Contrary to what my self-centered ego might tell me sometimes, this blog is not written for me, it’s written for you.
Sure it’s somewhat of a journal but (supposedly at least) it’s focus is to share what I learn with others. It’s about me sharing with you and, through feedback in the comments, learning from you and with you.
It is my desire to write posts that are both worth reading and readable. That may sound obvious but with at a lot of blogs, the writers miss either one or both of those concepts on a regular basis.
My writing skills aren’t great, so I’m working on them but at the same time I’m also working on blog layout and, more importantly, content accessibility (making it easier to read).
As a part of all that, I have started looking at what I blog about. I thought I could separate it up into three basic areas but when I sat down today to define those areas I realized that my content is not as cut and dried as that.
Blogs Need a Focus
The general consensus, as far as I can see, is that all blogs should have a theme, or a few major themes. Readers need consistency. Take Billy Coffey for example. Billy’s blog is called “What I Learned Today“. Readers can be fairly certain that when they arrive at his blog, they will find a well written story of a situation Billy found himself in and the spiritual lesson he learned from it. It’s consistent in its focus.
My blog is not so cut and dried. It’s a bit of a hodge-podge really.
I started out blogging about the Church but then I became quite passionate about social media so I started throwing in some ‘Tech Tuesday’ posts aimed at helping people make the most of social media. I sometimes do book reviews and on Sundays I often post my ‘Sunday Thoughts’. Sometimes I have rants about whatever I feel like ranting about and then there are the times I just want to teach on whatever it is God gives me to teach.
That’s six different focuses for one blog… which may be too many. Not to mention, of course, all the other posts that don’t fall under any of these categories.
Over to You
So, the purpose of this post is to ask for your input. I can sit around all day postulating on what I think my wonderful readers get out of my blog and how I think they see it but the only way to really know is to ask them… or, more specifically, to ask YOU.
If you could find the time to answer these questions, I would very much appreciate it and your answers will hopefully help me to refine this blog a little further.
I want the three main focuses of this blog to be:
- Church Unity. Helping people see that this wonderfully diverse group of people are all on family, one body in Christ. (That’s the Rediscovering the Church part)
- Using Social Media Well. I want to help people use blogs, twitter, facebook and all the other social media applications in the best possible way for their needs.
- Promoting and Assisting Authors. Everyone needs a helping hand. I want to be that helping hand to people as they aspire to be (and then become) published authors.
So my questions are:
- In your opinion, does this blog meet the goal of focusing on the three areas listed above?
- Does this blog seem consistent to you in its focus and topics? If not, is that a problem?
- Is what I write useful?
- What can I do to improve this blog?
Thank you,
Peter
Peter,
It is hard for me to say about focus. I follow you on Twitter and so read somewhat selectively following your links there, although I am becoming a more consistent reader. That is probably because the things you are writing about are of interest to me. Like you, I want my blog to have focus. However, it is important to me that I know how to use the medium correctly for the greatest impact. The fact that you teach about that is a value to me.
If there is anything you could do to improve it is balance in your focus. At least from my limited exposure, I see an imbalance toward area two. I would like to see more on area one. Nevertheless, what you say in area two is typically very valuable to me.
By the way, one thing a value about you is your willingness to promote others. You are great at that! Keep it up.
Mark
Thanks, Mark. I really appreciate your input.
Funnily enough, I try to only actually blog about social media once a fortnight (every two weeks) but somehow I felt like the balance was unevenly weighted in favor of that too. That's probably because of the tweets and retweets I send out on the topic.
I'll look at how I can be more balanced.
Thank you!
Peter — I don't think I differentiate here the way you do in your list above. I see you blog as one about community — the community of the church. You do that directly in talking about the church, and indirectly with promoting the use of social media (as in, how we can use it better in in the context of the church and our daily lives) and the people you help (and it's not only aspiring authors; those children needing sponsors aren't thinking about getting published). What you right is more than useful — it's encouraging, and the church and each of us always need more encouragement.
Thanks, Glynn. I like your perspective.
I felt it was important for me to understand my readers and how they feel about my blog. I'm so blessed to have awesome readers and encouragers like you!
I know the blog laws say your blog needs to be "about" something. What if it's about Peter? Random, churchy, godly, random, techie, social media-ey, thoughtful, encouraging – did I say random? To me, blogs make personality come through, and sometimes focus can disguise who people really are. The internet does that to each of us in some way.
OK, so perhaps I'm making excuses for not posting more often myself and not having a focus. Seriously, Peter, it's how you roll, no matter how the wind scatters you. Is there anything wrong with that?
Thanks Candy. I'm really just trying to make sure that my focus is right for my readers and if random is what you want then ham sandwiches are what you get!
