Official blog of Clark's Blogging for Journalists class, Mass Communication department

Thursday, September 22, 2016

When blogging becomes a "slog."

Read this in the New York Times.

Comment below by 5 p.m. Monday, Sept,26.

1. What did you learn about blogging from this article?
2. What is the importance of passion and love in blogging?
3. Your suggestions on how could the problem be avoided?  

13 comments:

  1. I learned that sometimes it may get difficult to write every week because you have to keep every story interesting but you must try and even shorten the story if possible. I also learned that the most important part about posting is being authentic. Passion and love is important because if you are not passionate about what you are writing, it will show. The problem can be avoided by picking a topic, you enjoy as a writer.

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  2. I learned that I need to be realistic when setting my posting schedule. I would rather have fewer posts that are more in depth with good content than to have a lot of shallow posts.

    I feel that the passion and love for blogging is something that must be nurtured. Everyone can reach a burnout no matter how much you love it. You can't let is consume you - find something that grounds you or someone who reminds you to live outside of your blog.

    I think scheduling posts ahead of time, taking breaks (maybe even schedule breaks throughout the year where you don't write for a couples weeks or more) and taking time to brainstorm and plan could help avoid burnout. Blogging can be an overwhelming full time job so manage it like you would any other busy job.

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  3. I would have to agree with Alicia and say that being realistic with my posting schedule. That is one reason my last blog failed was because I was not realistic.

    To have the love and passion to blog you can for sure see it in the writing. Keeping the blog something you are passionate about creates a relationship with the reader. Because they can tell if your passionate or not.

    Planning and setting goals for your posts can help avoid the problem.

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  4. I learned that It's important to choose a blog topic that you can see yourself sustaining long term, financially or otherwise.

    It's important to have passion for your topic, but doing anything for too long can become a chore. So choose something you love to do but more importantly choose something you'd love to share with other people.

    To avoid burnout I'd make a set posting schedule and adhere to it. No more and no less. Also, doing weekly features like "Throwback Thursday" or things like that can help if you have a hard time thinking up content.

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  5. I learned that bloggers who take on sponsored content lose trust and authenticity when the advertising is overdone. Genuinely, you can make money through your blog. When the products don't exactly line up with the bloggers content and values or seem to cloud over the page, I can see it becoming an issue.

    The importance of passion and the love of blogging is making the time to balance both. If neither are there, it starts to reflect in the writing and content the author puts out.

    I would suggest prioritizing and having a few back up, short "filler" posts for days that can be too much for a busy author. These fillers can be a quote, photo or personal blurb as a little break.

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  6. I learned that when you slack off, your dedicated readers will know it. When you neglect your blog, you neglect your readers.

    Passion is so important when blogging, or writing in general. If you aren't passionate, or even like what you're writing, your readers won't either. It definitely shows in your work.

    I suggest picking something that you are interested in writing and keeping up for a while. Like, some blogs have a certain, short lifespan because you run out of interesting things to write about.

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  7. I learned how important it is to keep your daily life and work separated because if they run together, you can easily get burned out.

    It's important to have a real love and passion for your topic because your passion produces the content which generates a following. If you're not truly passionate about what you're writing about, it will get old to you and your readers won't be satisfied.

    I think it's important to set a schedule for blogging like you would have for a conventional job to keep your work from taking over your life. I like what Alicia said about even taking a set amount of time off in order to refresh.

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  8. I learned that blogging can be fun but don't get too consumed with it or you will end up getting burnt out.

    I think it's definitely important to be passionate or in love with what you are blogging about or you will get tired of blogging before you ever even really get started. You also wont get very popular if you don't love what you're doing because you cant fake passion.

    In my opinion the problem could be avoided by keeping your home, work, blog, and social life separate. For example if your blog is about cooking and your job is a teacher then don't blog about teaching or your family. Don't blog about going out only blog about cooking that way you always have material.

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  9. 1. I learned that you shouldn't make your blog feel like work, it should be something fun that you get to do, rather than a tiresome, annoying thing you have told do.

    2. Passion and love are important in blogging because if those two are lacking, it will show in your writing and readers will become disinterested. Not to mention you won't have very much fun doing it either.

    3.I think one way to solve this problem would be to maybe blog when you have free time instead of trying to cram it in all at once. Enjoy what you write about and don't feel pressured to get it done.

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  10. I learned that it is hard to keep blogging constantly because writing a post with awesome content and quality is hard. Either blogger have the topic or not, it is hard to make a post to make it readable and easy to read.
    The passion and love in blogging is not losing your interest about your blog. Not everyone cannot keep an attention to your blog, but you can do. So try not to lost your interest about your blog.
    I think make a short draft of what you are gonna write and post about can help you. Sometimes you might can face with no idea about what you should blog about, but with rough drafts, you can get some idea for your post.

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  11. I learned that even when they don't intend to, many bloggers breed distrust among readers because of advertisements. But as a full-time blogger, financial situations are difficult and sponsored content is one of the most consistent ways to earn an income.

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  12. The overlooked part of pursuing a passion is the need for a break. To constantly do something you love (especially when money or followers get involved) you have to step back from it. Blogging is the same. To blog consistently is one thing but to dedicate most of your life to ensure a great blog may be a step into the wrong direction. I've learned from the read that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing (blogging) and even the slightest outside influence (if driven by money or compensation) can drive people away from your blog and create distrust if not utilized in the proper way. GREAT read!

    ReplyDelete
  13. The overlooked part of pursuing a passion is the need for a break. To constantly do something you love (especially when money or followers get involved) you have to step back from it. Blogging is the same. To blog consistently is one thing but to dedicate most of your life to ensure a great blog may be a step into the wrong direction. I've learned from the read that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing (blogging) and even the slightest outside influence (if driven by money or compensation) can drive people away from your blog and create distrust if not utilized in the proper way. GREAT read!

    ReplyDelete