Blogopolis 2012 ~ The Lost Art of Blogging

by KatieP, in category Head | Creativity

the lost art of blogging {photo source}

Today I went to the Nuffnang Blogopolis Conference at the Sofitel in Sydney. It was a long day and I left early. Mostly because I felt like I didn’t belong. Don’t get me wrong — I met loads of wonderful people who made me feel welcome —  it was the philosophy of the conference I struggled with.

Let me explain. Nuffnang is an ad network that promotes commercial relationships between bloggers and brands. For example, if you blog about your kids, you have ads/sponsored posts that talk about Target’s toy range or holidays to Disneyland. I’m sure you’ve seen people who review and promote sports products and supplements on fitness blogs.

I wonder who would be interested in a blog about eating disorders, relationships, self-love and suicide? Commercially … let me think … *crickets* … yes, no one. If I was of any interest, it would be to the non-profit sector who aren’t going to pay me to feature in an advertorial any time soon. What I write is a personal memoir blog and it has little commercial value.

This realisation was an epiphany. There are people who make money in the memoir sector, but not many. I realised my style of blogging is not suitable to monetise. And that’s OK.

What I’m good at and what I enjoy is writing about my life. An online journal if you will. This was the original purpose of a blog. Now it seems like blogs should be businesses, online store fronts and brands. It was even said today that ‘spewing your thoughts out on the page/screen’ will not make you stand out in the crowd.

I don’t want to be a brand, a shop or business. I want to remain a storyteller and continue to share my innermost secrets with you. Spewing the chaos in my head on to the page/screen is what makes me come alive.

I’m keeping the art in my blog — the art of writing, musing, exploring and questioning the world. From now on I’ll be leaving all the science and business to others. I don’t need a business plan, I don’t need a marketing strategy and I don’t need to drive traffic to my blog.

I’m going to keep holding on to my authentic self in the midst of an imperfect life and writing about it in my unique voice.

I hope you’ll join me.

 

About KatieP

Embracing my midlife sexy while exploring modern love & relationships • Devoted to all things beautiful • Master of Arts in creative writing & non-fiction writing

31 thoughts on “Blogopolis 2012 ~ The Lost Art of Blogging”

  2. Hear hear! A woman who wants to lead the orchestra must turn her back on the crowd (plagiarised from Max Lucado/JamesCrook).

  3. Hi Katie,
    I read your previous post about Blogopolis a few days back and what makes a “successful” blogger. It was quite timely because I participated in a webinar with Darren Rowse who threw up some really interesting stats about who really was making money out of their blog. I think the figure was that more than 75% of bloggers make less than ten dollars per month out of their blog so I would envisage that with your coaching and ebooks, you’d be doing better than most. I think very few people really ‘make’ it blogging.

    I learned a lot at Problogger last year but I think you’ve learned the lesson faster than I did. Authenticity wins hands down any day of the week. As soon as I stopped worrying about who was reading my blog and who liked it, I started to enjoy blogging again. I blab, I say all the wrong things but I have a lot of fun. Interestingly that has provided me with more “opportunities” – but as you mentioned, my niche is easier to monetize etc etc.

    However, your niche is truly unique and you write well – if it touches someone else that may have been in a situation similar to what you have experienced, I hope you can sleep well at night knowing that your ‘work’ is done.

    Sorry that was so long, but I agree, monetization isn’t everything and I’d prefer to be authentic and penniless than cashed up and sold out…

    Cheers
    Liz N

    1. Hi Liz, I didn’t know that statistic so I’m happy to be in the top 25% of blog earners 🙂
      Thank you for your great comment x

    1. You must win the prize for the person who’s been with me on this internet journey the longest. One day I’m coming to Darwin to have a glass of wine with you x

        1. Hit enter too early. You really have helped me Katie. It is so uncanny. I may read something you have written and although the subject may not relate directly to me, your words enter my heart, my brain and my soul and I am able to sit back and see things with so much more clarity. Exx

          1. Thanks Erika – hearing that reminds me that we’re all in this together and we’re deeply connected even if we’ve never met. Sending you love. Kx

  5. I am so glad to hear it. Thank goodness for authenticity and for you being a real person. I have no interest in reading someone who is writing purely for money. I write raw and want to read raw. I write real and want to read real. Reading this post was like taking in a giant breath. I’m so glad I’m here for your journey; our journey.

    Cheers!
    Joe

  7. Just keep it real. I don’t care if blogs have ads or not (hardly notice, actually), but I do not like it when the blog content becomes thinly, or not-so-thinly veiled advertising. It reminds me of that movie.. you know, Demi Moore was in it, where the main characters were a pretend family that had been put into a community to pimp the products they used?

    1. Cheers Sara.
      I’m thinking ABC vs Channel 10. There is something about not having to worry about attracting a large audience that seems to encourage quality material. (I haven’t seen the Demi Moore movie …)

  8. The beautiful thing about this post is that I can feel the energy of your epiphany from your words. I hear YOUR voice. That’s one of the reason I read your blog. I love the sound of your voice. 🙂

    authenticity is priceless x

  9. Oh good. I hope many other bloggers share that realization. I am not interested in having brands shoved down my throat. I want to know what’s in people’s hearts and minds, to me, spewing chaos on the page is actually what its all about. That’s the real stuff, the good stuff. Bring it.

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  12. Good for you! And for us readers. One of the reasons I like your blog is because it’s not full of ads, hidden or obvious. What it is full of is authentic and genuinely interesting thoughts, exactly what I look for in a good blog.

  13. Hey Katie

    Sorry we didn’t find each other on Saturday. I so understand what you mean about the topics you talk about in your blog not being brand friendly. I write about similarly uncommercial issues like addiction and mental health. And I swear A LOT!

    When I start to get too concerned about what other people are thinking I lose my voice. I primarily write for myself as an outlet for the voices in my head. If anybody else wants to read it great, if they don’t I’m not bothered.

    So glad I found your blog and look forward to following your journey.

    V.

    1. Hi Vanessa — if we didn’t meet it’s still nice to know we were in the same room. Thank you so much for reading my blog. I’ve got yours in Google Reader too. Let’s continue to swear and talk about things no one else talks about ♥

  14. This is so inspiring. I sat here nodding my head like “Yeah, preach it!” Haha.

    I absolutely LOVE your blog and its authenticity. Don’t ever let people steer you in a direction that doesn’t feel right. I blog for the exact same reasons that you do. I don’t really care if it gets popular or makes money. I just like sharing my heart and soul with other people. That’s why I do it.

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