Now It’s Time To Say Good Bye (For a While) To All My Company…
As most of you know, The Sundries Shack has been around for very nearly 5 1/2 years. In that time, I’ve learned a lot about blogging. Some of what I learned came from talking to other bloggers about how they do what they do. More of it came from reading advice on what makes for a good blog, how to build and hold reliable traffic, how to get regular links from bloggers you admire, and on and on. It seems that every blogger who has been in the game for more than a couple months feels compelled to tell the world that they have cracked the Big Traffic Blogging Code.
Well, I’m not one of them. To be perfectly honest, I have no earthly idea what makes a high-quality blog or what you can do to have readers come back to your blog every day. I can say that it’s not nearly as easy as most of the helpful Bloggy McBloggersons want you to believe and, if it is, it’s likely a scam that will blow up in your face sooner rather than later.
The truth of the matter is the blogging universe is a very crowded place. It is exceedingly difficult, though not impossible, for anyone to shine brightly enough to gain notice. Most bloggers won’t ever shine as brightly as they want, no matter how talented or dedicated they are to building a great blog. After a while, the dedication starts to fade and blogging becomes a lot like work to you, only there’s no paycheck, or if there is, the money comes in at an hourly rate that would embarrass a Chinese sweatshop owner. You end up spending more time trying to figure out how to advertise the posts you’ve already written then you do writing good posts, because what’s the point of writing good posts if no one bothers to read them? You end up chasing the hot topics of the day, hoping that one of your posts hits. Then, when a post does hit, you hope that your writing is good enough and distinctive enough to bring a few of those folks, a fraction of a percent really, back the next day and the day after that.
Let’s face it, if you’re a blogger, you write for the traffic. Sure, sure you blog for the sheer love of writing and all that, but if you didn’t really care about blog traffic, you wouldn’t publish your stuff on the internet, right? If readers really didn’t matter to you, you’d just have a collection of text documents in a folder on your computer. Traffic is what makes all the other aspects of blogging happen. Readers share your work with their friends and family. Readers are leverage you can use with potential advertisers so that you can turn your pennies and hour blogging wage into something more respectable. Readers can even be potential employers, donors, or customers.
But if you aren’t pulling readers and you don’t know why it gets frustrating. Very frustrating.
Well, that’s where I am now. I’m incredibly frustrated with my blogging. I’m not getting the readership I believe I should and I feel like I’m shouting into the wind most days. I’ve used a few of the tips and tricks I’ve read to get more readers, at least the ones I feel comfortable using, and it really hasn’t worked. My inability to turn what I’m told is a bit of writing talent into regular readers has gotten a bit farther under my skin than I like and if I keep going, it’s going to burrow even deeper. So, instead of souring on blogging altogether, I’m going to walk away from it for a little while.
Which brings me to the nut of the post. I’m putting The Sundries Shack on hiatus, more or less. The blog will still be here and it will get updated occasionally, either when my guest-blogger Paula has something she’s like to post here or when a new episode of The Delivery rolls out, but that’s it. Short of a truly earth-shaking event or a sudden lottery-like windfall, there won’t be anything new here aside from what I already mentioned.
During the break I’m going back to doing what I used to do before I became a blogger. I’ll read more blogs and leave comments on posts I really like. I’ll share stuff with friends on e-mail and Google Reader. I’ll send tips to my favorite writers and smile like a loon when they occasionally use what I send them. I am, like Inigo Montoya, going back to the beginning and I believe, like him, I will return with new fire, more knowledge, and a plan that only Man in Black could devise.
Okay, maybe not all of that last part, but you get the idea.
I realize that this will kill what traffic I do have and this post probably comes across as a giant pile of self-indulgence. If you’re one of the cherished few who do come by regularly, know that I appreciate you and that I hope you stick this break out with me. But if you decide to write me off, well, I can’t stop you and it’s probably best if I don’t try. But I do hope you won’t. Though I can’t say how long I’ll be gone, I can say that I will come back and you will want to be here when it happens.
So, until then, have fun, okay?
No related posts.
Category: The Shack
good luck man. You staying at AIP?
This is certainly a sad day for those of us who are loyal readers to your insightful blog. I hope the doors of the Sundries Shack won't remain shuttered for long, or forever. All the best, Jimmie!
I'll be awaiting your return.
I know how you feel, but I'm sad that I'll be missing your posts. Please add me to any distro lists/shared articles/etc/etc!
Jimmy,
I'm a regular reader and will miss your posts. I felt something similar almost as soon as I started — I decided to stop chasing traffic and write the things I wanted to write. That has been more satisfying. I will keep you in my newsfeed at my blog for at least a month and I hope that sends some traffic your way.
Cynthia
Noooooo!!!! How can you leave us??
Okay, sorry for the drama….but seriously, enjoy the break away. It will do you good. And I will keep you in my reader so will catch up with you when & if you get going again. Hope you keep up with the Delivery…something new, maybe that will help give you something more exciting to focus on for a while.
Take care…Lori
Good luck and see you on the flip side!
I have an enormous list of blog bookmarks…
The ones I like best are those that invite and encourage comments and exchange between the commenters. Discussion between the the regular commenters – and the blogger – is something that encourages the thought process, and the participation of those of us who haven't the impetus to blog, but still enjoy the back and forth of the discussion it provokes. Somehow, the Shack's format doesn't feel as commenter friendly as some other blogs. Since I've made that a factor, I've tried to identify why…but haven't been able to. Yet, anyway.
