5 Things I’ve Learned About Blogging (After Blogging for About 5 Minutes)

By • Oct 6th, 2008 • Category: 26th Story, Technology

1)   First of all, it’s really hard.  Do you know how many times I told authors, without batting an eye,….”Blog Blog Blog.”  I feel so guilty now that I’ve discovered how hard it is to be “on” when someone says "go."

2)   Good content is what it’s all about.  Forget the blah blah blah.  No one cares.  People want useful information.

3)   Repurpose other people’s blog ideas and share them with your readers (giving credit, of course!). That’s what 3/4 of the blogs out there do.  I’ve come to understand that that’s the purpose of many blogs — to aggregate content you think is interesting and useful.  I know it sounds like plagiarism, but look around and you’ll see.

4)   Less is more.  Don’t ask people to guest blog who don’t understand this point. 

5)   People love to give their opinion…..so if you have a question, ask and you shall hear back.  I was so pleased with all of the responses to the Website vs.. Blog post (below) and used every bit of the advice.

Here are a few examples of what I consider to be really well done blogs:

Freakonomics — La Crème de la crème.  Takes the author blog to a whole other level.  Great use of the "Guest Blogger." 

Chris Moore — Hilarious.  Really well done author blog.  If you like Chris Moore, you’ll love this.

Micropersuasion — Useful information posted frequently.

Wine Library TV — Great use of the Video Blog.  Fun to watch and useful info.

Galleycat — If you’re into publishing, there’s no better place to get the latest news.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about what makes a good blog.

Debbie

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  • http://www.JeffRivera.com Jeff Rivera

    As a reader I love an entertaining and funny blog and yes with useful information. Some people’s blogs go on and on and you’re please get to the point. You could have summed that up in 2 sentences instead of 5 pages.

    I also love live links to other useful information. Love that.

  • http://dailylit.com/ Maggie Hilliard

    Thanks, Debbie, for asking for opinions, and thanks to Jeff for offering his.

    I’m just beginning to spend more time working on my company’s blog (DailyLit), so I’m very curious to see what folks have to say. Oh, and I second your #1, Debbie–blogging is tougher than it looks!

  • http://heromama.org karen spears zacharias

    I’ve been blogging for four years and have a pretty faithful following. One of the best blogs I frequent is Scot McKnight’s blog at jesuscreed.org. Blogging works best if you believe you have something to contribute to the discourse. If you are providing information/and/or stories you can’t get elsewhere. That’s why Galleycat works so well. For all the gossip and information. Find ways to engage the readers. I’m always suprised by how many people tell me that they are regular readers of my blog.

  • http://melissacwalker.com Melissa Walker

    I love useful links, great pictures and short posts. A visually engaging blog is one I want to return to.

    One I love is author Beth Kephart’s–she posts her own nature photography and then writes poetry around it, and it’s gorgeous.

  • http://jo-writes.blogspot.com Jo

    I read http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com
    He’s very informative and extremely witty. His posts have helped me out so much.

    I also read http://www.clevergirlgoesblog.com. She’s hilarious and fun and often gives good tips.

  • http://www.26thstory.com Debbie Stier

    Thanks for the leads. I will definitely check them out. I’ve read Nathan Bransford’s blog before. Really good. Maggie, I looked for your blog and could’t find it on the site. I’m familiar with Daily Lit and keep meaning to sign up…..and then another day evaporates before it gets done (does anyone have any tips on managing email? I can’t get a handle on it no matter how many hours I work. It’s CRAZY…..but I’m digressing now). Anyway, as always, many thanks for the great suggestions.

  • http://www.i-m-bitter.com Bitter

    When I read this post a few days ago, part of what you wrote worried me. And again last night I thought of your post again.

    Your #3 thing you learned about blogging.

    Yes, a lot of bloggers do this. However, I don’t read them. Well, I do have a feed to a couple of them, but I don’t follow them faithfully, or look forward to what they have to say.

    I could blather on about why I follow particular blogs for paragraphs, but instead I’ll tell you why I subscribed to your blog feed.

    (BTW, thanks for burning the entire feed instead of part of it.)

    I like what you have to say.

    I like what you’ve said so far.

    I like gaining insight to the perspective of publishers.

    I appreciate that your blog is not one big advertisement. That I can actually learn something when I click through to see what you’ve written.

    I guess my point is, I like what you’ve been doing. And hope that you don’t turn into a place that constantly regurgitates other stuff they’ve seen. Unless you give your own insight into what made it provoking enough to re-post.

    Case in point, the linkage to Cory Doctorow. Blog post was perfectly done. Thanks! :)

  • http://anthromama.wordpress.com Henitsirk

    I started reading this blog after someone in the Editorial Freelancers Association linked to your post with the old school print shop video.

    I’ve been blogging for a few years, and I think there are different kinds of blogs–some do aggregate other people’s content, some write completely original content about a certain topic, and some (like myself) write whatever feels interesting. Depends on what your ultimate goal for blogging is–I don’t need to think about SEO because I’m just writing a personal blog.

    Author/publisher blogs serve a couple of purposes in my mind. I like Neil Gaiman’s Journal because he doesn’t just write about his books or even his genre–he also writes about himself. I feel more likely to pick up one of his books, knowing a bit about him. Irrational, but true. This also refutes your #2 to some degree. Sure, he gives lots of info about his book tours, but that’s not why I read his blog. I could Google that info if I wanted it.

    On the other hand, I also like OUP’s Friday Procrastination Link Love posts, but it doesn’t make me more likely to buy OUP books.

  • http://www.26thstory.com Debbie Stier

    Bitter — Thank you! I’m glad someone out there is finding interest in what we are saying. As a new blogger, I have NO idea how people find this stuff and what they will find interesting. I checked out your blog for a second….I’ll be back! It looks interesting. Quick question: what do you think of those Tag Clouds? I notice a lot of people have those. Do readers use them?

    And Henitsirk — You’re so right. And I realized after I posted that that there are in fact many types of blogs that people read, including myself. Love Neil Gaiman’s Journal. My son is reading his book right now. And that’s for the OUP Friday Procrastination tip. I just looked. How fun.