There’s something I need to tell you

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while… It isn’t your usual post full of instructions but I really feel it is worth saying. This issue is not mine alone, as many fellow publishers share in this. I do hope it all works out. Grab a cup… There’s something I need to tell you.

How did I get here!?

Almost 10 years ago I had a ‘hair-brained’ idea to start a blog. It seemed simple enough, I make stuff all the time so why not share it?! After decades of working in the commercial art industry I had developed all the necessary background skills to photograph, edit, write (I hope), illustrate (since I am trained as a technical illustrator) and mostly be able to work in all kinds of media. I did also hold a couple other jobs teaching and freelancing so those pennies that came in with google ads were ok.

I know most who start a website think that it’s an easy way to make lots of money but I was more interested in the sharing aspect. Some sites actually do not create their own material but rather just ‘take’ from what exists, even steal from them. Sure, it needs to be worthwhile since there’s a lot of costs associated with keeping a site alive. I need to have a place where the digital content ‘lives’ and will feed it quickly to you when you want to see & read it. I did learn the software (Wordpress) that allows the design and configuration of the pages pretty easily. Thankfully a graphic designer daughter is my saving grace!

It’s just me…

Did you guess, it is just me, all by myself! I do have some family help sometimes for technical issues but it’s just me making, writing, and posting. Some will tell me to hire a cheap writer but that just seems wrong. How can someone who did not have hands on experience tell you how to do it and gives tips along the way?!

Some of the technical health of a website like speed is also important so I have had to hire web designers to rebuild my site. So many scores & analytics are available to tell you how you are doing. It takes a whole skillset to even know how to read those analytics in depth. ‘But I just want to be creative.

Be unique and different

I am the one who does each project, design it and try to be unique. As an artist I was taught to be unique rather than follow a trend or style. That is great but the internet likes popular subjects and rewards them. That means that if your subject matter or projects is a very niche type it may not rank really high in the eyes of Google. When you search for something, those terms and keywords may have millions of searches so being on the top of the list is crucial. Figuring how to get to the top of the list is another mystery. It is not good enough to just make great content but you need to be a pro at SEO (search engine optimization) Arghhh, I need to use the right words or perhaps hire help.

Where is everyone?!

You can supply the greatest content (tutorials and projects) but if no one comes to visit then it’s not great or sustainable. Traffic numbers translates into the revenue to pay for the costs. Yes, I know you hate those ads between my content but it is a necessary evil.

Well, that sounds reasonably easy? As expected, things are changing all the time. I know it can’t stay the same but as of late it seems much more accelerated! I bet you have already been introduced to AI (Artificial intelligence). It can be a great tool but I worry… As a creative person who was educated in methods that don’t even exist today I have seen so much change, mind-boggling amounts of change. I really do not not want to sound like one of those old bitter people but I see so many effects of these changes, especially in the creative industry. It was very well said; ‘if it comes by too easily it probably isn’t worth it’.

In the ‘olden’ days (yada-yada) we would learn that practice made perfect and take the steps to learn how to get better with perseverance. Well, now you see a project whiz by in seconds and it looks crazy simple. Social media feeds you this and knows what you want to see since there’s a lot of invisible algorithms working behind the scenes. Most never to make it as those surfing hours are now gone.

Answers delivered too quick:

You know how it happens; you search something and there is the answer in short form. Google’s practice of extracting sections from websites and displaying them directly on search results pages (often in the form of featured snippets) has raised significant issues for website owners, content creators, and digital marketers. Even questions and query you haven’t even asked yet are answered.

Since you see an answer you do not travel or click through to the website page. That’s great for you but detrimental for the site owner from where it was pulled from. Imagine getting the pages of a book that you need without buying the book! This scares me as I see traffic sink and wonder what the future holds.

While Google typically provides a link to the source of the snippet, it’s often less visible, and users may overlook it. The content creators are left without being directly credited. This means less brand interaction and user engagement. Another issue is Google’s snippets often provide a limited view, and while convenient, this brief content can sometimes misrepresent or oversimplify the information, since the user only sees a small part of the full context.

Do you really want to see my face?

Oh, and speaking of social media; there is such a push nowadays to post constantly. Do I have time to post every small moment of my day? I can barely keep up with the ‘making’ and creating the content. I’m told I should post my face all the time, but why? I thought you really want to learn how to do things and seeing me doesn’t add much help. Most of the time I probably look dreadful in work clothes anyways!

There’s only so much time in your day and scrolling through Instagram & Facebook for hours leaves little left. Questions are then asked and then there are so many platforms to check and respond to. It makes my head spin and almost makes me keep forgetting what I was doing. I fondly remember the days where only one thing would be happening at a time. I bet it was much more efficient then.

Google Updates and algorithms

I go about making my stuff and then I may look to see that hardly anyone visits. Maybe you have heard about it. Google has made a series of algorithm updates (core update) focused on promoting quality, user-focused content, with the Helpful Content Update (HCU) being one of the most impactful. This update aims to improve your user experience by rewarding genuinely helpful, high-quality content while reducing the visibility of low-quality content that lacks depth, originality, or relevance. In particular, blogs and websites that prioritize search engine optimization (SEO) over user value are facing new challenges. Some of my fellow bloggers have been decimated by these updates and their livelihood has all but disappeared! My traffic graph lines go up & down as I scratch my head.

What is Google’s Helpful Content Update (HCU)?

The Helpful Content Update, launched by Google in 2022, introduced a system that focuses on identifying and devaluing content that is “unhelpful.” This is part of Google’s broader goal to ensure that the most relevant, helpful, and user-centered content ranks higher in search results.

The goal of HCU is to favour websites that:

1. Prioritize content quality over SEO gimmicks.
2. Are focused on a primary topic (as opposed to covering an excessive variety of unrelated topics).
3. Demonstrate expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-A-T) in their content.

So, those who tell me to hire writers would be wrong here as I ‘am’ the one who has the expertise, authority and trustworthiness.

Favouring Niche Expertise Over Generalized Content

Google’s HCU likes to favour websites and blogs that focus on specific topics or niches, where the creator or author demonstrates clear expertise. Blogs that cover a variety of unrelated topics may struggle to rank well if Google’s algorithm views them as lacking authority on any single topic. That may be a problem since I tend to have a lot of media that I have experience in (since I am so old). This all leaves me quite uneasy about the future of my site.

Be careful and aware of AI

I see so many examples of AI use in images, and writing and even video. As scary as ai-generated content can be a useful tool as long as you do not lose the human factor. I beg that you scrutinize what you see and read, not much more I can do…

My conclusion:

I’m sorry to have written this as I totally prefer to stay on the optimistic side of being creative but I feel it had to be said. If I was starting a career of blogging now I would hesitate. Myself, I will see how long I can stay on this rollercoaster before it turns my stomach too much. I am ever grateful that you are reading this, join me in my journey, and are here on my page. I do mean that.

I’ll leave you with my to do list;

• design a new project
• research materials
• make tests
• take pictures
• emails to check
• text messages
• Facebook messages
• Facebook posts
• Instagram DM’s
• make instagram posts
• edit video
• figure out how to store video
• write blog posts
• edit and optimize photos
• write a newsletter
• list etsy items
• pack & ship Etsy items
• try to learn SEO
• clean up from making
• take a nap
• organize all my materials
• try to socialize
• manage photo library
• remember what I was doing…
• post videos on youtube