part time writer

Okay, I have a confession to make. My blog sucks. I don’t think this was always the case, but the truth in the here-and-now is that it’s pretty crappy. But luckily, I think there are some things we can all learn from my crappy blog. Let’s take a closer look.

What’s the Problem?

As with all business ventures, it’s crucial to take a step back every now and then and evaluate what’s going on. I recently did this with my copywriting agency, HELP! Copy & Design, and now I’ve decided to do it here with the Part Time Writer. Except, I’m making this revaluation public. Care to listen in?

1. I didn’t do enough research in the beginning. I’ve been copywriting for a few years now. That includes writing actual web and print copy, as well as article writing and blogging. However, this blog is my first real attempt at running my own blog. Well, besides and education-based blog that I did for a bit. Which incidentally had one post that went MASSIVE. But the rest…eh. Anyway, the fact is, I didn’t know much about running my own blog. Sure I knew how to pick good topics and how to write engaging posts (see Sending Your Blog to Hell for what I consider to be a pretty good example of just that), but as far as building and growing a healthy blog–well, I just sort of jumped right in. What I should have done was do my homework, formulated a growth plan, and stuck with it. Which leads me to my next screw up.
2. I didn’t stick with it. At first I was all about posting to the Part Time Writer. After all, it seemed like a great idea. the perfect niche. Guys like myself breaking into the freelancing world on a part time basis…trying to figure out how to make this their career. However, somewhere along the way, I became disenchanted. Posting every day moved to every week. Every week moved to every month. And so on. But why did I become disenchanted? Do I just have a short attention span or what?
3. I didn’t make any money. Let’s face it, that’s what this all boils down too. See, when I’m writing copy for people, I’m making money. GOOD money. But when I’m writing these blogs, I’m not seeing  a single penny. There’s no short term gain.  Which means that…
4. My whole reason for starting this blog is all wrong. I wanted  a way to generate cash. I planned on doing so by selling ad space and eventually selling some ebooks I was working on. But I planned on making the cash quick. And when I didn’t see it happen, I got annoyed and bored. So then I decided, why not repurpose the blog?
5. I was writing posts for links. It’s not uncommon for people to have offsite blogs to generate links back to their primary site. But let’s face it–usually those blogs suck. but what did I do? I turned this blog into a place to post thrown-together, half-assed posts in order to insert links back to my copywriting site. For what? A little extra Google juice? Let’s face it, these posts probably did little to help my site’s ranking. But they did serve to scare off any readers looking for good, outside-the-box content.
6. My WordPress theme is lame. If  you think you’ve seen it before, you have. It’s copyblogger. You know, one of the most famous copywriting blogs in the world. Yeah. I wish their blog was mine, right? Imitation… the sincerest form of flattery? Gag me. I know I need a new theme. It would make this whole site look and feel more legit.
7. I never spent the time and energy I should have to properly promote it. Sure a few posts made it on SERPD. And sure I tweeted some links. But have I ever really done anything to give this blog the push it needed? Negative.

Now What?

So where do I go from here? The way I look at it,  have three options:

1. I can shut this POS down now and erase it from the face of the Earth.
2. I can crap out 300 word posts that take me 10 minutes to “create” and get a link back to my business site in hopes that it’ll help my rankings a bit.
3. I can use my self reevaluation to make some changes, formulate a new plan, and relaunch the blog.

Which will I choose? To be honest, I’m not quite sure. My copywriting business is booming, making me real money as we speak. Do I have time to invest in a blog that won’t pay off for quite some time… if ever? I just don’t know if I can commit to it.

What You Can Learn from All of This

Before you launch a blog, create a plan and stick with it. And like investing, be in it for the long term. Short term investors end up losing money and interest. And finally, you have to work your butt off, day in and day out to build your readership. This isn’t a get rich quick kind of deal. I’m living proof of that.