Andrew Hyde lives in Boulder, Colorado and travels frequently.

3 Simple Blogging Tips

I’ve been talking to quite a few people about blogging and it always comes down to the do or not to do debate.

So, in no particular order, here are 3 ridiculously simple tips:

1. Have a purpose.
In my first post almost 3 years ago, I had this purpose:

Reach out to the local and online community, teach what I can, learn as much as I can
Share my work
Create Beauty
Document my thought processes
Have a blast doing so

Your purpose can be really anything, but don’t just have some type on a page, make it matter to you or your audience.

2. You are going to suck, get over it.
Take a look at my archives.  They suck.  Take a look at other peoples archives.  They do too.  That is fine.  It actually is awesome.  Get better.  Suck less every day (that is a TechStars mantra).

3. Get used to pressing that Publish button.
Just get used to doing it.  Post pictures.  Post links.  Post video.  Just do it.  Once this habit is established, branch out and pick heftier subjects.

Three bonus tips:

  1. Comment on posts you like, even if they are your own.  Short and simple is fine.  The number one reason I hear that new blogs die is that nobody comments.  Commenting is simple, and doesn’t cost you a cent.
  2. If you find yourself searching for something, and can’t find it online, or can’t find a clear answer, write a post to help other people out.  I think that was Paul‘s original focus.
  3. Be you.  You can’t go wrong with that.
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Comments

14 responses to “3 Simple Blogging Tips”

  1. Len Edgerly Avatar
    Len Edgerly

    Great tips, Andrew. Especially the part about sucking and sucking less…

  2. cher Avatar
    cher

    your tips had me scrolling down to this particular part of the page. thanks a lot. this helped! love the suck less everyday part most! i'm beginning to wish i would do suck less everyday..or else, i would have to tell myself to stop blogging. 😀

  3. AceHarmon Avatar
    AceHarmon

    Well said. Writing with a purpose is the biggest difference maker between a stinker of a post and a quality one.

    The one addendum I would make is that while it's good to post often, posting too much and poorly chosen things can be as much a detriment as not posting.

  4. Chris Hutchins Avatar
    Chris Hutchins

    You've told me #3 a million times and I'm finally doing it. Thanks for the motivation and constant pressure to get http://chrishutchins.net of the ground. I owe ya one!

  5. jbravo Avatar
    jbravo

    I like #2. Thank you to everyone who has ever done that. If you figure something out that hasnt been written about before, please share, and I'll try to do the same.

  6. timwit Avatar
    timwit

    Thanks for the encouragement and ideas. I fired up http://iknowtmo.com just this weekend (see it while it sucks!) to basically catalog my wanderings through all of that “If you find yourself searching for something, and can’t find it online, or can’t find a clear answer, write a post to help other people out.” Realizing that the time I spend searching for answers is wasted if I don't link back out.

    Now if only I could hit 'Publish' more and “Save Draft” less.

  7. Rick Bakas Avatar
    Rick Bakas

    Yeah, agreed with Len. Don't try to be perfect in anything. Just try to learn and get better (or suck less).

  8. Nancy Compton Avatar
    Nancy Compton

    Andrew – Hey, thanks for putting that out there. A great reminder to take it all a bit less seriously. Post more often, you'll suck less, and the value you bring to your readers will grow.

  9. amyc Avatar
    amyc

    Thanks Andrew.

    It's such a good reminder to remember that everyone sucks and continues to evolve their voice over time, experiencing similar cycles of suck–>brilliant–>passable (not always in that order).

    I started my blog for me (http://ameliacarolyn.blogspot.com/) and have been having a blast. If others start reading it and finding it helpful, thought-provoking or inspiring, even better.

  10. John F Croston III Avatar
    John F Croston III

    Thanks, for the great suggestions Andrew. It's been a few months, since I have posted anything on my blog, between working on BarCampDC and preparing for my new job. Now that I'm at the new job and things settle down I will get back to posting.

    The fun thing will be figuring out what to post about, since I already have a bunch of non time sensitive posts already started. They just need finishing and editing, since most of my stuff is accessibility and needs examples.

  11. dennis yu Avatar
    dennis yu

    Your blog post has encouraged me to step out and start sucking publicly! Based on how new I am to blogging, I have been afraid to add to the amount of stuff floating around– but perhaps sucking as fast as possible is the route to true competency.

    I once had a guitar. The brand name was “Applause”. People clapped not when I pulled it out, but when I put it away.

    If any fellow bloggers would like to give me some pointers, I am happy to accept some direct criticism.

  12. MikeWillsJr Avatar
    MikeWillsJr

    Just the post I need as I'm working on starting mine… #2 is exactly what I was afraid of haha.

  13. MikeWillsJr Avatar
    MikeWillsJr

    Just the post I need as I'm working on starting mine… #2 is exactly what I was afraid of haha.

  14. MikeWillsJr Avatar
    MikeWillsJr

    Just the post I need as I'm working on starting mine… #2 is exactly what I was afraid of haha.

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