9 Tips For the Brand-New Blogger

Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.

So you’ve decided to start a blog. Maybe you want to write about bunnies, or productivity, or just share photos of the funny-shaped fungi you see on your morning nature walks. Whatever your choice, you made the right call – starting a blog is one of the most fun, not to mention most rewarding, things you can do.

I’ve been doing this whole blogging “thing” for a little over a year now, and have learned a fair amount about it. Mostly, I just screw something up horribly and then spend 39 hours fixing it – and learn not to do that thing again. Builds character.

But you don’t want to make the same mistakes I did with your own blog. In the interest of full disclosure of my stupidity, as well as trying to help you a bit, here are nine things I wish someone had told me when I started blogging:

(Keep in mind, these aren’t tips for everyone. But they are for people who want to own, personalize and grow their blog over time into a valuable thing, either financially or otherwise – if all you’re doing is blogging to keep your family aware of your time abroad, you don’t need much of this).

1. Don’t apologize.

When you first start your blog, you’ll go through the same pattern everyone does: you’ll write for a while, and be super-excited about it. Then you’ll get bored, frustrated and tired, and burn out. Maybe you’ll miss a week of posting. Don’t apologize for that – just get back into writing. After all, it’s your blog. You do as you darn well please, and bring your readers along for the ride.

2. Design MATTERS.

A fair portion of people who visit your blog (like me, for instance) will immediately judge you based on the way your site looks. Now, I don’t pretend to have a keen design eye, or to run a particularly attractive site, but pay attention to the way your site looks. What do you want people to see? What will people come looking for? How do you combine those two things in a way that’s pleasing to the eye and unique?

I can’t recommend enough doing the work (or paying someone to do it) of designing your blog in a unique way. Personally, I use the Thesis Framework, which is infinitely customizable, and requires zero coding or design knowledge.

3. Pick a focus.

Your blog has to be about something. Even if that something is the trials and tribulations of your daily life, go for it – but be prepared to work really hard to be successful (unless you’re as good as Heather Armstrong). Blogs need to have a focus, though, providing something for your readers to expect when they come back.

Humor is a great focus, as is politics. Anything’s fair game, but it’ll be easier for you to write and better for your readers to visit when you’ve got consistency in your content.

4. Perfection is overrated (and impossible).

Your first post won’t be perfect. Neither will your second. Neither will your 500^th. But you know how you get better? By writing. Just keep writing. Your journey toward becoming a better writer is not only one of the most fun things for a reader to be a part of, it’s also part of the blogging experience.

Just start writing, accept that your first stuff might just be terrible – mine sure was – and know that you’ll get better as you go, and going is the best way to get better.

5. Link out.

Other people are smart. And they write interesting things. If someone else writes something you find interesting, and your readers might like too, link to it. Other people appreciate it, and might just return the favor. Your readers appreciate it, and will come to trust you as a source of useful information. Blogging is absolutely a win-win game, and we all stand to benefit by helping each other become more successful.

6. Stop checking stats.

The most depressing thing about my first six months blogging was that no one read my blog. I wrote 100 posts or so, and at least three of them must’ve been pretty good. But no one read my blog.

I checked my stats every day, multiple times, and all it did was depress me. So don’t check your stats much, if at all, for a while. Just write, have some fun, and let the rest fall into place. Plus, realizing you’ve got 50 (or 50,000) readers you didn’t know about is a pretty neat feeling.

7. You are, by default, different.

You know what makes you different from everyone else who blogs about what you do? YOU. Your values, your outlook on life, your past, and your present all make you unique. Even talking about exactly the same subjects as others, you’ll be different because you’re different. Don’t fear finding your voice, or your niche – both of those come naturally, if you let them.

8. Money comes last.

When I first started blogging, I threw up some Adsense images on the site. Boom – I’d be a millionaire in three months. Yeah, no.

The only bloggers who make real money from it have a ton of readers, lots of clout in their niche, and often make more money from things related to blogging (like eBooks and speeches) than directly from their blogs. A year in, and with a pretty sizeable readership, I’m just starting to see some income from the site. Content comes first, readers second, engagement third, and money last. That’s just how it is.

9. If you don’t care, neither do I.

Don’t write for the sake of writing, or updating, or keeping a schedule. If you’re not interested in what you’re writing, why would I be?

If you’re committed to writing every day, make darn sure you can write something you’d want to read every single day. Use that as your barometer – if you saw the headline of your article, would you want to read it? Either way, other people will agree.

I’ve written a couple of articles for new bloggers – finding the right tools, as well as questions to make sure you have answers for, among other things – but I keep getting asked about how to start a blog, and get it off the ground. I hope this helps.

What advice would you give new bloggers? What do you wish you knew when you first started?