Hey Peter,
I see you as a hub for other bloggers. I like what you write, but use you most to stay connected to other people who blog. You are a Cyber Leader… And, are super important to our Internet community. 🙂
Wow. That was a very inspiring, encouraging thing to say, which is also almost impossible to live up to! 🙂
Thanks for your input, Russell, I really appreciate it!
I think there are basic better-blog principles… ones I'm always looking to follow too…
-brief entries (not always important; some writers always write long and still manage to develop a big audience)
-strong takeaways (critical info, a well-told story, unusual insights, or humor)
-beautiful art/photography
-vigorous sense of community
Cool that you asked.
It's easy to be like one of those companies which says "Our customers want…" without actually asking the customers.
I didn't want to be like that, working on molding my blog into something without asking my readers what they want!
Thanks for your very helpful feedback, L.L.
Hi Peter,
Well I'm not the one to give any advice on writing or blogging, so I don't have much to add. I do think your blogs are clear and written well. Just wanted to thank you for this one, you got me thinking about my own blog and why I write. I think I started it as a dumping ground for my thoughts. But over time I think I am realizing (like you said) I am not writting for me. In reading your post I noticed I have no main focus for my blog, so I thought about it and decided I really only desire one focus: To glorify God and share the Gospel. Looks like I'll have to start a separate blog for my thought dumping ground.
Thanks for the post Peter, keep up the great work and praying you and yours have a joy filled Christmas!
Hi Scott,
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I'm glad I could make you think!
Blogs can get out of control pretty quickly if we don't stop and refocus every once in a while!
I appreciate your encouragement. God bless!
Candy said what I was thinking. The reason I come back over and over is because of you and our relationship. I value that so I also value and support what you have to say. Sometimes I totally agree with you and sometimes not, but it’s a growing experience for me that encourages and challenges in lots of ways. I say that first you should definitely write and explore what you’re passionate about. If that involves making a plan or adding new features, great. If it means, you’re a little random, that’s okay too… These are my opinions for you today. Aren’t you glad you asked? 🙂
I AM glad I asked. I'm learning a lot from all of the comments, including yours.
I really appreciate you coming back again and again. It's a great blessing to me to have such awesome men of God reading and commenting on my thoughts!
Here is what I think – even if your topics are all over the board, they have one thing in common, they are things YOU are passionate about. So, as long as people are getting a sense of your personality in the posts and they appreciate that personality, I think they'll keep coming back.
Sometimes narrowing down the focus, makes writing tedious. And I think blogging should be something you enjoy, not something you dread.
I enjoy your blog cuz I enjoy you.
Very interesting take on it, Lindsey.
The blog being a 'Peter' blog was always the other option but I didn't think that people would be that interested in what 'Peter' has to say. All those big, famous Pastors can get away with it because people want to know what they have to say, whatever the subject. It even works for you. I enjoy your writing, your personality and walking through your thought processes with you. You don't need a theme except 'What is Lindsey thinking about today'
I really didn't consider that people would read because they like my personality… that's something I'll have to ruminate on.. or at least think about for a while.
Thank you, Lindsey for your very valuable input.
I found that my blog focus was wandering and so I began my journey in WordPress of creating a platform for my somewhat MPD blog. The first phase is complete with unique categories for the different focuses all flowing from one theme (My Experience As…) As this grows and develops I have further plans to further diverge the categories into what I hope to be useful and clear units of thought.
With WP you can take advantage of many built in or add on features so that your content will be specific. I'm not sure how this will flourish within your site but it needs to be free to grow but also pruned into something useful.
As for your stated questions
* In your opinion, does this blog meet the goal of focusing on the three areas listed above?
Yes, it generally discusses topics that fall into those three catagories
* Does this blog seem consistent to you in its focus and topics? If not, is that a problem?
It is consistent to the divergent topics, but the topics are pretty different. I don't find that problematic
* Is what I write useful?
I love what you write. I have even learned some great stuff in both the church related and tech related posts.
* What can I do to improve this blog?
I think building on what you have with a clear schedule for topics and possibly even categories built around a CMS type interface.
Converting to a CMS type interface is one of the reasons I wrote this. I want to create distinct sections to the site but was finding it hard to categorize posts.
Thank you for your kind words and wisdom!
I love your blog and your pastor's heart. I come to your blog for spiritual encouragement and I am never disappointed. I appreciate the techie things you have taught me. You are unselfish and so ready to help others learn. You personally blessed me by reviewing my book, but you also have introduced me to other great reads.
Therefore, yes you do meet the three goals you have set out to accomplish. You blog is consistent. You are an encourager. You feed the flock. You are humble, yet so knowledgeable. You are balanced in your approach to things you discuss, yet your passion is evident. You have personally helped me more than you would know.
