This weekend I decided to clean house on my blog-roll. It's been over a year since I updated that module, and in that time I have started reading a BUNCH of new blogs, while some of the old ones I have been following have sunk into oblivion and have stopped publishing.
So, check out the new blog-roll, if your blog is there, that means that I read your blog at least every couple of weeks. If your blog is not there, it means that I haven't heard of your blog yet, or that you publish so infrequently that I have chosen to stop following you.
Which brings me to this thought: why do blogs have such a high attrition rate? When cleaning up my RSS reader lists, I deleted more than 20 blogs that have ceased publication. Why do people start publishing a blog and then stop? Is it that they find that publishing a blog is too difficult or time consuming? Do they get frustrated with the lack of exposure or regular readership that most blogs suffer from? Is it that they simply run out of things to say about their chosen topic? Boredom? I have no clue.
I have been blogging about personal finance for about two and a half years now. I find that this topic is so vast and endlessly renewing that writing topics are practically infinite. Personal finance is just a useful tag for labeling the financial aspects of everyday life - from career to legislation to money saving tips & deals. Just as life constantly changes, so personal finance keeps offering new ideas for blog posts. I have never been at a loss for something to write about. Is it always good? Ahhhh... no, but that's part of life, I guess.
I have yet to become bored with blogging. That's not to say that it's impossible. Periodically I get tired of posting, at which point I stop for a week or two. Once, in early 2008 I more or less abandoned Money and Such for a couple of months. But so far, I have always come back. I succumb to the siren call of the blog.
Money and Such clearly enjoys very limited success. I have just over 300 subscribers, and my traffic remains constant more or less from month to month, and even from year to year. For me it's not about fame and fortune (although either would be nice, people!), it's just a way to voice my opinions and ideas. Better than shouting at the TV screen and more useful than writing to my Congresswoman - although I have been known to do both on more than one occasion.
Bottom line: it's a hobby, and as hobbies go, it's cheap (actually, cash flow positive).
I'll continue to follow the waves of incoming personal finance bloggers. Hopefully some of them will stick around for a while.
4 comments:
Perhaps you could check my writing out - been a follower of yours and blogging myself since July 2008.
Still going strong.
I think blogs have a high attrition rate because the most fun part is getting feedback and you need to work it really hard to get enough regular readers to enjoy much feedback.
Rob
I'm happy to still be on your list, my friend. Thank you.
But of course...
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