What I’ve Learned From Having a Blog

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Article by Wendy McCance

The best part about having a blog is learning things about people you might not have known if not for the blog.  Each article I have written has given me the opportunity to find out what other people think of the topic I’m writing about.  I’ve been fortunate to see a topic take off and turn into a discussion that spanned the globe.  There is nothing better than hearing opinions from people all around the world.  It’s truly fascinating.

For whatever reason, the amount of interaction I received slowed down quite a bit once I went from using the free version of WordPress to the self-hosted version.  Weirdly enough, my traffic went way up, so did the amount of sharing on other social media sites.  At the same time, the amount of people leaving comments or showing they liked a topic went way down.  This might have something to do with the fact that some of the traffic on the free version was coming from people just looking to grow their own blog.  I remember going to visit blogs to thank people who had stopped by and began following my blog.  I wanted to check out what they were discussing and maybe follow them as well.  Many times in the comment section would be a long list of people thanking the blogger for stopping by their blog.  There wasn’t any comments based on a post written.  It was just a big move by the blogger to get a lot of traffic.  What I learned was numbers mean nothing when there is no true engagement.

Since switching over to a self-hosted version of WordPress, I have become more aware of what topics are popular and what topics fall flat.  I switched over from the free version of WordPress specifically so that I could start marketing myself and making money off my blog.  I have been fortunate to be able to test out different ideas to see if there was enough interest to create an eBook, class or consultation out of one of my ideas.

What has surprised me most, is that giving away a free session where I would audit your online presence was of no interest to anyone, but talking about being stuck with writer’s block has received an overwhelming amount of comments.

I love having a blog.  I love being surprised at what truly interests others.  Over the years, my most popular articles have been the most personal ones.  Nothing shocking in the posts, just one person’s thoughts on making their way through life’s ups and downs.  It’s what most everyone can relate to.

When it comes right down to it, my readers are happy to get information on writing, social media and blogging, but it’s the personal observations that hit the target every time.  I guess when it comes right down to it, people want to know they aren’t alone.  It’s reassuring to know that there is someone else out there who has had a similar experience and got through it just fine.

What about you?  Do you have a blog?  What has surprised you the most?  Do you read a lot of blogs?  What articles do you gravitate towards?

Wendy McCance

Wendy McCance is a Michigan based freelance writer and social media consultant. Wendy has gained attention as the founder of the popular blog Searching for the Happiness which can be viewed in 9 local papers online, including the Oakland Press. The combination of writing skills and social media knowledge is what makes Wendy such a powerhouse to work with. Stay tuned for opportunities to advertise, guest post and as always, have your questions answered.

To contact Wendy McCance about a writing or social media assignment, interview or speaking engagement, please email her at: [email protected]

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12 thoughts on “What I’ve Learned From Having a Blog

  1. I use my blog to give a voice to the voiceless, I interview the everyday person. I find it most inspiring and humbling to hear what they have to say. I tell them what I do, and get their permission too tell their story. I don’t use their faces, I use photographs I take of nature, to explain what they tell me. I am constantly amazed, how the stories, both from the “rich” and “poor” are so similar. Thanks for allowing me to comment. Regards and stay well.

  2. Hi Wendy. First of all, how are you doing? I pray that all is well. I have enjoyed your blog from the onset. You have given us great advice, and for that I am grateful. I do need however, to get my groove back, and start writing. I haven’t blogged in quite some time. Thank you for all your inspiring posts. Blessings.

    • Thanks so much for the comment. I’m so glad you have enjoyed the blog. Hope you get to writing soon. Pass a link this way when you get something posted, I’d love to read it. All the very best.

  3. Wendy — thanks for the follow on Twitter. I decided to look at your website and found this post about blogging. I’m a blogger, too, and feel it’s the home base for all your social media activities. You might want to consider joining the Bloggers Helping Bloggers subgroup of the Blog Zone on LinkedIn. It’s a caring community and we comment on each other’s posts and some members collaborate on projects.

  4. I read blogs about writing and blogging because I am always looking to improve my work. The fact that I have a cat blog means I’m always looking at new cat blogs. I read them purely for entertainment, though, and to grow my readership. I comment on many of them. What surprises me the most is that one or two blog posts I wrote a long time ago still gets tons of hits. You just never know what will get people going.

    • Some of my oldest posts are some of the best too. Maybe it’s because everything was still so fresh and our voice was so authentic. That’s awesome that you are getting such a good response even on the older posts. 🙂

  5. Wendy: I’ve been reading your blog for about a year now, and you give your readers solid information with a personal delivery. I’ve been blogging (“Walk With Father Nature”) for 2.5 years, and I am loyal to several others that I’ve discovered; mostly through Blogger, Word Press, and LinkedIn. At WWFN “My Favorite Blogs” points my readers to sixteen that I follow loyally. Thank you for your warm personal style of writing. ~ Richard Havenga ~

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