10 things I've learned about blogging by actually doing it
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Some blogs give you tips on what to do and what not to do. But sometimes they miss vital details, and some topics don't seem to come up much. Here are some things I've learned from blogging not by reading other people's blog tips, but by maintaining blogs of my own. Hopefully you'll learn from this post, too.
1. You need to choose a topic you know and like.
Blogging is easy! You can create a blog in a matter of minutes, and get started very quickly.
The problem is, if you jump right in before you've really thought about it, you may find that you stop posting once the novelty wears off.
Before you start, you need to think of a topic that you know and like - something you can write about on a regular basis. Can't think of anything? Give it some time. Don't just start blogging anyway. Think about what you want to do first.
2. You need to enjoy writing.
One thing a lot of blogs seem to miss is that blogging isn't something that absolutely anyone will want to do. Following a tutorial can help you with the technical side, but if you're not interested in writing, you're going to come unstuck.
Can anyone be a writer? Well, is everyone good at everything? Of course not. If writing sounds unappealing, I'm not going to tell you that blogging is right for you. But if you're not sure, you could try planning a few posts, then write the detail, and see how you get on.
3. You don't have to reply to every comment individually.
While I do think it's important to reply to comments, it can get increasingly difficult to do this if you get a lot of them.
Threaded comments can help to show who you're replying to, or you could post one comment and reply to several previous comments at once. Replying to a few comments in one reply is my preferred method.
But you don't have to reply to every single comment, especially if they're short comments saying "great post!" without asking questions. You don't have to say "Thanks!" to everyone. A general "thank you" for the comments works just as well, and won't bog down your blog with lots of separate replies.
4. You shouldn't rely too heavily on one traffic source.
Whether you get most of your traffic from search engines, subscribers who read your feed, social media sites, other blogs or forums, you shouldn't rely on one source of traffic too much.
Things can change quickly. The service might go down for maintenance or be permanently closed. Your account could be closed. Also, you may end up forgetting about other traffic sources and not spreading your efforts between several different methods.
Don't be lazy. Make the effort to branch out and try different sites. Measure how well they do. This will help you to bring in people from a wide range of places on the web.
5. You shouldn't worry about a high bounce rate.
If someone arrives at your blog but only looks at one page before moving to a different site, that counts as a "bounce". Many blogs view a high bounce rate as a problem. It really isn't.
Different people may arrive at your site in different ways. They might start at a post, read it, then bookmark your site and decide to come back later. Or they might start at the home page, read the latest post (if you display the full content of each post on your home page), and go away again.
It's not necessarily bad if this happens. What's more important is how long the person stays on your site, and whether they come back. Some people just won't be interested in your blog no matter what you do. That's fine, not everyone will like it.
Bounce rate tells you a lot more if you review it alongside other statistics. However, when isolated from other statistics, bounce rate alone does not tell you much.
6. You don't usually get links by asking for them.
Your blogroll is a list of links on your blog that point to other blogs. So, how do you get on someone's blogroll?
My advice is to put this question out of your mind and instead, focus on building relationships with other bloggers. If you like someone's blog and you want to link to it, put them on your blogroll. If they like your blog, they might put you on their blogroll too.
It doesn't have to be a reciprocal thing, and it shouldn't matter who puts the link up first. I think there's a lot less value in a blogroll where everyone reciprocates, than in a blogroll where the owner added the sites he or she enjoys and finds useful.
If you think it's a good idea to link to anyone who asks, see if you change your mind once you have a few hundred links. A really long blogroll is not particularly useful to readers.
7. You don't launch a forum when you have very few readers.
Before I got into blogging, I was keen on web forums. Back then, a lot of people had their own multi-topic forums - communities with various different sections for a wide range of topics. I'm sure there are plenty of active forums still out there.
But because they've been around for a while, I've noticed it is now a lot harder to get a brand new forum off the ground. Starting a blog is a lot of work too, but the barriers for new readers are far lower on blogs than on forums, because you don't usually have to register to post a comment.
Some blogs are now trying to run a forum alongside their blog, so their readers can join in with some discussions. The problem is, most of these forums end up being too quiet for people to participate in. I've tried setting up a forum for bloggers in the past, but it didn't work as I had hardly any readers. However, when I gave it another try with the CMF Ads blogging forums, people started to participate. This is because I had more readers. Also, it helps if you can collaborate with other bloggers, as I did with CMF Ads.
