pursuing “success in blogging” ??

May 17, 2010

New next-door neighbours moved in over the weekend. Very nice young couple with 3 children. Reminds me how I want to reach out to (and reach!) my neighbours!

I’ve been wondering how to “grow” my “audience” – and at the same time wondering about what size and kind of audience is really necessary to be “successful.” Of course that begs the question: “What is success?” Does it mean having lots of readers and subscribers, making a good income, having a lot of “influence?” What kind of influence? Sacrificing what, in the process? Whose “way?” What worldview?

I’ve read some pretty useful blog postings and books and case studies and such, that have a lot of good ideas (successful ideas, if the number of readers and subscribers and income and so on at those sites are the desired markers of success). But sometimes when I am reading them, I feel uncomfortable. I may feel that their foundational beliefs, their core world-views, conflict with mine.

I find myself picking out some ideas and leaving others, but at the same time wondering if the ideas I have picked out are going to somehow draw me into their way of approaching the world after all? Are methods, ways to do things, pointers on how to grow your blog (for example), mostly just neutral, just what they are? Or do they really reflect something deeper? Is it possible to skim the useful tips off the top, and avoid/ignore the underlying purposes, beliefs, approaches? To use the same methods to accomplish or serve different ends and purposes?

Does it matter? If it does, then what?

The blog advice keeps saying to be true to yourself, true to who you are, what your passions are, what you believe, in developing your blog. What does that mean? And do they really mean that? If they do, why are they charging big bucks to their customers, urging them to buy their particular “ideas” (aka products)? They present themselves as authorities (a big part of blogging, apparently); and it seems to follow that buying their products, and following their methods, then becomes buying into their particular way of doing things… and possibly buying into their particular world view, belief system, core values… etc…?

(I want to follow You, Father…)

(In case you’re wondering, dear reader, what I’ve been reading today – and yes, picking out a lot of potentially useful ideas from – here are some links!

Leo Babuta at Zen Habits: various short posts – and a longer one: How I Got 100,000 Subscribers in Two Years

Chris Garrett at cgarrett.com, especially Killer Flagship Content

Seth Godin’s blog and email updates.

And, oh yes! I signed up on posterous.com today. And did some more “stumbling.” You can check out some of my “favorites” here.

And I started reading ProBlogger (2nd ed) today. (By Darren Rowse of the ProBlogger site and Chris Garrett – see link above). Yes, I bought the book!

Lots of good ideas in all of them. Just wondering, though, what applies to me?)

(Father?)