Behind the Scenes: Blogging Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned

It may be very soon in my writing/blogging journey to talk about the lessons I've learned, but I always seem to jump in with both feet - the wrong way. So, that would be me jumping in sideways? With arms and legs wide like a skydiver? You get the idea. I do it wrong. That means my lessons come early. I may jump in like a flying squirrel on crack, but I'm quick to understand when I'm running into problems. I'm self-aware, and 'doing it wrong' is a pretty common occurrence.

Learn some lessons from the flying squirrel on crack.

Be Genuine
What a struggle to find myself within the confines of this blogging square. As you've seen, my *voice* is strange, sometimes funny, mostly off-kilter. I was a little afraid to let my personality shine through. I read all those blog posts that recommend you become an authority. There are a bazillion. Yes, literally a bazillion, telling you to be THE authority on something, anything. Then readers will flock to your blog like flying squirrels needing a crack fix because they trust your knowledge. (See what I did there?)

That little nugget of advice doesn't fit me. I have no authority. That might not be entirely true. I have a little bit of writing knowledge I'll happily share, but it's not enough to fill up blog space week after week. Over the month-long blogging challenge, I quickly figured out that my *voice* and personality are strengths, and it's better to be genuine than to try to squeeze your square peg into a round hole. (Boy, I'm full of these today.)

Find Ways to Stay Inspired
It can be tough to write on topic week after week. Themes help, so it seems like I'm organized, and I have a plan. There's no plan here, people. No plan at all. I search the Internet a lot to find topics, prompts and ideas. Strangely, I find myself on blogs about business with great titles and topics that I can translate into a blog here. I haven't figured out how to incorporate them into a week long theme yet, but the topics are there waiting.

I love to learn. I become highly obsessed with a topic until I have to learn how to do it. It was photomanipulation for a while then animation software. Lately, it's been photography. I don't even own a camera! I believe it fits into how a writer sees the world, too. We look at it through a lens, seeing things a bit differently than other people. Even when I'm not writing or consciously thinking about the blog, staying in a creative head space is incredibly important. I've learned that it's okay to have multiple interests. It'll bring me around to writing eventually.

Have a Point
I read this somewhere. It basically said, don't vomit words on your blog visitors. My first instinct was to cringe. I might do that! I thought back to my posts and realized that while my posts may be somewhat random, they have a point. There's a basic point in there somewhere. You might have to rummage around for it, but it's there.

I believe that when you put a ton of effort into something, you'll quickly realize whether the *experts* are right. I need to narrow the focus on my blog theme, but the bazillion blog owners might not always be the authority.

The basic lesson I've learned so far is to trust myself a little more. Don't assume experts are the authority they claim to be. They are doing what they were told, too!

It's okay to trust your instincts.

What do you think about the experts' advice that you've read about building authority? Does it work for your niche?