The blogging habit that’s ruining your blog.

I’ve been working really hard at my blog for over a year now. I write, I post, I research topics. I do the whole Google Adwords thing. I do what I’m supposed to do to grow my blog readership. Like most bloggers, I do sometimes fall into that horrid blog envy trap. You know the one that has you trolling other sites late at night and wondering why your blog isn’t as popular or slick as theirs. Your eyes dilate and you get sucked into the void of envy.

“Her blog gets more traffic.”

“Her blog looks better.”

“She’s a better writer than I am.”

That’s a no win situation that can make you spiral downward. Blog envy doesn’t help your blog. But no, blog envy isn’t what’s ruining my blog.

TRYING TO BE PERFECT is killing my blog. Here’s how the craziness of perfection is choking the life out of my blog and maybe yours.

Does this sound familiar?

• You don’t post more often because each post must be perfectly timed, funny, touching, and profound. You rewrite way too many times to try to get there.
• You take photos of products, sunsets, yourself, and never use them because they aren’t “good” enough.
• You write out lists of ideas you think would be helpful, funny or that your readers need to know. These ideas never make it into a post because later you think they don’t measure up.
• You get scared that people won’t find your content good enough/smart enough/funny enough/whatever in the hell enough.

You get the idea. What’s killing our blog is some crazy insane need to be perfect.

And what is PERFECT?

Who’s holding that yardstick to see if you measure up? Are the blog police going to come and arrest us all for dangling participles and grainy photos?

This perfection whoring is killing my blog before it can mature. Is it killing yours too? We have to stop this habit. NOW.

The only way to stop the perfection paralysis is to take more chances and risk being seen as imperfect.

Here’s my solution.

I’m going to start writing blog posts more often. Maybe the posts will be profound. Maybe they will just be OK. Sometimes they’ll probably downright suck. I might even use some of the kinda crappy photos that I take with my iphone. Pictures that aren’t glossy and perfectly lit.

I’m realizing that blogging is different from writing. Blogging isn’t about trying to write the great novel. This isn’t a novel and not a single person will ever confuse me with Austen, Bronte, Fitzgerald or Angelou.

You see things and you comment. Then you repeat that. Sometimes people pay attention to what you’ve just said. Sometimes they ignore you and change the radio station.

Blogging is in the moment. And moments are never perfect. And, obviously, neither is my blog.

I hope that sharing my bad blogging habit helps you determine what bad habit is keeping you from blogging more.

If you suffer from the paralysis of perfection, how do you overcome it?

Do you have another bad blogging habit that’s holding you back?   How do you deal with it? 

Share what you’ve done to work through your worst blogging habits!

xoxo-Rosie