Courtesy of The Future Buzz: 50 Lessons for New Bloggers

A friend recently posted a link to this absolutely fantastic article about blogging.  It was so exceptionally well-written that I could not contain my groupie tendencies and had to contact the author directly and ask for permission to share it here.

If you’re not reading Adam Singer and The Future Buzz on media, marketing and PR, you’ll want to get on it stat.  Do yourself a favor and subscribe, especially if you’re fond of Mashable and TechCrunch.  Trust me: this is good stuff.

Without further ado, an excerpt from Adam’s recent 50 Blogging Lessons To Know If You’re Starting Today:  With that said – as someone who blogs personally and professionally, (as both an artist and a marketer on my own blogs and others) I’d like to share 50 lessons I’ve learned over the years that continue to hold true.  These may prove especially useful for those just starting a blog today.

1. Speed and agility win, period.  It’s not about overly refining content and having layers upon layers of approval and editing, it’s about freedom to converse and try out new ideas.
2. If you wouldn’t do it for free, don’t do it at all.  In other words:  do it for passion and for yourself and you can’t lose.
3. Allow an absolute minimum of one year solid commitment (posting 3-5x weekly, or even daily) before you start to see compelling results.  Be mindful of the fact it may take longer.
4. A sharp thesis trumps planning things to a T.  What I mean by this is it is stronger to simply have a compelling thesis and create content that supports it than necessarily having a formalized editorial calendar already filled out with topics far into the future.  You don’t necessarily even need an editorial calendar if you have a group of people passionate about a topic – just a post quota (i.e., person x is responsible for 3 posts a month).  You might end up with better material this way as it will create more inspired content rather than forced.  This is applicable in solo or group settings.
5. Branding is vital – your blog requires a strong or unique brand.  If the name of your blog isn’t sticky, you’re already at a disadvantage compared to your peers.  After enough time, you should notice a decent amount of search engine brand awareness for the name of your blog.  This is a great indicator you’re on track, as it means people have started to view your blog as a referential source.  Have some thought behind creating your blog’s name, being especially conscious that it will resonate with your target audience.
6. It’s not going to be easy – nothing rewarding is.
7. But it is going to be worthwhile – you will develop a voice in your industry and get involved in conversations with smart, interesting people. .
8. Embrace being imperfect.  Trust me, you’re going to have things like typos and sentences which aren’t grammatically perfect.  Make peace with this soon and you’ll have a lot more fun.
9. Speaking of fun – if you don’t find writing about your topic of choice fun, stop and write about something else.  If the process isn’t enjoyable, your content will feel contrived – and no one enjoys contrived words.
10. If you’re not learning as part of the process, stop.  Blogging should be like going to the gym for your brain.
11. You’re probably going to be talking only to your friends/business associates at the start.  But this is a good thing – use this time to refine your words, hone your style and experiment.  Having an audience before you’re comfortable isn’t a good thing – you want to be fully fluent in the process to have the greatest continued impact when you actually do acquire readers.
12. If you’re not a leader, don’t even bother.  Your writing will show it.  The best bloggers are natural leaders and exude confidence.  You have to be if you hope to stand out in a world of infinite choice.  It’s basic sociology, why else would anyone listen to you?
13. Answer the “so what?” question with every post.  If you have no reason for being, don’t write it.

Some of these are tough love, aren’t they?  Whether you’re a writer, blogger or occasional social media user, these are good tips.  And I would not be much of a marketer if I hogged all of Adam’s fantastic advice here on my blog.

So, hop on over to the full 50 Blogging Lessons To Know If You’re Starting Today post on The Future Buzz.  This is some of the best reading you’ll do on blogging, so bookmark or Evernote it to keep this post handy when you need a good source of inspiration or a good reminder of how to speak with a voice that will truly resonate.  I know I’ll be referring to this article regularly.  Happy blogging!

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