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Starting a blog is such a hard thing to do, so why do people keep starting new ones? I don't get it. It's so clear to me that the way to get the most out of blogging is to stick with what you've started. So if you are thinking of dumping your current blog for a new blog, here’s why you shouldn’t.
1. Blogging is about self-discovery. Sometimes people can make money from their blog. And sometimes people can get famous from their blog. But one thing everyone can count on is that your blog is a vehicle for self-discovery. Each time you write a post you have to figure out what you are interested in, what makes you tick. And you have to expose a part of yourself--because after all, news is a commodity so if you don't add some personality you won't add to the much to the conversation. So the big payoff for blogging is learning about yourself. Changing blogs is something you do if you are not focused on this process. But losing this focus will decrease your motivation to post.
2. Blogging is about connections. You start blogging and you talk about other peoples' ideas, and you link to them, and then they link back, and then they comment, and then you respond, and then there is a conversation. Your blog is a record of your conversations and it's a series of connections you've made. Once people have made a connection, that's how they know you. The same way that people who stay in one city are more grounded and connected--and therefore more fulfilled--you will be more grounded and connected if you stay on one blog. And the act of blogging will be more fulfilling because it will afford you deeper connections.
3. Blogging is about keeping your learning curve high. Do you know what is so bad about not being in a committed relationship? The first dates. They are exciting if you have been married for ten years. If you haven't been on a first date in a while, you wonder what it'll be like, and what you will be like, and it's fresh. But after ten first dates, they start to sound the same. Sure, there's a different venue and a different person, but you are basically the same. People don't change that much. And this is true of blogging, too. Starting a new blog over and over again is actually depriving yourself of what it's like to stay. To weather the difficulties of staying. Just like you learn more when you get to a new phase of a relationship, to a spot you haven't been to yet.
4. Blogging is about what you're thinking, not your topic. Why dump your topic just because you have some new ideas? A conversation is fluid. And your life is, on some level, one long conversation. With yourself and with other people. And you don't need to move to a new room or a new blog or a new body. You can just change right there. The change is interesting. The constant shifts in conversation are what makes them interesting. You are really a compilation of the ideas you collect and spew over a lifetime. You don't need to compartmentalize yourself. You build on yourself each year. Let your blog reflect that.
5. Blogging is about establishing your brand as your whole self. Who knows better than I do that you need to be consistent? I mean, if you want people to know who you are and what you do then you need to tell people that. But each of us has multiple aspects to our personality. This doesn't mean you need to start a new blog. It means you need to understand how your changing self integrates with your old self. Your blog is a way to watch yourself change. Your topic is a way to ground yourself. Write at the edge of your topic. That is where things are most interesting, anyway.
So in fact, changing blogs undermines your ability to get the benefits of blogging. Try sticking with the topic you picked. Try exploring the outer rings of the topic and the smack center of what's on your mind right now. That's where the passion and engagement of blogging will sprout.
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I just started a new blog, so I was intrigued when I saw the title of this post.
It's interesting that as I go back to respond to your thoughts, each of your major points seems to speak on behalf of why to start a new blog.
1. My first blog helped me discover plenty about myself including that I am capable of writing interesting content and growing an audience. I've used that self-knowledge to inform my goals and approach with my new blog.
2. I connected with some fantastic people through my first blog, including you, Penelope. I hope to connect to a different audience this time around and to connect on a different set of common interests.
3. By no means did I learn everything there was to learn about my first blog's topic, but that curve has flattened considerably. This speaks to the next point...
4. I started a new blog because I wanted to write about what I am thinking, not a given topic. My first one was named, built, and marketed around a topic. My second blog is explicitly about what I'm thinking. No other promises, at least at this point.
5. I find your position on this point the most interesting and compelling of the five, and I need to give it more thought than I have time for right now. My initial response is to examine whether or not you mean something different by "establish your brand as your whole self" than what I am aiming for--establishing more of my whole self as my brand.
Also, if someone is most interesting at the fringes of a particular topic, why shouldn't that person seriously consider straying from the topic altogether?
If you begin by writing with no topic, a topic will probably emerge (unless you are just keeping a journal), and that topic will likely be in close accord with your more persistent interests.
In the end, if the benefits of blogging come at the intersection of your topic and the center of what's on your mind right now, why not just make them one and the same?
I hope we can make this a dialogue; I think it is a point worth debating. Many will find themselves conflicted as to whether or not to start a new blog, and the fuller the exploration of the ideas, the better for us all.
Thank you for this blog post. I have been thinking a lot about the state of my current blog(s) and the ways in which I can best brand them (and me). Earlier this year, I moved from LiveJournal to BlogSpot. The LJ platform was not working for me anymore. I also have my blog at the Diversity Projekt.
My largest challenge has been splitting the content focus between the two. Some of the topics overlap - Seeking the Cranberry is more personal and The Diversity Projekt, focuses on my diversity work. Most of my network is built on my personal blog, so a challenge has been branding both blogs at the same time. Or...should I just merge Seeking the Cranberry into the Diversity Projekt?
Maintaining two blogs is is quite time consuming.
Hey, Chuck. It's nice to hear from you again -- because I remember your last blog, and I remember being disappointed when I stopped hearing from you on it. So you bring up an interesting point, which is that the most important thing about a blog is that you write. Anything, really. Contributing an idea to a group for feedback is the most important thing. And if starting a new blog is what it takes to get you to do that, then the new blog might be the right thing for you.
Penelope,
When I first started my blog, it was a thesis project to supplement my degree in mass communications. I wanted to learn more about social media and thought the blog would be a good way to do so. I had no idea anyone outside of my university would read it, and I certainly did not expect to receive an invitation to join Brazen Careerist.
