We get lots of people emailing us or IMing us wanting advice about blogging. We are by no means experts on this topic, but we have picked up some knowledge along the way, and we are happy to share it. So, if you are a blogger, or want to be a blogger, this is our advice. If not, you can keep reading if you want, I’m fine either way.
1) Know what kind of blog you want. There are three types of blogs: Those meant for personal entertainment, those meant for the entertainment of friends and family, and those meant for public consumption. Your blog should be whatever you want it to be. Since our blog is obviously the third type, this advice will mostly apply to blogs meant for public consumption.
2) What to write about. Anything on your mind, but if you want lots of people to read your blog, then you have to write stuff that is funny or interesting or insightful or entertaining. In other words, it has to have some appeal to readers. The corollary to that rule is that you aren’t going to please everyone, so don’t try. Inevitably some people won’t like what you have to say. Don’t worry about those people. Write what you want and you’ll find your audience.
3) How often to write. As often as you feel like writing, but if you want people to read your blog, you have to update with some regularity. As a general rule, Russ and I try to make at least four posts per week and more if possible, but that’s just us. On the flip side, don’t post anything because you feel like you have to post something. Our four-post-per-week rule came out of the fact that we usually have at least four post ideas per week. Don’t force posts just because you feel like you have to update.
4) Content. As I stated before, your blog can be anything you want it to be. That being said, you have to exercise some form of self-censorship, particularly if you have a blog meant for public consumption. In other words, don’t write anything that could come back to bite you in the ass. If you want to remain completely anonymous, don’t tell your friends about it. If you are completely out in the open, you have much less latitude in terms of what you can write. As is stands, Russ and I are quasi-anonymous. On our blog, we have been careful not to reveal where we go to school (thus there are no hidden clues out there), nor do we use the real names of anyone we write about (except our own). While the word is out at each of our schools, we still write under the same rules as before. In summary, before you post something, make sure it isn’t anything that will get you in trouble.
5) Getting Traffic. Obviously, if you are writing a blog that you want people (other than friends and family) to read, you need to find those readers. The best way to do this is by getting linked on other blogs. Always offer to exchange links, don’t just ask for a link (as we learned the hard way). But before you do this, build some content. Lots of times people think they have a great blog idea, make a half-dozen posts, and then kind of forget about it. Even if you think you have a public consumption blog, really, it’s a personal entertainment blog until you are able to post with some regularity over a period of a month or so. You’d be surprised at how many people think they have lots to write about but quickly run out. So before you start asking for links post some stuff for a while and get the hang of it.
So that’s my blogging advice in a nutshell. I don’t profess to know much about blogging, but we did something right along the way, since we started off by just posting the random stuff we emailed back and forth to stave off boredom. So for all those who asked or wanted to ask, that’s my two cents. If you have any other questions, you can always email us or IM me.
