Over the years Tom and I have written thousands of blog posts. The simple question “why” comes up often. I can’t speak for Tom, but I thoroughly explained my “why” in this great post from 2023 which still holds true. I write because:

• I like having a historical record
• I like writing
• Readership

The first two points have not changed, I still feel both of those. The third point however…

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Readership Engagement

Blog engagement feels low. We’re posting the same amount but haven’t had a reader comment in a month! Am I blaming the readers for that? Yes I am.

But really the problem is that we’re not gaining any new readers. Instead, we lose a handful of readers a year simply because they forget the blog exists. The number of times I’ve heard “You’re still blogging?!” is off the charts (with the y-axis going up to 2 people and the x-axis being the last 10 years).

It’s not that I want to become a famous blogger, but as I said in the 2023 post, if literally NO ONE read, I would not post. So the number of eyeballs on each post means SOMETHING.

What am I getting at? I want to promote Splittingtens.

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But First, Social Anxiety

By promoting the blog, I’m signaling that I think what I’m writing is worth reading. That’s a scary, vulnerable thing. The fear is that someone reads it and says “he thought this was worth putting out to the world?“. It also feels desperate; like I don’t have any existing readers (no comment).

This is social anxiety. I’m a big advocate of “no one thinks about you nearly as much as you think they do“, but it’s easier said than done.

What makes me feel better about this though is that a very loose friend of mine also has a blog. For every new post, he makes a Facebook post briefly promoting it. I look forward to reading his blog and it’s not weird to me that he does this. In fact, I find it admirable. I shouldn’t feel scared to do this, especially if I’m acknowledging that I want more people to read.

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How to Do This

The simplest way would be social media. But they have their baggage.

TWITTER / X & Facebook have the same problem of an outdated audience. I haven’t had a new friend or follower in 6+ years.

Instagram is the most accurate representation of who I’d want to send this out to. But wouldn’t it be strange to post on Instagram every time I have a new post? Is that just the anxiety talking?? This post may be the test!

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Let’s Try It

Where does that leave me entering 2026? Is the active promotion of www.splittingtens.com a resolution of mine? Am I unearthing a greater weakness – anxiety – and taking a stance to improve my life for the better? No. Not the second part at least. But maybe the first part.

The funny thing is that I could do everything exactly the same as I currently do, then just make an Instagram story linking to the post. It would take less than a minute, cost literally nothing, and almost certainly achieve the goal.

Fuck the haters. I’m going to try it. If you’ve made it this far, my plan has worked. Happy new year.