16 Questions To Ask Yourself – Is Blogging Right for You?

Anyone who knows me knows what a big fan of blogging I am. I prefer blogging as my own method of online content management – however, I have had a great deal of success with static websites and have seen others succeed with websites and message forums.

There are several viable methods to make a presence (and money) online – so it’s important to ask yourself several questions to determine if blogging is indeed the method that’s best for you.

I’ve made a list of 16 questions I find myself asking potential bloggers to help them ponder before they commit to blogging.

The list of questions is comprised of characteristics I’ve observed in the most successful, professional bloggers. It’s not necessary to possess all the qualities to succeed at blogging, but most would be advisable. This list is compiled to help potential bloggers proceed with the facts and perhaps help them determine what type of blog they may start or what type of skills they need to develop.

1. Do you enjoy writing? While some blogs are podcasts and video, most blogs are written. If you don’t enjoy writing, it’s a sure chance you won’t enjoy blogging.
2. Are you a good communicator? It’s not necessary to be the best communicator to begin blogging, but it does help to have some communication skills. Your blog and the community you develop can help you strengthen your skills as your blog grows. This is also a great way to develop your online voice.
3. Are you a self starter? Starting a blog takes initiative. While blogging software can simplify the process, blogs don’t run themselves. It takes solid motivation to get a blog up, going and maintained.
4. Are you disciplined? Blogs require regular attention. While it’s not absolutely necessary to blog every single day, it’s good to aim for that level of posting. Successful blogs are created for the readers – and loyal readers follow loyal posters.
5. Do you have time? Along with the need for regular updates is the fact that blogging takes time. Can you schedule blocks of time to write daily? Aside from writing, can you block time to research your topic, moderate comments, respond to reader questions, read other blogs and network with other bloggers in your niche?
6. Are you willing to be public? Blogging is very public. The more you write and the longer you write, the more people will want to know – the more they’ll want to learn about your topic and YOU. You might even get to a level where people will recognize you in public. While traveling through the Phoenix airport once, I was recognized by a waitress – I was stunned, flattered but stunned. Consider your need for privacy and that of your family before you begin writing – a pen name may be more suitable.
7. Do you have any technical ability? While there is plenty of software that can assist you with the technical aspects of your blog, there are times when a post can bork because of a code error – you’ll want to know how to recognize and fix those errors. There are plenty of people in the blogging community to assist you if you’re in a jam, so this isn’t a must, but it’s good to consider learning if you’ll be blogging long term.
8. Are you organized? As your blog grows, you will want to develop some sort of system to organize emails, feeds, future post topics, moderating comments, etc. If you’re not organized, it’s easy to get caught up in non-productive acts and before you know it, hours have slipped by. Note: Twitter late in the day!
9. Do you enjoy reading? Half of blogging is writing, the other half is reading. While it may take only a short amount of time to write a blog post – you’ll find the bulk of your time is spent reading, researching topics and working on building your community. Just as much as you like to know your blog posts are being read, other bloggers feel the same.
10. Are you willing to learn? Blogging is ever changing. Whether your blog topic is changing or blogging itself is changing – you’ll want to keep abreast of both to make sure you get to the top of your game and stay there.
11. Are you creative? There are literally thousands of blogs being developed each and every day. You need to find a way to be creative and set yourself apart from the rest in order to succeed in your chosen topic. What will you do to stand out from the rest?
12. Do you have staying power? There are some blogs that pop on the radar one day and are highly successful the next – but that’s rare! Most successful blogs have taken as long as six months to a year to achieve a recognizable level of success. This is why it’s important that you blog on a topic that you would write and talk about even if you weren’t making a dime.
13. Are you consistent? I’ve learned this one the hard way! One of the main reasons bloggers lose readers is they change their approach midstream. Bloggers who constantly change their topic, or increase expectations of readers end up losing the respect of their readers. Readers tend to be creatures of habit and if they’ve subscribed to one topic, a change could end up costing you.
14. Can you respect boundaries? It can be very easy to become emotionally charged and want to blog it. Given that blogging is so public, you’ll want to establish boundaries on what you will and won’t blog about.
15. How transparent will you be? You must be willing to disclose conflicts of interest and to be held accountable for the things that you say on your blog. The blogosphere tends to have a knack for uncovering the truth even when your closest neighbor can’t. Honesty is a must.
16. Are you social? There are many styles of blogging. Some bloggers maintain a distant and strictly professional approach, while others engage their readers and jump in to interact. If you don’t like people and socializing in real life, this may be a bit of a challenge. This is not to say it can’t be done – in fact, in the real world, I’m painfully shy under most circumstances – however, my alter-ego online tends to be more of a social butterfly.

There’s undoubtedly many more questions that can and likely

should be asked before potential bloggers make the decision to begin blogging – however, I’ve drawn from my own experiences and from the emails I’ve received from readers, friends and family to compile this list to get you started.

While there are many bloggers who look to jump in as a hobby so the list of questions may not necessarily apply to those blogs. However, if you are looking to blogging as a possible method of earning, the above list of questions is a good place to begin your journey.

What question(s) have I overlooked? I know bloggers and know there’s always something to be added – feel free! I’d love to hear from you.