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Advice for the new blogger

Jill

A Feministe fan sent me an email asking for advice about starting a blog — more blog-philosophy stuff than nuts-and-bolts basics. I’ve emailed her my thoughts, but since most of you either have blogs or read blogs, you may be able to offer some wisdom and advice — and I’d certainly like to hear a bit about what makes a “good” blog. So comment away!

15 thoughts on Advice for the new blogger

  1. I have two basic rules of thumb (which I ignore when it suits me), and a third thing that I’ve come to believe is important:

    1) each post must stand alone, without needing to be understood as part of a larger narrative – it may be part of one, but it should be able to be understood perfectly well by somebody who hasn’t read the other, similar bits.
    2) Don’t call attention to the medium, unless you really want to get all meta and go into the nitty gritty of blogging. The worst thing you can do is start a blog with the declaration: “I’m going to start a blog.” Yes, I can see that. And now I don’t care.
    3) Balance your commentary/links equation based upon what is right for you – don’t try to emulate this blogger or that one. If you’re a chatterer, run with it. If you would rather add a pithy zinger to something you’ve seen elsewhere, do that instead. But let yourself get comfortable with blogging in your own image, and let those bloggers you admire be your suggestions, not your guidelines.

  2. I agree with the stuff that Philoillogica wrote, but I’d like to underline the third point by expanding it… do what’s right for you, not only in terms of linking or commentary, but from the top down. Think about what do you want from the site, your motivations for starting it, and go from there.

    Because the media focuses a lot of attention on a particular kind of blog (i.e. A-List political filter blogs run by affluent white males), a lot of new bloggers come to it with the belief that they have to post like Instapundit or DailyKos or whoever to be a “real” blogger. The folks who publish “how to blog” manuals or post “rules for blogging” often demand that new writers choose a single, focused topic or structure their work in X, Y, or Z fashion… if that’s what you want, cool, but if not,the majority of blogs aren’t like that, anyway. So do your own thing, you know? Have fun, follow your instincts and interests, and let your site reflect that.

    Good luck and happy blogging!

  4. Write, write, write, and write some more. All of the stylistic rules we learned in school apply to whatever degree the author desires.

    I guage the quality of a blog on the community that grows around or within it. This is how writers can become a part of a “virtual commune” of like-minded writers, gaining and losing respect among the commune in real time.

    But since the blogosphere (in the most general sense) makes up a large population, we are all susceptible to epidemics of groupthink. The best bloggers (in my book) have a seamless, almost instinctive, talent of being able to step back and call bullshit on even their closest allies.

    In other words, be yourself, and hopefully that translates to “Be Independent in words and thought”. Good luck!

  5. Well, this is advice that works for me, and may not for everyone… but don’t be afraid to experiment. Develop your own voice, even if you take mis-steps along the way. There are already way too many blogs out there that post links like “OMG James Joyce Nails It!!!1! or

    CURRENT CONDITIONS
    New York, NY: Mostly Sunny and 74°F (23°C)
    The New York Times has more. Developing…

    Have something to say. And then say it.

  6. I’d advise that the new blogger give link-love. Everybody wants links, because links drive traffic, and there’s still a certain amount of reciprocity to it – you link me, i link you. and you, new blogger, want links and traffic, too – presumably.

    lately i’ve been having a blog crisis of sorts because of the essential question “why blog?” I don’t want to be a journalist, internet or otherwise. I am sure I could keep in touch with friends much better if I wasn’t blogging. And, if I’m blogging, it means that I am not doing other things – things that sometimes don’t get done at all. Some days I think I should blow the whole blog up.

    Ultimately I believe I have a good answer [for myself] for the question “why blog?” and I think it is essential that a new blogger have a good answer if her blog is to be sustainable and enduring.

  7. Your blog will be best when it almost writes itself. Don’t put pressure on yourself to keep up a certain quota of postings. When you’ve got something inside you that you feel compelled to share, then you’re ready to blog.

  8. Engage with your readers. Repond to them in your comments and in blog posts. Read other blogs, and comment on them too. I’d also say worry less about who isn’t or isn’t reading you, and more about why you’re blogging and what you want to say.

    Also, try out a few blogging platforms before you commit to one.

  9. 1. update frequently.
    2. back up your blog. losing archives sucks.
    3. pay $$ for reliable hosting if at all possible.
    4. keep a blogroll, delete blogs that haven’t updated in the past 2-3 months.
    5. don’t blog about people you used to know that you don’t want to hear from; or at least, don’t say anything you might be sorry for. they just might google ego-surf to your blog.
    6. assume more people are reading you than you know. for every person who comments, assume there are 2 lurkers.
    7. DO NOT post “which ____ are you?” surveys.
    8. make permanent links to causes that are important to you.
    9. blog as if your mother, your boss, and your significant other all read it, even if you haven’t told them about it. they’ll find out eventually.
    10. if someone leaves a nasty comment or sends you a derisive email, don’t withdraw like a turtle into its shell – don’t let it silence you. ignore it or respond to it, but either way, there’s no reason to let them get you down. you have just as much a right to take up space in the world as they do.

  12. as someone who recently embarked on a blog journey this is great stuff – thanks!

    so is there any etiquette to giving “link-love” – is all link is good link, or should one ask permission to link someone’s blog on theirs?

  13. No, Betsy, just start linking! Those of us with massive egos will come to your blog looking to see who is linking us. My advice is to use blogrolling.com for your blogroll instead of the Blogger links list. It seems that blogrolling archives links better, for some reason.

  14. My advice would be to write for yourself not others, write about what you find interesting or are passionate about. Just because everyone is writing about a topic doesn’t mean you have to follow. Forge your own path, and don’t expect instant mass followers, it takes time.

    If you make the goal to be happy with what you are writing because it is for you? Anything that happens after that is an added bonus.

  15. The only time I might ask if it is okay to link to a post or a blog is when it looks like the author is still developing the blog – i.e., they haven’t debuted it to their friends/public yet, it’s maybe a few posts old, and it says things like “test test test test”.

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