As a relatively new blogger, I’m constantly looking for good advice and inspiration around the web. While there is so much information out there, something about these few sources just puts them, in my opinion, above the rest. BUT! Advice is only useful when it answers the reader’s questions, right?As it happens, many new bloggers have a thousand questions about this ever-changing activity. We enter the blog community for different reasons, and probably with a variety of expectations. Perhaps we’re looking for a self-publishing platform. Or, we just want to keep in touch with far-away friends and share ideas. Maybe we are technologically creative people (that would NOT be me) who desire to express ourselves in this new medium. Some of us are amazing photographers who want to get our work out there. And some of us want to make money, which we quickly learn is not so easy.
I started my blog out of desperation. And over the course of my short foray into blogland, I’ve learned a few things.
My learning curve
When I started blogging, I actually was not aware that it was a community. I thought that there were those who blogged, and those who read blogs. Bloggers blog, and readers read– duh! But this could not be further from the truth. Many blog readers are actually other bloggers, and people are constantly looking to connect. It’s a network that pollinates itself, and is often interested in internal connections: relationships between bloggers. Furthermore, a hugely rewarding aspect of blogging is, supposedly, reading other blogs— and if you don’t like to read other people’s work, then you probably won’t get very far.
I also learned that blogging has a lot to do with selling. This was a difficult truth for me to swallow. I had never had to sell anything– almost never; instead, I had always worked hard and waited for people to notice me. And in some systems, that works just fine! But here in blogland, you have to build your brand from scratch. No educational or professional qualifications can do much for you (unless you already have a big following from a different industry), and it doesn’t matter how great your work is unless you somehow get it out there! Furthermore, I realized that selling your blog to readers includes making promises you can only hope to deliver on. We use superlatives all the time: this is the best recipe; this is the easiest DIY; this is the fastest approach; whatever I’m saying or claiming is foolproof and you better believe it. I had never used this type of language before– language designed to quickly grab attention.
And yet, and yet! I’ve been told over and over again that slow growth is the best kind. There is no need, at least at this point, to try to write the next most viral thing ever. There is no need to obsess over site stats and beg and grovel just to get one more person to give me their email address. This is still a young industry– and that means we get to shape it with who we are, and the kinds of people we want to be. A blogger, by definition, is a type of entrepreneur. We all embark on a path that no one has seen the end of, yet. And that can be exciting!
All right, now to the resources. As usual, I only recommend a few things that I truly believe are worth your time. Some are more specific than others, so give them all a go!
- Blog Life, an ecourse by A Beautiful Mess blog. This ecourse is expensive, but if you are looking to significantly grow your blog– perhaps to the level of sponsorships and ads– this is a really great investment. It’s the perfect resource for folks who want “the truth about x,” or “how to do x” when it comes to blogging. Thanks to Blog Life, I’ve become so much more organized, and I decided for now to not use ads on my blog. It’s just not worth it.
- Blogging tips from Kristin Marr at Live Simply. Well-put encouragement from a wonderful food blogger, and tips fit for any type of blog!
- Blogging tips from women of the Peony Project.
- Amy Lynn Andrews’ site— I haven’t read all of her articles but she writes honestly and clearly about everything related to blogging.
- Jennifer of Earl Grey Blog’s personal blogging rules.
What are your favorite blogging tips? If you keep a blog, what have you learned about blogging?
