In his book Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation, Hugh Hewitt recommends a series of posts that I had written on blogging. The initial purpose of the Notes on Blogging feature was to apply and pass on lessons I had learned from studying successful bloggers.
After reviewing the series, though, I realized that the target audience was other bloggers and that I had failed to address one of the most essential topics how to get started. This set of additional posts is included to help those thinking of starting a blog avoid many of the pitfalls and mistakes that can be an impediment to blogging success.
The seeds of blogging success are sown before you ever start a blog. Mistakes can often be overcome but it always comes at price, whether in time, money, or readership. The longer you wait to correct them the more they will limit your success in this venture. Adhering to the following tips and principles, however, will keep you from falling into the traps that often snare new blogs:
Read First. Blog later. How many different blogs have you read? That's not enough. You need to read more. Search around and visit a wide range of sites. Visit the TTLB Ecosystem and randomly visit blogs in each tier level. Read the uberbloggers who have more readers than most daily newspapers. Read the up-and-coming stars (often the ones the big name bloggers are linking to) that are gaining attention. And most importantly, read dozens of micro-blogs, the ones with less than 100 hits a day. After reviewing the series, though, I realized that the target audience was other bloggers and that I had failed to address one of the most essential topics how to get started. This set of additional posts is included to help those thinking of starting a blog avoid many of the pitfalls and mistakes that can be an impediment to blogging success.
The seeds of blogging success are sown before you ever start a blog. Mistakes can often be overcome but it always comes at price, whether in time, money, or readership. The longer you wait to correct them the more they will limit your success in this venture. Adhering to the following tips and principles, however, will keep you from falling into the traps that often snare new blogs:
You will learn a great deal from the exquisitely designed and well-written blogs. You'll learn even more from the slapdash, poorly edited, and boring sites. Understand what makes some blogs better than others before you start your own and you will have taken the first step to sucess.
Know Your Role Why do you want to start a blog?
Before you ever begin you need to be able to answer that simple question. Blogs can be a used as a marketing tool for your company, as a tool to keep in touch with friends, as a way to showcase your writing talents, or as a place to vent your opinion. You could even use your blog for all of those purposes. But if you want to achieve success you need to focus your efforts.
The blogosphere is a market in which everyone is competing for 'mindspace' the attention, respect, and trust of blog readers. Fortunately, blogging is not a zero-sum game and while the market is finite, it is also extremely large, constantly expanding, and has few barriers to entry. You can attract readers but you must first know what audience you are aiming for. If you don't know why anyone should read your blog, then you shouldn't be surprised when you find that no one does.
You Get What You Pay For -- You can start and maintain a blog without ever spending a dime. The low-cost of entry is one of the main reasons that so many blogs are started. It is also one of the reasons more than half of new blogs are abandoned within the first week. If you plan to take blogging seriously (and if you don't then you can stop reading this post) you will have to put a few dollars into the venture.
Fortunately, blogging can be an extremely inexpensive hobby. Using a cut-rate domain name registration and hosting service, you can start a blog for around twenty dollar. I recommend paying a bit more for a hosting service that will allow you to upgrade your bandwidth. When your blog goes from receiving 12 hits a day to 10,000 hits an hour (and yes, it can happen) you need to be prepared. Choose a hosting service that will automatically charge you for surges in bandwidth. You don't want your site to crash under the weight of an Instalaunche. Be prepared for success. If it's temporary it will only cost you a few bucks. If it's permanent sell Blogads. But if you aren't ready when success comes knocking it likely won't be back for a return visit.
Choose Your Blog Name 'Carefully' Look around the blogosphere and you will see an inordinate number of blogs with silly names. Most people don�t give much thought when they start a blog and choose the first name that pops into their head. Big mistake. Your blog name not only represents your blog, it also represents you. Companies spend a considerable amount of time and energy into choosing names for their products. You should do the same. The name is one of the key components of 'branding' and getting it right is essential in marketing your blog.
If you are an exceptional blogger you may be able to compensate for a blog name like 'Mother May I Sleep With Treacher.' But don't take unnecessary risks. Whenever possible, see if your own name is available. It's good enough for you; it should be good enough for your blog. It's also catchier. If you can remember the name Hugh Hewitt or Mark D. Roberts then you can remember their blogs.
Sometimes this isn't a viable option. Your name may not be available or it may be a Slavic name without any vowels. If you can't use your own name then choose one that is short and memorable. It doesn't have to be obvious or boring -- more people use Google and Yahoo in an hour than will use SearchEngine.com in a lifetime -- but it should be something that you wouldn't be embarrassed to have on a business card.
The blogosphere is a market in which everyone is competing for 'mindspace' the attention, respect, and trust of blog readers. Fortunately, blogging is not a zero-sum game and while the market is finite, it is also extremely large, constantly expanding, and has few barriers to entry. You can attract readers but you must first know what audience you are aiming for. If you don't know why anyone should read your blog, then you shouldn't be surprised when you find that no one does.
You Get What You Pay For -- You can start and maintain a blog without ever spending a dime. The low-cost of entry is one of the main reasons that so many blogs are started. It is also one of the reasons more than half of new blogs are abandoned within the first week. If you plan to take blogging seriously (and if you don't then you can stop reading this post) you will have to put a few dollars into the venture.
Fortunately, blogging can be an extremely inexpensive hobby. Using a cut-rate domain name registration and hosting service, you can start a blog for around twenty dollar. I recommend paying a bit more for a hosting service that will allow you to upgrade your bandwidth. When your blog goes from receiving 12 hits a day to 10,000 hits an hour (and yes, it can happen) you need to be prepared. Choose a hosting service that will automatically charge you for surges in bandwidth. You don't want your site to crash under the weight of an Instalaunche. Be prepared for success. If it's temporary it will only cost you a few bucks. If it's permanent sell Blogads. But if you aren't ready when success comes knocking it likely won't be back for a return visit.
Choose Your Blog Name 'Carefully' Look around the blogosphere and you will see an inordinate number of blogs with silly names. Most people don�t give much thought when they start a blog and choose the first name that pops into their head. Big mistake. Your blog name not only represents your blog, it also represents you. Companies spend a considerable amount of time and energy into choosing names for their products. You should do the same. The name is one of the key components of 'branding' and getting it right is essential in marketing your blog.
If you are an exceptional blogger you may be able to compensate for a blog name like 'Mother May I Sleep With Treacher.' But don't take unnecessary risks. Whenever possible, see if your own name is available. It's good enough for you; it should be good enough for your blog. It's also catchier. If you can remember the name Hugh Hewitt or Mark D. Roberts then you can remember their blogs.
Sometimes this isn't a viable option. Your name may not be available or it may be a Slavic name without any vowels. If you can't use your own name then choose one that is short and memorable. It doesn't have to be obvious or boring -- more people use Google and Yahoo in an hour than will use SearchEngine.com in a lifetime -- but it should be something that you wouldn't be embarrassed to have on a business card.
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