Recycled Tip – Think About The Audience That Reads Your Blog


posted on flickr by jot.punkt

Note: This post was originally published August 4th, 2007. With it’s publication, Exit78 saw its first “spike” of comments — all 10 of them plus several link backs. Check the end of this post to see how many of them are still active on the blogs they linked from.


I was a sailor. Spent nearly nine years in the US Navy – fifteen full months under water.

Have you ever heard the phrase, curse like a sailor?

Even though I spent what seemed like a lifetime around other guys that did, I don’t curse like a sailor. On a few occasions when I did use a choice expression, I can recall a few raised eyebrows.

The reason I don’t often swear is that I considered who my audience would be if I slipped up and let my bad nature show. I really didn’t want to be sitting down for Christmas dinner with the family only to blurt out something in front of my Mom that would embarrass both of us and others.

It was a conscious decision to take into consideration possible audiences and change bad habits that were already developing before they became very difficult to alter. It’s worked.

I believe the same concept goes for blogging, whether it’s for blogging for money or blogging for fun. Will your blogging voice, your blogging personae attract your audience or will it drive your audience away? There are some internet income related blogs that I have tried and then left because of what I perceived to be the attitude of the authors.

For me, it comes down to:

  • Be yourself,
  • Be nice, and
  • Be family friendly.

In the last few months, I have decided to really be myself.

I’ve stopped being anonymous online. I use my name when I blog and when I comment. My family, friends, and former co-workers are welcome here, though they may not agree with some of the opinions expressed here.

While I’m not a blogging expert nor an expert about making money online, this tip is just good old fashioned common sense. You are a part of what you are trying to sell online.


The comments and link-backs for the original post provide an interesting indicator of the life-cycle of blogs. Below, I’ve shown the most recent post date or status for the link-backs and commenters to the original post:

  • 8/21/2007
  • blog no longer exists
  • blog no longer exists
  • current — but confusing
  • current — but confusing
  • closed “in light of recent events.”
  • current — but confusing
  • February 7, 2009
  • Dec 10, 2008
  • February 2nd, 2009
  • February 8th, 2009
  • January 20, 2008
  • blog no longer exists
blogging, family, internet income, Uncategorized

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Michelle Gartner Feb 9, 2009 Link

    Ummm am I confused or what- I thought you had a new look the other day but now it looks different again…

    I don’t curse but once in a blue moon- so I don’t curse much online. I prety much am the same online as offline. On OOaWKI I just blog about what interests me. If I had the time I would make it more of a resource for collectors- therefore thinking about more my audience and less about myself.

    Michelle Gartner´s last blog post..Vintage Toaster Bacon & High School Wrestling

  • Vered - MomGrind Feb 9, 2009 Link

    A very interesting observation about the comments. I might write about this too.

  • I’m trying to make my little corner of the world a friendlier place. Hopefully that comes through in my posts.

    Jean Browman–Cheerful Monk´s last blog post..The Joys of Procrastination

  • rummuser Feb 9, 2009 Link

    Well, between 2007 and now, if any thing, the blog has grown into more of a personal one with some very good and regular visitors leaving sensible comments when they can. The policy is good and this is all that blogs like yours and mine look for.

    rummuser´s last blog post..How People Get Together.

  • Urban Panther Feb 9, 2009 Link

    Blogging is a lot of work, and it really takes passion to keep plugging away at something for the long haul. The Lion blogged for three months, then quit. Writing is not his passion. It doesn’t surprise me how many of the original commenters no longer maintain their blogs. How many things have I started and never finished? Many! But that’s okay, because I was checking out different experiences to see if they grabbed me. Most of them didn’t. Same with blogging. Very normal to try it, and very normal to find out it’s not for you. As for me? I’ll be around for a long time. I can’t not write. It’s in my blood.

  • Mike Feb 9, 2009 Link

    Michelle – You’re not confused. You just caught me in the middle of moving my blog from exit78.com/weblog to just plain old exit78.com.

    Vered – The observation comments is especially interesting since I was in the process of moving my blog to a different directory. I intend to leave what’s left of the old posts there for a good long while, so I won’t have gone missing from there.

    Jean – Yes, you have a very friendly little corner. I don’t stop in unfriendly places for the most part.

    Ramana – I think that the blogs we frequent are more interactive than a lot and there is a lot of good commenting and discussion. However, there is a lot more that are by a very large margin.

    Panther – It does take a lot of work and passion. The fact that so many had gone missing or stopped really didn’t surprise me either. What surprised me in a couple of cases was who they were. A couple of them had been hard chargers. All I can figure is that they either burned out on blogging quick or moved on to some other blogging endeavor. One thing that I didn’t post was that this article was originally part of a blogging community project of Darren Rowse at ProBlogger.net that generated a lot of traffic across a wide spectrum of blogs, most of which were about earning money online, a niche that was already over-saturated with a lot of wannabes.

  • Daisy Feb 10, 2009 Link

    Interesting. First time here and came through Blogging without a Blog.

    I too, don’t curse like a sailor on my blog because I think it is important for my blog to be ‘family-friendly’ as well. When my son grows up and starts reading it, the last thing he needs is to read his mother cursing and cussing at others. He doesn’t hear me do that at home, why should he need to read it on my blog later?

    Even if it’s a personal blog, I think there’s something to be said about being professional.

    Daisy

  • Mike Feb 10, 2009 Link

    Daisy – My kids are grown, but I still don’t like to have them hear me swear. The interesting thing, though, is that both girls tested me on this after they left home. I told them I’d rather not hear that kind of language and it stopped. Even more interesting was last fall when my younger daughter shushed me using a word in front of my grandson that I don’t usually consider to be swearing.

  • teeni Feb 10, 2009 Link

    Hmm – I was pretty sure I posted a comment here but I guess I didn’t. Anyway, I found it very interesting about the comments and how many of them either “weren’t in business” anymore or were confusing. I wonder what the average life span of a blog is anyway. But as far as cursing, I probably don’t do it for real much. When I do, it’s usually with an accent or making fun of the word. Like “basstids” is how I’d say it – just the way I spell it. But once in a great while I’ll throw out a fancy four-letter one and the only reason for that is when it is the only way I can get a little satisfaction by venting it out like that. But it is not too often.

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