How can you tell when the blog you started out for fun becomes something you take too seriously?
For many of us, blogging is something we do to put our chaotic thoughts in to some semblance of order. Or as a form of self-therapy. Or it scratches an itch, fulfilling our creative ambitions to be a writer. Yes, there are a few for whom blogging is their living or provides a significant chunk of income but for most of us it’s just a hobby, something we do for fun.
However, it’s all too easy to get caught up in a daily whirlwind of posting, commenting and social media that creeps up on you and consumes every waking hour.
Are you worried that you might be taking blogging too seriously? Then take this simple quiz to assess whether you need to start attending Bloggers Anonymous.
1.Do you have a special notebook and pen that you reserve especially for ‘blogging ideas’?
2. Do you constantly wake up in the middle of the night to jot down new ideas in said notebook?
3. Is your first thought whenever your children do anything brilliant/awful/at all, “Hmm, that would make a good blog post”?
4. Is your second thought to take a photo to go with the blog post?
5. Do you have separate Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, StumbleUpon, Bloglovin, Vine and Snapchat accounts?
6. Are you considering relaunching your MySpace page, just in case it might drive additional traffic to your blog?
7. Do you know more than 20 people by their Twitter handle and/or blog name rather than by their real name?
8. Do you have a spreadsheet to organise which linkies you participate in, which posts you’ve linked up and to record which ones perform best in driving traffic to your blog?
9. Do you plan your sleeping hours around which linkies go live at certain times of the night/morning?
10. Do you spend as much time scheduling and promoting sharing your posts as you do writing them?
11. Do you tell friends you don’t have time to catch up for coffee but they can catch up with you by reading your blog?
12. Does your email signature contain your blog URL and header image?
13. Do you have business cards printed with your blog details on?
14. How about a custom-made badge that you wear whenever you attend blogger events?
15. Do you find it impossible to pick up a new product without immediately drafting a review in your head?
16. Do you have a calendar reminder set for when the monthly Tots100 rankings come out?
17. Is the first thing you do when the new rankings come out to jump for joy (if you’ve gone up) or go into a massive sulk (if you’ve gone down)?
18. Is the second thing you do to post an image of your new ranking on Instagram?
19. Did you consider hiring a campaign manager to drum up support for your BiBs awards nominations?
20. And a speech-writer to craft an acceptance speech, just in case?
And, for a bonus point …
21. Did you know you were going to score maximum points on this quiz even before you started it?
Now give yourself one point for every question you answered ‘Yes’ to, and let’s see how you rated.
Less than 10: You have a good balance between your blogging and non-blogging lives. You’re obviously not trying hard enough. Slacker.
10-15: You take your blogging seriously – far more so than you ever imagined – but not too seriously. Solid, but could do better.
16-20: You spend every waking hour (and several of your sleeping hours) either tapping away at a keyboard or scribbling in a book. Your partner and children barely recognise who you are any more. Congratulations, you are officially TBTS (Taking Blogging Too Seriously). Now go and write a post about it.
21: You’re top of the class, the girlie swot, the teacher’s pet. But then you knew that already, didn’t you? There’s a seat at Bloggers Anonymous with your name on it.
For what it’s worth, I scored 11 out of 20. But how did you do?
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