A Blogger’s Debate – and a Request to Join In

May 15th, 2008 • Click to view Related Articles
Filed Under: Personal Development • SOBCon

In the wake of SOBCon08, I’ve been exposed to many more great writers, and many more viewpoints on the craft of blogging. Even though I’ve been at this for over two and a half years, I was amazed by what I still didn’t know, or understand, when it came to putting content out there that was readable, compelling, and engaging.

Reading posts and advice from those who have “cracked the code” has led me to step back and reevaluate the three fundamental questions that I believe confronts everyone before they write their first post:

• Why am I doing this?
• And for whom am I doing it?
• How will I gain satisfaction from it?

Back in December 2005, when I set up Ramblings From a Glass Half Full as a lark, my answers to these questions were:

• For the fun of it
• Myself
• Getting things “on paper” that just needed to get out

That rationale served me well the first year or so, because I was essentially putting a hodgepodge of stuff out there about things that interested me and not necessarily needing much of an audience to read it.

I also was very curious about what others were doing with this medium, so I started reading a lot of other blogs, and commenting on them.

Then I discovered Technorati. And links. And “ranking”. The competitive spirit in me started to rise up, and the answers to the fundamental questions came dangerously close to changing to this:

• For a high ranking
• The people that will link to me
• From a high ranking

Fortunately, I never quite got to that point, but it did put what I was doing in a much broader context, and so I thought more about things like RSS feeds, blogging platforms and presentation, SEO, and social networking sites.

Once I corralled my competitiveness and vanity I made an important promise – that I would never post something because I felt I “had to”. And, more importantly, I got involved with Liz Strauss and SOBCon07, which put the relationship side of this form of communication front and center.

That put me about two years on, and the answers to the fundamental questions now looked like this:

• To share my learning and life experiences with other people
• Myself (and those who may be able to use it for their own benefit)
• Getting back what I give from my readers, and forming lasting friendships

I then changed my platform to WordPress, changed my look, and kept writing with my latest answers in mind. With my posting I was now much more focused on drawing responses and engaging in conversation, but I still was writing about a wide variety of topics (take a look at my categories and you’ll see what I mean).

Then came SOBCon08. This time around, I spent a lot more time with folks who did this for a living or as a centerpiece to a business, and did it very, very well. While I differed greatly from them in my current objectives , I couldn’t help but be mindful of the advice they were dispensing, particularly about maximizing a blog’s “reach”.

Which brought me back once again to those three fundamental questions. Now that I’ve experienced a great deal of the personal satisfaction that comes from the “getting back” and the many friends I have made, I find that I want more. I want to change “other people” in my “Why” answer to “as many people as possible”.

I feel like I’m at a crossroads. This blog has taken on a life of its own, and now I want to nurture it, feed it, and grow it even more – but I sense may I need to make an adjustment.

Since a lot of the advice I’ve seen suggests that a blog’s ultimate “reach” is tied to sticking to a specific niche or a theme, I’m debating whether I should tighten up my writing focus – just Personal Development? Just Business Commentary? Just Leadership Principles? Only Discourses on Half-Fullism? Eliminate the one-offs on my musical tastes? Or have more than one blog?

As my internal deliberations began I found one more piece of advice that suggested that if a blog really wanted to find out what was engaging its readers, then it would be well served to just go ahead and ask them. Now that initially spooked me – do I really want to find that out? But the more I thought about it (and “road tested” the idea with my Twitter friends – yet another interesting use for this service), the more I wanted to do it.

So, I’m going to take that advice, and turn to all of you. Join my debate. What content is bringing you here? What content would bring you back? Should I tighten my focus? Or keep doing what I’m doing?

Because I want to give you the best of what’s inside my head and my heart, knowing that the greatest rewards are in what you’ll give me back.

Let the conversation begin!

There Are 26 Responses So Far. »

Comment by eMarv on 15 May 2008:

I am like you in that I am all over the place on one of my blogs. (I just wish I had enough readers, I could ask what they were interested in But your questions definitely got me thinking about what I should focus on & whether I should shut down a blog or 2. So having said this & being a first time reader, a couple of things come to mind:
-have a couple of blogs for topics that are drastically different
-with anything that I read, I like posts that get me thinking & are helpful in my business or personal life

How’s that for generic?

Thanks for the post though. It has me thinking now!

TTYL! - Tweet 2 ya L8R
Comment by Becky McCray on 15 May 2008:

Terry, I don’t have a magic answer. But I do know that no matter what topic you select, you can continue to feature your many interests and elements. Focusing on your brand actually frees you up to include those as side notes, enhancing the main melody.

No matter what, I love your way of thinking.
Comment by Mary-Lynn on 16 May 2008:

Terry,

Watching you in action at SOCon08 was really something! You believe in the entrepreneurial spirit, and you like to nourish those who also have it.

You seem to be very passionate about helping people go for their dreams. Encouraging them. Cheering them on.

