Caitlin and I chatted about blogging the other day, so I thought I'd post a few tips for new bloggers. I figure the majority of you participate in social sites, facebook and what not, what about about a blog?
Blogging is a whole different animal.
Not to get too deep on you, but it's like a personal introspective journey. It's rewarding, but hard work.
I think you will find it well worth the effort - but only if you do it right.
When I started as mamaVISION a few years ago, I had no idea what lied ahead (thank god). Truth be told, it was scary as hell. There was a few times I contemplated deleting the whole damn thing. I always knew mamaV could be wiped out in one simple click of a button, but something told me to keep going.
So, if your going take a jump and become a blogger, here's some tips from a semi-pro who has been through the wringer and back, way too many times to count:
If you are going to sit around crisis'ing about what people think about you, and if you'll be liked, or worst of all you set out to TRY to be cool- you're dead meat.
To be a blogger, you must be fearless. Say it like it is, call it like you see it, flip it out there and see what sticks. Above all, be ready for anything.
2 Take the good with the bad.
This is the World Wide Web. It means you are exposing your viewpoint to the world wide wierdos, and frankly, a-holes. Let their comments live among the rest, don't freak and delete them.* Resist the urge to moderate.
Your skin will grow thick, and you will learn a lot by listening to all points of view. I believe there is something to be learned from everyone. Have an open mind my friend....wide, wide open.
*one and only exception is perverts. they come out in droves - nuke 'em immediately.
3 Ponder
Take time to ponder before you write. I often think about a particular post for days or sometimes weeks before I actually post to my blog about it.
By ponder, I mean thinking only. Don't start writing drafts of your thoughts or put anything down on paper. Keep it all in your head. Sort through your opinion and stance, and when ready - crank it out hard and fast. Launch it and don't look back.
4 Passion
Don't bother blogging if you are not extremely passionate about your topic. Many people start blogging for the hell of it, or worse yet, to make $. You will fail, guaranteed.
Blogging is hard work. You will put your blood, sweat and tears into it, so enthusiasm is sure to wane if you venture out with some half baked idea.
5 Break the rules
There's a lot of solid advice out there, from bloggers a heck of lot smarter than me, but there is one rule of thumb I don't agree with - "You must post daily."
Totally bogus. Never worked for me. Forcing yourself to post daily, break's the "be real" rule. You can't force out thoughts and ideas. Don't post just to post, ever. The best posts are those that are well thought out, or better yet, written in total haste and anger.
This may mean you crank out 3 posts in a day, or just a few a month. Either way, each and every post you do will mean something to you and your readers, and automatically be filled with the spark and emotion that is essential to your blog personality.
6 Vision
Give your readers something to visualize the points you are trying to convey. Take the time to choose images that reflect the mood, topic, or discussion at hand. My favorite place for pics is IStockPhoto, the xsmall images are usually a buck, and well worth it.
7 YouTube It
Ok, now if you really have balls - start YouTubing*.
Videoblogging scares people (ahemmm...Caitlin) but it is the greatest. There is simply no better way to express yourself. And allowing users to see your expressions, and gestures, speaks volumes for your sincerity.
My first vblog tumbled out of me naturally because I was so pissed off and angry about a certain topic. While sitting in my car before work, I simply blasted off my thoughts, and launched it to the world. Today, the majority of my readers on mamaV find me on YouTube, so it's an awesome channel to find others that care about what you care about.
*Helpful Hints for vblogging: 1 All you need is a digital camera set to video mode, hold it out and shoot. 2 Choose a comfy spot, sitting in my car before work was best for me. 3 Don't be so hard on yourself, try not to be vain, who cares what you look like! 4 One or two takes max. 4 No editing, just spit it out and launch it!
7 Blogrolling....questionable
I always found "blogrolling" to be an odd practice. This is a blogger way of networking - this is the ole' "hey why don't you link to my blog, and I'll link to yours?"
The whole thing just seems kind of fake to me, but hey, it's these links that up your ratings on blog search engines, so you need to make your own mind up about this practice.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
To Blog Or Not To Blog
I will venture to guess many have started a blog, wrote a post or two, but then ended up deleting more than you published, and ditched the whole idea.
1 Be Real 
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7 comments:
Blogging for me is the most important thing in my life! That probably sounds very sad but hey!
My blog means alot to me because I do feel very passionate about what I am blogging about. Some days ill sit here and think about posting but have nothing to post about. Its like you feel the need to do it, but whats the point when you would just be writing about anything and everything. What I write has to mean something to me, what I reply to others also has to be real.
I have met some amazing people through my blog with the help of mamaVISION and I am grateful for what the blog has brought me but it can be very demanding so I have to make sure I can fully commit to it before I start.
TS
Blogging is a major outlet for me. My blog was brought on by the death of my best friend, and has since followed me through many more deaths....and good times too!
I never put too much though into my posts....I just type what I'm thinking or feeling at the moment. Just when I think I should go back and delete something I get a comment that changes my mind.
I have "met" many wonderful and supportive people through my blog.
I guess blogging, for me, has been free therapy.
blogging has done different things for me at different times. i've never much cared about attracting a wide readership, but it helps sometimes to feel like someone somewhere hears you.
i agree about being fearless, and about not being overly concerned with whether you post every single day or not. to me that is part of the whole idea of not doing everything for others, not trying to attact a large audience and grow bigger and bigger.
you'll have a hard time understanding this, heather, but some of us just plain don't care if we are widely known and read. we aren't obsessed with ourselves the way you seem to be. we might like to be heard, but having a lot of followers isn't at the top of our list of important things we need to feel validated.
it's ironic that i'm saying this to you, since you've accused me of being an attention seeker. but for me, blogging is a fun outlet and a way to keep writing even when i don't feel like it, because i know there are people who will see and hear and want to know what's on my mind. to more well known bloggers it seems to be all about getting a lot of readers and a lot of comments.
who cares about that shallow shit? i'd much rather be excellent and improve my writing than be popular, and you certainly prove that excellence in writing and thought is NOT the determinating factor in who becomes popular.
There are a lot of people who care about being popular. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that if given the choice between popularity and well-developed writing skills, most people would choose the prior.
Hey vive42: I think you express the core of blogging- writing for the process of writing, not to be read by an audience.
Believe it or not, when my blog started attracting attention - it scared the heck out of me. You know a blog reveals so much about a person, its like putting yourself out there to the world's criticism.
My point is, when readers start coming its not always an easy. welcome thing...its an acceptance that there are actually people out there that want to read and once you get over the scaryiness of it - its fun.
Take it easy.
HB
*eyeroll*
heather if you weren't all about the attention you wouldn't say controversial and unsupportable things that you yourself know you're misrepresenting to make a stronger point.
you do it for the controversy, for the comments, for the readers. admit it! it's not such a bad thing, barely even a criticism. but to pretend otherwise is beneath you.
Vanessa
Hey Vanessa,
I am writing to you on here as I know you will be looking out for a reply from mv regarding this post.
I wanted to ask you to do something for me, and I think it would help contribute to your writing passion. Please contact me if you are interested in this. I think it might be a good thing to do, for me and maybe or yourself too.
TS
xxx
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