We talk about personal journeys in blogging a lot.
How the road can be rocky at times, how you might lose your direction, your voice and how you will find it again.
It might seem just a matter of sitting down, writing, popping in a few photos, and voila, a blog post
Yes that’s a blog post, but when you share even the smallest details you become part of something that is bigger then you are.
Build a tribe, the experts will tell you when you start to blog.
Gather those together who like your blog and support it.
Those who tweet it, plus one it, and generally get the word out there into blog land.
Where does a tribe live?
They live in a village, I really like mine, and I think they really like me, we share, we comment, we celebrate good things, commiserate over the not so good, welcome newcomers, and look out for each other. Stop posting for awhile, and see how many of your villagers email to find out what’s wrong.
I’ve found blogging to be one of the most life changing social media experiences I’ve ever participated in. It’s a community, a like minded group that supports, and cherishes it’s members, allows them to grow at their own speed, and still remain true to themselves.
And despite that there are still those who are not involved in blogging that just don’t understand what all the fuss is about. You don’t blog for them, you blog for your village.
Why does it take a village to write a blog? Because it’s a support system, they are going to cheer you on, uplift, and inspire your thoughts, just as you uplift, support, cheer on the sidelines, and inspire others.
It’s give and take, it’s feeling that spark of creativity you might get after leaving a comment, a hey there’s a blog post somewhere in here, and you are off and running.
It’s following, and learning from someone who is an more accomplished writer then you are, not in order to copy their style but to better learn what yours is, and how to express it fully.
It’s looking at awe inspiring images that tug at your heart, wondering how they did that, and vowing to learn to be a better photographer, going back and rereading tutorials, taking the camera out once again, it’s that little push that encourages you to grow.
It’s reading a how to on something that has eluded you, learning a better way to do it, it a oh my goodness, I didn’t think I could do this, kind of feeling.
Building relationships with those who are into blogging is not just something to do because it’s pinned as the top 10 things to do to build a audience. It’s not just to keep your readers coming back, or your stats up, comments flowing.
It’s you being real, and authentic.
It’s only then that you realize just how big this village really is. It’s astounding how much support you can get from people that you have never met in person, how great friendships can develop.
F rom comments come conversations, those develop into friendships. Those friendships are real people… not just words on your blog, yes they are a tribe, and they live in your village.
Being part of that village will require honesty, truthfulness, and integrity, it’s not about oversharing, but discerning what to share, and how. It’s a driving force, that encourages you to write better posts with some regularity. You will want to write something worth reading, because you know that the people who read your blog, are interested in what you have to say.
In your village, bloggers will come, and some will go. It’s part of life, we are all nomads as bloggers, while it’s sad to lose touch with someone we have met and feel a connection to, and we miss their comments it was time for them to move on, interests change, situations change.
Expect the village to shift in size regularly, and be welcoming to those who are new to it, and c elebrate being part of something bigger then yourself.
Because it takes village to write blog.