7 Blogs Christian Writers Ought To Visit Regularly

I love reading blogs.  Wait, let me rephrase that.  Actually, I love reading quality blogs tailored for Christian writers.  (Yes, that’s much better.)

I probably frequent about 20-30 blogs on any given day, and most of them tend to be Christian writers.  I certainly don’t (can’t!) read everything these bloggers write and many times I find myself doing little more than scanning their latest post in order to glean a few treasures here and there.

But sometimes I get absolutely mesmerized by the quality content they provide.  It’s what keeps me coming back for more and more and more…

It Is Why I Love Eye-Catching Headlines!

No doubt like you, I’m interested in a lot of things.  Yet few things will hold my attention for any length of time and so it is vital for a blogger to write consistently in the same genre or they will lose readers.  Those fickle readers like you and me.

When it comes to blogging, being the jack-of-all-trades is not a desirable thing for Christian writers to be.  In fact, it is a sure-fire way to ensure you won’t be around the blogosphere for very long!

That’s why you need a niche.

What’s Your Blogging Niche?

When I started out blogging in June 2011, I began with the URL: www.godadopts.com.  I had planned to blog about adoption, orphans, foster care, infertility, etc., and I did for a while.  I continue to have a love for all things adoption, especially since we’ve adopted twice now in our own family, but I found that after a few months of blogging in this niche, I wasn’t all that passionate about the topic as a blogger.

I’m certainly interested in adoption but…from a blogging perspective…I’m not that passionate about it in the long run so as to write about in consistently.

This is important to both realize and understand because to sustain a blog for any length of time Christian writers need to be passionate about their topic.  Passion results in resilience.  Resilience results in quality content.  Quality content results in sustained readership.   And it inevitably results in continuous motivation.

Sometimes It Is Best To Just Start Over

A few months back I purchased my new URL (www.crazyaboutchurch.com) and started blogging about things related to the church in general, such as church bulletin design and website design.  It is somewhat of a more general and broad subject, and that provides more fodder to blog about.

But I have found myself narrowing that topic even further over the last few months.  Because I’m in the process of writing two books and walking down the publishing trail myself, I have been growing a passion for the Christian writing genre.

I want to learn about it and see what makes it tick.  And that’s why I started the Godly Writers blog at the beginning of April 2012.

The Christian Writer’s Journey

Reading other blogs that deal with writing, publishing, querying, etc. has been rather appealing.  Madly interesting, actually.  And so I’m starting to focus a bit more on Christian blogging and Christian writing/publishing.  I’m trying to mesh the two together.  It is my passion.  (At least for this month. LOL)

But I also love to read other writer’s art in order to see how the gig works.  Learning is fun and is even more exciting when you’re reading about what others have gone through, the hurdles they’ve scaled, the up’s and down’s of their journey, as well as the triumphs to come and the pitfalls to avoid.

There’s so much available in the blogosphere that the need for Christian writers to “niche” blog is critical to gaining a base of readers that will come back time and time and time again.  After all, people tend to return to a blog time and time and time again for, essentially, the very same reason McDonald’s is so popular.

More Than 1,000,000,000 Served…And Still Counting

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of burger joints out there that flat-out put McDonald’s hamburgers to shame, but you’ve likely noticed that their drive-thru remains perpetually stacked with cars.  Why is that?  Because people have learned what to expect, that’s why.

We return time and time and time again to that red-haired clown flipping burgers because we’re looking for something in particular, and we know that getting rudely surprised is unlikely.

The same goes for Christian writers and blogging.  Readers come back because they know what to expect.  They only have so much time to waste on the internet so they go where they know they’ll find what they need, what they’re looking for.  If you keep surprising readers with content they’re not interested in, they’ll delete you from their bookmark and you’ll never hear from them again.  Ever.

Which Bloggers Do You Follow?

Here are 7 bloggers that I currently follow regularly because they are helpful to me in learning about what works and what doesn’t work in things related to writing, publishing, blogging, technology, and how these relate to Christian writers.  They are from various genres but all of them together are proving to be just what the doctor ordered as far as my own personal blogging needs are concerned.

You should check these out.  I’d be interested to hear what you think about them.  God bless, and happy blogging.

1)  Michael Hyatt.  Michael’s blog focuses on intentional leadership.  He is a Christian with a wealth of writing and publishing experience.  Michael blogs about things like productivity, leadership, and the ever-changing trends in the publishing industry.

2)  Tentblogger.  John Saddington authors the tentblogger blog and I’ve been following and commenting on his blog for many months now.  Tentblogger is designed to educate the newbie blogger with tips, training, and resources in order to help them make better decisions from the beginning about how to blog wisely.

3)  Jeff Goins.  Jeff has exploded onto the writing scene over the last few months.  He writes with a vulnerable touch and eloquently shares the mistakes he’s made in the past and, more importantly, what he’s learned as of late to bring him to the place he’s at today.  In fact, his story is so unique that he recently got his first publishing contract due to little more than his success as a blogger.

4)  Rachelle Gardner.  Rachelle is a Christian literary agent, and a popular one at that.  She blogs regularly about trends happening around the publishing world and writes with a helpful, engaging attitude in mind.

5)  Church Mag.  This is a blog all about exploring the intersection of church and technology, and how it is affecting the Christian culture all around us.  If nothing else, they find stuff around the world-wide web that is down-right fascinating, feeds my creativity, and keeps me coming back for more.

6)  ProBlogger.  Though not a religious website by any means, ProBlogger is for the savvy blogger who wants to take their blog/website not just to the next level but to the very top.  There is a wealth of information there but much of it can be utilized by the newbie blogger, like myself.

7)  Write Uncaged.  This blog is maintained by Mary DeMuth, a Christian author.  I have just begun to frequent this blog because Mary is writing about the publishing process and doing what she can to help others out there (like me) navigate the publishing world in order to eventually…some day soon, Lord willing…attain the elusive prize every writer dreams of: a publishing contract.

ACTION TO TAKE:  What blogs or websites do you visit regularly?  What sort of content do they provide and what makes you go back time and time again?

Image credit: Wesley Fryer (Creative Commons)