If you're all set to run a forum with your blog, don't do it until you're getting lots of comments and you have lots of subscribers. I'd say you need at least 10 comments per blog post before you even consider running a forum, because it shows people have something to say.
8. Your posts need to be different.
It may seem easier just to write the same posts as others, especially if some of those people get lots of comments, but it doesn't offer anything new to potential readers.
An opposing viewpoint or an unusual topic will attract more attention than writing what everyone else is writing. Write original, compelling content and you're well on the way.
9. You can waste a lot of time on social networking sites.
How many blogs suggest using StumbleUpon, Digg, Reddit, Twitter or Plurk to get your blog noticed? Granted, these sites have large communities that you can leverage to a degree - but some people spend more time "networking" than writing new posts!
Don't lose sight of your goals - try to limit the time you spend on social networking sites. Make sure you spend your time productively, in a way that works for you as well as the people you're interacting with. Don't spam, or any effort you put in will most likely be wasted.
10. You'll meet some great people.
I really enjoy blogging. I like writing new posts, otherwise I wouldn't keep on doing it. But it wouldn't be the same if there weren't so many great people out there.
Blogging is a really good way to meet people with similar interests or opposing viewpoints. It can help you to build personal and professional relationships. Whether or not it's easy to set up your first blog, regardless of whether you make money online, bloggers are a thoughtful, creative group of people and there's always someone new to meet.
What have you learned about blogging that you didn't know before you tried it?
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Comments on 10 things I've learned about blogging by actually doing it
2
Great post, Ben,
The most important lesson, that I'm learning right now (from blogging) is that blogging is all about balance. You have to balance your efforts, energy and resources among many things.
Between writing blog posts and reading others'.
Between marketing your site (on networking sites) but not being too pushy.
Between sticking to your own plan but being flexible enough to learn from the mistakes underway, and change accordingly.
Between thinking about new subjects to write up, but focusing on those ideas you already have, and you "only have to write them down".
And probably most importantly, a balance with putting a lot of energy into blogging, while trying to avoid the burnout effect.
I think this balance (most of them, actually) is pretty fragile.
3
Indeed! Excellent article about what works and what doesn't. Stumbled :)
4
The blogroll thing still worries me, just who do you include and who do you not. All I know for sure is the guys that ask to be included will definitely not be.
I have a mini-forum that has hardly any threads on it. I am actually quite proud of this forum. The point behind them was to offer support to the guys that make use of my WordPress themes. The people actually downloading the themes have increased quite nicely but the forum stays quiet - I must be doing something right on the themes.
I must admit though that when I do get queries on the forum I normally move the query to EMail as I find it a lot easier to deal with them that way. If I have solved a problem that I feel could be experienced by others, I will write a post about the solution in the forum or sometimes even in the main blog.
Nice post as usual.
5
That was a very good post and sums up really good points on what is important and what is not. I especially like the one about networking TOO much because this restricts you to "select groups" instead of the whole web of contacts. I am very new to this (only one year) and I am still trying to find the best approach to this blogging thing.
6
I totally agree with Lyndi. I ONLY put sites on my blogroll that I actually use daily and love using them. To me, the blogroll is an area where you are telling your readers that you love this site so much that you want them to experience just as much.
7
The one that seems to stick out to me is you should enjoy writing. It doesn't say that you have to be a great writer. It just says that you should enjoy it. And it is the truth. As long as you enjoy writing and the topic you're writing about interests you then you will be just fine.
8
I'd disagree with #5 "You shouldn’t worry about a high bounce rate."
As I wrote recently, the evidence show that a higher bounce rate can lower your search engine ranking. If you don't care about search engine traffic, ignore it. Otherwise, bounce rate is something to think about.
9
I hear all the time to stay in your niche...and now even go into a niche of your niche. I think one of the problems of that though is that we get so boxed in and have a lot of trouble cranking out something new. What ever subject we choose, we need to make sure we can talk a lot about it.
"9. You can waste a lot of time on social networking sites."
