people to read. And good stats are an indication that people ARE reading. And I love when people comment. It’s immediate feedback – just as when a listener texts in the radio show or someone writes on our Facebook page.

If people are engaging with your content it shows you’re striking a chord somewhere, with someone. If that stuff didn’t matter then why blog at all? You may as well just keep a private diary.

But again, I don’t think stats and comments and the like are a measure of blogging success. Some of my favourite posts from other bloggers haven’t garnered a huge number of comments. And some are so new they can’t have a huge following, not yet.

So I’m back to the beginning. Which is why I need you to help me out. Just think about it for a second, will you? And tell me, how do you define blogging success?

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