I’m finishing up a blog post on blogging (meta, I know haha) and I would love to know any or all of the following:
-Do you have a blog? (Feel free to link)
-Why did you decide to create a blog and what do you like/dislike about having it?
-What advice would you have for other creators considering starting a blog?
Please note that you may be quoted in the Patreon blog (with a nifty link to your Patreon page).
Thanks so much in advance for your insight!
Although I do a webcomic, I’m a strong advocate of blogging. It helps define where I stand in the larger community; enables me to converse with my readers; helps me spread the word about new merchandise and events — plus it’s super powerful for SEO.
I have sites that are built on blogging software (WordPress) that used to be blogs, but are no longer, because for the past year, I’ve been using Patreon as the place where I post regularly about my work. I’ve mostly switched my sites to have front pages that promote the content they contain, and use the blogging feature to post the occasional article or event.
I think every visual artist needs some sort of site where they showcase their work. My personal blog at LisaVollrath.com has turned into more of a portfolio site this year, with the old blog portion of it hidden. I guess I’ve gone from an artist who uses her site to blather on about whatever’s happening this week, to an artist who needs a site that showcases work in a more professional way. I save the blather for my patrons, who get regular posts about whatever I’m working on. I feel more comfortable sharing things with them than I did blogging for whoever happens to wander by, so my writing on Patreon is more personal, and more open.
Eh, probably not helpful for your article.
-Do you have a blog? (Feel free to link)
I have one as the result of a writing challenge by a friend of mine. I’m writing every day in October (no small feat for me) on the subject of creativity in my daily life. Sometimes there’s loads to write about and sometimes there ain’t.
-Why did you decide to create a blog and what do you like/dislike about having it?
I don’t feel it is visually appealing and doesn’t fit in with the style of my main creative efforts on YouTube. Something I need to find the time to fix (and there’s a line…believe me there’s a line).
-What advice would you have for other creators considering starting a blog?
Be consistent (talking to myself for sure). Illustrate/photos if you can. Realize there are some days you would rather be stung by a wasp than to force something out.
I have had a WordPress blog for several years before my Patreon and it was originally about full-time travel trailer living, but since Patreon I’ve turned it into a blog about living small and simple to achieve big dreams. Expanding the topic helps to incorporate my Patreon from time to time as I talk about living a more artistic life and how I am making that happen.
Do you have a blog? (Feel free to link)
Yes, I do. (Grimoeuvre.com/BLOG)
-Why did you decide to create a blog and what do you like/dislike about having it?
My blog is pretty new, but I decided to do it because of three reasons:
1. To talk about art process/business, tips and tricks etc. in detail, which is not possible otherwise.
2. To keep the website “active” even when it is not; at least, technically. I created a subfolder (/blog) and not a subdomain (blog.website.com) for this reason.
3. Because blogs are cool! Even though there are so many ways to be social these days, blogs are still cool (for me, at least); and I follow many art blogs. I think it is about personal preferences, but most of the social media is kinda shallow, blogs are for better discussions/connections.
I like that it gives me a space to talk about things in detail, without having to worry about anything.
I hate that it’s hard to update it as much as I want. Because that’s a lot of work.
-What advice would you have for other creators considering starting a blog?
I’d say Be Consistent. This is more of a general work advice, you need to do it consistently for a long time before you see any results. Blogs are no different. The thing is, if you post 3 times a week, people will start expecting you to post 3 times a week. And if you deliver in time, they’ll come back for more.
(I am telling that to myself, tbh, hah!)
Also, about consistency, it is better if you plan at least 3 posts in advance. You’ll have better chances of maintaining a schedule that way.
[quote=“ellie, post:1, topic:157”]
-Do you have a blog?[/quote]
Yes, you can find it here.
-Why did you decide to create a blog and what do you like/dislike about having it?
It’s evolved over the years, but it’s primary purpose has been to communicate with people who are interested in the projects I’m working on or share some of the things I’ve been through. I have a space for editorials in my magazine, but sometimes there are things that don’t really belong there. This gives me an outlet for that extra stuff. Also, the magazine is monthly, the blog is whenever I like. I like having that flexibility.
