10 Questions to Ask Yourself about Your Blog |

Ryan Biddulph March 16, 2023 blogging tips 🕑 6 minutes read

Tomb of the Kings, Paphos, Cyprus.

(3-16-2023)

Asking blogging questions shifts your energy.

Shifting your energy can create blogging miracles.

For example, asking about the effectiveness of your blogging strategy instantly puts you into a different frame of mine. At some points during my blogging career I asked myself if being onsite all day long made sense. No; it did not at those times. Spending time offsite expanded my presence quickly. At other times, questioning my offsite approach nudged me to update and re-publish old posts for an expansion boost.

Asking these questions – and listening for honest, genuine answers – can help you get clearer on your direction so you too can rock out your blog.

Ready? (I had to lead in with a question.)

1: Why?

Why are you blogging?

I mean, really, WHY are you blogging?

Answer this question honestly (I mean you, money chasers, and fame chasers, and stat chasers).

If you’re blogging to:

have fun
free yourself
follow your passion
follow your love

you’re on a fun, freeing, passionate, loving, inspired track.

This is the magical path. The miracle path. Because you’ll be blogging inside-out.

2: Are You Blogging for Fun? (Predominantly)

I have covered this topic so many times you likely want to slap me upside the head with a slimy mackerel.

Are you having fun blogging?

If yes, carry on.

If no, trash your blog and start with a niche that feels fun to cover.

3: Are You Blogging for Money or Traffic or Social Shares or List Subscribers? (Predominantly)

See Question #7.

I feel lazy today. And I write posts from the bottom up. So I answered #7 before #3.

In all seriousness though, blogging mainly for outcomes corrupts the entire process.

Be honest. Wait for a clear answer on this one to find a possible cause of blogging struggles.

4: Do You Blog Intelligently?

What blogging plan do you follow?

Does the plan ooze intelligence?

Bloggers often struggle due to following an unintelligent strategy.

For example, publishing a 600 word post not geared to solve reader problems and blasting the post to 30 inactive Facebook Groups is an unintelligent blogging strategy.

Asking the question helps you to shed the old plan to make room for a new, fundamentally sound plan.

Let go what seems unintelligent to make room for a smart blogging strategy.

5: Do You Blog about One Specific Thing/Niche/Topic/Subject?

Don’t be a jackass of all trades.

Master one.

Specializing is the way to:

blogging clarity
peaceful blogging
fun blogging

Although I could easily blog about basketball (JUCO player here), weather (meteorologist here and no, I’m not fronting), or bodybuilding (yes I was a part time physique model whatever that means), I can’t be a doctor and lawyer and fireman and news anchor at the same time.

Blog on one topic. Rock it out.

6: Are You Blogging from a Place of Manipulation or Love?

Do you manipulate? Or co-create?

Many jolly, happy, awesome folks are manipulators. God knows I was for many years.

Manipulating is not a bad thing per se, but manipulating moves you down the energetic ladder.

Meaning, you’re using too much force, not enough power, when you try to get people to do certain things.

Manipulating:

trying to convince people
trying to convert people
trying to persuade people
straining and striving to get people to see the benefits you have to offer
turning compassion into coercion; pressing on pain points primarily to get more shares, comments, profits

Again, manipulating carries a negative connotation but it’s really nothing but a lack of genuine love, a lack of trust in the Infinite and a disconnection from who you really are.

Don’t manipulate. Co-create.

See every human being you come across as a co-creator, you two being complicit with The Big U (The Universe) in creating happiness, wholeness and sweet blogging success for all parties involved.

A Note on Pain Points

When you perceive someone as being weak, you co-create their weakness. That’s why I find it completely disgraceful to build my posts around ONLY playing on your pain points. I literally help to turn you into a piddling pussy of a blogger. Which is assinine, and as much my fault as anybody’s.

Here’s the deal: I may hit on pain points to strike a chord with your temporary suffering but I pick you up instantly with solutions, with loving energy, with humor (usually) and by seeing you in an empowered, energized, inspired light.

We are island hoppers and aspiring island hoppers here. Not pants crappers. And if you are struggling I see you as being so empowered that you are already dissolving the struggles.

7: How Often Do You Check Your Stats? What Does this Say about Your Attachment (or Lack thereof) to Outcomes?

Checking my old skool opt in stats daily was like watching a telenovella.

It had all the ups, downs, twists and turns of these Hispanic soap opera emotional roller coasters.

Some days I cried. Some days I wished death on the opt in gods. Other days I celebrated like a portly pepperpot in a candy store.

This wicked attachment to outcomes:

dulled my creativity
closed me off to income streams
perpetuated my struggles
kept me in “survival/meal ticket mode” (if I can only make *this* much today, I can afford to _insert activity here_)

Here’s how I check my stats: if I love what I’m doing, and creating, and making friends, my stats take care of themselves. No need to check them.

Detaching from stats also tunes you into a Higher Power. God don’t do stats. God does Infinite. But if you find yourself worshiping stats and profits instead of connecting with the Creator/General Manager, you can’t tap into real Power.

God over Google. Every time.

8: Are You Sick and Tired of Covering Your Niche?

I got disgusted covering the make money online niche many years ago.

Like a dingbat, I continued with the same MMO blog for years until my hosting company called my hand.

Then I released that blog like a hot potato which had been baking inside Satan’s Oven for Eternity.

Let go the old and worn out. If you hate covering a niche, but love blogging, let go the poopy niche to make room for your passion.

Follow your fun. Follow your passion. Follow your love. Don’t follow poopy.

9: Does Writing and Publishing Posts Feel Heavy to You?

Writing and publishing posts may feel like pushing a 10 ton boulder up Mount Everest.

Ya know what I mean: that heavy, burdensome, pain in the ass, overbearing struggle that is your post creating process.

If writing and publishing posts feels heavy you:

may need to ease up on your posting frequency
may be in the wrong niche
may need to explore videos or podcasts or some other content creation channels
may need to quit blogging
may need to start having fun again

Intuitively, you know what the heavy feeling means. Either you lost the fun-fire for a minute or you need to move in some different direction.

Ask. Wait for the answer.

10: Do I Secretly – or Not So Secretly – Resent My Readers?

This was one of my roughest mental blocks.

During lean days/years, I appreciated my readers on 1 level. Then I turned around and resented the shit out of these SOBs.

Why didn’t they pad my pockets with that sweet, sweet cash? Why didn’t they buy my stuff or join my team? Cheap bastards.

One enlightening day during a moment of torment I felt a particularly strong disgust for my readers.

Aha! Anger. Resentment.

I finally figured out one huge mental block of mine: I blocked money and bloggers and readers and sales because I did not love my readers.

I loved my readers from that point forward.

Things turned more quickly than a Thai lady boy prostitute at 5:30 AM in Bangkok after a previously “farang-free” night.

Do you hate/blame your readers for your struggles?

If so, admit the truth. Feel the resentment/rage. Release the resentment. Then, slowly and mindfully beam love to your readers, each comment and social share at a time.

Engage.

Enjoy.

Enlighten.

This love will be reflected back to you in many freeing, inspired, prospering forms.