Disclaimer: I’ve never been skydiving.

The first step of blogging, like skydiving, is making the commitment to do it. Once you’ve decided you’re going to skydive, you’ve got to decide on a method for your jump. Are you going in tandem? How about an accelerated free fall? Or should you static line that bad boy?

Similarly, there are various methods for blogging. One such method is the how-to blog. This type of blog solves problems that you think your audience may have, most likely related to your business in some way, but not necessarily. If you’re a wine seller, you may publish a post about how to properly use a decanter (even if you don’t sell decanters), how to taste test wines, or how to open a bottle of wine using only a pair of nunchucks.

Another method is to entertain. You can tell funny stories, share photos and videos, make your audience laugh and cry and learn a little bit about life. Don’t be afraid to be provocative, to raise a few eyebrows and invite a handful of lawsuits. As long as you’re confident you can win any court proceedings, the publicity will be beneficial in the long-term.

When it comes to skydiving, which I’ve never done, the most important part is jumping out of the plane. This is the moment when you’re gripped with the sudden, terrifying realization that, as it turns out, blogging is nothing like skydiving.

At least that’s what I’m told.

In fact, blogging is a lot more like having a conversation. With yourself. And your audience, which may simply smile and nod politely, whispering to one another about why you’re still talking and wondering if now would be a good time to go to the bathroom.

Because in actuality, blogging is as much like having a conversation as it is like skydiving.

The thing is, if blogging is like having a conversation, then 99 percent of blogs out there are failing miserably. If you invited a handful of blogs to a party to socialize with one another, it would be a more terrible experience than every 30-year high school reunion put together. I’ve never been to a 30-year high school reunion, but since this is my blog post, I can talk about them anyway.

Just imagine Listverse standing near the punch bowl lamenting about the top 10 vitamin deficiencies, while the Art of Manliness keeps trying to offer a light to people who don’t even smoke. Meanwhile, Smitten Kitchen is spouting recipes for low calorie desserts while YogaDork is getting increasingly irritated that nobody is participating in slow, controlled breathing exercises. In the end, Cute Overload takes the cake by just standing in the corner looking adorable, and whatever minimalist blog is trending this year removes all furniture from the house, forcing all guests to call it a night.

Blogging is not like socializing, because socializing involves a give and take. Ideally, social situations place all participants on equal ground, wherein each person may contribute and be heard. And as much as it may burst your utopian bubble, blogging is nothing like this. In fact, blogging is much more akin to standing on your own private soapbox.

Sure, you should engage your audience. Encourage them to leave comments, and if they do, respond. But how often do you personally comment on blogs? I read blogs all the time that I genuinely enjoy and could probably count the number of comments I’ve posted in response on one hand. It’s not your audience’s responsibility to go out of their way to engage with your blog. It’s your responsibility to keep them coming back.

You can’t measure the success of your blog on the number of comments you get. What you can use to help you determine if you’re doing anything right is your analytics. Which posts get the most views, how many returning viewers do you get versus new visitors, and who the heck are they anyway? Why don’t they have anything better to do than to read your posts? Is it possible that, despite the lack of comments on your blog, they just earnestly enjoy reading it?

With a bit of confidence in your eager fingers plucking away at the keyboard the next time you sit down to blog, you can relax with the notion that maybe you actually do have a band of loyal followers, silent as they may be, and you owe it to them to be the life of the party. Of course, if there’s one thing you learn in college, it’s that being the life of the party is easier said than done. So instead of gleaning tips and information from the other blogs you try desperately to emulate, bring something new to the table. Bring your own, unique personality, the voice of your brand. This is what ultimately draws people to your business, what makes them empathize with you, enjoy your blog posts and see things in a new way.

Not sure how to sound unique, what it means to represent your brand, or just would rather be doing something else with your time than gazing into the luminous screen of your laptop imagining a crowd of fans cheering at your every word?

That’s what we’re here for.

Elizabeth Proctor is a writer and traveler who loves fishing, chess, camels and the X-Files.