Thought Socks

I speak entirely from experience:

1. Don’t: Don’t try to be anything you’re not.

Do: Be yourself. Content will be more genuine and interesting when it comes from the real you. Assuming the real you is interesting, of course.

2. Don’t: Don’t just sit down to write a post just for the sake of writing a post- it’s a waste of time. Anything you post in the wrong mood be 1/2 as good as what you can produce in a productive, creative mood. We don’t want a prospective reader - Yay! Finally! - to find your blog, only to read a bad article. What bad advertising. To quote the toy-cleaner in Toy Story 2: ‘You can’t rush art’. Neither can you force it.

Do: Write when you have the inspiration, preperation and inclination. It doesn’t have to be all three, but it ought to be. Get into the habit of thinking about what you might post throughout the day. The most bizzare, unexpected things might stimulate an idea or prompt a thought. We write about what we experience. If you really have nothing to post about one day, don’t post. Don’t feel you must post every day.

3. Don’t: Don’t faff around doing unproductive things like looking at your blog stats an hour after you last did. You’ll feel guilty about it but still you’ll do it.

Do: Learn something new. You might have something to post about then.

4. Don’t: Don’t decide that you need a new layout a week after you’ve finally finished your most recent redesign, and waste your every evening (And much of your nights sleep) for a week designing another.

Do: If you simply have to do something to your sites layout, make one aspect of it better. Do it bit by bit. Plan it. A site redesign can’t be spontaneous. No one has that sort of time.

5. Don’t: Don’t give up. You might be tired, or have had a bad day. Keep thinking and writing. Wait a while if the words aren’t coming.

If you’ve had the inclination to blog, then a good blogger you have the potential to be.

Do: Keep writing. Keep blogging. Your traffic, skill, expertise - everything blogging uses in a person - will get better over time.

Please share any other Do’s and Don’t’s you think are essential.