It is a simple question. But the answer isn’t always apparent. Are you being true to yourself when you post as a blogger? And is that voice coming through to your readers?

Having a solid voice in your writing comes from first being honest with yourself. It means that you take the time to understand how you really feel about a topic and why you feel that way. Then, you take that and turn it loose. That is the rawness that makes great bloggers great.

I have a personal blog where I most definitely lay it on the line. I put things about myself on that blog I would usually reserve for a close friend. This blog is more of a sandbox of sorts. As such, I often wonder if my real voice is coming out. It may not be. And this blog is poorer for it.

I might not change that. Particularly since I’m not looking at this blog with a success versus failure view. It is merely a place to share distinct blogging lessons. But going forward, I will be very cognizant of the difference. Are you yourself?

If you’re not a follower/user of Entrecard, then you may have missed the drama that unfolded over the past few weeks.  The short version goes like this:

Posts and claims were made that apparently worked a group of forum regulars into a frenzy.  This escalated despite efforts by the forum moderators to squelch and deflect the conflicts.  As usually goes in these matters, feelings were hurt, bans were issued, and now we have a history mark called Firestorm.

This series of events goes on every day on the Internet.  Especially on internet forums.  There are disagreements, flame wars, and violations of forum rules that escalate out of control until the fire is extinguished (typically within a few weeks).  Everybody will want to point to one individual or one event that set it off, but the reality is, it all comes down to maturity of those involved.

I joined Entrecard for one reason.  To promote my blog.  Over time, I accomplished an even bigger feat.  I learned of some excellent resources and bloggers.  Many of the users of Entrecard are brilliant bloggers who know quite a bit about Internet marketing.  I learn something new every day.  Much of that through the forums.

What most people involved in Firestorm lost site of was their original purpose of joining Entrecard to begin with.  We’re here to promote and/or learn.  To those that left, good riddance.   If you’re too immature to understand that Internet arguments are pointless, then it is better you are gone.  Entrecard is a for-profit service.  One that I’ve found quite valuable.

I’m interested in your thoughts/impressions about the Firestorm.

Probably not the best of questions to ask a reader, huh? But it is one you should ask every day. Why are your readers coming to your site? What are they after? Are they getting it? Are they going to come back?

The way readers use blogs is so different from other websites. When a websurfer goes to Web MD, they will read an article that is years old. But on a blog, they are typically looking for fresh content. Will they drill down to other articles you’ve written. Sometimes, but more likely, they are only looking at the most recent post.

Are you creating regular, fresh content? If so, then you’ll likely see regular traffic. Are you making it easy for them to find related content on your site? If not, then you’re missing an opportunity to hold a reader. This can be addressed simply by linking to older stories. You can also look at the layout of your blog. Are your categories what they need to be?

Perhaps your site is more about the present and less of an information resource. Then you need to have a strategy to create a regular posting pattern. You’ll need to ensure your readers get their daily, twice weekly, weekly fix. That takes planning.  Fortunately, Wordpress allows you to schedule out posts.  That can be a life saver.

While I know this site should be a reference source, most of my current readers are looking for regular, fresh content.  I need to address that if I want to maximize my revenue from this site.  I tried a little experiment this past few weeks.  I made a generally good post about my first month blogging.  The number of hits and comments were very good for me.  I found that leaving the good content up longer drew in more readers.  Now I just have to find that sweet spot.

In any case, if you don’t know what your readers want, you might not be providing it.