It's parenting blog award season again. The nominations are open for the annual Britmums Brilliance in Blogging (bibs) awards and I am going through the same emotional journey I went on last year when the award season kicked off.
The journey goes something like this:
1) Oh brilliant; look, they have announced this year's mummy blog awards. I should check my blog over and nominate myself – it could be my year to win! I am really optimistic this time as I have been thinking carefully about the posts I write and trying to ensure they are useful and relevant. I can just picture the glitzy award ceremonies full of fashionable yummy mummys providing me will loads of the external validation for my work.
2) Hmmmm. I think I need to tinker around with the blog a bit to ensure it's 'award-ready'. I'll have a look at previous winners and see if I can work out what they are doing that I can emulate in a 'learn from the best' mentality.
…..hours pass in an online blur reading blog after blog and covering a notebook with illegible scribbles. .......
3) I'm frustrated now. I have browsed past winners and I cannot work out what they are writing about that gets so much attention and that is perceived as so much better than my work. I am properly having a crisis of jealousy-induced lack of self belief. I don't understand where their viewing figures come from; not because I dont think their blog is good, I can see that it is good, I just don't understand what exactly is making it good, so I don't nderstand what I need to improve, nor what content is better or worse than others.
..more hours pass……
4) I think I need to post more often… is that it? Is quantity the way to go? but I always felt that I didn't want to annoy my readers with too much content. I prefer to try and produce less if it makes each post better. But are my preferences not what the readers want?
…..a few days later……after much self analysis and frustration.
5) Am I writing about the 'right' stuff? Should my blog 'bare all'? But I don't want my blog to be that… my blog is about providing advice and tips for new parents, not about sharing what I had for breakfast. Aaaggghhhhh!
…..a few more painful days later after lots of blog tinkering and soul searching…..
6) Sod it, I'm not going to nominate myself because I won't win and I'll just get (more) depressed about the whole thing, and I probably don't get comparably enough page views anyway, and I don't understand what measures they are using to measure blog quality… and... and... and I am therefore giving notice of throwing my toys well and truly out of the blogging award pram.
I have completed this emotional journey quicker this year and have decided to try and ignore the whole thing. I tend to disagree with the ability to nominate your own blog anyway, though I see that it's a good way to get your blog read, and I certainly feel uncomfortable shouting out for votes. So I won't be nominating myself for a Brilliance in Blogging (BIB) award as I'm not sure my 'blog' is technically even a 'blog', but more of a bunch of magazine style articles, tips and columns.
Having come to that conclusion I presumably should take the 'nominate me' badge off my site?
I'll do that later.
Or shall I just leave it there for a bit? Because, well, you know; nominations don't close until the 12th April. Maybe it could be my year?......
What do you think about blog awards? Are you excited about them? As a non-blogging reader would you nominate a blog for an award? If you have a blog, do you actively promote your blog and ask for votes? If so, why? If not, why not? Feel free to join the debate.
Blog award seasons are emotional aren't they! I found it best for me to focus on my goals and direction and if I get side swiped by someone who would like to nominate me then I enjoy the lovely diversion. It's like finding a lovely tea house while driving. If not then onward to where I was going anyway. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThat is a really healthy way of approaching it. I like it. I shall endeavour to follow your lead. Not sure how successful I will be, but I'll try! ;-)
DeleteOh gosh, I would like to find any blogger who hasn't been on that emotional journey of crisis about their blog! I have questioned every single one of those points you raised above and I have come to no conclusion either....except I'm proud of what I produce and that should be enough. Is there such a thing as a 'real blog'? Mine also would be better classed as a collection of magazine articles but as that is what I would one day like to do, I don't see why not!
ReplyDeleteThanks Suzanne. It is sometimes easy to think we are alone in these thoughts and emotional journeys when blogging. It is a paradoxically lonely pastime sometimes, despite the strong communities. Glad it isn't just me!
DeleteAs a blogging reader ( though blogger too) a badge wouldn't make me want to vote - if you clicked through and saw the epic form you'd see that to a non blogger it's really hard work - it asks for you favourite post, twitter handle, email for the blogger if you know it - and it's lonnnnnnnnnng.
ReplyDeleteI personally vote as a blogger and know the blogs I want to vote for straight off, some people just come to your head and honestly most votes are from bloggers.
I've not asked to be nominated this year, just as I didn't last year. I have heard many grumbles from folk though who are fed up of endless tweets and begs for votes from people. Totally with you on not being a fan the voting for yourself thing x
A really good point! Yes, the forms are quite intimidating for non-bloggers. You could almost assume that, if you haven't got your own website/twitter handle etc you couldn't vote.
DeleteThis year I haven't nominated anyone in any awards and I don't expect to be nominated either. I always feel a bit like an outsider...
ReplyDeleteThere can be quite a clique element to these things, but that's human nature I suppose. Have fun doing your own thing. :-)
DeleteIt can be an emotional journey can't it? When these things come round I always remind myself why I started writing Mothering Mushroom to begin with - and it wasn't to win awards! So I don't enter and I rarely nominate unless someone has recently blown me away with their blog when nominations come round. I certainly don't nominate in every category, as Mammasaurus says - it's loooong! That said, I do subscribe to your blog by email (something I rarely do as I usually read blogs in a reader) so it's high on my list of those I enjoy reading! Good luck with the awards but even if you never win - keep doing what you're doing as I for one, think you're doing it well.
ReplyDeleteOh, what a lovely thing to say! I really appreciate that. Thank you. :-D
Delete