While I usually remain faithful to the writing formula I have set for myself, there are times when I write about things I believe are entertaining and sprinkle in some elements of Christianity. Three of the most viewed posts in Knowledge Dropper history are: A Christian Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, Why I don’t think God likes chick flicks, and Is your church like an elementary school?.
Sure, there are spiritual elements to these posts. But I wrote these for fun. I didn’t expect them to changes anybody’s life. Then I get double the traffic on the zombie guide than I have ever had for anything else. Yet, there are other posts that I researched, edited several times, and spent lots of prayer time trying to make sure it was what God wanted me to write. Then just a handful of people ever see it. That is very disheartening.
After having some time to ponder these statistics and then pray about what they mean for the future of this blog, I have had a few revelations.
1. Quality > Quantity – Despite a small number of page views on some of the posts I’ve spent the most time on, I often have at least one person tell me they enjoyed what I wrote or that they needed to hear it at that time. If I could choose between helping one person through a tough situation and having one hundred people browse my blog and move on, I would choose the one person every time.
2. My marketing stinks – I usually include a quote from each post when attach the web address to a Facebook or Twitter message. Thinking I’m super smart, I often decide to choose some clever line that links directly to the title. However, lately I have been trying to use the more fun, attention grabbing lines alongside the links to see if that will increase traffic. I have seen other writers do this, so we will see how it goes.
3. My expectations mean nothing – Jon Acuff gave me a virtual stomach punch on this issue. If I am writing because I feel led by God to do so, and I truly put my best effort into it, the results should not matter to me. If I am following God’s leading and truly writing what He wants me to write, it is up to Him to take care of the rest as He sees fit.
That might mean that my blog blows up with traffic when He wants it to. It could be that there is only one message that He wants to deliver to one person through my writing, and everything else is done to make sure that message is delivered. Is that what I want? Nope. Does what I want matter? Nope. Does that suck sometimes? Yep.
You may or may not be in a place of feeling like you are not producing the fruit that you expected to come out of your hard work. If you are feeling that way, join the club. I hope my insights are helpful for you. If you feel like you are producing fruit and need help carrying it in the house, please let the rest of us help you. Share your secrets so the rest of us may be fruitful also.
Have you ever had to come to terms with the fact that God’s plan may be different from what you dreamed it would be?