5 Tips for Being a Happier Blogger

Sometimes I feel like a radical blogger. (And I’m not even talking about the I-live-in-a-house-made-of-tires part of this blog. Or the I-move-all-the-time-but-I’m-not-military part of my life.)  I’m talking about blogging itself.

Over the last six months, I’ve been eliminating some of the “most important” pieces of blogging information that everyone says you HAVE TO DO, and I couldn’t be happier. Making This Home hasn’t crumbled. We’re still here together, and I’m happier… which hopefully means I can make this space better for you, too.

(a self portrait at a favorite spot for hearing tall tales as a kid)

Here are my thoughts on what works for me as a happier blogger:

1.  DISABLE ANY RSS AND SUBSCRIBER COUNTING SYSTEMS.

How many of you blog and constantly check your statistics? I bet a lot of you do it daily or insanely often. How many subscribers do you have?

Oh no! One less than yesterday? What did you do wrong?

Five more than yesterday?  Okay… go study whatever it is you just did and repeat, repeat, repeat until you’re blue in the face. Huh.

I hated it. I found myself distracted by the numbers; I couldn’t focus on the story. So I deleted all counting systems.  Even if I had the urge to just go peek at my subscriber counts, I can’t.

When a reporter asked me how many readers I have the other day, I told her the truth.  I didn’t know, and it was the best emotional decision I could have done for myself.

2. KNOW THAT THE WORLD WON’T END IF YOU DON’T BLOG EACH TIME YOU THINK YOU SHOULD.

There’s this feeling that a lot of new bloggers get:  if you do not blog every day, you will fail.

That’s simply not true.  Our world will continue without that blog post.  You will, too. And it’s all totally okay.

When I first started blogging, I would post six or seven times a week. Just look at my archives, and you’ll see. Post… post… post…  I was on a roll.  It was so easy to write to you every day in Germany.

Now I’m running a full-time journal shop and building a house in an airplane hangar. I just can’t blog at the same level. There’s not enough time.

There’s a natural flow with how much we can write. It has to do with how much we have going on in our lives and how inspired we are to write. You shouldn’t fight it.  Just celebrate it for what it is.

3. STOP FOLLOWING BLOGS THAT MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

No way do I think that many bloggers intend to make other people feel like they aren’t as good. It just happens sometimes.  That blogger has a bigger following. That blogger is funnier. Her photos are better. Her business makes more money.  You know, whatever it is about that blog that is unintentionally making you feel intimidated, stop reading.

You can always go back and subscribe or catch up to everything when you’re ready.

4. EMBRACE YOURSELF AND YOUR BLOG JUST HOW YOU ARE.

I’ve talked about keeping a focus when you blog… and how I overcame comments about how unfocused Making This Home was.

All I’m doing is blogging about Making THIS Home, and well, home keeps changing in pretty drastic directions around here.  Berlin, Germany… tire house in the middle of nowhere USA… Denver suburbs… back and forth, back and forth… future home in an old airplane hangar.

The truth is, your blog should be a piece of you. The second it isn’t, the passion behind your words trickles away. Readers feel it. You feel it.

5. BLOG FOR YOU.

As an expat, I’ve seen a lot of blogs come and go. Sometimes people just decide that blogging isn’t how they want to spend their time. Others get frustrated because they don’t have enough followers (see #1) or aren’t making enough money.

If your new blog is smothered in ads, I won’t read it. It makes me feel like you aren’t getting into blogging because you enjoy it and want me to enjoy reading it; you’re blogging because you want to cash in on having me there.

Don’t start blogging for money. We can tell.

Don’t start to appease someone else.

Don’t get mad at people you know because they aren’t reading your blog. (My mom never reads my blog when we’re in Germany; she says it’s just too hard to be reminded of how far away Martin and I are. I get that.)

Blog first and foremost for you. Blog to fill that deep desire in  your heart.

Writing the secrets in my heart for you was so fun! This is how I still get butterflies each time I hit “publish”.

If you want to dive into the creative whispers of your heart with your blog or other creative movement, check out {Become} ~ Gadanke’s creative journey diary.

Any other tips or bits of wisdom?  And if you have a blog… would you like to share it with us in the comments?