Flat Stats? How to Write Your Best Posts Ever!

Nothing great in the world

has ever been accomplished

without passion.

- Hebbel

Michael Hyatt has posted about blogging again. This time he's exploring how we can respond when our blog stats indicate we've hit a growth plateau. You can read his excellent post here: Forget Your Blog Stats and Just Write.

Every Blogger experiences flat places. My stats are flat right now, too. This is part of the summer months when kids are home from school and families are distracted with traveling and other summer activities.

At the flat places, many of us reconsider our blogging commitment. In my case, I had to decide whether or not the readers I already have are worth the time it takes. (You are.)

I also had to think about whether my blog is helping or hurting me as a writer who needs to grow. Although it takes time away from my other writing projects, a daily deadline for reader friends is good exercise. Having you so close to something I write and offering immediate feedback keeps my perspective sharp. It's like a daily run. It keeps me toned and fit.

But there's more to blogging than my needs. Sure, daily writing is good exercise. But who needs a blog for that? I could write in a journal and show it to a few friends if I need daily writing with an audience. Or I could join a writers group. That would give me a fellowship of writers, too. What does blogging bring to me that is unique?

Blogging's Biggest Boost

After pondering, I've realized that the biggest blogging boost comes from the presence of others which is so dominant every single time I post. When writing for my blog, I have to think as much about the friends who read my words as I do about what I want to say. The blog has to be meaningful, encouraging, or enjoyable for them. In many ways, they are the blog.

A blog is made by the person who writes it and the people who read it. These two exist side by side, equally important. That's the way I need to write my books, too. And blogging never lets me forget it.

Because of this I face a dilemma: how do I address both of these components at once? How do I satisfy myself and my readers at the same time? I've read a lot of posts from Copyblogger which insist that we should only think of what the reader wants. Find out what they want and give it to them.

Using this idea to promote growth feels like a Marx Brothers line which makes no sense, but is fun to say. It amuses me to consider how I would know what the readers I don't yet have want. And I'm not the only one. L.L. Barkat had great fun with her series: 31 Days to a Better Blog where she wittily exposed the shallowness of this approach while making herself the butt of the jokes.

Jokes aside, Copyblogger does make a valid point: we write for the people who read it. But Michael Hyatt has a point: we should be blogging because it helps us live better lives. Both views are valid. Combining them gives us a proper perspective.

The simplest way to find out what you would write about in your BEST posts is to ask yourself two questions:

1. What am I most passionate about? What sends my heart soaring?

2. How can I write about this for someone else? How can I share this passion in a meaningful or helpful way?

If you're enjoying what you're writing about -- if you're enjoying just thinking about it -- your readers will know. Yes, they will know! They will sense that you're having a blast and they'll enjoy themselves, too. You will connect with your heart and connect with your readers at the same time.

Jody Hedlund is a good example of this. She's passionate about the writing process and she writes about it to help other writers. Her heart and their presence equally share the page. Readers sense the authentic passion. They also come away with advice that helps them live better. This is one of the reasons why her blog readership has grown steadily.

Here's something you can do. Take a few minutes to consider what you're passionate about. Most people can identify several areas of intense interest. If you're not a "passionate" type of person, just think about the things that matter most to you. Make a list of the top ten or twenty. Next, think about how you might write for others on a few of these topics. You don't have to pick the topics that matter most. Just a few of your top twenty. Now you're already on your way to your best blog posts ever! Start Writing!

What are a few of the things that matter most to you?