Recently, a new blogger who was afraid of quitting after their first week requested some advice.
I’ve been publishing this blog for over a decade, and am going on 7 years of daily blogging. So I had a few thoughts to share.
In keeping with my own advice, I’m sharing that advice here, with some slight edits and headings for clarity.
I hope this helps you.
It took me 7 years from when I first wanted to start a blog, way back in 2006, until I actually started. One of the reasons I held back was the fear of being inconsistent.
When I first started blogging in August 2013, I wrote 1 post.
Then I didn’t touch my blog again until November 2013
I published sporadically at the beginning.
Then I published approximately once per month. I skipped entire months.
Then I increased my frequency, but I wasn’t consistent.
On October 30 2017, I looked at the massive amounts of essays I had written but never published. I heard a voice tell me that they weren’t helping anyone in the confines of my hard drive.
I resolved in that moment to publish every day, and I haven’t looked back.
Is it easy? No.
Do I make it harder than it probably needs to be?
Almost certainly. That’s my nature. I am prone to overthinking. It often keeps me from publishing what could be some of my best work.
To be honest, it’s a complete waste of time and energy to overthink it that much or to be scared about publishing.
Here are some things I’ve learned through this process.
On Whether It’s “Good”
Sometimes I believe that what I publish is crap.
Sometimes it is crap.
Sometimes I just write some sentences and publish them to keep my streak alive. (This helps me stay consistent and come back the next day).
Sometimes I’m so tired that I’m certain my essay is incoherent. And sometimes it is incoherent.
Sometimes I publish a poem. Sometimes that poem is a haiku. That’s right. 17 syllables can be a blog post.
Sometimes I come across something I wrote that I thought was crap and I read it now and I think, holy shit this is so good.
It is often exactly what I needed to read in that moment.
If nothing else, this alone is reason to write and publish your work.
On Who Is Reading It
Sometimes many people read what I write.
Sometimes nobody reads what I write.
Actually, most of the time nobody reads it.
For the first few years of my blog, only a handful of people came to my blog. My averaged page views was 3–4 per day.
Gradually it increased. Very gradually.
In the last few months I’ve started hitting an average of over 500 views a day. That’s after almost 7 years of daily blogging.
There’s an argument to be made that I could have higher numbers and faster if I did SEO and promoted my blog, neither of which I do with consistency.
But even if the numbers would be higher, numbers don’t tell you the whole story. Here’s what might get lost in those numbers: not every essay gets traffic.
The Pareto Principle applies: 20% of the work creates 80% of the results. In this case, maybe less than 20%.
I’ve published over 2600 essays. Probably 10 account for most of my traffic. Of course, what those 10 are has changed over time. I’ve had essays rank at the top of Google for long stretches of time, driving a ton of traffic, then suddenly disappear from my top 50 blog posts.
On Going Viral
Sometimes something I write goes viral. When this has happened, it’s often been with essays that I don’t even consider to be “good writing.”
None of this has changed my life. Viral posts did not land me a book deal or any other big rewards.
I’ve learned that viral posts fade quickly.
On the flip side, some essays that get no immediate traction suddenly rise to the top and stay there for a long time. And by “top” I mean first result on Google search.
Many of them — most — don’t make a ripple at all.
To my dismay, some of the essays that I would consider my best and most important work — my real thought leadership — languish in obscurity on my blog.
On Feedback
Sometimes people tell me they really like what I wrote.
I have received messages from people who found something I wrote in 2015 that resonated with them. They felt compelled track me down to tell me the impact my work made on them.
That alone is a reason to have a blog: nobody is reaching out to you about your 2015 Instagram post or Facebook post. Those get lost in the black hole of the internet.
Interesting to note that the essays that generate this type of fervent feedback are often essays I thought was a little “out there” or quirky or that I had reservations about publishing.
Sometimes people tell me that I’m an embarrassment (that comment came from my parents).
Most of the time I get no feedback at all.
Crickets.
I try not to dwell too long on any of the feedback or non-feedback.
On Repeating Topics
Sometimes I write about the same topic several times before I find the expression of it that will resonate.
Sometimes I write about the same topic multiple times in the same week.
In fact, I’ve come to realize that finding different ways to say the same thing is part of the skill of writing a blog.
It takes time to articulate ideas well. Repetition creates revelation. The more you write about something the more you discover nuances you didn’t appreciate before.
On Judging Your Work
Why am I telling you all of this?
My point is that
- You don’t know what’s “good.”
- You don’t know what will resonate with people.
- You may not even know who your people are.
- You don’t know what will go viral.
- You don’t know what will stand the test of time.
In short, you are the worst judge of your own work.
And that’s ok.
Because your job as a writer is not to judge your work.
Your only job is to write. And publish.
If you don’t publish it, it can’t serve its purpose.
Why You Should Write
Write because expression is a core human need.
Write to express your ideas.
Write to figure out what your ideas are.
Write because writing helps you consolidate knowledge and integrate what you learn.
Write because it’s therapeutic for you.
Write because it can be reassuring for the person who will stumble across it tomorrow or 5 years from now.
Write because that person who stumbles across it in 5 years might be future you.
Why You Should Publish Your Writing
Publish because sharing what you learn is the ultimate act of generosity.
Publish because by sharing your ideas you leave a legacy that will outlive you.
Publish because if you don’t, why bother writing it at all?
Make it a Practice
Write. Publish. Repeat.
Don’t worry about who will read it, or how many will read it.
Definitely don’t worry about whether it’s good.
And absolutely don’t write with the intention of going “viral.” You’ll end up killing your authenticity and the rewards are minimal at best.
Trust that if you feel called to write something, at some point it will find its way to someone who will appreciate it.
Even if that person is future you.
I’d love to hear what you’re taking from this for yourself. Share in the comments or reach out via social media @reneefishman on Instagram or X/Twitter.
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