RE: 50 Self-Reflecting Questions To Ask Yourself As A Blogger

Yesterday Blogussion asked 50 Self-Reflecting Questions To Ask Yourself As A Blogger. It’s always a good idea to challenge yourself with new ideas and to analyze how your doing anything business related. You can learn something new by how you answer which would result in changing how you do a certain activity. So if questions are asked I believe that they should be answered! With this in mind- after the jump are my responses to the 50 questions.

50 Questions To Make you Think

1. Is it okay to be hypocritical in your articles?
To me this one depends on the article. In most cases I would say it’s not good to be hypocritical in your writing. However, this can not always be the case. I strongly believe in the idea though that you should “practice what you preach” and try to follow that as much as possible.

2. Do you think you owe someone for commenting on your blog?
Comments are a great thing. It shows that your readers are not only reading what you are putting down but thinking about it as well. What you wrote mattered to them. Comments should not be ignored or taken for granted. Responding, showing link love in the way of dofollow tags, if the comment is interesting enough visit the site of the commenter- all of these are options on ways to show your readers you appreciate the comments.

3. Do you define your blog as a success if you make a lot of money from it and get a lot of comments per post?
Personally I do not. I run and write on multiple blogs. Some of them are dedicated to making money while many of them are just places to write. While both of these are always appreciated it always depends on which blog is in question.

4. Are you a conformist, or an independent?
I try to fall into the independent side of things.

5. Is anything you write truly a great piece of writing without some lies or a little over exaggeration?
Aside from a few affiliate based niche blogs where I am trying to actively market what I’m writing on it is rare that I exaggerate in anything that I write.

6. Is it better to get facts from someone else, or conduct your own experiments for results?
If possible it is always better to conduct your own research and experiments. You will have the knowledge firsthand and only yourself to blame, not the words from someone who may not be reliable.

7. Is everything a “guru” says always the right solution for you?
While the true “gurus” have the first hand experience in what they are talking about, many of them are also trying to sell you on something- a product, a service, a way to do something. Of course their status of being a guru would be negatively effected if all they did was sell you on products or services instead of teaching as well. Needless to say it’s something you have to decide on a case by case basis.

8. Do you truly think PageRank is worthless?
I don’t believe page rank is worthless but if your trying to obtain new readers to website or sell advertising it is not usually to be ignored unless you are well known online. However in niche and affiliate selling circles it is not as important to have in place.

9. How would you honestly feel with a PR0 blog?
Currently this blog and a few of my affiliate blogs are PR0. I’m honestly fine with that as they still get traffic and a few of the affiliate blogs generate revenue. While I would of course prefer to have a higher page rank it honestly does not bother me.

10. Is it worth replying to comments on your blog knowing that most of your replies will never be responded to or even read again?
Absolutely. You never know WHO will be a reader that continues to follow your blog and if you want to encourage a community or meeting like minded people online you should not ignore the readers of your blog.

11. Do you think your blog will still exist next month? 2 months? 3?
Absolutely.

12. Have you discovered that writing your post first will help you write a better post title?
I almost always start with the title and if I feel it needs to be changed after the fact go back to it.

13. Are the links you include in your blog posts really meant to help other people, or are you just trying to sell an affiliate product or drive traffic to another website?
Depends on the blog.

14. Are you really blogging to help others, or just to make profit?
See above.

15. Have you ever thought of not approving a comment because it is negative knowing nobody will find out?
Not at all, negative comments should be viewed as criticism of your writing. Just because you don’t feel that something is a weakness does not mean that it isn’t.

16. Is it wrong to comment on your blog under a different name?
While I can see it as an easy way to attempt to encourage comments on your site I have never felt the urge to add fake comments.

17. Do you plan for the future, or for the present in regards to your blog design?
I try to plan ahead for what I may want to add to my blogs however when a new plugin or service is created you had no prior knowledge of it is difficult to plan for.

18. Is it worth emailing larger bloggers knowing they probably won’t get back to you or even read your message because it doesn’t “meet their standards of being replied to”?
If you actually are trying to encourage networking with the larger bloggers I believe you should. If you don’t make the effort how can you even change there being an open dialogue with the person in question.

19. Are you ever willing to edit an image you use in your blog post to make it look more appealing and eye catching?
If I have the time and resources at my disposal I will attempt to make minor changes- background of the image to match the background of your blog posts so that it blends in. I don’t usually add much to images past that.

20. Are the images you use in your blog posts have a literal or metaphorical meaning that relates to your article?
It depends on the post.

21. Do you think people who comment on your blog with keywords in their name are worth being replied to, or even acknowledged in your blog?
If the comment itself is worthwhile than yes. If it is a generic comment it’s up in the air but usually not.

22. Are you a “thinker” and “planner” instead of a “doer”?
I do spend more time thinking and planning about projects I want to work on. I know they will never get done without actually working on them though so force myself to work on anything I actually want to start.

