The Religious Nerd

Thinking back to 2011, I have absolutely no idea what compelled me to create this blog.  A few of my buddies were doing it (really well might I add) one of which I wrote about HERE.  But I have never been much of a writer.  I dibbled and dabbled around writing the occasional poem, letter to my wife, or journal entry. However, for the most part I’m more of a talker than I am a writer.  My family members often say I should be a lawyer (because of my spoken words). My entrance into the blogging world can be compared to someone having the ambition to learn a foreign language or a musical instrument.  The idea is fantastic until you have the instrument in your hand and you have no clue how to make it work well.  You blow into the mouth piece and what comes out the other end is a bunch of garbled squeals (sort of like the sound of a beached whale which sadly I have heard in person).

So in essence, starting this blog was an ambitious undertaking which essentially forced me to get out of my comfort zone.  It’s been a wild ride with a lot of ups and downs.  My first post was an emotional one (click HERE) commemorating the sudden and shocking death of my wife’s grandparents.  I had preached at their memorial service and wanted to do something else to document who they were and what they meant to me.  I then wrote a series on how to get more out of the bible,  and how to stay Christian in college.  Both of these series flopped and generated little to no views. I published post after post and started learning new tricks on how to do it better, and became more intentional and methodical in how I went about blogging. Here are ten things that I observed from my 2 years of blogging:

1) If you want people to read your material, your material needs to be shocking or relevant (or both). For example, a good friend of mine wrote an article on the topic of whether or not early forms of Obamacare legislation would force Americans to receive a microchip implant (my friend argued against the possibility of a microchip). Loads of Christians were freaking out about the coming electronic “mark of the beast” and were convinced that the end times were here. Needless to say, that article was a blockbuster smash hit that achieved record numbers for my friends website.  Why was it successful? Because it was controversial, shocking, and extremely relevant.  Another example of a highly relevant (and shocking) topic for Christians is gay marriage.  A few of my friends have written articles on this issue that have been met with a tremendous response.

2) People don’t want to read articles that make them feel like they are in Sunday School.   Blog posts that explain a bible verse are widely unpopular (unless you put a shocking spin on it). A common misconception held by many (new) writers is that the reader is as enthusiastic about the subject as the writer is.  I learned this lesson when I wrote my bible study series.  I was passionate about the topic.  I wanted to stand on the street corner and preach my blog posts so that the whole world could benefit from them.  The problem is no one cared about the posts because the posts didn’t offer the reader anything new and exciting that they weren’t already being subjected to elsewhere.

3) Some of my favorite stuff is some of my least popular stuff.   There are a few articles in particular that I poured an extra quantity of love, care, and effort into.  I prayed about these article hoping that they would impact at least one person.  I prayed that these article would bring someone to faith in Jesus Christ.  I dreamed that these articles would have a lasting impact that would encourage change.  After the articles were posted no one read them.  How do I know that?  I can track the stats on my website.  I can tell how many people read my posts, where these people are from, and how they ended up on my website in the first place.  For some of my favorite stuff, no one in the world cared for it.  Meanwhile, some of the content I liked the least had the biggest readership.

4) It’s tough to come up with fresh content consistently when your theme is static.  I am writing about Christianity, a religion with nearly 2,000 years of history.  Naturally with such an extensive history there is only so many new discoveries to be made.  While there are Christians who invent new theories here and there, I am largely confined to write on topics that have been handled in detail for centuries.  Because of this, the Christian blogger must be creative if he wants to be successful and have a lasting impact.

5) How can you generate creative Christian content that is considered relevant? By being authentic and telling the story through your personal perspective. Readers relate with writers better when writers are honest and make themselves vulnerable.  People want to hear about your struggles, hardships, and weaknesses.  Not because they take pleasure in your pain, but because they are in pain too and take joy in knowing that you have been in their shoes and can relate with what they are going through.

6) If your post is longer than 1,000 words, the reader probably won’t finish it.  Some writers could write a 10,000 word post and still maintain a reasonable readership.  I know someone who pulls this off.  Most folks however lose interest after around 1,000 words.  That seems to be the sweet spot for blog posts.  I occasionally go over, my article on seminary was well over 3,000 words. But for the most part I learned that if you want people to finish your article, keep it short and to the point.  Don’t try to cover 3 topics when you’re limited to 1,000 words.  Use those 1,000 words in a way that proves your point.

7) The written word is out, the spoken word is in.  My good friend of mine fired up a new audio podcast (subscribe here).  People have busy schedules and are more likely to listen to content versus reading content.  With the abundance of smartphones, tablets, along with worldwide wireless internet access, it makes perfect sense as to why many people prefer audio/video content over reading. I’d gamble that this blog will become irrelevant within three or four years if I don’t adapt to the demand for audio and video content.

8) I don’t want my website to be about the Brandon Vaara brand.  I want the website to be helpful for you (and focused on Jesus).   I want to promote different writers and different perspectives.  I learned early on that I have many friends who are much more gifted than I am.  Writers, preachers, coaches, etc.  I want their voice to appear in my content.  I want Jesus’ voice throughout all of my content.  I’m not trying to get you to buy my book, or hire me to be your pastor. While I do monitor my website numbers, and do care about helping others, I have proven to myself that I will press on even if only a few people are reading my content.

9) I’ve considered quitting on many occasions.  Earlier I mentioned that there have been posts that I poured my heart into that received no interest from the readers. Sometimes there are streaks that leave you feeling discouraged because no one is responding to anything you write.  I remember a time when I was  thinking about throwing in the towel and a friend asked me to meet him for coffee.  My friend explained that he had been secretly reading all of my content and that the content had helped encourage him through some hard times.  This has happened a few times and has always left me encouraged to press on.

10) Please support my blog and subscribe today.  Go to my homepage at www.brandonvaara.com.  Scroll down about half way, on the right side there is a category that says “Follow Blog via Email” (see picture below).  Please fill this out and subscribe to my blog.  I would love if you would join me on my journey!