Ultimately YOU are the reason I keep coming back for more. On a day when I’m feeling negative, I can come here for a positive! Just what any fellow entrepreneur needs!
Comment by Rosa Say on 16 May 2008:

Be selfish Terry, do this for you and only for you. Because we love you, we’ll love what happens.

As a reader I prefer one site for all that the authors I follow do, just one portal that will contain everything. As a blogger who has expanded, I’m trying to now get back to that simplicity myself too!
Comment by Joanna Young on 16 May 2008:

Terry, what makes your blog unique is you. It’s your take on the world.

I wouldn’t call it discourses on half-fullism, but maybe it’s applied half-fullism

Which allows you to talk about the application of a world view in relation to business, personal growth, music, nature, road trips, people you met, stuff you’re thinking. What holds it together is your take on the world.

And I’d agree with Rosa - keep blogging what works for you, be selfish, be passionate - and that’s what we’ll respond to.

Hope this helps!

Joanna
Comment by Joanna Young on 16 May 2008:

PS You might find it useful to try writing an ‘about the blog’ page to add to the ‘about you’ one: what would you tell a new visitor in a short page (no scrolling) about what they can hope to find at your blog. Might be a valuable exercise, for new readers and subscribers, but also for you.

Joanna
Comment by Tammy Lenski on 16 May 2008:

Terry, I love that you’re thinking about this and inviting us to think about it with you. That you’re doing this meshes perfectly with why I read your blog — and what others have also been saying:

YOU.

I come here because I like who you are and what you think about. I’m drawn here because of Terry. I come back because you give me things to think about, something I treasure.

I’m also really drawn to content that is both personal development AND business. You don’t make me make the choice. It’s all part of my life and I’m not fond of drawing a line between them artificially. You get that and it’s one of the first things I noticed when I met you and your blog at SOBCon 07.

I really like Joanna’s idea about the About page. That activity has also helped me get clarity in moments like this.

Good luck in your thinking about this. I hope you’ll write a follow-up to this post!
Comment by Brad Shorr on 16 May 2008:

You’ve gotten excellent advice already, which I can only echo. What you’re doing is obviously working and seems to make your readers and you very happy. Some folks are going to prefer very focused blogs; maybe most of them, I don’t know. But I am very much attracted to bloggers with wide ranging interests. A bit of unpredictability and a few surprises are a good thing!
Comment by Steve Woodruff on 16 May 2008:

Looks like what I was going to say has pretty much been stated by others in comments already. My thinking has evolved over recent months, to where I now wonder if we are, instead of primarily subscribing to blogs, now really subscribing to PEOPLE. It’s not just content streams (on a specific topic), but thought streams coming from respected sources - including the delightful eclectic variety of interests that makes you more that a faceless writer. I enjoy your stuff more because of our banter about 70’s music - it may not have a lot of biz application, but it builds the relationship. I’m starting to expand outward some on my Stickyfigure blog, not totally sure where it will go, but it will be more “me” than just branding/marketing thoughts.
Comment by Josh on 16 May 2008:

Hey Terry, first time visiting, but from my experience (and I’m going to ask my readers too) but so far they have told me they like the variety of items.

I relate most everything back to the central theme of the site and get good feedback.

I think people return 1) for content and also 2)because they feel like they can be part of a conversation… like this.
Comment by Ann Handley on 16 May 2008:

Terry: I totally agree with Steve, here… in that we don’t subscribe to blogs, we subscribe to people. I find that the folks I read are actually the folks I like. I’m reading their take on whatever they are writing about, because I’m interested in their take. It’s about the source, at least for me, not so much the topic.
Comment by Ria on 16 May 2008:

I must admit I didn’t read all the other comments so this may be redundant but… considering your last round of answers, I think your site is set up in a way that will allow visitors to self-select the areas that most interest them. But at the same time, you are being fully and authentically yourself.

Great job, Terry!
Comment by Karen Swim on 16 May 2008:

Terry, I think your final line says it best “Because I want to give you the best of what’s inside my head and my heart, knowing that the greatest rewards are in what you’ll give me back.” Like so many others have voiced I come here because of you. If you simply keep writing from your head and heart, you have mastered the art of blogging. I faced the exact same questions with my own blog and Joanna Young and Amy Palko helped me tremendously in answering those questions. I really appreciate that you opened the discussion as it also helps others who are grappling with the same issues.
Comment by vimoh on 16 May 2008:

The best time I had blogging when I was on Livejournal of yore. Even if I wanted to, I could not change the template, track visitors, engage in much technoratting such services.

All I could do was write. It was joy.

As per your question about the focus of the blog. Self-development, business commentary, half-fullism (need to look around this blog, sounds interesting) are all part of you. If you focus on one, you go against what you yourself planned in the first lap of your journey: Getting things “on paper” that just needed to get out.

