Who determines the status of success for a blog? I would suggest that the owner of the blog does based on the purpose for the blog.
What do others say?
Some say a blog is successful based on the amount of income a blog generates, but what if that isn’t the purpose of the blog? To make money with blogging, it seems like you have to promote products and/or allow advertisements (and have thousands of followers). Then people have to “click” the link and purchase something in order to receive income. The blogger should also disclose on the blog the possibility of making a commission if the reader buys something the blogger promotes on the site.
Others suggest that a blog is considered successful based on the traffic – how many views, subscribers, comments, length of time a reader spends on a page, and/or at the blog site.
Learning, Subscribing, and Success?
I had to do extensive research and spent time learning how to set up the blog, maneuver plug-ins, and set up email campaigns for subscribers even before writing the first post. To me, that was a success in itself.
There is a slight chance that someone could hack the site, but there are security plugins and measures in place to prevent that from happening. I get a weekly report about attempts to login to my platform as well as the general location of where the attempt originated (a few days ago, I had a notice that an IP address from the Russian Federation was blocked – say what?). I am the only administrator, so no one else logs in to see stats and information.
What happens when you subscribe?
When someone completes the “subscribe” form, I am notified and have to approve the email/subscriber thus allowing me to keep out trolls. Once you complete the form, it is sent to me to approve. You then get an email asking to confirm you have subscribed. You always have the option to unsubscribe at any point.
When a person subscribes to my blog, I, as the administrator, am the only person to see the information. With my blog, your information is neither shared with anyone or published anywhere.
What is my process now for success?
Currently, if I can get a post written and ready for publishing, that is success. A post is not merely a quick write for me in any fashion.
First, I write a draft using Google Docs so that I can access it from anywhere I happen to be at the moment. Once I have a draft in place, I will copy it to my WordPress site under “add new” posts. Then the real work begins.
The Yoast SEO plugin analyzes what I have written. The analysis addresses SEO and Readability.
SEO
I have to identify a focus keyword or keyphrase. Just to show here, I started with “success”. I can edit the Google preview by adding a snippet (as suggested) and it will let me know if the snippet is good or not.
Then I review the SEO analysis. This is what it looks like before I begin the editing and revising. You can tell by the indifferent face beside SEO that it isn’t very good right now (but at least it isn’t a red frowny face). I’m sure some people write their drafts and have it all figured out from the beginning, but I don’t work that way.
There are some good things here at the beginning (before writing is finished).
Readability
Then there is the readability analysis of the post. Before I make any changes, this is what the report looks like (there is that red frowny face). The analysis indicates that subheadings need to be added because they improve readability. Sentence length, sentence variety, passive voice, paragraph length, and use of transition words are analyzed for optimum readability.
As a side note, I also cringe (as a former English teacher) just a little about how a post should be set up. It doesn’t really align with what I learned about writing, but then again, writing blog posts was not a part of an English degree.
The Green Happy Face – Success
Then I start working toward getting the green happy face that tells me my post is ready to go. I follow the rules and have to be good. Another part for the post is finding pictures, editing them for the website and then inserting within the blog post itself. Pictures and subheadings help break up the text.
Then, I reread and reread and reread the material trying to make sure I catch any mistakes.
So, do I count my blog a success?
Why do I continue publishing on my blog? Not only do I want a creative outlet for my writing but also want to connect with people. Maybe show them they are not alone in their feelings, thoughts, and/or experiences. Interact, talk, discuss, share.
Would I like to make money blogging? Of course, who wouldn’t? But this blog isn’t designed for making money (the only thing I really promote is books, and I don’t have near enough traffic to become an affiliate with Amazon or Barnes and Noble or any other book outlet that I can remember).
I know everyone’s time is taxed, and I appreciate those who have subscribed and read the blog. If you are a subscriber, you will get an email only when a new post goes live. That’s it. In addition, I do alert people to new posts through Facebook and Instagram as well, but I don’t think those outlets always reach everyone.
I am grateful to receive comments via email and Facebook and truly love reading them. My goal is to acknowledge and reply in a timely manner. I changed the “comment” setting on the blog itself so that a comment can publish immediately. I think people find it confusing sometimes if they comment on the blog and then don’t see it. Initially, I had it set to “only publish after administrator approval”.
Hope this has been helpful information. Please subscribe and/or follow if you are so inclined. Either way, I will keep writing and reading and learning. And, here are my green happy faces of approval for this post.
Any questions?