It’s Time to Tune-Up Your Christian Blog

Three steps to get it running smoothly again.

Christian blogging is a way to reach the world for Christ from your computer. I traveled to 31 different countries to share my faith in Christ, but now I sit at my desk and reach people in hundreds of countries. Once I reached a hundred people at a time, now I reach many thousands each week.

Lots of Christian writers understand the power of blogs. Yet, some trudge away each week, not realizing that they are “preaching” to a parade. Trends change, and Christian bloggers must tune up their Christian blogs.

If you want to start a Christian blog, I have written a recently updated handbook on the topic. Buy it here.

You get used to jumping into your car and going where you like when you want, and it’s easy to take your car for granted. But your vehicle can leave you stranded at the side of the road at the worst possible time if you fail to maintain it.

Blogs, like cars, need periodic tune-ups. I’ve been blogging since 1998, and I’ve discovered three things every blogger should do as periodic blog maintenance.

Know Why You Are Blogging

Blogs go stale because bloggers go stale. You’ll want to look under the hood of your blog, but you should look under your own hood first.

If your blog’s performance declines, ask if you still have your original vision and passion. A few years ago, I noticed I was enthusiastically maintaining several of my blogs, but my interest in one was lagging.

I had to run a few diagnostics to see if there was a problem with some technical aspect of the blog, or if I was the culprit. It turns out I was the bad guy. The blog was fine, but I had lost interest in the topic.

Did I want to generate new enthusiasm? No. Did I want to sell the blog? Yes. It still had good traffic and income, so I sold it for more than I dreamed it was worth. Yes, I had that particular blog for about five years, and it was like parting with a once-favored daily driver, but sometimes you need to trade-in a car rather than repair it.

Your blog tune-up involves understanding and affirming why you are blogging.

Are you blogging because a writing guru said you should?
Is it to become an influencer and gain fame?
Is it to make money?

There is nothing wrong with these reasons, but you must look deeper. Take the time to view your blog with the eyes of a new visitor. Does it have the horsepower and look you find desirable? If not, you can change that.

There are Christian blogs on all topics, and that’s good. Regardless of the topic, they all have the same aim: to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). There are a variety of blog topics, but the same Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

The Tune-up: Stop and think about your passion. Either revitalize your vision and your blog or trade it in on something that excites you.

Analyze How You Are Presenting Your Content

I came to blogging from a background in magazine editing and international journalism. I understood the dynamics of constructing a good story. You want to:

Hook readers with your lead (lede)
Present interesting facts
Provide context
Document what people are saying

But writing loses its power like a car not firing on all cylinders when you repeat the same writing patterns. You can spice up any blog when you change the content format. No matter what your blog topic may be, you can do a quick tune-up with:

Case studies
Personality profiles
Interviews with experts

People-centered content always improves a blog. Your readers will feel like they’re riding around in a convertible on a beautiful day when these kinds of posts power your blog.

There is another step in your analysis. In your tune-up, you must not only want to present your content in diverse ways, but you also want to understand your intentions. Your over-arching intention is to change the way people think.

The mark of any well-written article is that it alters the reader’s mental state. They are thinking about something else when they see your headline. That should make them hit the brakes. By the end of the second paragraph, you want them to make a sharp turn and join the mental state of consciousness you have created.

The Tune-up: To get the most mileage from your blogging efforts, you want to become better at informing, entertaining, and persuading. Mastering how to do this is game-changing. It’s like dropping a new Corvette engine in your old Volkswagen Bug.

Do a Technical Tune-up

I’ve discovered that most bloggers see themselves as creative people and dislike the technical side of blogging. They want to work with the head, not the hands.

Nevertheless, even though we prefer driving open roads instead of doing mechanical work, we are sometimes forced to deal with technical issues like a dead battery or a flat tire. In such cases, we need to take responsibility for the technical side of things. The same is true of a blog. You need some technical skills, especially in these three areas:

Verify your Blog is Easy to Access

I was amazed to discover that over 65% of my site visitors viewed it on a smartphone or tablet.

To be honest, I do most of my work on my desktop or laptop computers, and I rarely use devices to surf the web. Google Analytics gave me the reality check I needed, and now, how my site appears on devices is foremost in my thinking.

You need to verify that your blog is “responsive” and everything — including ads — display in a way that your visitors will love.

Connect with Google Analytics

Statistics are your heartbeat. Google Analytics is the one free technical connection you can’t do without. As I mentioned, it gives you traffic sources and offers a full panel of tools to diagnose your site and get it back to peak performance.

Some people get spellbound by stats and spend lots of time checking them. That’s not necessary. Google Analytics should be like the gauges on your dashboard. Glace at them, but keep your eyes on the road.

Comply with Regulations

Laws are changing constantly, and bloggers must verify they are keeping pace with them. Three basic privacy laws apply to most sites:

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This is a US government law designed to protect children. To comply, state if your site serves children under 13, and then follow the appropriate rules if it does.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This European Union (EU) law requires you to advise site visitors about how you use the data you collect. You must give visitors the ability to delete the data you collect.
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This privacy law is much like GDPR, but protects California residents who visit your site. Again, you must allow site visitors to control any data you hold.

Your blog may not be located in California or the European Union. That doesn’t matter. Governments are trying to protect their citizens (your visitors), not you.

In the US, the NCSL maintains a list of laws that affect bloggers. The privacy clearinghouse in the EU is Europa.eu.

Metaphorically speaking, put your blog on your personal Dyno-O-Meter. Make sure it is ready to travel anywhere, that your gauges are giving accurate readings, and that it meets regulatory requirements.