This guide is two specific things. First, it is my New Year's Blogging Resolution. When I was writing my Declaration of Independence piece last December, I was also planning on writing a blogging resolution as well, but I thought writing one was quite trivial. Was I wrong?! Secondly, after writing my response to John Kownacksi's "Before You Start Being Relevant" article, I wanted to write a follow-up guide of the things I have learned about making it as a blogger and social media participant these days. It is not all peaches and cream like many bloggers seems to live through everyday. I want you to learn from my mistakes. So this is my New Year's blogging resolution and your guide to becoming a better blogger. So, what have I have experienced through this ordeal?
1. Be humble with what you already have. Be grateful with how much traffic you receive and the number of followers and comments you get daily. I am now grateful that 27 people think that my blog is worth their time to read and comment. I may not have the influence and a big fan base like many other popular bloggers have right now, but my brand will only become bigger and successful if I put the time and effort in the long run.
3. Have a strong, healthy ego. Do not try to become a shameless self-promoter all the time. There are times to do it, but not everyday. Link your blog posts to a couple of social media outlets at a time. If you promote on Twitter, late afternoons and evenings are the best times to get more retweets and publicity. Do not spam Twitter or forums like I have because people will not take you and your brand seriously. I've learned the hard way and I will never do that ever again. Shameless self-promotion makes you appear desperate and ignorant of the proper way of social marketing and personal branding. Patience is a virtue.
4. Be Yourself. When you write your blog posts, be yourself. When you reply to your follower's comments, be yourself. When you go on social media outlets to promote your brand, be yourself. Do not try to be anyone else other than yourself. As I was watching the first season of Glee all this week, I realized that the characters on the hit TV show discovered that they could finally be themselves and appreciate their own musical talents as a part of their high-school's glee club. High-school is ground-zero for social pressures and conformity already as teenagers are pressured to become images they are not. The glee's club win at the sectional competition only proves that with talent, determination, and through adversity, you can be victorious. If you can be yourself, your passions, your influence, your integrity, and your blogging leverage will follow through.
What have you learned as a blogger?
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8 comments:
Great advice, Christina. I really appreciate this, especially just starting to blog myself :) Being yourself is the best advice in all situations! "I" + "You" = Win = Social Media is fantastic advice too. Will definitely try to incorporate your ideas. Thanks again!
No problem! :)
Now I have to keep telling myself this over and over again everyday. People come first.
Thanks for sharing your insights with us. I think I need to spend more time on interacting with my Twitter friends. I found it harder than I thought. Simply RTing their tweets is one way but to establish my personal brand (cannot believe I used this phrase) I need to pick tweets that are interesting and add my own small comments. That works but takes time, so I am getting slower on Twitterville. Maybe there is a way to be more interactive without thinking too much.
@Kristin np! Keep your passion alive.
@Isao - Retweeting is one thing,but just tweeting them once in a day or week to see how they are doing comes a long way. I think it is especially hard when you have so many Twitter followers. But it will take time as you mentioned. It is also hard for me.
Despite posting these Twitter/social media posts, I am no Chris Brogan or ijustine. I consider myself a Twitter newbie who is still learning the ropes.
Thanks! :)
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