Is There A 10-Step Program for Bloggers?

I wear many hats in life – son, husband, dad, publicist, marketer, baseball fan, New Yorker, and son. I am also a blogger. It was nearly two years and 650 posts ago that I launched Book Marketing Buzz Blog http://www.bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com. Every day I wonder if this is my last post.

I love to write but I also love my sanity. Blogging poses certain benefits and drawbacks, however. I like creating something every day and hopefully having my words help others. I also want to commoditize the blog in some way. It’s good for my branding and it’s fun to write. I also love getting reader praise and most of all I love to watch my views climb through the day. But that’s the problem.

It’s become an addiction.

This obsession of constantly checking to see how many people clicked on my blog has taken over my waking day. I am constantly checking. Look, it’s up to 282 at 10.34 am. I had 499 yesterday and 683 the day before.

I see what the issue is. Somehow I have allowed the total daily viewers to provide my metric for validation. Somehow life is good when the clicks are pouring in. I’ve become dependent on watching my views counter the way investors constantly check in to see how the Dow is doing.

Is there a 10-step program for this?

Do I have to stop the blog in order to stop my driven desire to keep ogling my view counter? Am I like diet-conscious women who weigh themselves multiple times a day? Am I like an alcoholic who needs a drink or eight drinks to get through the day?

My compulsion to check on my progress is not something I suffer alone. I know millions of other bloggers also check their numbers, often and again. Sometimes, it drives me to take action, such as email 500 or 2,000 people, asking them to check out my latest post. It works. The count totals go higher and my addiction is fueled again. I can’t stop.

Are my readers enablers? Is it your fault that I’m like this?

I wouldn’t want the alternative – no blog, no readers. I enjoy feeling connected to others as I practice my craft. It’s the therapeutic. It’s liberating. It’s rewarding.

But it’s addictive.

In Case You Missed These Recent Posts:

With Some Magazines  Advertising Overwhelms The Content  http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/would-you-like-some-content-to-go-with.html

Writing A Great Book Is Not Enough http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/if-you-write-it-they-will-come-maybe.html

Where Is a Book Pope?

http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/can-pope-bless-books.html

Changes At The View Are Good for Authors http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-view-passes-its-torch-could-spark.html

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This blog is copyrighted material by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2013