Thank you for visiting my blog, and for taking time to read this post. Because, see, the thing is, I'm really not very sure about what I'm trying to do here or why. Can I ramble for a minute?
I imagine I started out like so many others... I love to read blogs, and for 7 or 8 years now I've subscribed to several blogs of different genres that I read each day. After a long time of lurking, I put together this blog somewhat on a whim. It was coming up on the holiday season, and I love to decorate for Christmas, so I figured I'd put together a Holidays decorating blog and see what blogging is all about.
Looking at my archives you can easily see that I went fairly strong for about two or three months, and then, nothing. Crickets. I disappeared for a long time. Years!
This year I came back, and have been somewhat active for about a month or so. I've vacillated between two points of view: "I'll just post what I want and if no one reads it, that's ok." and "Let me try really hard to get more page views, comments and pins."
I feel like I haven't found my voice yet. I haven't been sure what I'm aiming for. Do I want to have lots of readers - which probably comes with more of a concerted effort and potential for feelings of obligation for putting out content? Or do I want to take things as they come, post what interests me, and not worry about gathering up a big viewership? (Is it just me? Do other bloggers have these questions as they go along????)
In everything I do, I'm usually an "all or nothing" investor of my time and interests, so it's kind of strange to consider a "chill out" approach. But I think that's how I'm leaning. I mean, I'm retired now and I don't want to do something that feels like a job! I have goals in other areas of my life, most notably my Sweet Adelines singing, performing and coaching efforts. I want to focus there, and I don't want this blogging thing to get in the way of that success.
So, I think I'm going to take this approach:
- I'm going to make my Gratitude Project 2014 my highest blogging priority. I treasure the daily practice of focusing on gratitude, and I like the continuity of a daily thread of affirmations of the blessings in my life.
- I'm going to continue to host my Happy Tuesday link party - I love the idea of people gathering together with their positive, inspiring, uplifting posts. The party may never grow to be a huge thing, but I'm grateful for everyone who joins in, no matter how large or small, and I believe in the idea of sharing a positive message, so I'm going to keep it going.
- I'm going to continue to visit and read lots of other blogs of different types. It's my favorite thing to do each morning! I'll make more of an effort to comment and interact with the blog owner, since I know how much I appreciate comments on my own blog.
- I'm going to allow my blog posts to occur naturally, organically, out of things that are happening in my life. If that means home decor, craft, food, gardening, then great. If it means more reflective, narrative pieces, ok. I'm not going to worry about the fact that my blog title references "Holidays". I look forward learning and creating and stretching my boundaries here.
- I'm going to relax about "marketing" my blog. For instance, if I have time, I'll join in link parties, but if not, that's ok. I don't want this effort to be about how many views I get.
Thank you so much for sticking with me through this rambling post. I feel better having put these thoughts down, thanks for listening. I appreciate your time and interest, and I do hope you'll be with me on this creative pathway, wherever it leads! I'd love to hear from you - please leave a comment if you could.
