Consistency is talked about in terms of importance from day one when we start blogging. It’s important to have consistency because we want our audience to know we mean business and we’ve got to build our credibility early on. Remember and know that the consistency of your blog does not just mean fre-quency of publishing, and how it can effect your community. It can be tough, just don’t pull the plug.
I’m by no means going back to the basics of how you need to: decide your niche, create quality content, and having a community behind it all.
Always keep the basics in your head. Overtime we tend to lose focus of them.
Instead, I will tell you why we tend to always battle with consistency and the outcomes that could happen if we lose this battle. Do realize though you always need to keep in mind the basics of blogging if you strongly want to succeed in whatever you are doing or even in building your personal brand.
Now if you are familiar with what I believe in and how I see blogging, then this type of post won’t be of surprise to you. I believe in attracting a community without worrying about SEO and that we all need to stand out from the crowd.
I call it the battle of consistency because all of us bloggers will experience a time where we find something else to do, change our minds, want to expand our blogs, or just find ourselves not happy at what we are doing.
And “pulling the plug” is us doing something that would disrupt your community if you still want the same mission or purpose to continue. So, I noticed and experienced some issues that lead us to this battle. Let’s explore!
Other Projects
You know those other projects. Usually when we start one, we think of another by ourselves or usually when we start connecting with others on the web. This is great, we are happy, but before we know it we can’t manage what our blog or first project. Our community starts to notice the frequency of our posting going down, the quality of posts going down, and then they move elsewhere.
Think about all the time you have put into building your initial blog and in creating a community around it.
If you tend to always have this issue, you should think about picking something you want to talk about at anytime but form it as your personal brand. In other words have a blog or place and a community that supports you and everything you do or will do.
I’ve dealt with this ever since I started blogging in 2008 by having multiple blogs because I have so many ideas, but I’ve focused on one with having my personal Tumblr on the side.
You do this or think about if you should start a new project and you won’t pull the plug on your community.
A New vs. Different Passion
Passion is something that defines us. We change. Our passion changes
Yes, there is a difference between a new and a different passion. It’s merely about the development of you versus a change of taste all together. Whichever one you feel you are creating for yourself, both will change your overall consistency on what you are currently doing.
I had a problem where I did not know my passion and it took two years and 5 different blogs later to know my true passion. This is my knowing your passion is so key.
A NEW PASSION
A new passion is one that develops after your initial passion for whatever you are blogging about. This new passion eventually develops into another project. Now, you have to make a choice of where you split your time and if the passion is really different you have now two communities.
Everything is possible and I truly admire how Gary Vaynerchuk can manage his two communities: wine and brand consulting
Just know now that you have more than just one community, unless you are able to tie them all together into your personal brand. And if you “unplug” one community you have a different passion.
A DIFFERENT PASSION
A different passion is what I experienced many times for myself, so in advance I apologize to anyone that I’ve connected with in my earlier days. I know I’ve unplugged my communities and these are just mistakes that I’ve made. But, now I’m telling you to strive and prevent this from happening.
Never be afraid to do what you love. Just know the risk in your community.
So, a different passion is when you decide what you are currently doing is not you or you’re just not happy. The biggest fear and form of inconsistency from this is that your community is unsure to be your community because you might have a different passion the next day.
The “Huh?!” Expansions
Sure, we can always make quick improvements to our blog. But, when it comes time to really expand we could lose focus. This is why its good to practice mind mapping for your blog in the beginning stages so you have an educated guess on how/where to expand.
I’m calling it a “huh?! expansion” when you confuse your community with whatever expansion you decide to take. No, I’m not saying to make announcements because you should incorporate them into your overall content somehow. I am saying that you can’t just expect to have your community follow or support you after some changes that effect the feel of your blog, unless you’ve created a blog focused around just you there could be more flexibility.
An example of some sort of expansion would be to move to advertisements on your site. Everything is a debate and should be tested, but its your choice whether it’s there permanently.
You and your community have to be comfortable together in every expansion and this is all up to you. I would suggest forming some type of inner circle or alliance so they can be the part of the community that stays and influences others to stay plugged in.
Know that a strong community can do great things for you, just don’t disrupt them. Caring and knowing will lead you to win the battle of any consistency.
What’s your battle of consistency story?