Sunday, July 25, 2010

6 Reasons Why Blogging is like Dieting (Re-Run)

This was one of my favorite posts. This was originally posted November 28, 2009…

I blog, therefore, I am!   That is a pretty bold statement, but that is how I feel about blogging.  It gives me a forum to write.  It gives me a sense of belonging.  Being a big girl since pre-teen, I have often struggled to fit in.  It can be an isolating life.  Being a writer, I often find the same isolation.

I have twenty plus years of thoughts, opinions, feelings, all kept silent in pretty bound books, tucked safely away in wooden boxes at the back of a closet. This year, my journey toward change and living a healthy lifestyle is about coming out of my shell.  Bringing my writing to a more public forum in blogging and my self image out from under the layers of weight. My changes are teaching me about the big picture of my two past times and how they go hand-in-hand. To be successful at both takes a lot of the same traits and attitude.

Overwhelming  Choices First starting out, the choices can be overwhelming.  For blogging, what platform to use, what design to show off my new blog, what to name your blog, what do I develop content and how do I get my blog out there to the masses. Same as dieting, what diet should I choose, what is the result I want, is this just to lose a few pounds or am I changing my lifestyle,  is this another fad, and how to I get the masses to get out of here. 

High Expectations for Quick Results Just like “fad” diets, blogging can be approached with high expectations for quick results.   A new blogger often enters the arena of blogging with the high expectations of the hype – 6 figure earnings overnight.  Fad diets give the hope and expectations of high weight loss in a short period of time, the same type of hype – 6 pounds overnight.  To be successful, it takes daily practice, dedication, a commitment.  You need to build the foundation and build slowly to what you want to create for the long term. 

Keeping your Motivation In Blogging, just like dieting, you hit plateaus.  Hopefully, you have done your research and have a plan in place to keep the motivation going during these periods.  A list of blog topics is a handy tool, just like a list of healthy recipes.  It takes your mindfulness and focus, especially during these plateaus.  Taking steps daily; research, writing drafts, reading others blogs, joining a forum to find support, planning meals, or trying a new exercise – all of these little things can help when you feel you aren’t getting anywhere.

It takes Commitment Both blogging and dieting are long term commitments.  Any good blog with a large following takes a minimum of a year.  Any significant weight loss and maintenance takes the same, if not more.   If you are a serious blogger, it becomes about relationships.  The new relationships you establish with your readers while developing the blogger lifestyle.  If you are a serious dieter, you are looking for a new relationship with yourself and developing a healthy lifestyle.

Building a Readership With dieting, you are building a relationship with yourself.  There is more than food involved in dieting.  There is tons of information to wade through and it takes action to keep you on track.  Building readership is the same.  There is more involved than just writing content. Taking action to provide new, improved and interesting content and sharing a part of who you are to keep the audience wanting more.

Comments are like the Scale Most dieters rely on the scale to tell them how they are doing.  Bloggers rely on comments as a measure of progress.  There are other things to measure how you are doing.  RSS feeds and Google Analytics are a couple of tools that help.  Just like a tape measure or a smaller size tag on your clothes.  But when it comes right down to it, the number of comments shows that you have reached your reader.  It is the other half of the relationship.It is a tangible measurement, just like the scale.  We often rely on those tangible things to feel successful.  Blogging and Dieting can go together like peas and carrots.  Focus on the content of your blog or your diet or both.  Content is king in blogging and it can be the bombshell in dieting.  Focus on your portion control.  Blog post should be portions in quality doses.  Exercise your body and exercise your mind.   And don’t forget to build relationships.  It is provides tools, support and information that can keep you moving out of the isolation.