How I Measure Success for my Frugality Blog

Do you know how many blogs there are out there right now? There are most likely millions upon millions. A small quarter of which have any form of substantial readership or subscription list. The reality is that not everyone blogs for the same purpose. Determining what is successful and what isn’t can be highly subjective. Generally though, what is it that makes a blog successful? What makes the bigger blogs more successful than the smaller blogs? When you first start out blogging, you have to have a goal in mind for when you are personally going to consider your blog a success.

When I first started Family Friendly Frugality I read a lot of advice on starting and maintaining a successful blog. These were my takeaway points, and how I gauge my own successes and failures. This list works for me, because it doesn’t measure my success by number of page views. A successful blog isn’t necessarily successful because it has a lot of traffic! Here a list of how I measure success for my frugality blog:

I have a passion for my topic: frugality

Passion for writing, passion for the subject matter, passion that comes through the blog and makes it clear the author knows what they are talking about. Without passion, a blog has no way to succeed. It will be dry and lackluster, and who wants to read that? Most bloggers begin their blog because they needed a release for their passion. Successful blogging hinges on that passion staying fresh in order to provide captivating and enriching content. I have a passion for frugality, so that’s why I chose to blog about it!

I am proficient in the language I blog in

Most successful bloggers are at least proficient in the language they blog in. It’s incredibly difficult to read a poorly written blog. They might not be the best writer in the world, but they have a good enough handle on things that they get their point across clearly. It shows they care about their readers experience, and that they know how to use spell check (best invention ever!).  If I read something through and it sounds funky, I immediately edit. The quality of the content I put up on my blog is very important to me!

I am creative

Creating content on a daily or weekly basis can be exhausting. Of course, if you have passion for what you are blogging about, some of this will just naturally happen. It’s easy to get burnt out though. Fresh and alluring content doesn’t create itself. A successful blog will be updated on a regular basis and never leave the reader bored. It can take a good amount of creativity to keep up to that standard. There are days I stare at the computer screen and nothing happens. There are days when magic happens. What matters is that it keeps coming consistently.

I am unique

For a blog to be successful, it simply can’t be a cookie cutter version of something else currently available. A successful blog will be unique and stand alone and prominent against the masses. Readers have a lot of material available to them. A successful blogger must provide them with something worth sticking around for. Be captivating, be clever and be relevant. I strive to be different than others within my genre. I hope I succeed!

I am personable

If you want to have a successful blog you need to be personable. If you don’t intend to engage with your readers, create a website…not a blog. Blogs are a form of social media. It is expected for you to interact and talk with your readers, not just at them. A successful blogger is in touch with his/her readers. They form relationships and don’t have a post it and forget it mentality. Being in touch with your community in this sense can actually help all of the other components of successful blogging. It can reinvigorate your passion; the community can point out if something isn’t clear which can make you more proficient. It can spark ideas for you to create into posts and will point out what about you is unique and appealing to your audience. I eat comments up like they are cake. Emails are even more exciting. I want to get to know all of you, in fact I crave that interaction with you!

So what does it really mean to have a successful blog? You noticed I didn’t talk about subscribers or traffic or twitter followers. A successful blog can have one reader. As long as that reader is engaged and continues to return (and it’s not just your mom!), you have a successful blog. Do you have a successful blog? Or are there some areas you need to work on? Have you started your blog yet? What are you waiting for?

This is my personal gauge to consistently reassess if I am being successful in my blogging. Do you have a gauge you use? Let me know!