In this edition of Three-Minute Thursdays, I’m talking about blogging (perhaps one of the few things I can speak on with some authority!) and providing a few quick tips for new, weary, or aspiring bloggers. I hope you find it helpful!
Transcript
Aileen: This is take 522. After sitting behind the camera for 11 episodes, Tim thought it would be a fantastic idea if I came up and did the introduction to 3 Minute Thursdays this week. So we’re going to give it a try, again.
Welcome to another edition of 3 Minute Thursdays, where, in three minutes or less, Tim tries to say something useful, hopefully even helpful about a subject that is of interest to people like you. Today we’re going to be talking about something I think he knows quite a bit about, and that would be blogging. So, let’s role the intro.
Tim: See, I just wanted her to know, it’s not as easy as it looks. This is 3 Minute Thursdays, we’re talking blogging. Well let’s get three minutes on the clock, and here we go.
Alright, I’ve been at this blogging thing for a long time. I started my blog 2002, started blogging everyday 2003. There was this little honeymoon period, the beginning of blogging, guys like Hugh Hewitt were writing books called Blog. Everyone was celebrating this thing, it was going great. Within about 2 or 3 years I’d say, people started predicting the end of blogs. That’s it, we’ve moved on, new media, et cetera. So people have been forecasting the death of blog since really, almost the beginning. Stop the nonsense. I say there’s still time for you to start a blog. Now, here are just a few tips to get you going:
Number 1, just write. There will be all sorts of things for you to focus on, there’ll be all sorts of distractions that can keep you away from doing what matters most, is the writing. So please, just write. Don’t worry too much about the perfect headlines and following all the rules. Just write. You need to prove to other people you can write something that’s interesting enough for them to read it. You need to prove to yourself that you can maintain the discipline to actually write for any length of time. Tons of people write 2 or 3 articles. They say I’ve started a new blog. Guess what? I never hear from them again. It happens all the time.
Alright, tip number 2, we’re going to talk about finding your niche, or finding your niche if you’re in Canada. Which is to say, there was a time you could be a real generalist. There was a time in blogging when lots of people could write about everything. They could just write about life broadly, but those days are really, I think, kind of gone now. Far better today is to pick your niche. Pick a small area and be an expert in that. So find something you’re passionate about. Find something you know a lot about, and write that. There’s room there for expertise in a very small, very particular area.
Number 3, just write. I think I might have already said that. Just write. As soon as I’m done this video, you put your fingers on the keyboard, and you start writing something. You can’t just think about blogging. Sooner or later you’ve actually got to do the blogging.
Tip number 3, 4, set your schedule. You’ve got to maintain a schedule. That’s good for you. So over time, you can have the right ebb and flow. You can say, I’m going to write every day. Well, that means you need a huge number of ideas and you need to set up your week so that you’re releasing something every day. Or maybe you say I just want to write once a week. Every Monday I’ll release a new article. Good. You need a much smaller pool of ideas and you just set the schedule to write once a week. That means you’ve got all week to develop that one idea and to post it. Set your schedule. That will also help other people understand how often do they need to visit your world, your blog, visit your Facebook to see what you’re saying. Set your schedule and stick to it.
Maybe I’ll throw in, yes, I’ll do it, I’ll throw in 1 bonus tip: Just write. This video is about done. I want you to turn it off. I want you to write. Do it now.