To both of the "cheesies"…
I encourage you to visit http://www.bookwormroom.com/ until Jimmie gets himself back into the blogging mode. I think you'll find sympatico people there. There may be others of you who also would enjoy the site, but sadly your names don't stick with me as have the ones I've confused for each other!
I'll keep checking back…Dr.Sanity quit – for about two weeks – and then came back again. Maybe you'll find you miss the venue as well! Everybody's entitled to a vacation now and then! Enjoy your time off – I have no doubt you'll be around and maybe you'll get inspired while exploring the reaches of the blogging world. Regulars will be waiting for you to come back…non-regulars don't matter.
Dammit, Jimmie. You can't leave!
Seriously, a friend of mine, Jib, once said that when it stops being fun, it's time to stop. We'll be here when it becomes fun again.
Jimmy, I am no blogging expert either, but the name of your blog has always turned me off. The "Sundries Shack" sounds so nondescript, passionless and frankly, a bit wimpy. It sounds like you're advertising sun tan lotion and nail polish.
Get a name that inspires, like "Atlas Shrugs" or "Red State," or one that at least intrigues, like "the Other McCain." That won't solve all of your problems but it should help.
Use more graphics. Photos, photoshops, cartoons. They dress up a blog and make it more visually interesting.
Don't just talk about politics, but the things you love, whether it be great literature, music, sports or food.
I stopped here almost everyday, but didn't comment all that often. I'll miss you Jimmie, but will keep you bookmarked and hope to see you back here soon. Enjoy the time away! You're a good blogger!
Enjoy your break.
t.
Don't go Jimmy!!! Must. Hang. On…
adios muchacho
With all due respect, darling: Fuck you.
You pull the same numbers I do, after exactly the same amount of time blogging as I have.
Take a break for the sake of taking a break – no one pulls a Garbo better or more often than I do – but don't whine about your numbers. Because by insulting the readers you have here, you insult me, too. You insult me for reading, and you insult me for having the same stats as you have.
Pick your chins up and quit your goddam moaning. Either you're cut out for blogging or you're not. But don't blame the people who dedicate time to come to this website every day to read your words. Don't blame them for your shortcomings.
Ok, rant over. You needed that, and so did I.
Love you still,
RG
Call it a sabbatical–everybody needs time away to grow.
You have done good work here.
Cordially,
t.
I'll miss my regular visits to the shack Jimmie. I even had my 87 year old Grandfather hooked on this wonderful blog!
Good luck in whatever you choose to do in the future.
A break is fine.
Staying broken is not.
My stuffed Cthulhu is greatly disappointed in this delay, but has agreed to postpone the destruction of all mankind and his ceaseless feasting upon souls until you're back to write about it.
(Please hurry, because I don't know how long Wendy's and Burger King are going to keep him satisfied. . .)
Jimmie, I'm going to miss you. Hurry back.
Guys, thank you. I am coming back, honest and for true. I'm out here planning plans and scheming schemes and I do promise that when I come back, I'll bring something even better with me!
I am not removing you from my website blogroll, because even if you don't return, your work always inspires me and set a bar I will continue to strive to attain. Thank you for informing and entertaining me. God bless you.
Jimmie will be all right, and he'll blog more on hiatus than some people blog anyway. He's not having one of those bloggernoiac existential crises. He just decided to chill, think it over, and try to figure out the proper re-entry angle. I predict spectacularity in the near future.
Good luck, God's speed, and say something somebody will notice, if yo decide to write again.
Chill, then come back when ready!
After reading your comment Stace, I feel a lot better about this.
Godspeed Jimmie.
I read your blog and enjoy it very much. I'm not much of a commentor though. Have a good break and come back soon.
Take a break for the winter, then come back refreshed. You're my 2nd stop (after Stacy) each morning and will be missed. Who will I drink my second cup of coffee with now?
See you in the spring.
I, too, have had to take time away from my blog. Sometimes distance gives us clarity. Here's to you finding clarity and passion again! I will keep you on my bookmarks until your return.
Your reaching more people than you think. Don't give up the good fight. If you have to step away, then take your vacation, but don't think your not reaching a lot of people. Your thoughts might provoke others and so forth. Until soon.
It's been fun. And I really don't why why your traffic was low. I liked the blog. And quite frankly, I think your blog is a lot more intelligently written than anything at The Corner. But maybe that was the problem. Good luck, you will be missed.
Jimmie,
I told you before that I really like this blog. I'll be glad to see it clicking on the Google Reader again.
But in the meantime, all of your readers can still stop by All American Blogger. I'll still going strong, despite the best efforts of my work, five kids and loving wife to pull me away from the computer.
(Yes, that was some shameless self promotion. I need traffic too!)
[...] want more traffic. Lots more. Like my man Jimmie said: Let’s face it, if you’re a blogger, you write for the traffic. Sure, sure you blog for the [...]
On the other side of the coin, your post is why I'm perfectly content in a support role over at The Other McCain. Nothing wrong with being the Dude Behind the Dude, and letting someone else fret the details.
Jimmy, man, come on!
Gosh, it's like all my friends are doing this!!