A friend of mine started a blog recently and sent over the link for feedback. This isn’t the first time this has happened. I think there must have been a hundred or more friends who’ve started blogs and sent links over the past few years. The number of friends who’ve kept their blogs going approach zero however.
So, every time I get a note like this, i just like to say – “Awesome. I’ve subscribed!” The principle I follow is straightforward – no feedback, only encouragement.
Sure, they could improve their blog’s layout and formatting. And sure, they could improve the way they’ve written their first or second post. I just know that that isn’t what matters. What matters is that they feel enough encouragement to continue writing. Many start writing for various reasons – to educate, to inform, to improve their own online presence, and maybe even to drive change of some sort. That’s the period of romance. It soon hits you that you’ve been blogging for a year and you only have one dedicated reader (hi mom!).
The only insight I have to offer here is that, when you write, write for just two people – yourself and one reader who you can picture (hi again mom!). If you can do all those things you set out to do, that’s great. But, as long as your writing benefits these two folk, you’re doing just fine. We all set out to change things when we start writing. We often forget that the person we change most is ourselves.
As an outcome, that’s one that the British would term “not too shabby.” (=> the rest of us would say – that’s awesome!)
Have a great week, everyone.
A Learning a Day 