Thank you for the time you take everyday to encourage the cyberworld.
The only word of advice that I would have for you is becareful to keep your priorities in order. God – wife – family – every endeavor to be there for someone, can take you away from your primary responsibilities.
Enjoy these compliments, because they are true. You have taken hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of for you and clearly you desire to share that with the church, and the world. Bless you!
Thanks Deb, I really appreciate you.
Balance in my priorities is always a tough one for me. Thank you for the reminder!
God bless, Peter
PS, tell your Grandchildren I'm trying to write another book for my kids for Christmas. I'll send it to you to read to them when it's ready!
The grandchildren will be very excited. I can already imagine them curled up on the bed waiting attentively for grandma to read the story.
I think you do a fantastic job here Peter, regardless of what your topic may be. I’m in agreement with everyone else; you’re a talented guy with a lot of interests, and I don’t think you need to limit yourself. And it’s not just that you’re knowledgeable with what you write, you’re a great guy. That combination will keep people coming here.
Billy, You are such a great encourager and you say such nice things to me!
Thank you, Sir B. I really appreciate you!
I think Candy and Lindsey made really good points! This blog is about you and all that you are passionate about! I love that! I think you do a great job of creating community. You do a great job of promoting (#3). You are incredibly helpful with social media. You are personable, relational, helpful, and engaging.
My point is, don't box yourself in! You are doing a great job!!!
Thanks, Chrystie.
I appreciate your input and your kind comments!
Peter, through this blog and through twitter, you have made many friends. For some of them, your techie Tuesday is the cat's meow, and they'll pay attention to the Churchie stuff because you earned some cred on techie Tuesday. Others of us like the Churchie stuff, but learn a little something and are encouraged to branch out on techie Tuesday.
The point is, you have become our friend. Friends talk with each other about more than just one thing. Friends branch out into many areas of thought because they want to share who they really are with each other. Friends don't "focus" their friendships on one particular topic.
Blessings!
Helen, You must really mean this as you posted it twice (actually, 4 times according to my email)
🙂
Thank you for this excellent comment. This is why I wanted to ask my 'friends' so that I could find out exactly what THEY think.
I appreciate you!
Helen, You must really mean this as you posted it twice (actually, 4 times according to my email)
🙂
Thank you for this excellent comment. This is why I wanted to ask my 'friends' so that I could find out exactly what THEY think.
I appreciate you!
To me part of blogging – as with any relationship – is the element of surprise. I'm interested in my friends because I don't know what they're going to be talking about on any given day – even vaguely. The people I get bored of are the ones with only one thing on their mind.
I like the idea of 'Tech Tuesdays', and the fact that Sundays are most likely going to be 'Sunday Thoughts'. I think those 2 hooks probably give enough structure. I'm looking forward to sometimes getting book reviews, sometimes things you've learned from the kids, sometimes stuff God wants you to teach… Sure, if it was completely out-of-hand eclectic – sometimes a recipe, sometimes an art lesson, sometimes written in Chinese, that would turn me off, but as far as I can see, it's not like that. It's about learning and growing as disciples and disciplers.
The common thread is you – it's your commentary on life as God leads you through it, and that's exactly what I'm looking for, and what your loyal followers have stuck with you for.
Thanks, Sis.
That's great advice… and very much in line with what some other people have said.
This process is about finding out what my readers like about my blog so as I refine it, I don't take out the stuff they actually like!
Thank you for adding your voice to the others and for helping me see the truth!
Peter, it's not because of the late hour. I don't know that I can articulate why I read your blog. I just know that I like the consistent quality of your posts, and I like you. But, I also like the idea of focus.
I thought a friend's blog seemed random at times. I recommended that she decide what to do and stick with it. And wow! Her blog is so much fresher now, with just a schedule of general topics for the days she posts. You might think on that … if you still want feedback.
Thanks, Anne.
I will definitely take you comments into consideration as I look at how to mold this blog into what it should be!
Thank you so much for adding your input!
HI Peter, Until recently, I blogged (for over two years) and never really thought about 'my audience'. I blogged because two and a half years ago I made a commitment with myself that I would write on my blog everyday — so I've been keeping that commitment.
Through blogging, I've developed an understanding of a) my writer's voice and b) the value of writing every day.
Through connecting to your blog, Maureen's and so many others, I've started to understand the power of this community, the incredible gift of being connected, and, how people support each other in this space.
So, that said, what I love about your blog is — it is about you. It's a window into who you are, what's important to you.
Like others have said — I'm not looking for a 'focus', I'm looking and reading because I really like the 'Peter' I've met here.
Thanks for all your support — you are amazing in your ability to promote others and create community here!
Thank you, Louise.
Your kind words are much appreciated. The feedback on this post has given me a lot to think about and process as I move forward!