Blogging

[FiguringItOut]

Fairly recently there was a post on what blogs MMM followers read.  It was great and I found few new interesting blogs there.

I've been thinking of starting a blog myself.  But I have few questions and looking for opinions.

1. What blogging platform do you think is better, Blogspot or wWordpress?  Maybe there are other platforms that I just know about it.  To be honest, I prefer the comment structure of LiveJournal the best, but I don't think is as popular as other platforms.

2. Do you think  blogs that are more in the "journal" style have a chance to survive?  Most of the blogs I read consist of complete article (long or short) written by the blogger/author.  I think I am more interested in the journal as in following my progress on my way to FI and adding my thoughts or comments on some specific related topics, may be a book or documentary review here and there related to the topic..  I am the beginning of the process and have a long way to go.  Not a whole lot of person insight as of yet.  But I though documenting the journey/process would be a good idea.  Does anybody know of a blog/journal of similar content that they can share?  (I though of starting a journal on here, but I don't like the format here and I am looking for a different feel).

[2Cent]

1. Depends on your level of web skills. If you know nothing, WordPress is easiest. Which is nicer depends on taste.

2. journal style can survive, but won't attract many people since if it is only good when read start to finish. You could of course write your journal in bits that are stand alone readable with interesting captions. Like Day 39: Investing in a startup.
It is important you figure out what you want with your blog. Is it for others to read, or for yourself as a public diary.

[Moonwaves]

1. What blogging platform do you think is better, Blogspot or wWordpress?  Maybe there are other platforms that I just know about it.  To be honest, I prefer the comment structure of LiveJournal the best, but I don't think is as popular as other platforms.

People who use Wordpress will tell you it's the best. People who use blogspot/blogger will tell you it's the best. Personally I much prefer blogspot. But if you're the kind of person who likes tinkering behind the scenes, doing lots of add-ins and what have you, then by reputation, Wordpress will offer you more possibilities. I dislike that stuff and just want something simple that allows me to write so it's standard templates and blogspot for me. But then again, my blog is mostly for me and serves as my diary, except that unlike any paper diary I've ever tried to keep, I've been keeping a blog for nine years now (just noticed tomorrow will be my nine-year-anniversary - mad). Which leads me to ...

2. Do you think  blogs that are more in the "journal" style have a chance to survive? 

I always find this question amusing. Your blog will survive for as long as you keep writing it. There are just no guarantees that anyone will read it. So as 2Cent say, it's important you figure out what you want from your blog, is it readers or more for yourself as a public diary.

There is another thread here somewhere about blogs and how many hits you get in a day. You might find that interesting. For what it's worth, my blog, which is very much a diary for myself, gets between 50 and 100 hits per day. Mostly google searches but maybe between 10 and 20 regular readers, with up to about 10 of those regularly commenting. I don't monetise, try to optimise SEO or any of that stuff* and, without trying to put myself down, it's really pretty boring. But I love it regardless and it's a big help to me, not only in keeping a record of stuff but also in helping me to deal with things happening in my life. Even if that wasn't quite what I thought it would be when I started it.


*Shock, horror: I even often post without adding photos, something many "experts" will tell you is a big no-no. And when I do post photos, they're my own not usually very good ones, another big no-no - apparently I should be working on my photography skills until I'm good at it.

[FiguringItOut]

Thank you for responses and good suggestions.

I think I will give a try and see what happens.  I'm not looking to monetize or grow the blog, but I am looking for comments and conversation.  I have an experience keeping a blog/journal for many years now, but it is personal and not suited for what I want this finance related blog to be.  So I'm going to start from scratch and hope that I can get some readers/comnenters.  That's what keeps me going and hopefully it will work out.

[pbkmaine]

I think the key is to make a commitment to blog often. There are some very good bloggers out there who lost readership (or who never gained it in the first place) because they were so sporadic. You'd get a few months of excellent stuff, then radio silence, then an apology, then a few more posts, then a hiatus, then a few months of semi-regular posts, then an announcement that the blog was shutting down.

[FiguringItOut]

I think the key is to make a commitment to blog often. There are some very good bloggers out there who lost readership (or who never gained it in the first place) because they were so sporadic. You'd get a few months of excellent stuff, then radio silence, then an apology, then a few more posts, then a hiatus, then a few months of semi-regular posts, then an announcement that the blog was shutting down.

True.  Thanks

[iamlindoro]

If the goal is readership, then it's definitely a whole lot of work.  My experience has been that blogs don't grow organically in the absence of some huge viral event or other sudden influx of traffic that generates a lot of repeat readers.

I was a long time contributor here long before I started my most recent blogging venture, but I do notice that posting here drives at least a small amount of traffic to the blog just by virtue of my signature line.  It also helps that the same line shows up in all of my historical posts, not just the ones since I started the blog.

If you're blogging for your own satisfaction, then as others have said, "survival" is purely a matter of continuing to write.

I'm blogging for satisfaction, but also wouldn't mind if it was a small source of passive income (of course!).  The biggest disappointment there is when you write something that you truly believe is special, or which you put your whole heart into, and you get little engagement.  To really take off, you need help from others on Twitter and Facebook to share your posts to a large audience.

[Can't Wait]

personal finance/journal blogs are way overdone these days. If you're just looking to document your experiences along the way to financial independence then by all means - have at it.

Personally, I've grown bored of looking at personal finance blogs. I know how to attain financial independence, etc. so there really is nothing new I can learn from reading finance/journal blogs.

I'd much rather read blogs that highlight things that can enhance my life (tech advancements, breaking news, etc.) rather than a blog about someone who has reached financial independence and is essentially repeating the same things that I can read here or elsewhere.