Sunday, June 21, 2015

3 Things To Help You On Your Blogging Journey



    As I've run this blog, I've been collecting realizations and advice in my brain receptacle deally and, from things others have said and steps that I've undertaken, I've come to recognize a few things.  Here are three of them.


1.  Even if no one asks questions, it's worth it

     My mother recently started a genealogy blog, and for a long time she had trouble understanding that it can take a very long time to build up enough of a following to warrant questions and comments.  As a veteran of the internet myself, I knew going into this that the likelihood that people would comment on my blogs right away (or even within the first few years) was slim.  But even without feedback from the public, blogging is worth the time and effort.
     Chances are good that someone is looking, especially if you're hitting up other forms of social media to get the word out, and even if they weren't, as I've mentioned before, blogging is good for your own sense of accomplishment and the organization of your thoughts.  It's also the first step toward accumulating a following (which agents tend to prefer when choosing clients), and can be used as a credit on your resume if you ever apply for a writing job of some sort.
     Honestly, the more I do it and the more I read about it, blogging is a really awesome thing to do.  Not having any feedback on your work isn't something to worry too much about--if you keep working at it, it'll happen.  Just keep pushing yourself to improve, and keep learning all that you can learn.

2.  An organized blog is an organized mind

     Okay, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but as your blog posts start to stack up, it can get harder to find what you're looking for.  "Where's that post I did about Holidays?" you asked yourself, clicking furiously through the pages of your blog.  "I know it's in here, and I can't do this new post without linking to it."
     I'd suggest adding a directory to your blog, and organizing it accordingly--alphabetical, categorical, number of bullets, listicles vs. full articles, the Dewy Decimal system--whatever works for you.
     I'd also suggest adding a page for your published works, once you become so fortunate, or for any other accomplishments you may want the public to know about.  An About Me of some sort can also help people become invested in your story, and encourage them to keep reading.

3.  Respond to trends to increase traffic

     By "trends" I don't mean vampires, werewolves, and wizards (oh my!), but rather trends in the news and on social media.  When there's a spike in talks on diversity, for instance, it might be the time to release that article you've been cooking up about the importance of diversity in fiction.
     Following the news and trends in online discussion is important--you should keep informed on what's going on in the world, and it can help you develop blog ideas when you're low on inspiration.  That's not to say you should try to make a post about something just because it's trending, especially if you don't feel that you have anything to say on the matter, or that you should forestall posting about that topic over there just because it's not in the public eye, but to increase blog traffic, the best time to release a post or tweet (etc.) is when the topic is on top and widespread attention is being paid to it.
   
      Hopefully these have helped you out some.  If you have anything to add, feel free to discuss it below!

No comments:

Post a Comment