Today marks the one-year anniversary of my blog. I've had this site for years longer, but this is the one-year anniversary of signing up for Blogger (which I used back then) and officially starting to blog. 201 posts later, I'm feeling as inspired as ever.
The Best So Far
Here are my personal favourites from the last year - my top five posts so far:
- How To Write A Good Communications Plan - Part 1 - An Overview
- 8 Questions To Ask Before Using YouTube As A Communications Tool
- 6 Ways To Make Life Easier With Delicious
- Enough With Blogger Strategies!
- 42 Top Social Media Tips And Tools
I've learned a lot over the last year from reading other peoples' sites, reflecting on my own thoughts and absorbing other peoples' comments on this site.
13 Tips I've Learned From The Last Year
For your benefit, here are 13 things I've learned over the last year that your blog should have:
- Goals - decide what you want to get out of your blog. Have a reason for writing other than "I think I should have a blog."
- Purpose - if you have nothing to say, say nothing. Don't write a post for the sake of it.
- Commitment - writing a blog isn't all easy. It takes time and work to keep coming up with relevant, interesting content. Stick with it.
- Opinions - let people know what you think. I'd avoid attacking people or criticizing without being constructive, but don't be afraid to have an opinion.
- Questions - it can be hard to encourage people to comment on your blog. Prompt people to think and respond by asking questions.
- Focus - decide what you're going to write about and focus on that theme. Make sure you consider your audience - who it already is, or who you want it to be.
- Simplicity - unless you've consciously decided to focus on a knowledgeable audience, assume that your readers know nothing about the topic.
- Debate - make people think about what you're saying. Provoke a reaction, not necessarily in a negative way.
- Conversation - if someone comments on your blog, write back. Take the time to start a conversation. It's called "social media" for a reason!
- Limits - comments are great, but some people will come to your site with malice aforethought. It's worth having a comments policy to fall back on when nasty situations occur. Mine is here.
- Checks and balances - if you're reporting on breaking news, try to get a second source to make sure what you're reporting on is true. I've fallen into the trap of not checking my facts in the past. Learn from my mistakes.
- Personality - make your blog personal. Give your take. Don't just regurgitate what everyone else is saying. Heck, you don't even have to write about the same topic as everyone else.
- Passion - Write about things you care about. If you don't care, how do you expect your readers to?
These are some of the lessons I've learned so far; check out some other perspectives - Chris Brogan, Liz Strauss, Darren Rowse, Vandelay Design, Jason Falls.
What's the top tip you've learned from blogging?
(Photo credit: missxyz)
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