tarot blogs: content&style?

[mothcloth]

hello!

i've been thinking about starting a tarot blog and i felt it might be a cool idea to have a community back-and-forth about what kind of things you like and dislike to see in tarot blogs. maybe this thread could become a starting point for other people that might want to start one, too.

- what kind of topics do you like to read about?
deck/book reviews?
personal stories?
card of the day?
other metaphysicial things?

- what is important to you in terms of accessibility?
a newsletter?
a rss-feed?

thank you very much!!

 

[AJ]

Blogging is hard work, even when your passion is words.
If you begin by trying to write what someone else might want to see it will be even harder work and probably doomed to fail.

Write for yourself, as if no one else will ever see it. Free clear truth.
Best wishes.

there is an old members blog list here
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=163288&highlight=blog
I can't delete dead blogs any more as the thread is closed (because so many moved to facebook instead) but there are still some really good and diverse blogs there, might give you an idea or two for your own.

 

[Chimera Dust]

There isn't one single right answer because it's going to depend on your audience.

Speaking for myself, I like deck reviews. I don't mind more personal Tarot stories or readings as well. When I come across a blog that is too heavy on readings and personal subjects, I'm less likely to read or comment since I feel like it's not my place to chime in on personal matters and I don't know how that person would react to feedback.

However, some people like using their blogs as a personal journal and visiting blogs that are like that for the community and feedback. If you want to discuss other subjects, then by all means do if your target interest are people who share those interests.

There are a few blogs I enjoy visiting and reading, though I won't name names, and sometimes I'll discover new ones. If they blogger makes interesting posts, I'll like their blogs. I'm not a very blog-oriented person since I'm more likely to look up a deck, find some blogs with pictures and reviews, and then go on my merry way. Most of my discussions and reading takes place right here.

A newsletter seems like a very outdated idea to me. I never sign up for any. In my opinion, it's worth it if you have a lot of followers or if you have a commercial side to your blog and signing up would give people discounts or announcements. If it's just meant as a way to let people know you've made a new post, there are other ways for people to keep up that won't flood their inboxes, like RSS Feeds and various options to follow your blog.

 

[Ace of Stars]

I like interesting takes on the cards (unique ways of interpreting them), and innovative methods for using them. I pretty much always like to take something away from my reading. I'm not that interested in reading someone's personal tarot journal -- unless it was really scandalous!

I think the writer's enthusiasm can really shine through, or if their heart is not in it, that shows too, so it's important to write about what is interesting/intriguing to you.

I pretty much only read blogs with RSS feeds because I use Feedly -- otherwise I'll probably forget to read it.

 

[Chimera Dust]

I like interesting takes on the cards (unique ways of interpreting them), and innovative methods for using them.

I agree! I like it when a blog includes spreads and challenges. Sometimes it's a good way to get inspired to make your own or to find something to journal about when you're stuck.

 

[liveandbloom]

Great topic.

Ideas that stimulate or open our eyes to how we consider and use tarot, as well as discussions of unconventional meanings of specific cards along with the basis or evidence for drawing those meanings.

Cultural discussions about tarot and how different decks and reading approaches might reflect/facilitate different cultural values and significations.

New spreads with visual diagrams of them -- hand-drawn, photo, or graphic design are all good. Imagery brightens up blogs, breaks up text, and draws interest visually.

Personal breakthroughs that came with the help of tarot. I think that sometimes these can be boring, but if it's written well, it can be a source of deep connection and support to others.

I won't subscribe to a newsletter unless I feel like it'll contain something I really won't want to miss, or I see a consistency of interesting material in past posts that I feel I want to be included in the future stream.

I think metaphysical and philosophical explorations can be interesting, especially when the author is attempting to relate/contribute to an ongoing discourse. References are usually helpful in these types of articles.

Humor and levity.

I appreciate depth and long-form every once in a while, if I have the time, but super lengthy articles that ramble are almost always going to lose my interest. I think it's good to consider range, from short and punchy to long and deep, but I also agree with what others have said here, you should write what you feel passionate about.

 

[LindaMechele]

I like deck/book reviews and personal stories, but not card of the day posts really. Other metaphysical things that relate to tarot are nice sometimes. A newsletter - no. I get too many already. RSS feed, yes. I have yet to find a good RSS reader that I like, but one of these days I will, so my bookmarks only have blogs with LOTS of RSS options.

Blogging is hard work, even when your passion is words.
If you begin by trying to write what someone else might want to see it will be even harder work and probably doomed to fail.

Write for yourself, as if no one else will ever see it. Free clear truth.

AJ's SO right. I have a gardening blog and the only reason I write in it is because it's what I want to write about. If I didn't like what I was writing about, or felt like I couldn't just spit out what was on my mind, I doubt I'd do it.

Her suggestion to look at other blogs is a good one. Find the ones with lots of comments and see if there are commonalities between them. Mostly it'll likely be the author's writing style/ability and you can't really copy that, but there may be some common threads you could get ideas from.

 

[AJ]

Linda, put a link to your blog in your profile, pretty please?

I've had and have a number of blogs over the years for various reasons. The first one I think I started in June or July and wrote and deleted post after post after post. I was so discouraged, because I do love to write, but just couldn't find that special hook to keep enlarging on. Until sometime in December I tried tarot. And it is still going strong with 3000+ daily posts. Once you've written 30 different posts on the Moon card or 7 of coins, you have a really good grip on tarot basics

I never write with a view point for readers though, only myself.
I expect if you want to build a following twitter or instagram would be a far better choice.

 

[Grizabella]

I've tried doing a blog but not about Tarot. I'm so dumb about how to build things like that that I just floundered. I used wordpress and it was hopeless. I wrote quite a few entries, but I couldn't figure out how to put them where I wanted them and couldn't figure out how to post photos. I'm working on building a website right now and it's slow going but so far so good. The site says it can also be a blog, so I might include one if building the website goes well enough.

 

[Chimera Dust]

I used wordpress and it was hopeless. I wrote quite a few entries, but I couldn't figure out how to put them where I wanted them and couldn't figure out how to post photos.

Entries normally show up in chronological order so the only way to rearrange them is to change the date so they'll be in order (though that defies the point of a blog, if you ask me). If you're referring to the layout, the free version of Wordpress doesn't let you change that much. You get some layout choices but you can't change the code to tweak them.

Let us know if you make a blog on your new site. I'd be interested in reading a blog written by you!