I’m very pleased to announce that Venisa McAllister is my guest podcaster for this week’s episode: Thankful and Facing Facts.
Thankful
Venisa is talking about:
- Her own educational and childhood experiences
- How her family moved from homeschooling to unschooling
- Her children and how they have their individual learning styles
- The reasons she is thankful that her family is unschooling
Facing Facts
I’m talking about:
- How perfectionists like me don’t always face facts
- What I discovered when I was brave enough to look at my blog, podcast and video stats
- How data can help us do better work
- A survey I’m hoping you’ll fill in so that I can find out if what I’m doing is helpful.
- Changes I could make
Show Notes
Website
Book
Finish by Jon Acuff
A big thank you to Venisa. If you’d like to be a guest podcaster, please let me know!
Are my blog, podcasts, and videos helpful? Or maybe not? Can I improve what I’m doing? Or should I go in a different direction? Please help me make some decisions by answering as many questions as you can. I appreciate your feedback!
Please feel welcome to leave a comment about anything I talked about in this episode. Or just stop by to say hello!
The numbers thing is a tricky one. “Big” numbers are not necessary for a successful website (unless you are going after ad revenue). It’s the right numbers that matter which is why I personally think SEO and Pinterest are the most powerful tools when it comes to bringing the right people to your website. Pinterest is clearly a search engine now so it makes it more valuable in that sense.
The unschooling niche is already going to be smaller than the average homeschool or parenting niche so the pool you have to draw from is smaller. But the people who you do get to come to your site should clearly be your target audience because they are searching for exactly what you have to offer. They are the people who will buy your book.
Like you, I quit Facebook. I’m sure it will impact my numbers a bit in the short term, but in the long-term I think it will help because I am more focused on what I like to do and do well. SEO work and Pinterest are more solitary methods of bringing in readers as compared to Facebook and Instagram. I would rather work in solitary areas where I can be my introverted self than deal with all of the social aspects of Facebook and Instagram and Twitter. Facebook left me exhausted. Working on SEO leaves me feeling accomplished as I see posts starting to perform better. The same thing with Pinterest. And if I have to be on Facebook to be a “successful” blogger, then I won’t be a “successful” blogger because (baring Divine Intervention) I’m not going back on there.
I don’t think there is only one right way to do all this blogging stuff. I think the right way is the way that brings you joy and satisfaction because when you are happy and enjoying what you do, you’ll do it well.
I also think you are a fellow INFJ and we are known for constantly re-evaluating how to do things better, wondering if we are really doing our best work, wondering if what we are doing is important, etc. which ties in with the Finish book… Deciding to let go of some things also counts as finishing IMHO. I consider leaving Facebook a “finish” in that I’ve closed that door and moved on. For me, that’s a big finish. I count leaving FB as perhaps my biggest win so far in 2018 because quitting helped me define my message and purpose in multiple ways.
I think you should ask yourself what is success for YOU. No one else can define success for you. Is it page views? Is it money? Is it social shares? Is it being noticed by other bloggers? Is it enjoying your group of faithful followers? Is it something else?
Last thought… As a Christian, my prayer has always been that God would bring the right person to the right post at the right time. I love it when I get comments on posts that are 3, 5, 8 or more years old because the right post met the need of the right person at the right time. 🙂
Sallie,
Thank you for taking time to write such a helpful post.
Yes, despite maybe losing some blog traffic by deleting my Facebook account, I’m glad I did it. I mentioned Instagram in the podcast, but I’m still not completely happy having an account. I do like seeing friends photos and I can share unschooling thoughts and ideas. However, I don’t like the thought of my data being collected and my behaviour being controlled. It was so easy slipping back into old habits of clicking and scrolling and wasting time.
I was just reading some articles on Cal Newport’s website. These words resonate with me:
As I wrote in Deep Work, part of the power of the social media business model is that it introduces a type of attention collectivism, where I’ll promise to pretend to care what you have to say (by clicking “like” or leaving a quick comment), if you do the same for me. This is incredibly seductive, though ultimately hollow.
Social media can become a meaningless game. Yes, sometimes we do pretend to care but who’s going to admit that?
I like Cal’s idea of embracing social Internet rather than social media and concentrating on our own space that we have total control over such as our websites. Yes, I think you’re right about concentrating on SEO and Pinterest.
Success? I do agree that success isn’t about numbers. My problem though is that I want to be effective. I don’t want to waste time producing content that no one is interested in because it’s not helpful. Yes, a few people might be helped by my efforts. But if I could spread the unschooling message a little further by improving my content or better advertising it, that would be good. You are right about me being an INFJ. I’m always reevaluating!
Money… I’m at the stage where I can’t afford to invest any more of our family money in blogging and podcasting. We just don’t have enough income. So if I want to continue blogging and podcasting, I do have to think about money. It would be good to have a few Patreon supporters!
Ultimately, God is in charge. I do believe that. Thank you for the reminder. And thank you for listening to my podcast and offering your thoughts. It’s always good to chat with you and mull things over!
Sue,
I think you might want to change the settings on your survey. The questions are set up to only allow one choice and I’m guessing you want us to select as many as applicable on several of them.
