This post1. Be yourself. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Sincerity is good, and it shows. Conversely, there’s no way you can pretend to have it if you don’t.
2. Care. If you write about stuff you don’t really care about, it’ll be painfully and awkwardly obvious. Don’t do it for the fame or the numbers — do it because you’re passionate about whatever it is you blog about.
3. Write regularly. To build up a base of readers, you have to post more than once a year. Try once a week at least, daily if possible. The more you blog, the better you’ll get.
4. Comment. Respond to comments on your blog (and be nice about it — snarky, cranky responses are a quick way to drive readers away). And leave comments on other people’s blogs. It’s all about networking.
5. Cite your sources. If you quote someone else, include a link to them. It’s polite, nice, and honest. Don’t steal.
6. Read widely. Read lots of blogs. Use Bloglines or another aggregator to make it easy. If someone blogs about something that interests you, blog about it and quote them.
7. Carry a notebook. Ideas can come at any time and in any place. Be ready.
8. Be discreet. You never know who might stumble across your blog: your boss, your mom, your girlfriend or boyfriend, Margaret Thatcher, Bono, Steve Jobs, anyone — even Elvis. A simple rule of thumb is to not write about anything that you’d be embarrassed to have someone else read. (In other words, if you’ll regret it, save it for your journal.)
9. Keep a journal. In addition to having some place to put the awkward, embarrassing entries you’re dying to write, a journal will help you write better. Write each night, just before you go to bed. After a week or two it’ll become a habit and will be as much a part of your day as brushing your teeth. (You do brush daily, don’t you?)
10. Don’t sit down to write till you’ve stood up to live. So said Thoreau. Do things worth blogging about. But don’t just do them so you can blog about them. Drink deeply from the well of life. Make each moment count. It’ll make your blog better.
11. Encourage others to blog. It’s good karma. Point them to WordPress or Blogger or another free blogging service.
12. Spread the word about your blog. Put your blog URL in your e-mail signature. Tell people about it. Use Technorati tags. And make it easy to subscribe — sign up for Feedburner and use the standard feed icon. Make it big and prominent. You want readers, don’t you?
13. Think twice about putting ads on your blog. Yes, I’m biased. That’s why I’m not saying “Don’t put ads on your blog” — just think twice about it. :)
