~ Jennifer Chait
Is your own.
Do you re-read your own blog? I hope you said yes. If not it’s time to start. If you have many blogs this can be a daunting task; especially if your blogs are older, with plenty of content. Some of my blogs are old and stuffed so I break it up. Once a month I read one month’s worth of posts from each of my blogs. It doesn’t take that long, it’s a nice break from my regular work, and re-reading offers me plenty of perks such as…
- It offers me new ideas: One of the best places I find fresh content is in my old posts. When I’m re-reading it jogs my memory about something I meant to write about and have since forgotten or I’ll find that I could easily expand on a topic. If you write more than one blog you can take an old post that was popular at one blog and re-slant it at another.
- It tells me how good (or bad) my blog is: Listen, if your old blog posts bore you, if it’s a struggle to re-read then there’s an issue. Imagine how your readers feel. I have blogs that I enjoy reading as an outsider looking in. Sadly, I have one blog that I can’t stand to re-read right now; so I know it needs some work. If I don’t want to read my own words why should I expect others to enjoy them? In a best case scenario this can help you improve your blog immensely. In a worst case scenario this might let you know that a blog should end.
- I find typos: I almost never find my typos the first and second times through when I’ve just written a post. Later, I’ll go back and catch mistakes. You may think it won’t matter if a blog post you did last year has a couple of typos but it might. If I like a blogger’s current posts, I’ll go back and read their older posts as well. If the quality is a lot different it can be disappointing. Each of your posts that someone reads is a chance to make an impression, so it’s nice if that impression is error free. Or at least as error free as possible.
- I find dead links: This is basic blog maintenance 101. When I read other people’s blogs, one dead link won’t bother me enough to shun the blog but if every single link is dead I may stop reading.
- I catch comments I missed: Every time you don’t respond to a comment is a chance missed to gain a possible regular reader. I’ve missed comments (I try hard not to but we all do) if I catch one I missed I respond. I don’t care if it’s been four months; a comment deserves a response. I’ve gained a couple of regular readers this way.
- I’m reminded of broken promises: I’ve visited many a blog where, at the end of a post, the blogger will say, “Coming up next… (insert enthralling topic).” I get all excited and check back and then nothing. I really dislike when bloggers break promises. Guess what though – I’m guilty too. If you have a lot of blogs you will likely promise something at some point and forget to deliver. Re-reading allows me to catch those moments where I had a great promise and then I forgot.
- Re-reading tells me what’s working: More importantly it tells me what’s not working. Ironically my readers and I don’t love the same posts. I can work really hard on a post, decide that it’s brilliant, and then what… no one comments, no one cares, and it can be unsettling. After getting over my initial disappointment I remember that what matters more are the posts people do like; not the ones they don’t. Re-reading reminds me what kind of posts work best for a particular blog so that I waste less time writing the ones that don’t.
- It builds self confidence: If I’m having a bad – I’m – gonna – quit – blogging – because – I – suck kind of day then re-reading my best posts helps. It cheers me up to see lots of cool comments and well-planned ideas. I think that in any kind of writing we all have days where we think we could be better. Focusing on your positive and successful pieces can help calm down your negative thoughts or self-doubts.
Do you re-read your own blog? If so, what have you learned from this process?
Among other places, you can visit Jennifer Chait at Offbeat Homes, 7 Babes A Blogging, and Tree Hugging Family.
I read my own blogs all the time, especially for typos. I can preview, spell check, and read over what I have written countless times, but sometimes I don’t catch problems until after I have clicked the publish button.
I wanted to crawl under my living room rug when I found my blog linked to an author’s page, and there was a typo. It was like waking up and finding a huge pimple on my nose.
Most importantly, I like to read back what I have posted to see if it’s any good or just plain crap. If I think it stinks too much, I will delete the post.
Thanks for the tip about dead links.
I have never deleted a post. It just seems wrong, somehow. I might go back and change something, add a photo, whatever, but I never delete. That makes me careful about pushing that publish button!
I do look back quite often. Photo links disappear, others do, too. I may have discovered that something is slightly wrong.
As to comments, I get a list everyday of new ones, no matter which post they are on. It’s on my dashboard. I do talk back. I am just so over bloggers who don’t talk back to their commenters. They, IMO, don’t deserve the attention they get.
Great post. One of my pet peeves is blogs with typos. I’ve even heard professionals say, “I’m just blogging; typos don’t matter.” Hmph! They do to me.
I do read my blog periodically, but now I’ll read with a different eye. Thanks, I learn so much from you.
Judith,
Thanks so much for those great tips. I’m really new to this ‘blogging buisness’ and appreciate learning from others. Badly written is badly written, no matter the media!
Virginia in Virginia
Judith,
Thanks so much for those great tips. I’m really new to this ‘blogging business’ and appreciate learning from others. Badly written is badly written, no matter the media!
Virginia in Virginia
I like to check in with my blogs every morning, and re-read the last couple of posts for any previously missed errors. I find it’s satisfying to see my words up there on the screen, and that keeps me going.
I like to go back and flip through my blog posts, just to see if I’m on a trend. I also look for typos, or phrases that made sense at the time but doesn’t make sense now.
I do sometimes read my own blog, mostly to make sure I’m not repeating myself. I always catch typos, but I do not correct them. I think the fact that I can’t edit my own stuff perfectly (and who can?) lends credibility.
Mostly, I hate what I see, although every once in a while I find a post I’m happy I made. But I do literally have to force myself to read the old stuff because I hate reading my own junk so much. I think it’s worth confronting how inadequate I am if I’m ever going to get any better.
I link to old posts once in a while. While checking to make sure I’m not repeating myself, I often run across a post that is close to what I want to say but not quite the same. I think blogs should have deep links back into their own archives, especially those pushing a general outlook on the world.
It’s a fantastic idea to re-read old posts. It’s very important to go back and make sure all the links are working. Sometimes I’ll go back and add back/forward links, change source links, or update content.
It’s also a great way to catch out errors and to clean up older entries as my writing progresses. As bloggers we must remember that our online content has an eternal life. Even if we’ve deleted a post it can turn up in archives, caches, and the way back machine.
I’d never delete a post simply because someone at some point may have linked to it. If I find something that is too terrible I’d have to completely rework it; same topic, similar information, new way of putting all the pieces together. Nothing is unsalvageable.
Re-reading old posts can also be a great way to give us ideas for new posts or information we might like to highlight in a new posts. Selecting a handful of old posts from our archives to link to for current readers can be a great way to encourage readers to dig a little deeper.
I guess this is a prime example of going back and reading someone else’s old posts, as I’m clearly two years behind schedule! At any rate, great topic, as I do go back and read some posts of my own, but not enough. My problem is that I might look back, see that no one commented and feel like a dolt for posting it in the first place. Then I delete it and it’s gone…poof.
So, I try and keep up on at least the last few posts and check my “About” section often. I used to forget it was even there, but it’s one of the first places that readers go.
Great reminder, as I’ll add it to my to-do list and avoid the temptation to self-criticize (and instead go in with an open mind.)