Blog Neglect is, unsurprisingly, exactly what it sounds like. And there’s a list below of (with reference) of some of the tests. I’m sure it’s a manifestation of some procrastination paradox, or perhaps the fear of actually building a following and becoming an influencer. But in my heart-of-heart, that’s exactly what I want to be.
I’m wrestling with whether or not to just start posting again, or post a message like this and then hold myself accountable and get back on the blogging bandwagon. And to explore some of the better tools that help you manage the pace at which you post. I’ve heard that the single most important thing about building a great blog and a following is posting regularly, sort of like having a good diet full of fiber. And I’ve got a bunch of articles in draft. Done is better than perfect, so focus on delivery, not perfection.
There’s a pretty good article at http://howtomakemyblog.com/neglecting-signs/ about neglecting your blog. They list the following signs, and I’ll color those that apply to me:
- true – Your last post was published more than a month ago
- true – Your last post says “Sorry, I’ve been away but I am now back and will restart my blogging”
- false – You forgot your admin login details
- false – Your WordPress version hasn’t been upgraded since 2010
- false – There are 16 updates waiting in your plugin section
- false – Your “Pending” comments counter is a six digit number
- false – All the latest comments are spam comments promoting pills and such
- false – There’s quite a few broken links in all the different articles you have published
- false – Copyright notice in your footer says 2009
- true – You do not have active social media profiles for your site
- true – You have no idea how well visited your site is
- true – You do not know which of your articles your audience likes
- false – You’d much rather send a tweet or a Facebook wall post than write a post for your own site
- false – All your draft posts are outdated (for example as a fashion blogger you have posts about summer clothing in the draft and it’s winter time)
- false – Your published posts are full of errors, typos and spelling mistakes
- false – Your published post are not styled so they are easier to read
- false – There is no imagery and other visual elements on your site at all
- false – The age in your about me is the wishful age and not your actual age
- false – You have tons of emails waiting in your inbox regarding the emails that you haven’t responded to
- false – You haven’t updated your Facebook page or Twitter profile in months
- false – Your site server is down and you haven’t even noticed
- false – Your hosting account has expired
- false – You have forgotten to renew your domain name subscription
OK, not horrible, except I have a lot of content to share and haven’t been doing it. So let’s get back on the bandwagon…
Great article, can’t wait to see what you post next