I blame this weekly column for the folder in my Google Reader entitled “Blogging.” Before this column, I operated mostly by observation, relying on some of my favorite podcasts and blogs to keep me filled in on the geeky stuff I should know.
Now, however, I have hundreds of blogging columns to read.
That’s one way I try to make myself a better blogger. I haven’t been able to read very many of any blogs lately (much to my chagrin–I miss them!), but when I do, I try to skim through some from my blogging folder.
Among the feeds I follow are Copyblogger, Daily Blog Tips, ProBlogger, and Two Hour Blogger. I don’t read every single thing they write (though I’d like to), but I zip through and read the titles that catch my eye (or I read nothing, if I’m in the kind of whirlwind I’ve been in lately).
I’d love to hear what you have to say about this. What do you do to make yourself a better blogger?
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Sarah Reinhard is the author of Welcome Baby Jesus: Advent and Christmas Reflections for Families. You’ll find more of Sarah at her blog, SnoringScholar.com. You can also connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.
Sarah Reinhard
When Sarah Reinhard's not writing online at SnoringScholar.com, she can be found on Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Facebook, or Google +. She's the author of a number of books, including her latest title, Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative, or Clueless.
Hi there,
I just found the Catholic Writer's Guild blog and am pretty excited about it.
I was a Protestant pastor for 10 years and entered the Catholic Church this past Easter. Now I work for Benedictine College (KS).
But I digress…
Honestly, after a year, I'm just now starting to hit my stride with my blog. I am not a niche-oriented person–I have lots of interests–so finding a "niche" for my blog has been excruciating.
So…I decided to can the whole idea of a "niche." Instead, I go with a modified version of a famous quote by Saint Augustine:
"Love God and [write] what you please."
The tagline of my blog, vaughnkohler.com, is "welcome to the home of an evangelical Catholic writer, speaker, and aspiring expert in humanity." So, basically, I write about spiritual topics, share biblical meditations, and anything that helps people answer the question, "what does it mean to be human?" But if I want to write a book review or share a story from my own life, I do it. I guess that's the freedom one has when one is not trying to earn one's day job from blogging. 🙂
At the same time, I find that, as I write, I'm discovering what's important to me. And, in doing so, I guess, in some way, I am moving toward my niche.
So, all this to say,…here's my advice:
1. Begin by writing whatever you feel like writing. Forget the whole niche thing.
2. Don't be surprised if you end up writing the same kinds of things and end up finding your niche after all.
Oh, and I'd add one more thing:
3. It is not the TOPIC of a blog that is going to make it popular. It is the UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE of the person writing it. So, at the risk of sounding really, really cheesy…
BE YOURSELF on your blog.
Nobody else can do that for you. 🙂
I have only four posts on my blog so far, but I'm getting frustrated because no one reads it! In July I spoke at the annual meeting of CL (Philly area) and my friends loved my witness, so I thought that they would check my blog to read more, but it didn't happen.I'm leaving comments on other blogs…is there anything else I should do? Am I being too impatient? May I ask you to check it and let me know what you think? Maybe it's so boring that people can't bring themselves to leave a comment!
Thank you so much, Antonella
I really enjoy Tentblogger, although he can be a little on the technical side. I think being a great blogger involves building community via your blog, regardless of the topics addressed.
I try to become a better blogger by keeping it real. I like writers who are authentic about themselves, their writing, and their faith, and I try to make that the guiding principle for my own blogging.
OK, guys, GREAT comments. Maybe next month I'll do a series on this with one thought a week (you know, to keep things short, haha). Keep the comments com in! 🙂
Thanks Veronica your comments give me a clearer perspective. I still think of Blogs as the "wild west" of writing. I have seen stuff that is all manner of topic and style. Some not so good. I think you're right. Good writing is good writing. I am new to the Blog world but I see great inconsistencies in what is being created "out there".
I read a lot about being a better blogger— Problogger and such— but I have to focus on what works for me. Since I have an autism spectrum disorder I'm never going to be able to blog like a normal person, focus on just one blog topic, keep to a regular blogging schedule.
What I want is blogging hints that are compatible with me and what I'm already doing— disorganized and weird as that is.
I judge my effectiveness by seeing if I get new blog commenters and followers. I also look on my blog stats to see what search terms lead to my blog. Sadly, what people want is 'david tennant naked', which is not the focus of my blog. 🙁
I read "better" as meaning better written, better focused, etc.
And blogs are actually the oldest of the "new media frenzy." They've been around for a long time now, and there's a definite consensus on how to approach it.
The topics may vary (you can even write "all about you" if your stories and life are that interesting!), the posting schedule might, etc. but the consensus is that blogs should be:
– focused
– honest
– well-written
– engaging
– regularly updated
– inspire emotion or thought or action
Just had to pitch my two cents as I work in digital media field. 😀
Here's the thing……what is the definition of better? Better than what? Better than who? Who decides? A blog is a "funny critter". It can be the express sounding board for a person….no point, just venting. It can be a teaching piece, I have an idea. It can be here's my life, share my frustrations. As far as I can tell, a "Blog" is really undefined in this new media frenzy. As a, long time, former teacher I guess I always want a blog to be honest without pontificating. I think that the best you can be when blogging is "thoughtful", that it's not "all about me". If we are writing for the public how can we give information, personal or otherwise that can be helpful or supportive for anyone reading? OOOppps, was I pontificating? Sorry!!
Hmm … Good question, Sarah!I follow the blogs that you mentioned on Twitter, so when a headline captures my attention, I check out the article.
As part of my day job, I write for the company blog, which already has a focus.
My personal blog? Different story. I've had some false starts with it. I was sharing some snippets from my work there, but then … the personal blog was abandoned.
I recently picked it up again with a clearer focus. See, I'm a bit shy about my personal life online (and offline, hee), so I had to figure out what to write about that balanced the more open style of many fantastic bloggers and the complete cards-to-one's-chest of corporate blogging.
So, I gave the blog a tagline/mission statement to keep me focused on why I am writing there. I didn't want a huge, rambling idea. I just wanted to remember why the heck I was having a personal blog. After many really crummy taglines that confused me even more, I finally ended up with: "living creatively, mothering joyfully, writing obsessively." Having it helps because it keeps me aware of what topics to explore.
Now, throughout the day, whenever I come across an article, show, news item, etc., or have a conversation regarding one of those topics, I mentally flag it as a possible post.
Also, I try to keep my posts short and only hit one major point.
Unlike this long-winded comment. 😀
well, wah! I was hoping you'd tell me. Blogging for me is low on the priority list, but it's on there, which means something. However, I don't have time to devote to reading a lot of blogs about blogging.
I'm trying to find a focus that is interesting to readers as well as writers and not consist of amusing stories of my life, which seems to be what everyone is recommending to me lately. I don't have time for a book review blog, and frankly, there are plenty of others who do that better than me.
Once I get through the Season of Book Tours, I think I'm going to concentrate on ideas–where they come from, how to use them, ideas I have and what I do with them, getting others to play with ideas, etc. I think that will be a fun way to engage readers as well as writers, show off my writing, and not have to talk about my personal life all the time.