My post on Friday was my 400th. My first post was February 23, 2009. That means, I’ve been blogging for 16 months, averaging 6 posts a week. To mark the occasion, I thought I’d take a pit stop and reflect a bit on the experience.
What’s it been like? What have I learned?
- Blogging ain’t easy. That explains why it’s been so rewarding.
- Finding the time is hard, you have to be committed
- It takes work coming up with new, fresh, content. I now understand “writers block”
- I have terrible grammar, but it’s getting better.
- I don’t have to write about sales all the time, a good blog changes it up
- A good blog is a community, it’s not just about me, this community is getting stronger everyday
- I have an obligation to the community, readers begin to rely on this blog for good information and content
- Not everyone gets blogging; I am surprised how often I’ve had to explain why I do it. (this, obviously happens most in the offline world)
- Sales is NOT the most exciting of subjects. Although, it’s critical to business success, people aren’t beating down this blogs door for more. It’s hard to keep it interesting
- Not everyone is going to agree with me and my posts, that’s a good thing. But, thick skin is required
- I’m out there, anonymity doesn’t exist.
- I’m addicted to analytics. I check everyday to see if my readers, RSS subscribers and visits are growing
- Consistency is key, people want to know what to expect
- I need a filter, determining what to say and how directly to say it requires I think long and hard. I just can’t spit it out, although, at times I’d like to.
- Determining my filter is hard. It’s my blog, but it’s not. Finding that balance can be a struggle.
- I’ve pissed people off. Not everyone likes my voice, my style or my approach
- I’ve met some great people and built some great relationships
- You need “mentors.” I get inspiration from other bloggers. I couldn’t have gotten this far without them
- Blogging has become a part of me. Everything in my day goes through the — would this be a good post filter?
- This blog is creating a lot of opportunities for me.
- I think more. I look at things differently. I rarely accept things at face value; asking, would this make a good post?
- If I miss a day, it’s not the end of the world, but at times it is.
- It’s fun
- I like it.
Blogging for the past 16 months has been great. Just like any other commitment in life, it’s been rewarding, hard, frustrating, and fun. When I started, I never set a timeline for how long I would do it. I just started . . . and I’m glad did.
