A couple of weeks ago I read a blog post that really resonated with me. Allison writes O My Family and truly captured how I feel about pinterest. I mean, finally, someone said it! And now I’m piggy-backing on this smart, funny girl’s post.
The general gist is what pinterest has done to blogging. People who are crafty and create beautiful stuff – they get pinned. Some get lucky and pin something special and get TONS of traffic coming to their website.
But me – I get left out of all that traffic because, well, I’m the least crafty person you’ll ever meet.
When pinterest first came about I was all over that shit. I was pinning like a mad woman. I had grand plans to decorate my entire house in chevron. You know, create a laundry room complete with a chaise lounge for spur of the moment relaxation (seriously?) and an organized station in which to make homemade detergent and dryer sheets.
I was suddenly reading how everyone was getting so much traffic from their projects. And I gotta say . . . I was jealous. I started thinking of ways I could incorporate this new-found goldmine into my blog. For awhile I did a series called “That’s Pinteresting.” It didn’t amount to much.
I came up with a couple of things I thought could be pinnable. But my skin crawled as I pinned them myself, hoping others would as well. It wasn’t genuine. It was all for personal gain.
You see, I realized, pinterest just isn’t my thing.
You know what is my thing? Writing. Writing this blog. Writing with my heart splattered all over your screen. That’s me. I want to write meaningful posts that strike a chord with other bloggers. Posts that make them want to come back and check in on this little life I’m living.
This is not to say that if you like pinning or have had things pinned that you’re not a meaningful blogger. I understand that a beautiful photo shoot or a scrumptious blueberry muffin or a handsome outfit can make you tick, just like a beautiful piece of writing makes me tick.
But I hate that what I write gets lost in the shuffle sometimes. I wish that more of my deep-thought posts could get some more recognition. These days, I’m lucky if a post that I pour out of my heart breaks 250 views.
Is this what it has come down to? Stats and number of pins?
I guess it just makes me sad.
My life is messy and unorganized but in a way, it’s beautiful too. My non-decorated house means we’re getting out of debt so that we can save more money for our sons’ college fund and pay off our mortgage sooner. The unused craft supplies mean that we went for a bike ride instead of staying inside.
My life is not pinnable.
But it’s good anyway.
And I believe my writing is too.
I know this feeling (and my posts don’t even get 250 views!) I think it’s about finding social media that “fits” what you do on your blog. I think Google + is good for more writing-centric blogs, but I haven’t figured it out quite yet. xo
angela recently posted..Enjoying the Cake
I’m with you. I find that my blog barely gets 100 views per day. But to me, that’s not whats important. I’m just happy to have a documentation of our lives on a regular basis. The little things I may otherwise forget.
To be honest, it drives me crazy when people pin their own things. I feel like that’s just begging for attention! I mean, we all like attention and “To make it big” but I hate that blogging can sometimes turn into such a competition!
Love reading your blog. Don’t change it.
Twitter: mrsmidatlantic
says:
I only have a teeny, tiny blog. And yes – I would LOVE more visits. But Pinterest, oddly, is something I have purposely chosen to keep OFF my blog. I might reference a Pinterest success or two, but I’m not looking to have people re-pin my blog for any reason. Come visit for a look at my experiences as a wife, mom and coworker… but not for my crafts! But, um, please do come visit.
Caitlin MidAtlantic recently posted..Girl Dad
I love Pinterest, but it’ll never drive traffic to my blog, either. I think I like being small; I’m into relationships.
Brandee Shafer recently posted..The Stairs
I’m right there with you but I use Pinterest differently. Its my menu planning resource, I have a board where I support bloggers who have written books, I use it for photography inspiration, and writing tips. I get pinned a lot but don’t get much traffic from there. That’s not why I do it. I do it because Im passionate about sharing and helping others. Im not crafty and no one wants to see what the dorm apartment I live in looks like. Im not living a pinnable life either. I think the lesson is that if a blogger is doing anything solely for traffic there will not be fulfillment. I totally get what youre saying but its just not all about traffic. I pin myself because I write tutorials to help people who have asked for them, to share my pictures to show people that with work they too can work their cameras, etc.
Veronica recently posted..How to critique your own photographs
And I totally get that people use it for other reasons. This post is more about realizing it just doesn’t jive with my blog. At one point I was going to use it to keep track of inspiration for my novel. I also used it to track books I would like to read. That is to say, it’s definitely not useless. But if it only makes me feel bad I won’t use it. And usually it totally makes me feel inadequate.
Gah why can’t I share your posts? Where’s your button lady : )
Veronica recently posted..How to critique your own photographs
I struggle with this sometimes too, but I try to focus on the fact that I write because I need to do it for me, to help clear my head. It sure does feel good though when I get comments on FB from people, telling me they love my writing.
Kiara Buechler recently posted..Workin’ 9 to 5, Ain’t No Way to Make a Living
I have to tell you that I love pinning stuff but most of it I never even look at, it never gets read. My blog and my life isn’t very pinable either but I love to write and continue to at my blog. I sorta think it’s silly when bloggers are pinning their own stuff. Great post by the way : )
Julia recently posted..At 22 Months
Twitter: sarahkoci
says:
Oh Molly . . . you’re a woman after my own heart. No, our lives may not be Pinterest-perfect. And there’s beauty in that, and beauty in our words.
Here’s to not-so-pinnable but just-as-fantastic bloggers
Sarah recently posted..what I learned in my first week as a full-time freelancer
Twitter: loveismayhem
says:
I’m part of a group where one of the weekly to do’s was to “create a pinnable post” and I stressed it so hard, but I made one that was true to something I loved and got me a whole 8 views! Fail.
I love Pinterest, I love stealing the ideas I find on other people’s pinnable entries, but I love my blog enough never to suffer the embarrassment of forcing a “Pinterest worthy” blog post again.
Monique recently posted..Finally, Autumn
I love Pinterest. And I have had one post drive lots of traffic (lots for ME, anyway) to my blog, which is exciting. BUT. I don’t really view it as satisfying traffic. To me, Pinterest-driven traffic is just a game of numbers. Those visits don’t mean people are reading my writing. It doesn’t mean they’re becoming repeat visitors, are affected by my words, or laugh at my attempts to be funny. I love Pinterest as a hobby; another time-suck on the internet. I like to Pin funny things, save recipes I want to try, and get inspiration for when we buy a home one day.
I feel similarly about strictly giveaway-centered blogs. I envy the traffic. I envy the opportunities. But I just don’t know that I’d get the same satisfaction out of thousands upon thousands of visitors coming daily because I was hosting some giveaway as I would if those visits were coming because of me. Because of my writing.
Mommy Boots recently posted..The Midnight Crapper
Who cares about Pinterest–you’ve got talent in writing girl. Keep on writing!
That’s why I keep reading your blog! Be true to you and keep writing!!!! Love!