Stick to the domain: terrystarbucker.com
Comment by Evan on 16 May 2008:

Niches don’t exist out there - they are in people’s minds. If you have readers they have already put you in a niche. You may have even grown a niche - people see you as you.

The problem is search traffic - where most of our readers come from. What kind of questions do you want to answer for people. And what other kinds of questions will these people have?

It sounds like your blog is doing well. Perhaps it just means persevering.
Comment by Todd Jordan on 17 May 2008:

Good questions to be asking yourself. I’m in the same mode these days about the blog. Who/why/what etc. Need to settle those and move forward more.

Thanks for the insightful post.
Comment by Michelle Vandepas on 17 May 2008:

I enjoy blogs that move around a bit, even though I’ve been told many times to keep mine focused. I started blogging 4 year ago on a foster-adoption blog site, and then moved to blog about money on a family site, before I ever started my own blog. Then when I did host my own blog I found so many things to write about I started several, one on mommyhood, one on entrepreneurship, one on holistic marketing, and the one I keep up on on purpose. I struggle with this same issue, and it sure would be easier to write all on one blog, but instead and I have to think about why I blog and what my objectives are. On the blog I keep up, it is a business so I focus on those issues.. In your case, it is probably more about your voice and your leadership that we tune in for. As I wrote in my last blog post I have no answers. Only more questions. Looking forward to your answers!
Comment by Vicki Davis on 17 May 2008:

Actually, I’m a newcomer and just found you through a mutual twitter friend who had tweeted something to you! (Funny how that works.)

I like to read blogs because of the people behind them and a general feel that their posts aren’t a waste of time. I do like to sort of know what they’ll write on but more importantly I look for people who view the world a little differently and have good common sense.

To me, news site are about the news but blog sites are about the people that write them. That is why I’ve never personally gotten into the guest blogger thing, I guess. Best wishes! I’ll be back!
Comment by Loraleigh Vance on 17 May 2008:

Isn’t synchronicity interesting. I’m grappling with the exact same issue.

I found blogging about 2 months ago, started off with my favorite topic, Personal Development and, as you said, soon found the blog taking on a life of it’s own.

I then asked a blogging forum exactly the same question you’ve asked. The resulting answers were basically to have a focus and then perhaps dodder off topic once in a while.

I must confess that I like the answers you are getting here much better because I find that is my opinion as well. The blogs I am attracted to may or may not have a focus but it’s more the expression of that individual that I enjoy the most.

Long winded answer but there you have it!
Comment by Trevor Gay on 18 May 2008:

Hi Terry - greetings from the right hand side of the pond in England. Stick to what your heart tells you my friend. I have been Blogging on my Simplicity Blog for three and a half years now and I regularly have these internal discussions with myself. I just keep writing what feels appropriate and it seems to work. Be yourself my friend and you will be fine. Authenticity is everything (and of course Simplicity!) - Take care Terry – your words matter.
Comment by Sonia Simone on 20 May 2008:

I really like Joanna’s “applied half-fullism.” Very nice! A great umbrella term.

My suggestion would be that your focus be “you.” Your particular collection of rants and obsessions and interests and observations and questions and musings. My bias is that each of us discovers our “you-ism” by writing, and then we shape that and learn to express it to its fullest.

My sense is that you have a gut understanding of what a “half full” post is. And it might not be quite “all of the above”–you may want to move certain occasional aspects to a Tumblog or some other simple venue.

I think Personal Development and Business Commentary and Leadership Principles and Discourses on Half-Fullism all work together very well–they cohere. I wouldn’t advise you to prune any of them out unless you have a gut sense that one of them doesn’t belong.

For myself, one reason I love Twitter is I can tweet away about things I wouldn’t go into on my blog, but I can still feel connected and “whole” with my pals. And I love guest blogging for the same reason–CB lets me do a different kind of post and show a different side of myself.
Comment by steve sherlock on 21 May 2008:

Terry late to this but I like the variety, it shows the full Terry.
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Comment by Karen Putz / DeafMom on 26 May 2008:

Terry, what fills you with passion? What makes your fingers fly over the keyboard with joy? Because when you take that passion and show it, the readers benefit.

You’ve done a lot of great things here and I enjoy reading the variety of things you have to share. You definitely have a brand strategy that is good– the half-full-ism. You can take that further and do more business with that idea– an e-book, etc.

Keep delivering on the passion!
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Comment by Mother Earth on 28 May 2008:

I am very intrigued by this path you’ve been on so far and how you made it linear for yourself in this post - thank you as what you have said has been helpful to me too. I am also very intrigued how you’ve discovered this juncture, this potential - this where do I go from here? Asking questions I think is perfect. Trusting the answers is sometimes trickier - i don’t mean that all that has been said here hasn’t been wonderful advice and commentary - so many are fostering the you behind the blog - it’s pretty darn cool. I like to trust my gut - what does your gut tell you as you recieve all this wisdom and support ?