In theory, blogging as a writer is pretty easy. You set up a blog. You give it a catchy title. You write some posts. You publish them, and publicise them through social media and any other means you can think of. You get excited every time someone leaves a comment or likes one of your posts. On the face of it, it isn’t really that difficult.

Yet it is widely known that running a successful, useful blog doesn’t usually come easily. It takes a lot of time and effort and dedication, and when we have so many other things to be focusing on, it runs the risk of slipping down our list of priorities. This is why it can be so useful to ask yourself the question: what does your blog do for you?

As a writer, what value does your blog offer to you and your work? What does it bring to the table? For example, in my case, my blog is not only a useful tool for promoting my books, but also for promoting independent publishing, passing on tips and building a bigger readership. Your own blog might have a similar purpose, or it might be to share details of your works in progress, to publish short works or to engage in debate with your readers.

Whatever your blog does, it’s important that you are able to identify its purpose and its benefits. If you’re struggling to list the benefits it brings you, or to clarify exactly what it does, it might be time for a rethink.

There are a few reasons for this. One is that a blog can’t do everything. It needs to have a focus, and it needs to fit clearly into your writing goals. Another reason – an important one – is that time is precious. There are only so many hours in the day, and only so many hours each day that we can dedicate to our writing careers. We need to make those hours count, and so our writing blogs also need to count.

Of course, if your blog is just for fun and you’re happy with that, great. Fun and creativity are great purposes in themselves – but if you’re hoping for more from your blog, some sort of structure or plan for how you’ll achieve what you want from it are important. You can’t afford to waste the potential.

So with this in mind, what does your blog do for you? Where does it fit into your writing, and where do you hope to take it in the future?