Blogging is a Journey
This is the 500th post on this Writing Blog.
I’m not going to go into a big retrospective, and I’m not going to toot my own horn – I don’t want you to leave. What I do want is for you to get your blog to 500 posts, or more.
Maybe this blog’s timeline will help you with that:
I’m not going to go into a big retrospective, and I’m not going to toot my own horn – I don’t want you to leave. What I do want is for you to get your blog to 500 posts, or more.
Maybe this blog’s timeline will help you with that:
- 1 Post: March 4, 2013
- 100 Posts: October 22, 2013
- 200 Posts: April 14, 2014
- 300 Posts: July 15, 2014
- 400 Posts: December 7, 2014
- 500 Posts: April 6, 2015
So in less than a year I’ve gone from 200 posts to 500 posts. That’s 300 posts in one year…and just on one blog. Don’t forget that I have a Montana blog on this site, had a Montana Political blog, and still do an ESL blog on my other site.
How can you do this too?
I’ve gone through the idea of getting up into the hundreds of posts on your blog before. You’ll find them on all my ‘milestone’ posts. In my 3,300-word post How You Can Get Your Blog to 100 Posts Fast I put these tips down:
One hundred posts later I included the following advice for bloggers in another 3,300-word post, How Do You Get Your Blog to 200 Posts Fast?
By the time I got up to 300 posts and then 400 posts I was sick of writing about getting up to hundreds of posts. If you look back on those articles, they’re pretty short.
Sometimes you have to do that – just put up short stuff. After awhile it’s just keeping yourself going. I mean, how many times can you keep offering the same advice?
It gets old, and that’s why so many sites fold. Even if you do get up to 500 posts, what’s to stop you from throwing in the towel one day? After all, what else do you have to prove?
These are things you need to think about, and oftentimes indifference and apathy become the biggest obstacles to blogs that have been up and around for awhile. I see this often, and symptoms include:
Those are all things you’ve seen before, I know it. We all have our favorite sites, but sometimes our favorite sites lose their edge. This is easy – most blogs aren’t big businesses that can rely on a team to get the job done. Usually it’s one person, and people get worn down.
How can you do this too?
I’ve gone through the idea of getting up into the hundreds of posts on your blog before. You’ll find them on all my ‘milestone’ posts. In my 3,300-word post How You Can Get Your Blog to 100 Posts Fast I put these tips down:
- Religiously Track Word Counts
- Create Files Ahead of Time
- Add Your Pictures Ahead of Time
- Do a Little Everyday
- Take Days Off
- Lose It Sometimes
- Don’t Worry
- Choose Your Target
- Don’t Expect Comments
- Put Up Those ‘Bad’ Posts
- Have Regular Topics
- Serialize Your Blog
- Do Lists
One hundred posts later I included the following advice for bloggers in another 3,300-word post, How Do You Get Your Blog to 200 Posts Fast?
- Organize Your Files in Folders
- Organize Your Pictures in Folders
- Have a Standard Post Design
- Color Code Your Posts’ Categories
- Engage in Social Media Marketing
- Have Numerous Series For When You Get Bored
- Take a Day Off
- Insult Your Visitors
- Do Not Focus on Making Money
- Try to Be Bold and Daring and Entertaining
- Try Not to Be Boring
- Don’t Pay Attention to the Big Sites
- Find a Fuel for Your Anger
- Post Everyday
By the time I got up to 300 posts and then 400 posts I was sick of writing about getting up to hundreds of posts. If you look back on those articles, they’re pretty short.
Sometimes you have to do that – just put up short stuff. After awhile it’s just keeping yourself going. I mean, how many times can you keep offering the same advice?
It gets old, and that’s why so many sites fold. Even if you do get up to 500 posts, what’s to stop you from throwing in the towel one day? After all, what else do you have to prove?
These are things you need to think about, and oftentimes indifference and apathy become the biggest obstacles to blogs that have been up and around for awhile. I see this often, and symptoms include:
- Days between posts;
- Lots of posts by guest posters;
- Rehashing the same topics over and over;
- Articles that get shorter and shorter;
- Fewer social shares;
- Reduced comments.
Those are all things you’ve seen before, I know it. We all have our favorite sites, but sometimes our favorite sites lose their edge. This is easy – most blogs aren’t big businesses that can rely on a team to get the job done. Usually it’s one person, and people get worn down.
So what can you do? Well…follow those tips that I put up in my 100 and 200 posts. Other than that…figure it out!
I mean, really, how long are you going to keep asking for advice, looking for what the other guy is doing, or waiting for someone to hold your hand? I know there’s no one to kick you out of the nest, but hasn’t your 100th or 500th or whatever post done that for you already?
News Flash: Most of this comes down to sitting your ass down in that chair and doing the work!
You’re not going to find the magic pill that keeps you going day in and day out – you won’t find that anywhere but within yourself. There will always be posts about perseverance and inspiration, but there will always be people quitting each day too.
Remember what advice is – “guidance or recommendations concerning prudent future action, typically given by someone regarded as knowledgeable or authoritative.” It’s helpful, but it’s not the end-all end-all. Go forth and find your way – we’ll all be better because of it.
I mean, really, how long are you going to keep asking for advice, looking for what the other guy is doing, or waiting for someone to hold your hand? I know there’s no one to kick you out of the nest, but hasn’t your 100th or 500th or whatever post done that for you already?
News Flash: Most of this comes down to sitting your ass down in that chair and doing the work!
You’re not going to find the magic pill that keeps you going day in and day out – you won’t find that anywhere but within yourself. There will always be posts about perseverance and inspiration, but there will always be people quitting each day too.
Remember what advice is – “guidance or recommendations concerning prudent future action, typically given by someone regarded as knowledgeable or authoritative.” It’s helpful, but it’s not the end-all end-all. Go forth and find your way – we’ll all be better because of it.
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Two years ago I had the idea of writing an SEO guidebook for employers whom I was writing content for. This would help them figure out what they needed so they could better tell me what they needed. That would save everyone time and money.
Instead of writing that for employers, however, I wrote it for everyone that’s struggling to put up a new website. I laid out those principles, and I’ve been following them ever since. So if you want to know how I got to 500 posts, you’ll find a lot of it in there and my other SEO/Content Marketing books. Thanks!
Instead of writing that for employers, however, I wrote it for everyone that’s struggling to put up a new website. I laid out those principles, and I’ve been following them ever since. So if you want to know how I got to 500 posts, you’ll find a lot of it in there and my other SEO/Content Marketing books. Thanks!
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