My WordPress blog is four weeks old. Having had a few miscarriages of communication with previous blogs my idea this time was simply to behave as a real parent. My entirely new domain felt like a new domain in every sense.
My blogging aims for the first month were:
To provide the best care I could
To enjoy our time together
Not get phased by other blogs that were more developed, or behaved better.
Provide the best care
A well-cared for blog grows, looks healthy and appears to be thriving.
Having just looked again at my four week hosting stats I see that 377 visitors have come calling over a thousand time and each has visited us on 2. 7 ocasions. (Actually take 33 visitors off because, strictly speaking they are from today).
I am not entirely sure about the other metrics. 23,000 pages, 27,000 hits and about 88MB. 88 MB does it mean that the blog will smile early or is putting on the correct weight? Like an anxious parent I watch signs of progress simply for reassurance, and in times of uncertainty have taken confidence in the fact that these numbers are growing healthily.
Best care? I have had advice and help for technical things like FTP (Paul Saunders thanks) and uploading my own designs, and have dipped in and out of Darren Rowse’s excellent 31DBB31 days to build a better blog.
Posting regularly
Regular feeding. I made a commitment to post every working day. This did slip a little in the third week to twice but I am back on track now.
Enjoy our time together.
This is the real measure of achievement, and I am delighted to say it has been a real pleasure. I have found it very freeing having easy access to writing on the web. Unlike a more formal web site, or a sales letter page the opportunity to be more personal has been an unexpected joy! As in real life the initial exhilaration did leave me and there were a few days of blues (blog blues?) when I wasn’t so motivated. In its place has come a more thoughtful approach, and a clearer sense of my purpose.
Other blogs which are more developed
I deliberately chose to focus on my blog to start with. There is only so much energy and time, and I wanted to make sure we were happy together. The online world is very seductive and I thought if I were not careful I would always be wanting the next thing, whereas the real satisfaction lies in being happy where I am.
As a new mum I did consciously make the decision to not engage in baby competition, or in having the latest accessory or fashion item. Taking the time to love the baby worked in real life. Having started a blog before and stoppped because nobody visited it made me clearer about the way forward this time.
In fact it has been a real revelation to see the lovely people out there! Any comments that have come my way have been wonderful, and I am looking forward to giving back.
Twitter
At the same time I have been on twitter. Again in a straightforward way.. learning the etiquette. Haven’t touched any of the million apps to make your twitter life more productive, but just see what it was all about. I have 380 followers as of a moment ago. Satisfying, and I don’t feel that I have played a game… or wasted too much time. I am beginning to see where it is all leading.
So now I am off to get some bells, whistles (and rattles) to shake because we are at the next blog stage!