{"id":117,"date":"2012-05-28T13:17:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-28T13:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/if-i-started-blogging-today-i-would\/"},"modified":"2013-08-04T13:57:46","modified_gmt":"2013-08-04T13:57:46","slug":"117","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/?p=117","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIf I started blogging today, I would\u2026.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
This question, posed to bloggers taking part in the WordCount Blogathon<\/a>, got me thinking about what I would do differently if I was starting over.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I launched my blog\u00a0 in October 2009. In that time, I\u2019ve written 100+ posts that attracted just under 135,000 page views, according to my Blogger analytics page.\u00a0 My all-time most popular post, with 555 page views, was \u201cOne writer\u2019s take on 9\/11, the death of bin Laden and Obama\u2019s defining speech.\u201d <\/a><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
I\u2019m pretty happy with my blog\u2019s focus \u2013 namely, writing and storytelling. It fits my interests and the focus is broad enough for me to always have things to write about\u2026from book and film reviews, to my journey as a writer, to interviews with authors and other storytellers.\u00a0\u00a0 I haven’t been shy about showcasing different perspectives and experts. This week, I featured “Orphans of Apollo” filmmaker Michael Potter<\/a>. I consider that a huge coup since I’m a space geek, and I also have been lucky to interview authors Jedwin Smith and Jeffrey Stepakoff.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Nevertheless, here are five things I wish I’d done with my blog from the start:<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n

Better define my unique \u201cvoice.\u201d <\/b><\/h3>\n

This is a toughie\u2026but it\u2019s critical if you want to stand out in the blogosphere. I think that\u2019s why my bin Laden post was so popular\u2026it definitely had a point of view.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b>One blogger who really has mastered “voice” is Guy Bergstrom, who writes the Red Pen of Doom<\/a> (the evil secret to all writing is editing), and appeared on my blog last Thursday<\/a>. Writer Jeff Goins, in a guest post<\/a> on ProBlogger, suggests a good exercise — to brainstorm a list of 10-20 personality attributes that you want your blog to have, and then cut it down to three to five key aspects that represent your blog\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

Show up more often<\/b>.<\/h3>\n

I am bad about dropping off the radar unless I have the accountability of a blog challenge or something that I really want to say. I know I need to be more present to build an audience and have them want to come back.<\/p>\n

Take more risks<\/b>.<\/h3>\n

This goes hand in hand with building your own voice. But, I also mean editorially speaking, putting yourself out there more:\u00a0 Be provocative. Take a stand. Use humor (when appropriate).<\/p>\n

Embrace guest blogging<\/b>.<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nI first tried this out last year with two guest posts. This year I\u2019ve tripled that number and am appearing three times on other people\u2019s blogs. Guest blogging is a great way to minimize blog burnout, while introducing new voices and broadening your exposure. <\/b>\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

Really<\/i> leverage social media<\/b>.<\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

I\u2019m only now beginning to catch on to leveraging Twitter and other social media sites. If you quote a well-known author, let them know!\u00a0 I tweeted my book review<\/a> of The Mermaid Chair<\/i> to Sue Monk Kidd, and she tweeted back, saying she agreed with my takeaway of her book. A week later I posted a link to my blog on Les Egerton\u2019s Facebook wall<\/a> indicating I had quoted him. He immediately left a comment on the post. I\u2019m still not good at using \u201chashtags\u201d that mark a keyword or topic in a tweet. I\u2019m probably missing audience members by not using hashtags every time I tweet a post. <\/b>The next phase of all of this would be building an online community like Michelle Rafter has through this blogathon…really engaging your target audience and making them part of the dialogue.
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

What lessons did you learn as a first-time blogger? I\u2019d love to hear them.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 This question, posed to bloggers taking part in the WordCount Blogathon, got me thinking about what I would do differently if I was starting over. \u00a0 I launched<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[386],"tags":[412],"class_list":["post-117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogging","tag-blogging-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=117"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":605,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117\/revisions\/605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anne.myupcomingsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}