“How do I start a blog?”
“I’ve got a great idea for a blog.”
I hear things like that all the time. Friends will excitedly tell me, “Hey, check out my new blog!” They write a few great posts, but after a month or two it dries up on the vine.
Although this blog in one form or another has been around for almost 7 years I can honestly tell you that there are a few blogger blogs(that’s blogspot for you newbies) floating in cyber oblivion with my name on them with only a post or 2. So many times I hear that the key is just to start a new blog and I would say “Not so much.” Here are a few mistakes I have made and 3 Ways to Hurdle the Big Blogging Hump.
1. Realize that you need more than an idea for a singular post. Many times a current event will spark our blogging fever. One of my first blogs was in response to some troubling things I saw during Hurricane Katrina. I wrote one post and that was the end of it. You may have the greatest idea for a blog post in the history of mankind. Great. Type it out. You may have a great sermon or motivational speech on your hand. You may eventually post it on your blog or someone else’s blog. But one post does not make a blog. You’ve got to have a mental road map(or an actual Mind Map) to plot out where you want to go, but there’s also a danger that comes with that….
2. Don’t overthink it. As much as fear can paralyze us and lead us to the Land Full of Excuses, overthinking can also lead to stagnation. I have had great blog ideas, but in trying to do the market and niche research to find the perfect domain name so that anyone could easily find my blog and be changed by my powerful writing…I ended up doing nothing. In all seriousness, I know of at least 4 blogging ideas that I had that I was either too lazy or too bogged down in the details to get going. Now others are profiting off the great idea that I had, but they obviously didn’t overthink it like I did. At the same time this is both depressing and encouraging because I know I’ve been on the right track. You can also fall into the trap of spending so much time figuring out how you want it to look that you don’t ever actually write anything.
3. Blogging is not a billboard. It should be a conversation. I have fallen into the trap of wanting everyone to come and look at my great stuff. Newflash: there’s already a lot of great stuff on the internet. You can’t compete with that. You know what you can do? Start a conversation. Build a community. Ask great questions. Don’t be like the Wall Drug billboards across South Dakota. Do you eventually stop in Wall Drug? Yes. Are you happy about it? No. People will come read your content either because they know and trust you, are interested in what you’re blogging about, or are looking for a place to have a conversation about the same ideas you do. That leads me to the bonus:
4. Don’t look at your blog stats. Unless you are trying to blog full-time, create a product to sell, or have really thick skin then do not even look at your page views. Why? Because for every post that many people read there will be 8 posts no one ever hears about. Nothing is as discouraging as pouring your heart into a long post that you think will change the world only to look at your stats and the end of the week and see that a whopping 11 people read it. Now, every time you have a post that goes “viral”, at least in the context of your world, it will be an adrenaline rush that encourages you to keep posting. Nothing will crush your confidence like low page views. So then you don’t trust the word press stats so you check your Google Analytics and realize it’s worse that you feared.
I believe you have an important story to tell. I believe that the exercise of blogging your story, adventure, and thoughts on whatever subjects you want to deal with is a wonderful outlet. It gets those ideas out of your brain. Even if no one ever reads a single one of your posts it will be beneficial to you because the blogging process is so liberating. It’s like exercise for you brain.
Here’s what we’re going to do. I’ve created a Facebook Group called “Help! I’m a blogger, I think.” It’s just a place to spark conversation about what blogging is and isn’t. It’s also a place to cross promote our stuff and spark ideas. I’d love to see a Wesleyan Blogging Network some day.
Maybe you’re ready to take the blogging plunge, but aren’t sure how to start your blog. I’d be happy to help any way I can.
Are there any hurdles I left out? What’s been your experience? Leave a comment below and take a moment to share this post if you like what you’ve read.