5 Lessons I’ve Learned about Blogging This Year
With the year’s end fast approaching, I find myself reflecting upon the amazing year I have had and how blogging has played a major role in 2008. Highlights include:
- Conducting two successful virtual book tours to promote my autobiography I’ll Do It Myself, with a particularly memorable moment on the Apache Trail;
- Hanging out with friends at Liz Strauss’ Open Mic Night on Tuesdays, and subsequently opening Readers’ Cafe;
- Receiving awesome support from friends and fellow bloggers as I vie for the opportunity to be paid to Blog for a Year; and
- Best of all, meeting several of my imaginary friends, including Des Welsh all the way from Australia, at BlogWorld.
From all of this and much more, I have learned:
- Blogging is as much about fostering relationships as it is about writing. Yes, you can focus solely on pumping out content, but, by not engaging with your readers or other bloggers, you are missing out on the magic that the blogosphere offers.
Consistently posting content is crucial. Being the Left Thumb Blogger, I can write only two or three posts per week, which I try to do consistently to keep readers engaged. Having bronchitis for a month after my “40 Blogs in 40 (Business) Days” virtual book tour, and, hence, wrote few posts in April, my traffic dipped drastically, which was frustrating after building momentum while on tour. (Note to self: eight weeks is way too long for a virtual book tour, particularly for your first one and without an assistant!)- Blogging is instant publishing, the results are not. A traffic spike is not immediate once the “Publish” button is pressed. Patience is the key here!
- Anything can happen in the blogosphere. For example, last week’s post on tracking your contribution to the blogosphere was the result of a suggestion I had received on Andy’s blog. I created the spreadsheet for tracking comments and then decided to share with my readers, resulting in a flurry of comments from new readers and, at last peek, 50 diggs!
- I can make a living from blogging! This is the most exciting and affirming realization I gained from BlogWorld. All my life I have dreamt of having my own syndicated newspaper column in which to share my thoughts, ideas and perspective with the world. With blogging I no longer need to find that one newspaper willing to give me a break to get started. Blogs are my medium! And, at BlogWorld, I listened to bloggers who are making a full-time income from blogs and blogging, so I now know it is possible. In fact, this week I landed my first paid blog article, a direct result from BlogWorld. I know this is only the beginning!
- The more I learn about blogging, the more I realize I still have to learn!
And my bonus lesson:
What you have learned about blogging this year? Feel free to share by leaving a comment below.
If you enjoyed this post, consider buying me a chai tea latte. Thanks kindly.
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