Sallie,
I changed the settings. I chose multiple choice for some of the questions instead of check-box. Thank you for alerting me to the problem!
Hi Sue, I have filled in the survey :-). I could have done with a maybe button regarding the unschooling book! However if it had been an Angels of Abbey Creek, Pip and I would be at the front of the queue!! I guess I couldn’t say yes about the book because I don’t really identify as an unschooled although by default I have raised an unschooling son, ??. I am just too indoctrinated in the tick box culture. However, hearing your stories gives me the encouragement to be a renegade and so we so a mix of workbooks, hands on activities, projects and field trips. I loved hearing the story shared by Venisa she did a fab job in explaining the why as well as the how of unschooling in her family.
I know that you want to make the best use of your time and I am hoping the survey will yield good results. SEO is an absolute pain!! I had to use it in my job as writer for the Christian website and what with that and yeost it nearly finished me off!! It was akin to having an editor, grammar teacher and critic say on your shoulder, definitely not fun ? As always sending you a big hug dear friend xx
San,
Thank you so much for filling in the survey. Somehow I don’t think I’m going to get a lot of responses. So far 165 people have downloaded the podcast episode and only 3 have filled in the survey: You and Venisa and someone anonymous who is probably a friend!
I liked your words about the unschooling book. Maybe you’d buy a copy and maybe I’ll finish it. I’m not one hundred percent sure about it either. Part of me wants to abandon it and return to my fiction writing. I’d like to finish the third Angels book. It’s good to know Pip is waiting to read it!
I’ve been using Yoast as well and I also don’t like it. I sometimes ignore it completely because it wants to change my writing style. It’s hard to write a fun story with Yoast telling me what to do. Yes, it can be an absolute pain!
Making the most of my time… Yes, that’s what I want to do. I know that only one person has to benefit from something we have spoken or written about to make the effort worthwhile, but somehow that doesn’t seem enough. Surely there is a better way to do things so that our talents are utilised in the most effective and helpful way?
Venisa’s story was very interesting. Didn’t she do a great job with the recording?
It’s been so good chatting with you, San. Thank you for stopping by. Your comment was just what I needed this morning. You’ve made me smile! Sending much love to you, Dave and your family. xxxx
Wish there was an easy answer:-(. If it is any consolation I am busy in “San’s Sweatshop”. Crafting items for an upcoming craft fair. In order to have a hope of selling my hourly rate is well below the minimum wage. In fact the lady who helps here with the cleaning once a fortnight gets paid double my hourly rate! I cannot charge a liveable sustainable wage because the item just would not sell. The problem is, the market is flooded with handmade items, some a cheap imports from third world countries and others are folk who love to craft and are happy just to recoup the cost of their materials. In many ways content writing, blogs and social media are the same. Anyone can write a blog, open an Instagram account or start a YouTube channel! The market is flooded and it can be difficult to have your voice heard 🙁
I really love your podcasts and I think adding in other voices is a genius idea! I especially loved your recent chat with Sophie, she is an eloquent, thoughtful and full of life young woman. She did a fab job at plugging your Patreon account!! Thank you for keeping me company on my Thursday evening drives and my time in the Sweatshop ? Big loves to you dear friend xx
San,
Your craft items are so beautiful. It’s a real pity you are unable to sell them for what they are really worth. Could you sell PDF patterns of your designs? I once saw a website selling unique fabric angels. They were selling well as far as I could see, but I couldn’t afford one. However, I bought a pattern and made my own! Buyers would have two options: The finished item for those people who don’t want to sew and the pattern for fellow crafters. You could copyright your patterns for non-commercial purposes only.
Yes, our fields are flooded with products or content. And for bloggers/ podcasters etc, practically all of that content is available for free. Maybe it’s the same for craft patterns. Convincing people to make pledges and become patrons is proving difficult!
I’m so glad you enjoyed my chat with Sophie. Oh yes, she mentioned my Patreon account quite a few times. It’s good to have a fan who believes in me!
I love travelling with you on Thursday evenings. Thank you for inviting me to come along for the drive! Much love to you too xxx
I’ve just finished listening to your two latest podcasts, Sue, and really enjoyed your lovely, natural conversation with Sophie – I felt like I was sitting with you both 🙂 – as well as listening to Venisa’s contribution. Thanks for an insight into your life and family, Venisa. I love hearing about other unschoolers and what their lives are like.
I also enjoyed Sophie’s latest videos – thank you, Sophie, for taking the time to tell your stories in an engaging way with beautiful backdrops!
I am so glad that we can encourage each other. You have certainly been a huge encouragement and example to me of living out the unschooling lifestyle with joy and perseverance (even, and especially, when you don’t feel it at the time).
I am pretty technologically-challenged when it comes to anything to do with social media, but I do pray that the Lord will bring the people and resources you need to keep spreading the unschooling message!
Alison,
I’m so glad you enjoyed my conversation with Sophie. Thank you for your kind words. They’ll make Sophie smile! I also appreciate your encouraging words. They are just what I need. It seems to have been a difficult week, but your comment has made a huge difference. Thank you!
I hope all is well with you and your family. May God bless you!