From ProBlogger: Preaching To An Empty Room
I somehow missed this post from Darren Rowse at ProBlogger the first time (August 23rd of this year) but judging from the number of comments it received, this post spoke to others just as loudly as it did to me.
Darren’s post starts with a story - two friends talking to a third who’s interested in starting a blog:
My blogging friend was dispensing a few words of wisdom on how to start out (the usually kind of beginner blogging tips) when he said something out of the blue which made me take note because of the wisdom of it. He said: “In the early days you’ll feel like you’re talking to yourself
(actually in the very beginning you probably are) - but don’t give up
because it’s a feeling that will subside. The key is to keep blogging
through that awkward beginning because if you do you’ll find people
will begin to find you and the memory of talking to yourself will be a
distant memory.? I really appreciated my friend’s words. They reminded me a lot of my
own beginnings in blogging when I felt quite foolish about pouring out
what was on my mind for everyone (and nobody) to read).
Darren then goes on to relate an analogous experience from his past - preparing a sermon in an empty church - to how those early days of blogging seem to a new blogger.
Well, I’ve got news for the new bloggers: it happens to “old pros” like me, too. I’ve been blogging for over four years now, but whenever I start a new blog - especially in a brand new subject area, as I just did with The Fibro Follies, it seems in many ways as if I’m just beginning all over again - as if I’m the one in that empty church.
The difference, perhaps, for me as someone who’s “been there, done that, got the arthritic fingers” is that I know it’s a temporary feeling, and it’s one that serves a vital purpose. That feeling of “preaching to an empty room” pushes me on to keep blogging, stay on point, keep delivering good content, and keep reaching out to others in that blogging community. It’s a powerful motivator!
Blogging is an amazing conversation,when you think about it. It has the ultimate power to change the conversation completely - to impact other’s lives in direct and immediate ways. It’s absolutely worth the early anguish you’ll go through. Keep asking those questions if you want (”is there anyone out there?” “am I getting through?” “Is this thing on?”) but always, always come back to the content - and keep blogging.
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