As you probably noticed, my blog has been really lacking posts this year. There is one main reason for this, and that is that blogging stopped being fun.
Since 2004, I have been working as a content writer and for the most part, this involves keeping up to date with Google algorithm changes, learning search engine optimisation, and ensure that the content I write for my clients gets results. Because of this, I found myself constantly searching for witty titles, ensuring that keywords were incorporated into my posts, and more. Eventually my blog which had been my fun escape became more like a chore. I didn’t want to spend the time searching for relevant images, adding meta data, coming up with keyword enriches, catchy titles, or researching endlessly for statistics and data. The purpose of my blog was a creative outlet and I lost that.
A couple of weeks ago I was reading a post over on Hugh Howey’s blog where he reminded me that my blog was my own personal space on the internet and not just a marketing tool. This is the blog post http://www.hughhowey.com/the-state-of-self-publishing/ and if you read the first two sentences you will understand what I am saying. This is what I had forgotten.
Those sentences really stuck with me and made me revisit my idea of blogging. I wasn’t a paying client, this isn’t a marketing site; this is me laid bare with all my ideas. It has nothing to do with keywords and algorithms and is essentially my own personal online diary where I can share with my readers what is happening in my life. This very simple change in perspective has made a huge difference. I am now looking forward to updating my blog again. I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts, and I’m not worried about creating catchy headlines, adding in keywords, or anything else marketing related. I am blogging because I want to and I believe that creative content that is geared towards my readers and not search engines will win out in the end.
I am looking forward to continuing my blogging journey and keeping you all up to date with what is happening in my writing world.
Until next time,
Amanda J Evans is an award-winning Irish author and writing coach. Amanda writes adult romance that often crosses into paranormal and fantasy. Growing up with heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, her stories centre on good versus evil with a splice of love and magic thrown in too. Her books have all won awards and her novella, Hear Me Cry, won the Book of the Year Award at the Dublin Writers Conference 2018. Amanda is also the author of Surviving Suicide: A Memoir from Those Death Left Behind, published in 2012.
