allume

real light living

Smaller Bloggers: Let’s Talk Stats

By

Many of you have asked me what defines a “smaller blogger”. There really is no “formal” answer of what defines a smaller blogger. But many people define themselves by their stats. So what constitutes a “smaller blogger”?

The mindset of the blogger.

When we play the comparison game, there will always be someone to stand against who has more readers, more likes, more follows then you do. Unless you’re Michael Hyatt {who is a terrific leadership mentor, by the way}. He’s also been blogging for 13 years.

When we define ourselves (or others) by stats, we do several things that create barriers in different areas. We put up walls and create stereotypes based on stats. We may not even realize we’re doing it! Yet, what happens is we start to make assumptions about people based on their stats. We also think less of our ministry when our stats don’t mirror someone else.

Take a moment to watch this video that helps illustrate well what I mean. Click here if you’re reading in email or a reader.

Yea, wow. Right?

Until we can look past our stats, all we’re going to see is stats. We are going to miss the ministry God has placed in front of us because we are too busy chasing after what someone else has.

There are many factors which lead to why stats look the way they do for different people. Some examples include:

  • time invested
  • goals/mission/vision of blogger
  • God’s vision (!!!)
  • unique gifts
  • reach
  • education (and I don’t mean a college degree, but willingness to seek out and learn)
  • consistency of blogging

Oh and these are just a few things, friend! My goal today isn’t to overwhelm you — in fact, an overall goal for this entire weekly column is to keep the information simple and straightforward. The last thing I want you to do is throw your hands up and think it’s hopeless based on this list. It’s not!

My goal, however, is to make you aware of the elements involved in what creates these stats. The one thing you need to know about “bigger bloggers” is that they were once “smaller bloggers”. So when you see them write or hear them speak on topics like stats, they are doing it from a position of experience, not arrogance.

Jeff Goins scrapped a blog after 5 years of writing on it because he felt like he hit a wall. It was time to move on and start fresh. That’s when his blog, Jeff Goins Writer was birthed.

If you think you’ve hit a wall, don’t waste anymore time running into it. This means, if you’ve done all you can and you believe you’re getting nowhere, it might be time to think about starting fresh.

If, however, you simply need the right tools to get you moving forward, I would encourage you to start there.

It is important to understand that building a blog and extending your reach takes dedicated, consistent work. It requires that we stretch beyond what we know and be open to learning new things constantly. We must be willing to grow if we want our blog to grow. Growth involves more then merely stats. It includes the development of your writing, and your willingness to learn beyond the basics. It requires a bit of investment.

This week, I want to challenge you to break the barriers of defining yourself and other people by their stats.  Blogging is not a popularity contest; it’s a community where we work together.

Subscribe to the Allume blog so you won’t miss anything in this series–by email or RSS.

Comments

  1. Been thinking a lot about this this week, great timing! Thanks for giving some good perspective!

  2. I’m a small blogger and I really needed to hear this today.  Today I lost a follower.  I don’t know why things like that bug me, but they do.  Great post.  Thanks Jesus, it was just the 100 calories I needed today.  🙂

  3. What a fantastic post! I think every blogger needs to read this. I need to remember to look past the stats and focus on the writing, vision, and God’s vision! Thank you for sharing this wisdom.

  6. This is so true! I have to remind myself that I am writing for an audience of ONE: my savior. If it’s not for His glory, then there is no purpose in writing.

  7. I love that last sentence! 🙂 Thanks for the reminder. I have found it hard to remember to let God’s vision in to my blog and seek His guidance rather than just jumping in feet first! 🙂

  11. I have been loving this series of posts… it’s so hard sometimes to turn off the ‘voices’ and just remember that as long as I’m doing what He has called me to do I’m on the right track. Thanks!

  13. This is so true!  When I stopped posting meme’s and started writing for me, I started getting more page views.  Thanks for this great advice!

  14. This is wisdom. Patience is needed in building a blog as well as the ability to change. Thanks for the timely advice!

  15. Very well said.  Timely for me as well…this week my heart has been all about “refocusing/redirecting” my blog.  Great advice.

  20. I think losing GFC was one of the best things that ever happened to me as a blogger. I have, for the most part, quit even LOOKING at my stats. I am writing for me, for God, and for whomever He brings my way. NOT for numbers or followers. And it’s awesome! 

  21. I hardly look at my stats anymore and it’s very freeing.  I love knowing that I am writing first for God and then to encourage the hearts of women. I believe that God brings me exactly who He would have to follow in my journey.

  24. This is good I try not to look at the stats and just write but sometimes when I see it was only viewed 6 times or whatever the number is I get a bit discouraged then I tell myself it is for God and HE chooses those few who read it and perhaps they will be blessed or changed or ministered in a new way.
    thank you

  25. Lisa-Jo Baker had a great post last Thursday and her words – don’t compare your beginning to someone elses middle – really stuck with me. http://www.thegypsymama.com  I think that we are all in different places on our writing journey and to compare ouselves kills creativity and calling. And I agree, it does take dedicated, consistent work to build a blog. It doesn’t happen overnight.

  26. Excellent post.

    Honestly, I never cared about my stats until trying to attract advertisers.  Now, it seems to be something that I must be aware of to a certain extent.  However, like you said in your post, the best thing is just to focus on our vision, our ministry, and calling – and let everything work itself out. 

  28. I like this post. I took my “connect counters” off for this reason; often, the joy of writing was tarnished by the lack of followers, and now I don’t have that.

    •  I removed all my like buttons. It was feeding my ego or not and I can feel God nudging me about it.

  29. There are no small bloggers. I really believe that our success is dependent on our goals and purpose. Too often we are chasing after someone elses goal or purpose and miss our own. The video was a great illustration of that. I quit going after advertising because I didn’t want it to drown out my purpose. I still advertise but I let the opportunities come to me. I also decided to focus my attention making money on what I know God has gifted me with and skills that I have acquired. I’m a good designer/developer. I know how to teach people how to do the things that I’ve learned and have experience with. None of us should “classify” our blogs because none of us have the same intentions. And I think if we all had visions for our blogs written out then most of us would see we meet or exceed them and if we don’t then at least we know success when we get to it. Then we can stop chasing other blogger’s visions. 

  30. “Wow” is right.  Once we take our focus off of the Giver of the gift, and turn it to the gift, we are headed for trouble!  It can be easy to get discouraged when you get virtually no comments on your blog.  I like to try to think of the “one person” who might be reading what I write and write to them as a treasured friend.  I figure even if the “right” person does not stop by today, God has time and circumstance all in His hands. 🙂

    At the same time, I try to be proactive in introducing myself to others when I can, too.

  31. I love this! thank you so much for the illustration. God always gives us the gifts that are perfect for us… and we don’t need to compare ourselves with others. thank you for the reminder!

Trackbacks

Categories

Archives

Google+