Stickability

Stickability pays off. I have noticed this over the last few weeks on this blog.

Over the last two years (has it been that long?) I have been your typical blogger. Posting only when I feel like it, or when I'm engaged enough by a topic. Posting on a huge variety of topics from silly quotes, to personal news, theological viewpoints, Newfrontiers news and political comments.

When I changed the name of this blog I announced that I would be more focused in the subject matter I write about here.

Two weeks ago I thought I might give Tim Challies's blogging method a go. So I decided that rather than making blogging the thing I do when I have time, that I would try to build it into my life for a while and aim to post every day. It's not a legalistic thing, more of an experiment. Fitting writing into the coffee breaks, lunch breaks and as wind-down time at the end of the day.
So off I went on 13th May. Every day for two weeks. What's happened in that time?

I've noticed there's more stuff in my head than I realised. While I often used to post when something really engaged me, I have found in the last two weeks that even on the days when I sit down expecting to be blank, stuff just comes out.

There have been comments on nearly every post. Even one from Tim Challies (I'd like to pretend that I just took it in my stride... but no). When I look back at my posts before that, comments were few and far between. Over the last two weeks I have enjoyed interraction of the type I've not experienced here before.

I've been posted about in more places. I don't know what has prompted this. Maybe it's the consistency of writing every day. Maybe it's that posting every day means I write about things I wouldn't have done before. I'm always grateful for whoever links here (Dan Bowen often does), but most notably in the last two weeks Dave Bish (twice) and Adrian Warnock have pointed people in my direction. Part of me wonders if that would have happened had I not given this experiment a go.

I've become more aware of the people who might read this blog in a way in which I wasn't before.

All in all, having blogged every day for two weeks, traffic for May has more than doubled since April. Traffic has never been an important factor for me (I would have stopped blogging very early on had this been the case!). But as this blog grows it is nice to be aware of that, and it is an encouraging feeling.

Blogging is a hobby. I do it for enjoyment. But stickability and a bit of discipline has made it all the more enjoyable over the past few weeks.

I would recommend it to those who are interested to see how their blogs could grow: try blogging every day for a week or two and see what happens. Make sure you link around lots and be aware of who is reading, but give it a go. You might be surprised what happens.