-What advice would you have for other creators considering starting a blog?
It seems obvious, but don’t say anything you wouldn’t want your parents, co-workers, employers, etc. to see. Hard to believe people still make this mistake, but it happens a lot.
Hi Ellie,
I have a blog, though its new and I’m not really sure of the purpose of it as yet, it needs a lot of work. Right now I’m just using it to share my latest videos, and photos of the schools I’m working with. I used to be an avid blogger but its hard to find the time these days and to get a feel for who the audience are.
@bradguigar, I loved this and included it in the piece, with a link to your Patreon page. You can check out finished piece here.
Thanks again for sharing!
Thank you everyone for your replies! Was so helpful to hear from some of you about why you do/don’t have a blog and definitely helped steer the direction of the post. 
You can find the finished piece here! Might be helpful to those of you who are still debating whether or not to start a blog (or have just begun).
Even though I consider myself a songwriter (here’s my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/chrissykay), my blog let’s me branch out creatively when I want to write about my life! It’s a chance for me to be creative beyond just music, and to serve a whole different audience too! My blog is mostly about travel, health, adventure, and skiing. Every creator has more than one strict style of creation and blogs are an amazing way to share the thoughts and inspirations that your audience might not always expect http://www.thewilderling.com/
I do!
My personal blog is http://cypheroftyr.com Patreon is at http://patreon.com/cypheroftyr
I started a blog as a way to track things I wanted to talk about publicly rather than on my Livejournal, and it’s stayed with me as I’ve grown. I’m still using it, now more as a media tool to talk about things I’m doing, sharing my work and some things in the works.
What I dislike is mostly my own problem with time management. I feel like I am sometimes posting too much or not enough. Or worrying about too much cross pollination between it, Patreon and other places.
If you’re considering a blog ponder why, what you will use it for and are you willing to put time into it, even if it’s a post a week versus daily (tip: very hard to maintain a daily blog schedule, especially if you have other stuff going on)
I have my own nascent blog (http://arthurbreur.com/blog) and I’ve done some guest blogging. I have also blogged about blogging (as well as tweeting about blogging about blogging!) and those posts can be found at the following links:
-Do you have a blog?
Yes. http://brainspills.blogspot.com
-Why did you decide to create a blog and what do you like/dislike about having it?
I find that the blog platform allows for a more in depth look at the person and topic. As an artist it’s a great way to talk about and show process.
-What advice would you have for other creators considering starting a blog? Don’t be afraid to show off who you are silly jokes, cat photos get personal be authentic.
You know, I have a blog at http://robert.mittonvillage.com/ and the whole purpose of it was to not only figure out to actually build a website using Wordpress, but also to have somewhere to share my daily Year of Creative Habits drawings as I completed that year long challenge.
I’ve since finished that project (that was back in 2015), and since then I’ve discovered Patreon. I posted all my work on there but then I started a second YOCH for 2017 in January. I’ve since went back to my blog to share that specific project (photography related, unlike my Patreon which is listed as all digital artwork)
I don’t have ‘that’ many fans or anything, but they’re still important to me of course. I wonder if I should get in contact with them and find out if following my work is confusing at all. I’d toss up a poll but I’m not sure if I’d get enough results really. I share so many things via Instagram, Twitter, my Facebook art page, my website, and my Patreon.
So I think I’m kind of in confused, myself! I’ve always heard that having your own website is super important, but I love everything about how Patreon works, and it’s worked very well for me so far, and the money I bring in from that has helped tremendously. Even if it’s a relatively small amount.
I’ve even set up these “recipe” things from https://ifttt.com so that under certain conditions, when I post something on Instagram (for example) it gets share everywhere else. I highly recommend them to anyone interested in sharing their work over multiple social networks! They’ve never let me down.
EDIT: Sorry for the book 
I tend to ramble.
We recently set up a Patron-only blog at https://ccvip.altervista.org