Hook em’ while they’re young! I’m glad that you enjoyed the article.

Now you’ve done it: I’m hooked on your site. We’re all doomed.

I think that your ocean simile is a good one. The best thing to do in such a case is probably to seek out other people who are in the ocean with you, desperatly trying to figure out which direction to paddle, as you may pool your knowledge and experience and figure it out together. Plus there are other people who have been in your boat, and have found land, who can offer advice. There are lots of blogging forums and communities who are happy to give constructive criticism. http://www.bloggeries.com is one of my favorites.

But I’m glad to see that you’re still paddling. I love the concept of your site! Keep it up.

@ Audra

I have found that people remember blogs that they enjoy. I fell off of the wagon with my blog, and once I got back on, a lot of my readers came back instantly and remembered my writing. Try to get in touch with your old readers, and rekindle the magic that you had in that day. And above all, have patience. Thanks for the kind words and the comment!

It is like you are in the middle of the ocean in a row boat. You have no idea where land is. Choosing a direction you paddle. For months you paddle in the same direction and still no land appears. Are you going the right way? Will you find land? There is no way to tell, no indication that you are going the right way – only empyt sea all around. The only thing for you to do is to keep paddling in the same direction and hope that one day you see land.

With blogs it is the same way. Work everyday, see no results, and hope that one day you spot land.
.-= Roman´s last blog ..Commenting on Problogger Does Not Improve Your Blog =-.

When you try a little bit of everything, and make a good effort to promote what you’re writing, you get good, solid feedback on what works, and what doesn’t, just like you said. And yes, it is good practice. When I first started, it took me several hours to write a 500 word article. Now, if I really wanted to, I could do it in 30 minutes.

I am glad that you are settling into your niche with your blog and are making a positive difference. We are on the brink of a new age where we can do wonderful things with social media, including finding homes for abandoned animals and decreasing the amount of animal suffering in the world.

Thanks for commenting!

Yeah, I hit a rough patch and had trouble motivating myself to write because I changed jobs and suddenly had a lot less free time. After a couple of months, I was able to successfully change my habits for the better, and get back to my writing. I guess if something is truly important, you’ll find time to do it.

Yes, it is very easy to get discouraged. Sometimes I’ll write what I consider to be my very best work, and no one will comment on it or give me feedback, but then I’ll put something together that will surpass my expectations in popularity. When you get discouraged, you just need to realize that you need to do something differently, as it is all feedback in some way shape or form. Thanks for commenting!

Well, I’m delighted to see you still writing and you’re not one of the casualties of the newbie impatience. This article is spot on!

I’m surprised the average age of the top 100 blogs was so short. I have a 2 year timeframe in mind. It is easy to get discouraged though and takes real persistence to keep going.
.-= Ian Peatey´s last blog ..What to do with naughty kids =-.