E is for Expansion
By AndrewBoyd • Jul 9th, 2008 • Category: Blogging tips, Promoting Australian Blogs, Recent postsThis post is part of my lessons learned alphabetical series and follows on from D is for Design.
So… you think you are pretty hot. You’ve got 30 followers on Twitter, FeedBurner tells you that more than a dozen people read every post you write, and your Analytics figures are on an upwards trend.
So you decide that this blogging lark is easy, and if you can make 50 cents a month from one blog in AdSense income, think of how well you could do with ten blogs, or twenty, or thirty…
That is usually where things come unstuck. I know they did for me.
Here is what I’ve learnt about expanding the number of blogs you write for: if you get bored, things go pear shaped a lot faster with ten blogs than they do with one.
I set out to start my own blog empire - I bought up around 70 domain names, had business plans for 30 blogs that included the research and process that I needed to make each one a success in its own niche. I even started blogging about it at The Blog Collector and Polyblogging.
What went wrong? I put it down to two factors:
- I overcommitted (which is easy to do when enthusiastic) - but this is not fatal in and of itself. The enthusiastic can often build teams of people who are capable of keeping a project alive beyond their own initial burst of energy.
- Then - and this was fatal - I got bored with it. Well, not exactly bored, more that I went through a relationship breakup at a time when work was flogging me to death, and I lost most of my energy and all motivation for non-work projects. I literally spent all downtime away from work itself (and I was doing a lot of work after hours at home) either sleeping or switching off totally - watching TV in a dazed state.
The feeling of constant low-level overwhelm (one of the Signs you’re overworked) helped to compound the sense of helplessness I felt at not being able to keep up with my blogging commitments. So I ended up easing my way out of them - allowing blogs to lie fallow. Coming to the realisation that pagerank and Technorati really didn’t matter any more allowed me to return to where I started - blog as release rather than obligation.
I still post to some of the other blogs on occasion - and that way I can comfort myself with the fact that I am staying within my niche, which I know will help if I ever get serious about blogging again.
So… my advice is - think carefully before overextending yourself, but do it if you want to - just don’t be too hard on yourself if you fail to become a blogging millionaire overnight.
AndrewBoyd is a consultant by day and blogger by night. He loves good food, good wine, and discussing faceted classification schemes with friends.
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I have been tempted. Very very tempted to start a couple of other blogs more niche based. Have even got a couple (party planning and baking for special needs) sitting there collecting dust after an initial flurry of activity. Thankfully I didn’t make them public.
Right now I am working on one blog. Building up readership and a name. For me that is the better way to go before expansion.
Slow and steady. I don’t have the attention span for much more.
Hi Kelley,
thank you for your comment
I am not anti-expansion so much as I am anti-unrealistic-expectation - disappointment follows the early blows when the effort just doesn’t seem to be rewarded. I’ve come to my happy place again where blogging is something I do when the mood takes me rather than a part of my core identity.
Best regards, Andrew
I’ve been tempted to have more too but I know that with my workload I couldn’t manage it. My 3 blogs are very diverse - one is personal, one is for my class at school and one is a craft blog - which gets less attention than I’d like. I’m in the process of broadening the focus of my school one so it covers more on my efforts to integrate ICTs into the curriculum.
Hi Tess,
thank you for your comment. Three blogs is probably enough for anyone really. I like the freedom that multiple blogs offer - I can write anything from a recipe to an offcolour anecdote to a restaurant review or a scarily obscure point on information design - and know that the audience for each post was expecting just that.
Good luck with maintaining the balance - I think that is the most important thing.
Best regards, Andrew
I have about five blogs that I maintain, but only one that I spend any time on. The others are family and a personal issue I am interested in. I always marvelled at your energy in the early days Andrew. I am glad that you have achieved a sense of balance that works for you. The other thing that people forget is that it is critical to network if you want to achieve success and satisfaction with your blog. What is the point in having a blog if nobody reads it, links to it or comments on it. Not much in my opinion.
Great post.
Hi Colin,
thank you for your comment.
I marveled at my energy too - and now that it is gone, I marvel at the dreams I had that required the energy
On networking - that is a good point, and it is exactly the subject of the F post now in preparation - stay tuned!
Best regards, Andrew
I am a very active Aussie Blogger and faced the same issue, overly expanding when really I needed to focus more on my blogs.
As a result I have focused on http://www.savingsguide.com.au my Saving Money blog and my Business Directory at http://www.companyguide.com.au
You have to be careful you dont rapidly expand beyond your means!
I often wondered how you managed to juggle your blogs and have had a couple of domain names lay fallow for a couple of years. I have not yet found the time I know is necessary to make a success of them. One blog is enough for me as far as time is concerned right now.
I am now wondering what F stands for in relationship to networking so I had better come back and take a look
Hi Sue,
thank you for your comment. Thanks also for reminding me that I have a post 90% finished that could have gone out a couple of weeks ago
I have so many names lying fallow that I should sell half of them off - it was the generation of the concept that gave me pleasure
Best regards, Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I would love to know what domains you have for sale?
If you could compile a quick list and send to me I will most likely take a few off your hands.
My email is alexwilson101[at]gmail.com (replace the at obviously!)
Cheers mate,
Alex
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