So You Want To Start A Blog

Blog. I hate the word. It sounds like “blah” which is synonymous with boring. Or worse — “blah blah blah” — a monotonous drone (of someone’s personal predilections perhaps). It also rhymes with clog which reminds me of congestion  — on an email queue. Any way you hear it, it’s not a flattering concept. I wish they called it something else. 

Former President Trump started one. I believe he called it a “platform.” But it’s not. It’s a blog — just like the rest —  followed by readers who enjoy his point of view. Enjoyed. After less than a month Donald Trump shut down his blog. Not enough readership. 😢Writing a blog is not for the feint of heart.

I was never proficient on Twitter…can’t keep it pithy and brief. I prefer to expound on a musing. It’s cathartic. Writing makes me feel better. And if others can relate then gravy…much like writing a song. 

So…if you believe the way you see the world is worth sharing, if you feel you have a unique slant on things even if it’s not popular or hip, forget about what the word evokes. Be brave and go for it. And if you do, here are a handful of suggestions you probably won’t find on a typical listicle. 

1- Find your “audience” — people who are interested in your point of view. Who’s in your contacts? Who are your friends on social media? How about friends of friends with similar interests? Reach out to them. Start there.  

2- Be consistent. Once a week seems like a sweet spot for me. It’s the most I can ask of people when they’d need to stop what they’re doing and jump on my ride. If you only write one article every few months — out of sight out of mind. Then again, if you write too often ppl might, well…get sick of you.  😳

Bob Lefsetz, the contentious and influential prolific!! failed music manager, amazes me. He has 11 million subscribers. Gulp. Sometimes I get three emails a day from him. (Does he ever go out?) While I profoundly disagree with some of his more misguided notions like music should be free (maybe that’s why he’s a failed music manager) to be fair some of his other ideas are on point and worth the read.

3- Just because you find yourself entertaining don’t be surprised (or hurt) when you realize there are plenty of people who don’t get you at all and unsubscribe to your blog. I promised myself never to check analytics because the one time I did, I happened to notice a good friend opted out — someone I had spoken to that very day and with whom I had made social plans. 😳😳😳😳WHAT? Maybe they figured they’d hear it all in person. But it’s all good because it’s better to have fewer followers who truly dig you than twice as many who drag your email to a junk folder.

4- Don’t start a piece the night before you intend to send it. Let it breath. Take a break mid-writing if you feel a lull in momentum. Marinate. Get space. Drive. Again, it’s just like writing a song. Let it reveal itself on its own terms. You might have started out writing about one thing and it turns into something else. That’s what it wants to be.

5- Sleep on it before you publish. You may wake to a better or more clever title — a catch phrase (or song title 😃) that pulls your topic together more effectively — or a more fitting image for a preview. I’m not suggesting you aim for clickbait . That kind of online culture has me coming up with first lines like “I hate the world today….” 

6- Have a pal check your grammar, spelling (especially names) and facts. Thank those (Brendan Okrent) who ping you to let you know there’s something off. True, if you’ve made a mistake, you can edit your piece on your host website so that when someone clicks on the blog link they read the corrected version. However, you can’t make corrections on the subject line of a newsletter after you’ve pressed send. See my epic blunder here: 

Everyone who loves me blamed it on autocorrect, but the truth is I was typing too fast and didn’t proof well enough. No excuse. I’m so sorry Josh! It was an embarrassing moment for somebody who calls herself a writer.

7- Be prepared for hate mail. I mean, you sort of have to have a strong POV and stick to it or else you’re going to have a beige blog. The only piece I ever deleted was called Let It Be. It was a plea to Paul McCartney. IMO his songwriting was in decline and perhaps he should be giving it a rest. (It’s not like he hasn’t written enough outstanding material.) But in suggesting so I struck a sensitive nerve with his fans (trust me, I’m one of them) and I couldn’t handle the pushback. I’m sorry, Sir Paul. You are beloved.

8- Read your comments. Engage. Respond. You’ll learn something. You’ll learn a lot. You’ll make friends!

9- There’s so much more: growing your audience, SEO, how long a blog should ideally be. If you’re serious about getting up to Bob Lefsetz numbers, these are all important things to consider.

10- There are times you’ll be certain nobody’s listening. That you’re invisible. You’re wasting time. Your words. But then you’ll receive a message from someone telling you to keep ‘em coming… that you say what they’ve been thinking…and all of a sudden you’ll feel like you make a difference.

Remind yourself (constantly) that you can’t please everyone. Be authentic. Write about what matters to you. What you wonder about. Not just about what you know. Passion is contagious. 

Good luck!

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