Biggest Blogging Mistakes of 07

Here are a list of what I see as the biggest everyday mistakes of 07, taken from a list I jotted down at a coffeshop talking with some bloggers I really respect. Perhaps it should be renamed “How I should suck less in 2008.” I am guilty of almost all of these, so don’t do as I do!

No Pictures

So I am the worst at this one, look at this poor choice for this post. Add some graphical content to your posts (a picture of Stan James’s journal).

Writing Posts that Don’t Invite Comments (ie. You Are Not an Expert)

Involve your community, don’t write for them to read and worship your brilliance. Unless you have a PhD, don’t write as the only authority in the area. I am most not 100% defiantly OMG not an expert on really anything. But there is a lot I write about that can help, or is a unique viewpoint. Your readers are smart folks, and should be talked up to, not down to.

Blogging from Not Home

You should have your own domain name. If you don’t and want one, email me, I will gladly help you get your own place to call home online. Hosting is cheap, there is really no reason not to. Stop writing other companies user generated content.

Changing Your Home

Pick a place, blog at it. Take a break if you need to, but don’t move it and start a new project

Permalinks Not Cool

Pet peeve of mine, really simple to fix.

Celebrate Beauty

Find something cool? Share it. Charley Hine borrowed my camera for a few weeks, and left this really cool sunset picture on it. Beautiful Charley, and that song you wrote about SW just rocks.

Personal Branding

We all do it, but very few admit to it. Why? Because most of the time, when people blog about Personal Branding, it comes off as “How I Act So People Like Me, and How You Can Too.” Most people work on their branding by doing cool things (like putting on an event), or not doing stupid things (like Micah). I see this mostly at conferences, where sessions are packed, and even stronger, is the contingent outside rolling their eyes at the idea. Not a bad thing to blog about, but like your favorite 80’s hair band, might be best kept to the conferences and coffee talk.

Celebrate Success

If you are doing something cool and get some praise, tell your community about it! Don’t hide it, share and build upon it.

Giving Conference Discounts to ‘Your’ Readers

If a conference is hurting for attendance, it is common for them to give discounts. 2007 saw conferences overpricing themselves and starting out the promos by offering discounts to any blogger who would write about them and their communities. Write about conferences that kick ass, don’t do their overpricing work for them.

Be a Person

If Twitter has taught us anything in 2007 it is that people like to follow, wait for it, people. If you are blogging as your company, blog as a person at the company, not as the company. Same rules ring true at Twitter.

Say Thank You

I need to do it more, there are thousands of people that are creating fantastic content out there. Let’s not pull a “everyone attack the artist” this year.

So I will end it by saying this list is a hell of a lot more random than I thought it would be, and thank you for reading, and commenting <ehhhem>. What do you think?