The Tlog – a technology blog

(NOTE: this is part of the “Blogging tips” series)

So, let’s assume that you really want your blog to be visited by many people. Where to start?

Well, first things first. Your blog should be interesting. Most blogging tips lists forget this one.

Now, by “interesting”, I don’t mean that you should be necessarily writing for other people. There are many kinds of blogs, including many sites that people don’t think of as “blogs”. Whatever you are writing, it’s supposed to be a pleasure for you – if it’s not, if you’re only doing it for the money, there are probably better ways to get rich. And if you’re not enjoying it, it will certainly show.

But enjoying your blogging and being interesting to others aren’t mutually exclusive, you can have both.

How to be “interesting”? Obviously, there is no “magical formula” for it, and it’s also a subjective concept – what ones find fascinating, others may find boring. But there are a couple of tricks you may use:

1. Write nicely. I don’t mean you have to write like Douglas Adams or Shakespeare (if you could, you’d probably be famous world wide as a writer, and wouldn’t have the time to read blogs like this one ), but, at least, do it well. Good grammar, good spelling, good presentation of ideas, and a nice style all help, and make reading your blog (independently of the ideas presented) a pleasure instead of a chore.
2. Write what you like to write. If you’re talking about something you find incredibly boring, it will show. Therefore, don’t attempt to “sell out” and write about popular / controversial themes that you don’t really care about – if they’re popular, there are thousands of other blogs talking about them, and at least some of them will be by people who care about them. Don’t try to please everyone, but do what you like, and your blog will attract people who also enjoy those themes. Remember, it’s supposed to be pleasure, not work.
3. Write a lot. The more you do it, the better you’ll become at it. But when you really don’t feel like writing, don’t force yourself – do it later.
4. Stay current, stay informed. Almost any subject you choose to write about is a thing in motion, a moving target. Read similar blogs. Use Google News, customized to show news about the theme you want – you just have to type it there, and it creates a new section with news only about what you want.

Related posts:

1. Blogging tips #1: Why are you blogging?
2. Blogging tips #0: Introduction

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 30th, 2005 at 11:30 and is filed under Blogging, Blogging tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.