23. Have you realized from experience, or by seeing that list posts are not as hard to make as they seem to be?
I’ve never felt that list posts are truly hard to make as long as you know the subject material.

24. Do you think it is beneficial to make a change to your blog that your readers will like, but you may not be fond of?
This also depends on the blog. In an instance where you are writing for yourself more than the reader or not using your blog as any attempt to generate sales or leads it won’t matter. If you use your blog as any form of making money, directly or indirectly, keeping the readers coming back to your blog and happy is something you have to do.

25. Is there something you have been wanting to change/add/remove from your blog, but haven’t gotten around to it?
Absolutely. Working on three side projects have caused me to delay changing my search functionality and footer of this site.

26. Do you value every comment you get on your blog the same, regardless of the content of the comment?
Aside from direct spam comments that do not contribute at all to the blog yes I do. A thank you for the information or something that increases the discussion is always a plus for the site itself.

27. Do you ever leave out information in your posts and try to let your readers fill it in in the comments section?
I don’t have a loyal enough reader base on this site to do so. It is something I plan on doing in the future.

28. How many times do you think about your blog when you’re away from the computer?
As I run multiple blogs and sites it is almost always something I have on my mind.

29. Do you avoid posting controversy on your blog because you have none to post, or you’re afraid someone might disagree with you?
Not at all. Disagreements can lead to great discussions as well as reader response.

30. Are you easily discouraged?
No.

31. Do you think that hard work now will pay off later, even after months of hard work and no results?
I have seen it firsthand that hard work can pay off. One of my affiliate blogs didn’t generate any income worth mentioning for 8 months and now will produce at least a few hundred each month.

32. Do you avoid trying to create relationships with other bloggers because they have a larger blog, or are more well known than you are?
Not at all. People who have larger blogs are worth learning from and networking with. If you are able to make a positive connection with the person it is worth doing so.

33. Are you making the best of your social network/media profiles?
No.

34. Do you ever add personality into your posts (ex: smiley faces, jokes, etc.)?
I attempt to add personality in my posts by my writing style though with more informational posts that can be difficult.

35. Do you add “friends” on social network/media sites because you want them to read you blog, or because you actually want to become friends with them?
I add them wanting to be friends or network with a person.

36. Would you feel more accomplished if you got 20 comments from “regular” bloggers, or just 1 comment from a highly respected “famous” blogger?
I would prefer a steady stream of user interaction. While it does feel good when a “famous” blogger takes notice of you as you were able to publish a post that was noticed I would rather have a group of loyal readers to have in my network.

37. Are you being as personal as you can with your readers (picture of yourself, small bio, etc.)?
There is more that I could add however I believe that I have made a good push in that direction.

38. Do you believe comments on your blog with more writing should be valued and rewarded higher than comments with less writing?
It’s quality over quantity. While I never dislike getting comments I would always enjoy more that are interactive.

39. Are you more embarrassed when someone points out a spelling/grammar mistake, corrects wrong information, or when someone strikes down your article?
Not at all. Everyone makes mistakes. I prefer to learn from them when they are made.

40. Do you think your posts should be concise, or filled with extra information?
I believe a little extra information goes a long way but there is no reason to fluff the post with unnecessary information.

41. Do I make the title of my posts clear so the reader understands what the article is about before jumping to the content?
I believe so.

42. What do you think when a post you put less effort into gets a bigger response than a post you put more effort into?
You can’t judge people’s interests. Just because you are passionate about something doesn’t mean others agree. If you are writing for yourself be happy with what you have written. If you write for your audience be sure to keep in mind what your readers prefer.

43. Does it bother you to see someone younger than you have a more successful blog?
There are athletes, rock stars, movie stars, etc younger than I am. Same concept different field.

44. Are you afraid to make an investment in something that could help your blog substantially because you’re afraid it won’t work?
If it’s something that could help myself make money and I believe that it will work I’m willing to take the risk.

45. Do you add a fresh perspective to a subject, or just regurgitate it?
Depends on the blog and post

46. Do you tend to cut out some information that could be useful to some people because you don’t want your post to be “too long“?
Not at all. As shown by this post that’s what the More feature in WordPress is for. I strive to put the most important information at the top and if its going to be too long with extra or more advances information put it in the full post so that it can be read by those interested but not forced on the readers who only want the summary.

47. Look at your blog articles. What is the ratio of pillar articles to regular articles?
I post far more regular articles which is one of the focuses that I want to change.

48. Have you kept up with posting consistently over the last month? If not, why?
Yes.

49. Are your blog posts full of information that will remain relevant over a long period or time, or for a shorter period of time?
For the most part they should stay relevant, however some news blurbs are going to be short term.

50. Are you afraid to ask questions to your readers that you don’t know the answer to?
If I was in the habit of asking more questions on my site I would not. If you are going for a community feel to your blog why not learn from them as they learn from you?