Thanks to an ever growing
high tech world, thousands of new blogs are born each day. Most of
these blogs, however, fall by the wayside within months. Seeing that
Habit of Art is turning two this month (and this being my fourth year
blogging), I thought it only appropriate to share a few words on the
topic. Over the last few months, I’ve had several inquiries from folks
particularly interested in starting their own blog. The start up stage
of a blog is always an exciting time, but it can also be fraught with
confusion and frustration. Before you jump into blogging, here are some
questions to consider first.
1. What’s the point? If you can’t articulate the
purpose of your blog in one or two concise sentences, then you’ll need
to go back to the drawing board! Some folks start a blog because they
feel like they should, or they are intrigued with the idea. But if the
passion isn't there, it's going to show. A good gauge of your interest
level is your running list of post ideas. Can you easily jot down a few
dozen things to talk about in one short sitting? Habit of Art was born out of my passion to share art with others,
something I had been doing in my prior careers as a teacher and shop
owner. Even after over 400 blog posts, I feel that I have only scratched the surface.
2. Can you write? You don’t have to be an award winning
author to be a blogger, but good grammar and solid syntax helps form
your credibility. Take time to edit your posts, and consult Strunk
& White’s The Elements of Style (my first book in college) from time to time. Remember, posting on the internet is like writing in ink. It’s permanent!
3. Are you committed? Blogging takes commitment. And, to
be completely frank, many of us have commitment issues. A blog takes
at least 6 - 12 months of consistent posts to start acquiring some kind
of a readership base. I tell new bloggers that they shouldn’t even
bother starting a blog if they are not in it for at least a year. For
some reason, many new bloggers assume that readers will start flocking
to their sites after a few posts. But building an audience takes
time!
4. What the heck is html? If you’re not
familiar with computer lingo, then expect a high learning curve when
starting your blog. Even though blog platforms have become so much more
user-friendly, it still takes some technical know-how to navigate the
back end of a blog. Just importing a photograph into a post, for
example, can be a difficult task. So be prepared to spend countless
hours searching forums and help guides when setting up your blog. And
while you're at it, do some homework on feeds, domain names, and
keywords.
If after all of this, you're still jazzed to start your own blog, then great! Sounds like you've
done your research and now just need a little push. Writing that first
post can always seem intimidating. You think that millions of people
will read your post after clicking the "publish" button. The reality
is, it's more like your mom and best friend, and only because you gave
them the link. Don't get stuck on having a perfect first post, or the
right header design, or whether or not you want your profile on the
right or left side of the page. Just write, and everything else will
eventually fall into place.
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