Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

“Do or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda

Back when I started my website I determined that to drive some traffic to it I would start using my tumblr to advertise what I was posting since I already had a small number of people following me there and I had zero people following my website.

In the first month or so, tumblr was definitely my best referrer – small numbers but a steady stream.  I was delighted.

So, I mused, how do I create enough content to do a regular tumblr post to continue to drive this traffic? 

As any creator knows, whether of art, videos, crafts, writing, etc., content just doesn’t get made overnight.  Unfortunately. 

I mean, there are those moments where inspiration hits and I have the bandwidth to do nothing but work on it, and suddenly within the space of a day, there is a story or a poem.  But these occasions for me are quite rare.  And typically, I won’t post straight away – I leave it and come back to edit and redraft after a few days.  (Mostly because when I post straight away, on re-reading later, I realise that there are typos, missing words, weird sentences, and misused words…)

Content creation takes time.

Which when you are trying to attract an audience to your website is a problem.

I considered this when I set the website up originally.  The work of bringing all my old content over was time-consuming and, frankly, boring, but it did enable me to start the website with a lot of content immediately available for people to browse once they discovered it existed.

New content though…

I have a plan.  I have a lot of ideas.  But sometimes life gets in the way and some projects take more time than planned to actually come together.  I had hoped to have the rest of A Jump to the Left posted in June, but as I said life gets in the way.

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to consistently post new content enough to attract people to the website.

Back in January, I hit on the idea of using my old catalogue and posting the equivalent of a Throwback Thursday picture.  I devised ‘Memory Monday’ where every Monday I’d post up a link to an old story which was hitting an anniversary date.  No new content needed, I’d have a consistent posting every Monday to tumblr, and while I didn’t expect it to drive a lot of traffic, it would be a way to keep traffic flowing in a steady drip.

The idea worked.  I posted a link and every week there would be a small uptick in traffic as visitors hit the linked story.  In reflecting on my first quarter, I determined that I should continue ‘Memory Monday.’  

And then, as I got to the end of March, I just started forgetting to post the link on a Monday.  I’d suddenly remember on Tuesday or later in the week.  When I posted my April Storms log in early May, I reflected that I just kept forgetting and recommitted to trying to return to my earlier consistency.

That did work for a while, but through June I started forgetting again.  My reminder would pop up on a Monday, and I’d note it…and promptly forget about it.  There was just too much going on and my Chronically Fatigued brain (an actual thing since I do have CFS/ME) prioritised other things to remember.

Where does that leave me now?

I have three options ahead of me.

1. I forget about doing Memory Monday entirely. 
2. I recommit to doing Memory Monday and find a solution to help me remember.
3. I post up a memory on a less rigid schedule.

The first option is tempting.  While ‘Memory Monday’ has worked to attract traffic, it does so in low volume numbers.  It’s not going to create a viral event that attracts hundreds of visitors. 

However, it’s enjoyable for me to hunt out a story for the week and marvel over some of my past catalogue.  There have been stories I’ve forgotten I’ve written which I rediscover.  Reminding myself of what I have accomplished in the past does give me motivation for the future.

The second option of returning to a Monday schedule feels like a strait jacket though.  I know to achieve this I’m going to have to write the reminder into my planner, set my computer to give me a reminder, set my phone to give me two reminders, and…that feels like a lot of effort for something which should be a simple, enjoyable task.

That leaves me with the third option – I post up a memory on a less rigid schedule.  I don’t lose the idea completely, but I don’t beat myself up for not completing it.  And that’s what I’m going for.  Maybe I’ll end up posting memories up on odd days every week or every couple of weeks.  I’ll see how this goes and reflect at the end of this quarter.

Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t…but I’ll try this solution out before I forget about Memory Monday entirely.

Or maybe I should follow Yoda’s most famous advice: “Do or do not, there is no try.”