A Blog Wannabe's Guide

Back Friday on my third blogoversary post, Bene left this bleg-

Wow.
What is the secret to your longevity?
Care to share with the young 'uns?

I'm reminded of the old Woody Allen line that 80% of success is showing up. Blogs that go on extended hiatus lose readers, who get out of the habit of checking in. I think the longest I've gone between posts is three days when I didn't have access to the Internet while moving out of Winter Haven. Sometimes I feel more like a Jesse Orosco (the all-time leader in games pitched); no All-star, but someone who fills a niche and keeps doing it.

The real reason for my longevity is that I enjoy the intelectual give-and-take of blogging. I don't have many friends that I can bat intelectual ideas around with, and this becomes a great arena to talk about stuff with smart people from around the world. This is my intelectual sandlot, and I like to come out to play. There is a ministry aspect, especially once I got my Edifiers going 2.5 years ago, but at the core, it's a playground.

Some days, I'll just get to a morning Edifier, which has been a blessing, since it gets me into a spiritual discipline of getting into the Word each morning; some days, I'll be rushed in the morning and not get it in until later or not at all on rare occasions, but the concept of daily devotionals has kept me honest.

Once I get that done and I have free time, I'll read over a few news sites; the multi-tab function of Firefox is great for that. I'm spoiled by broadband; having to use Netscape dial-up for the moment means I have to wait for a site to boot up. When I have broadband, I'll boot up Fox, BBC, NYT, CNN, Drudge, Globe and Mail and (when I was in Michigan) Detroit Free Press as one "Main News" block.

There's bound to be one or more items that pull my chatty ring; if I only have a one-line response to an article, I'll merge it into a [fill in time of day] Musings post, breaking out items that have multiparagraph thoughts into a separate post. If it's a slow news day, other blogs will be good sources of ideas. If the blogs don't have any ideas that move me, there's often a half-dozen ideas burbling through my mind that can develop into a post.

Joe Carter has a lengthy series on blog basics. However, his series seems to assume you want to be an A-lister like Joe; we can debate where the A-list starts, but he's just about the top dog in the Christian Blogosphere in terms of traffic. I'm not sure if everyone who wants to blog strives to be famous; for me, having a conversation with folks around the world on issues that interest me is the primary goal. Being famous would be nice, but that's often beyond your ability to generate; writing good and interesting stuff that a few hundred people will dig is within your reach.

Here's my quick list of what I'd advise someone who's interested in blogging.

(1) Lurk for a while first-it might take a few months to figure out the lay of the land, the etiquette of blogging and what are reliable sources.
(2) Leave comments. One way to start into blogging is to leave comments on other blogs. If you're a regular commenter on a site, you'll have a built-in clientele when you start one of your own.
(3) Be yourself-It's what you're best at.
(4) Be polite-crass comments may draw traffic, but it won't be the traffic you want.
(5) Link to other bloggers. Bloggers like to be linked to. However, you don't want go get too brown-nosey about it.
(6) Know your limitations. You're not barred from putting in your two cents worth on topics where you have no expertise, but remember that you'll be open for criticism when you do. Well, you're open to criticism even if you do know what you're talking about, but you'll be on firmer ground.
(7) Stake out a specialty or two. If you're from an area with few bloggers, you can wind up being an expert on your home area. If you're in a particular industry, you can comment on that industry with authority. If you've got a non-blogging hobby or favorite sport, dig into that. Not everyone will be into 70s jazz trivia or guard geese clothing, but folks that are will become regular visitors.
(8) Take correction well. You're going to get your kiester fact-checked; it's the nature of the beast.
(9) Read a lot. Will Rogers pre-electronic-media line was "all I know is what I read in the papers." However, he knew a lot. Read lots of news sites and lots of blogs and lots of other things; that's where a lot of your ideas for posts will flow from.
(10) Keep the personal minutia to a minimum from dominating. There are some bloggers who have a following by providing witty details on their personal lives. However, most popular blogs will intersperse such personal tidbits with items of general interest. [Update 1/10- I've gotten the most feedback on this one, and I think I overstated the case. A blend of personal and general works well, but it starts to be a bit idiosyncratic and less readable when the personal starts to overwhelm things.]
(11) Have a comment section. Yes, it does leave you vulnerable to comment spam, but it's worth getting the quick feedback; not everyone will be moved enough to e-mail you. It also leaves you vulnerable to trolls and obscene comments, but if you're polite and don't set out to pick fights, the flamage will be kept to a minimum.
(12) Don't be afraid to start cheap. Blogger works; it's occasionally a bit buggy, but well worth the price ($0). That's not to dis Moveable Type, Typepad, or any other more-advanced system, but you don't need to spend the money if you're just dipping your feet in the water.
(13) Don't be afraid to have opinions or to be biased. This isn't journalism, it's commentary, although if you see something unique, it may turn into free-lance journalism on occasion. You'll want to state those comments so that a civilized conversation will ensue, but make your case clearly, politely and boldly.
(14) Have an opinion. Unless you're setting up a niche as a clearinghouse for information on a topic, you get more of a following as a thinker than a linker.
(15) Avoid ad-homonyms. Go after the argument, not the writer. Ad-homs are the quickest way to see your comment section get ugly real fast.
(16) Use humor where appropriate.
(17) Don't be afraid to plug your work. One of the ways that bloggers get big is by e-mailing people pointing to their work or leaving comments on related pieces pointing to their posts. If done too much, it can look tacky, but it's a way to promote your ideas if you don't have an established readership.
(18) Don't be afraid to bleg. If you don't know how to do something, ask. We were all rookies at this once, and bloggers seem to be willing to give advice.

Comments

[Bene Diction]

Good points.
#9 is excellent. Some people are just better readers than others, but it does pay off. Your 'chatty ring' does get tugged.
#10 is iffy. A lot depends on age, gender, culture. Some people can pull a lot of personal content off.

LoL. Joe Carter's blog series is for the ADHD hyper-achiever I think. I can kind of hear a group of marines yelling hooorrraaahhh after some of his encouragement.

I like the dichotomies in your point.:^)
Again Mark, congrats on your longevity and do blog on!

[Ned]

Thanks for your thoughts.
I appreciate you taking time to itemize/list good points to blogging.

Ned

[MarcV]

I missed the third anniversary post, so I'll give congrats now on the blogiversary. Do you really get a few hundred people visiting/reading here? I'd be grateful for a dozen or two at Spudlets.

Unless you want a blog that is strictly the facts, most blogs that have any staying power will contain personal stuff (point #10). These on-line journals are not very interesting unless they tell something about the author, and that involves personal details. Like most other things in life, you need the balance between the personal info and the other interests.

That's a good point on blegging, particularly if you're starting out. Once you get a "lay of the land", ask for help and advice. Of the ten bloggers I asked for help about 3 years ago, all ten wrote back good things, with you being one of them. Of that ten, at least eight are still blogging.

(Wow, has it been that long?)