The Good: Encouraging others and ourselves
Blogging helps us order our thoughts, put them on paper (screen), and process what God is teaching us. It is also an opportunity to share those lessons with others. The hope for us is that our words will act as encouragement to those who read...
Blogging helps us order our thoughts, put them on paper (screen), and process what God is teaching us. It is also an opportunity to share those lessons with others. The hope for us is that our words will act as encouragement to those who read...
God designed us for community (Prov. 27:7) and I tend to think that He teaches lessons for the purpose of blessing others. I want to share what God is teaching me and in order to do that I must first be listening. So for me, blogging also helps give consistency to my devotion and study time.
The Bad: The unending need to post new content
You can’t force inspiration, yet sometimes we force posts. I have posted things here or elsewhere that I am not 100% happy with. The original idea might be good but sometimes I do not have the time to fully develop it. Most of us have other responsibilities besides our blog and cannot dedicate the time necessary to produce top quality posts. I am still learning to balance quality vs quantity. I will never be satisfied with my writing but I need to learn when to let it go and when to keep working.
The Ugly: Writing for search engines, total views, and money
If we have something to say, we want people to hear it. We want people to be encouraged, blessed, and challenged by our words and experiences, but how do we get those people to listen?
I have read about the tricks: Search Engine Optimization, guest posts, catchy titles, etc. If I title this blog post read something like “5 Ways Blogging Corrupts Your Soul” I might get more hits, or so they say. While there is nothing inherently wrong with making my blog as appealing as possible, things can get ugly quick. The danger comes when I start writing simply to get my viewership up or to put more keywords in my posts. If I start praying for more viewers and not for the encouragement of those who might read it, I have turned the wrong direction.
Then of course there are advertisements and affiliate links. I have come across some great Christian blogs that have unsavory ads popping up all over the place. All for the sake of making a few extra bucks. I understand the conflict and I don’t think it’s wrong to make money off a Christian blog, but there are better options out there. One that I may eventually use is www.beaconads.com. From the looks of it you can choose who advertises on your site, giving you the ability to promote only what you personally support.
The Leftover:
Sharing our faith experience with others is a blessing that we as bloggers get to do in a unique way. Yet, just like any good activity there are opportunities for our flesh to get in the way. For my own sake I am working on a list of questions to ask myself before posting on this blog and plan to put those up in the next few days. Maybe I will title it "5 Questions You Must Ask Before Your Next Blog Post" :)
The Bad: The unending need to post new content
You can’t force inspiration, yet sometimes we force posts. I have posted things here or elsewhere that I am not 100% happy with. The original idea might be good but sometimes I do not have the time to fully develop it. Most of us have other responsibilities besides our blog and cannot dedicate the time necessary to produce top quality posts. I am still learning to balance quality vs quantity. I will never be satisfied with my writing but I need to learn when to let it go and when to keep working.
The Ugly: Writing for search engines, total views, and money
If we have something to say, we want people to hear it. We want people to be encouraged, blessed, and challenged by our words and experiences, but how do we get those people to listen?
I have read about the tricks: Search Engine Optimization, guest posts, catchy titles, etc. If I title this blog post read something like “5 Ways Blogging Corrupts Your Soul” I might get more hits, or so they say. While there is nothing inherently wrong with making my blog as appealing as possible, things can get ugly quick. The danger comes when I start writing simply to get my viewership up or to put more keywords in my posts. If I start praying for more viewers and not for the encouragement of those who might read it, I have turned the wrong direction.
Then of course there are advertisements and affiliate links. I have come across some great Christian blogs that have unsavory ads popping up all over the place. All for the sake of making a few extra bucks. I understand the conflict and I don’t think it’s wrong to make money off a Christian blog, but there are better options out there. One that I may eventually use is www.beaconads.com. From the looks of it you can choose who advertises on your site, giving you the ability to promote only what you personally support.
The Leftover:
Sharing our faith experience with others is a blessing that we as bloggers get to do in a unique way. Yet, just like any good activity there are opportunities for our flesh to get in the way. For my own sake I am working on a list of questions to ask myself before posting on this blog and plan to put those up in the next few days. Maybe I will title it "5 Questions You Must Ask Before Your Next Blog Post" :)
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