Because my blog was originally about social media's affect on public relations, I've tried to stick to those topics, but recently I've wanted to write about more Gen-Y-related issues as well as random thoughts I have. For a while, I thought the title of my blog "PR Interactive" locked me into writing only about PR. I thought I might have to start a new blog so that I could diversify my posts.
Not so, as you pointed out with this post. Thanks for the great advice and encouragement so that I now look forward to changing the face of my blog without creating a new one.
Best,
Meg
Interesting points. One thing I'd point out though is that I think there is such a thing that is a blog about your topic and opposed to being just about you.
I walk that line myself with Eat Sleep Publish, but the ones that really cross over are blogs like Engadget or CrunchGear, where a group of authors lend a collective personality to the blog, rather than making the blog about one person's personality.
Thanks for the link!
Kathrin,
I would recommend that you merge both blogs. I think that the intersection of diversity and your personal life is probably very interesting to both people who know you and people who don't. Topics like diversity are vague and political without the personal added for spice. You have a perfect situation for merging two blogs, I think. And you'll probably find the process more freeing in terms of topic -- you won't have to figure out where a give post belongs because they all belong in one spot.
Meg,
This is a great point. The idea of PR Interactive is actually very sophisticated and encompassing if you consider that all blogs are some form of PR. The hard part of a blog is figuring out what we want to publicize, and with a title like that, your personal PR can change as you do: Genius title :)
Hey Penelope,
Great advice. I've had my blog for almost a year. My frustration often comes from trying to narrow down what I should write about. Whenever I go to an event for bloggers, I have to do my pitch--my 30 second description on what my blog is. I find it easier to say "Gen Y and the non profit sector" when I really want to say "How difficult life is when you first graduate from college and try to figure out what job you want and what relationships you want and what issues are important to you while navigating life in a big city in the nonprofit sector."
::whew::
But in the end the blog is about me. I've certainly noticed my blog grow over time and have realized that the posts that get the most attention are the ones where I am brutal and open.
Penelope:
This post spoke to me in so many ways. A few days ago I was contemplating giving up on the blog altogether because I truly didn’t know if it was helping me or hindering me. I write for me, which is why number one on your list hit home. My blog is my outlet to sort out feelings and problems, to help me learn more about myself, cement my opinions, and, most importantly, to grow as an individual. Without a doubt, I’ve been struggling with personal issues, but whether blogging has forced me to dwell on those issues negatively is something I’ve been questioning. I’m already self-analytical; does having a blog exacerbate that and thus prevent natural growth?
I’m still not sure. I do, however, know that I’ve made some wonderful connections through my blog and here at Brazen, I’ve seen my opinions challenged and subsequently change based on new information and facts, and I’ve been able to look back and really see how far I’ve come, how much I’ve grown as an individual and as a writer.
All in all, I’m grateful for what my blog has done for me. And while I’m still not sure how long I’ll keep it up, I believe it’s worthwhile as long as I continue to learn.
Your post was perfect timing for me. Thanks for the reminder!
Penelope, great advice on sticking with one blog. It's great to see the evolution of yourself as a writer and professional through the development of a long-term, sustained blog.
The corporate blog I started four years ago has evolved over time and now is much more of a forum for personal expression than it is to share what's going on at my company. I also have found that I get much more satisfaction and response to some of my posts that are more personal in nature than I do about business developments.
For that, some of the credit goes to you! I have been reading your column (now blog posts) for years, following through your totally anonymous days when I couldn't believe the co-workers you wrote about didn't know you were Penelope ... through your 9/11 experience and recovery ... through dating and marriage and parenthood ... through moving to Wisconsin and separation and divorce ... you always have found ways to turn your personal experiences into teachable moments for others. Which is truly what my own writing has evolved to over time.
I truly enjoyed your speech at PRSA conference in Detroit. Way to shake things up! It wasn't a stuffed suit type of talk ... just the Truth according to Trunk. Some of my co-workers accuse me of having a crush on you, since I always forward your columns to them and told everyone I was looking forward to hearing you in person. Well, OK, I will admit to truly admiring your style and writing and sense of humor. I look forward to following your life tales as you face new adventures going forward!
Penelope, I am myself at the intersection of two blogs and I thought I was interesting that I came across your blog and this particular post. My case is slightly complicated in the sense that I started my blog in my native language (French) with the intention of reporting on issues affecting the place where I live (currently Atlanta). After a year, I have a small group of faithful readers but figured out that there is not a real conversation going on. I did not succeed in creating one. So now I am thinking about creating another blog in English this time about French happenings in Atlanta, since so many people are connected or attracted by my native country and things that relate to it. I am not sure which direction to follow. Creating a new blog? Or continuing the one I have and write from now on my posts in English? I agree that we all have multiple facets that should reflect in what we write but still I am afraid to chase too many birds. Any advice?
Virginie,
If you are trying to build a conversation, then I don't think any blog about what is going on locally anywhere will work. A conversation has to be about ideas, not about things that are happening. Also, it's very very hard to have conversation locally about local ideas because there are not enough people (aside from maybe NY, LA, and SF) who are willing to engage in that sort of discussion online. You can look at sites like Bostonist.com to see how difficult this is (and Bostonist is well funded -- certainly more resources than you.)
So if your goal is to spark lively conversation, pick a topic that lends itself to a wider range of opinions on the topic.
Good luck.
Penelope
I have several blogs and I am overwhelmed with the amount of maintenance it takes - especially trying to maintain them while working a full time job.
I have two blogs, and I will tell you why I have two blogs The second blog is nothing more than a testing blog. This allows me to test out new layout ideas, or design ideas and so I can learn more about html and css. I do not give the address to this blog simply because it has no content on it.
I understand what you mean by only having one blog and I toally agree with you. However I think that a second blog can be useful for somethings, like if your switching blogging platforms or need to test things out.
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