Part 1: RR&B Assessment: Creating a Valuable Family History Blog

RootsTech 2014 conference presenter James Tanner began by asking his audience, “Why do you want to blog?”

 “Here’s the important thing about blogging — you need to have something to say,” Tanner said. “You need to be very passionate about what you’re blogging about. If you’re fixated on the fact that you’ve only got 20 people reading the blog, you’ve missed the point of blogging.”(1)*


*"If you’re fixated on the fact that you’ve only got 20 people reading the blog, you’ve missed the point of blogging.”(1)
It was so refreshing to read this.  I put soooo much time into this blog and quite frankly the "pay" is not good.  Yes, I have had a couple of distant relatives reach out to me--Yay--but, it can be really frustrating to post and  write as much as I do and not reap very much!  Honestly, I spend several hours a week researching topics, writing, and compiling my research to share on the blog and it is daunting.  Several times I have thought about quitting the newsletter or the blog--they are both very time consuming if you add together the research, writing, and publishing time.  However, there is a greater purpose, and that is what I need to focus on; the greater purpose!

So then the next question I ask myself is:  How would I measure success of this blog?  That question has evolved over time.  At first I focused on the number of comments readers left (which is not very many at all!), and then I focused on the number of site visits (which may or may not be an accurate assessment because a visit doesn't necessarily mean someone is reading!).  There is a greater purpose, and that is what I need to focus on; the greater purpose, and that is where success lies and I am not sure "greater purpose" is measurable at this time.

I am really grateful that in the beginning of the Roberts Roots and Branches newsletter that I wrote up a set of goals or a mission statement.  When I first began the newsletter, it was immediately apparent I could go in a million different directions, so naturally when I began blogging I adopted the same set of goals.  In hindsight, I am really glad I did that!

(1)Source:
Guderian, Katelyn, Desert News, "Effectively blogging about your family history", Published: Monday, Feb. 10 2014, online here. 





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