I think most of them are a waste of time, most just seem like everyone just clammering for attention and making noise and nobody reading anything anyways. Do non bloggers read them ?
True sign of a successfull blog IMO......comments from people with no URL's ???
10
Thanks for the great comments guys. :)
Lyndi, if you have a targeted forum that works well but is quiet, I think that's OK. The forum problem is more to do with bloggers who try and launch a forum just for people to have a chat, when they should by trying to get more comments on their blog. You need the comments before a forum is worthwhile. So far at Top Ten Blog Tips, I've been doing well for comments, and while my blogging forum is doing well most of the time - there are some quieter days. As with anything, we have to give an idea ample time to grow and develop. Some people don't seem to have the patience for that.
Turnip, thanks for the insights on bounce rate. That's a very useful post on your blog. I certainly didn't know that.
AlanG+S - I don't think everyone on every social networking site is a blogger. Maybe the blog networks, such as MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog, but not so much on Digg and StumbleUpon. I do think it's worth spending some time on social networks, just not all of your time!
11
[...] I love Ben Barden’s Top Ten Blog Tips because of it’s simple, transparent and clear style. When we started talking, it turned out that we have a lot in common with Ben, maybe that’s a part of the reason I enjoy his blog so much. (Maybe people, who start writing with a structured, IT background tend to pile up things into lists of 10 or eleven, like his posts are, or like this one is.) Anyway, if you want an easy-to-read, straight-to-the-point style of guidance in the world of blogging, Top Ten Blog Tips is always there for you. Last week’s favorite post: 10 things I’ve learned about blogging by actually doing it [...]
12
[...] Barden over at the Top Ten Blog Tips has a genius post about the 10 Things I’ve Learned About Blogging.First off, Ben has a great blog where he posts the top ten reasons for anything pretaining to [...]
13
I disagree that you need to enjoy writing to want to become a blogger. When I started my first blog it was purely for SEO reasons as I wanted to boost the PR of one of my sites. I can safely say that at the time I didn't enjoy writing at all. It wasn't too long before blogging became a passion.
14
Sire - frankly, writing only for SEO will not produce a blog that most people will want to read. If you don't enjoy writing, it will show in your posts, and why would anyone read a blog the author doesn't want to write? Besides, if you're writing "for SEO reasons" what exactly are you writing about?
15
You miss my point. That was the original reason for starting a blog and at the time I did not enjoy writing. That is no longer the reason and as I stated it is now a 'passion'. How could it be so if I still did not enjoy writing. All I am saying is that your statement may actually put some potentially good bloggers off from starting a blog.
16
As I said though: If writing sounds unappealing, I'm not going to tell you that blogging is right for you. But if you're not sure, you could try planning a few posts, then write the detail, and see how you get on.
Giving it a try might convert a non-writer into a writer. But blogging does require you to write, and I think you need to enjoy it at some point if your blog is going to be around for a long time.
The reason I raised this point is because some blogs focus on how to get a blog up and running without even considering whether the person will actually want to run a blog. Perhaps you do need to try it out before you really know. But I think it's better to do a little planning and experimentation before "launching" a brand new blog, only to abandon it after a few posts because the author decided they didn't like blogging after all.
17
Mate, that may be so if you were going to self host your own blog but someone may actually try their hand out at blogging by joining the many free community blogs, which in many ways is a good starting point as you get a lot more interaction.
Personally, I found that it took more than just one or two posts before I discovered that I actually enjoyed writing. I wasn't criticizing your post, just offering an opinion. I thought you would a appreciate that a whole lot more than 'Good Post' ;)
18
Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the feedback - I'm just saying why I think my point is still valid. :)
That's a good point about setting up a blog that isn't self-hosted.
Incidentally, you just gave me an idea for a new post - I often wonder how my commenters find my blog. In my next post, I'm going to ask that question. :)
19
I like #10. That is sooooooo true, I've actually made some great friends and learned a lot about things, people, and places I would have never been exposed to.
20
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mmmm, that I can do most anything I set my mind to and that rules are made to be broken. I have just finished completely eliminating my blog roll and replacing it with a feeds page. It is so nice to have everyone's headlines right there on my page, blogs I actually want to read lined up and waiting. (serendipity or some such)