by Mark W. Schaefer and Stanford A. Smith
“Eliminate the fear of criticism from your mind.”
As with any new endeavour, my first instinct was to read up on the subject to learn any tips. This e-book from my local library came up on my search list and I spent a few days reading through it.
I learnt many wonderful insights – for example:
What makes a blog a joy to read?
- A captivating headling
- A unique personal view
- A personal risk
- An entertaining spin through words that sing
Learning from some common traits of successful bloggers:
Tenacity – it takes time to find your voice and connect with your audience
Focus on your passions
Flexibility – adjust your topic to reflect your true interests and be in tune with the needs of your readers
Consistency – write regularly
Courage – It takes courage to put your ideas out there, to be vulnerable and to be wrong sometimes
“One obstacle to consistency is an assumption that every blog post has to be profound. It doesn’t have to be.”
The authors argue that everyone has the skills to blog, and shares some useful habits for blogging and tips for monetizing the blog. There are also some sections in the middle of the book for organizations looking to set up a blog.
Thoughts
I found the book very encouraging and positive for beginner bloggers. The tips are sensible and achievable – they certainly help to make blogging look easy. Throughout the book, stories were used to demonstrate a point, and made the book all the more entertaining.
When I came to the middle of the book where the authors start to discuss blogs for organizations, I was tempted to skip through those chapters thinking they will not apply to me. I work in a large corporate, and whether my company wants to start a blog will not be up to me. Nevertheless, even skimming through these chapters, I was inspired to start a blog to communicate changes implemented by my team. This shows how deeply encouraging the book is. It makes me want to go out and connect with people.
Overall, the book was great – I loved it. The authors set a good example and used a conversational tone throughout, which makes the book really easy to read as well.
Last but not least, I love the ending statement of the book:
“Now what are you waiting for? Write.”
So here I am.
Rin Ranger 