I've always been a big proponent of Blogging. As a writer, this is just journaling for a grander, connected audience. I can typically write like the wind, and content creation has never been a big challenge for me. From a social media perspective, this act is essential to maintain search engine authority for my brand. This also helps me develop my writing skill and voice, provide a window into my artistic world for those that are interested. This tracks my life, my reflections, and my philosophy.
So many reasons to do this, but this isn't a blog about "why do it?"
This is a blog about "what now?"
I've maintained the "Xenomorphine" blog for the last couple of years and, regardless of how much I market and promote the blog, share it across social landscapes, and plan and develop content for it, I just can't seem to gain a foothold on traction. Admittedly, I had a good run of engagement going with this blog, and then I stepped away for a couple months to focus on other projects. When I went away, so did the majority of my readers.
Maybe they were never really there. Perhaps my previous read counts were overblown by spammers and affiliates and other visitors that could care less about my work. I still maintain a high Klout score (65) based on my social media activity on other sites, but this blog's readership has dwindled to a feint heartbeat. I haven't grown a following, haven't turned this blog into any thought-leadership on a certain subject, and haven't transferred read counts into engagement via this channel. In fact, when I posted an offer for "FREE PHOTOGRAPHY" through my "Behelders Project", I had no responses--either via this blog or any social shares. My reflections don't generate conversation, nor do they elicit response in most cases.
By all accounts, this journal exists to humor myself and a relatively small circle of people.
So, what now?
I see three options--continue on with status quo; continue on with change in direction; and continue on with a dramatic change (shut down the blog).