How to Blog with a Tiny Audience
It’s more liberating than you think
I’ve been blogging since August 2007. That means, I’ve officially been blogging for 13 years now. (Woah, dinosaur alert!)
When I began blogging it was as a diary and a personal journal.
In fact, that was the name of my blog: www.momdiary.blogspot.com (Clicking on that will now re-direct you to my current blog)
Early posts of mine had less than 3 readers and almost none of my posts had any comments either.
But there was a strange and liberating feeling to be able to blog without an active audience.
To write because it made me happy and because it gave me joy.
Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE writing for an audience and I cherish being able to help people on their blogging journey.
But learning to blog with just one or two readers is a different kind of happiness.
Let me share an example with my Medium content.
To date, there are three people who regularly read whatever I post on Medium. How do I know this?
Because they send me a message sharing that they did. They let me know that what I’ve written helped them make a decision, pick up a new habit, write without fear and write for the sheer joy of writing.
Similarly, there are 3 blogs that I read regularly whenever they are updated:
Because they write in a way that connects at a very deep level with what I believe.
When your writing can do that- move people, connect with them, resonate at a deep level- why do so many of us chase numbers, virality and fame?
Why can’t we be happy with those 3 readers who genuinely connect with our message?
I am reminded of this every time I re-read this post that talks about one of my favorite writers who gave up his profitable blog with over 25,000 email subscribers and started a new blog from scratch.
Because it reminds me of two things:
- I loved who I was before I became a blogging coach. I was a parenting blogger who loved writing about gentle parenting and the journey of being a mom.
- When I consciously made the switch to blogging about blogging, I did it because I trusted and believed that the time for the old blog was over. My daughter had grown and with that I outgrew my need to chronicle my motherhood journey in the public domain.
But (and this is important), the person who started that parenting blog is the same person you read today. My voice hasn’t changed because I stopped blogging about parenting; it just became a different focus.
And when you truly believe in the power and worth of your content, your audience will find you.
When they do, you won’t worry about whether 3 people read you or 3 million people do; because at the end of the day, the fact is they are reading you.
That makes all the difference.
Enjoyed this post? Follow me here on Twitter for regular insights on blogging, building an authentic brand and practical social media strategies.
