The 100th Post

by admin Mar 7, 2006 7 Comments

Filed under: Knowledge

100th PostThis is the one hundredth post on KarmaDude.com, not that I want to brag, but I thought this would be a good milestone to share some of my experiences and thoughts about blogging, and an opportunity to get to know the readers of this blog.

It has been quiet the journey so far. Along the way, I have managed to learn new things, fine tune my skills, make new friends, give back a little, and hopefully—managed to share good information and experiences with other.

Being a blogger
As a blogger, I have realized that, you don’t have to be the best writer, the best programmer, the best designer, or the best at anything, to run a successful blog. All you need is a strong drive, a passion for your blog and its contents, and the ability to socialize with other bloggers and readers of your blog. I wouldn’t call my writing skills the best, but as I look back, if I had let that get in the way, I would have never been able to take this blog to the level it has reached. My attitude, when it comes to blogging, has always been, “If you are thinking it, you might as was well blog it.�

Don’t be afraid
The real strength of a blog is not it in its posts, but rather in the comments. It’s the interaction with the readers, captured by the comments, which makes a powerful blog—a blog rich in information and addictive—for both the blogger and the readers. Just like the author of a blog post shouldn’t be afraid to formulate his thoughts into a post, the readers of a post must not be afraid to formulate their thoughts into comments. Remember, there is an element of anonymity here, and don’t be afraid to use it. Any blog which can consistently achieve this kind of engagement, between the blogger and the reader, will be successful.

Do your homework
Research is important in order to maintain the quality and validity of the information in the posts, but don’t go over board, you are not writing a thesis or a book, it’s just a blog post! Link to relevant and quality information pertaining to your post, but find a balance, don’t go over board with links. The goal is to get your point across, and engage your readers through comments, with few distractions as possible. Respond to the comments often, in order to keep the debate going, and only if you have a valid response; don’t force a response.

Write it down
You never know when that inspiration or thought for a new post comes, the important thing here is to capture it. Now, don’t worry if you are not the kind of person who likes to carry a journal around, look around you for anything you can write on, and quickly capture your thoughts and ideas. Once you have it on paper, keep it somewhere you can get to later, or if you are patient enough, copy it to your computer. These little snippets of thoughts and ideas can help you, the next time you need material for a post.

Branding & design
Brand your blog; create an identity—it is important! I stress this because your blog could get lost in the forest of default templates. This might not be an easy option for everyone, and probably why designers have the best looking blogs, and they tend to stand out, even though most of them might be lacking in content. That is exactly why branding is important, your blog has to stand out to your readers, and be memorable visually. Seek out designers who can help you with branding your blog.

Short attention span
Keep things short, people are lazy, unless it interests them; they are not going to read a long post(like this post!). For longer posts, use excerpts, so the reader is not turned away by a long post. Give them a chance to take a peek and if they like it, they will read the rest. This also allows you to track which posts are being read, as the user has to click on a link to read the entire post. Remember not all readers comment.

Stats Junkie
Be a stats junkie, get addicted to your web statistics; the information in your stats can go a long way in improving your blog. It can tell you which posts are popular, where your regular readers are from, how many people are visiting your blog, who is linking to your blog and posts, which search keywords are pulling up your blog, and more. Use this information to evolve your blog.

Evolve
A static blog is boring, not only for the reader, but also for the blogger. In this chemistry between the blogger and the reader, neither should get bored, so constantly evolve the blog, the contents, and the features. I am not talking about drastic changes, but subtle things that makes it look different, could be in the form of images in your posts, features your provide around your posts—like your list of interesting link, book picks, flickr photos, anything to break that static feel. Find inspiration in other blogs. Always be on the look out for new ideas, don’t be scared to try it out on your blog, if it does not work, you can always remove it.

Advertising
This part is still a blur, I am still trying to figure advertising out, maybe I will have more information for you in the next milestone post. As you might be aware, all ad revenue from the blog goes towards charities listed in the Good Karma section (thank you erratic wisdom for showing the way).

Get the word out
As I said earlier, to be a successful blog, you need readers, and to get them, it takes a little effort on your part to promote the blog, and let the World Wide Web know that your blog exists. Find out where readers, who might like the contents of your blog, hang out on the web, interact with them, get to know some of them, and slowly, just like in real life, you will create a network of friends and connections, and slowly you will see readers flock to your blog.

You don’t have to be very aggressive, if you are patient, and if you have a blog with quality content, your blog will start showing up in searches, and readers will start to come. You will also start to notice other blogs and websites linking back to you blog. Now you can always take an aggressive approach with promoting your blog, but in my short blogging experience, I have found that social networking through the blogging networks has brought readers to this blog.

A toast
A hundred posts might not be a lot to a seasoned blogger, but to a novice that’s a lot, and I hope you find the lessons I have learned useful. I would like to thank ij, the little Indian, and coffeehead for their contributions, and my wife for not complaining too much for the time I spend on this blog (she thinks my laptop is my other girlfriend). I would also like to thank all the readers, without you this blog would not exist, and your comments keep us going and makes this a thought provoking blog.

So please leave a comment, tell us who you are, where you are from, what you like about this blog, what you would like to see, more off, on this blog, and anything else you want to say, “if you are thinking it, might as well comment it�

7 Comments

  • Amit

    Mar 7, 2006 | 6:33 am

    Fantastic blog KD…

    Some great tips there. I do agree about the branding and design. I wish I had your skills in design but as yet my blog is still pretty standard looking. I am learning new tricks constantly on a daily basis and I know in time I will create a noteworthy blog that will generate lots of interest.

    Keep up the good work dude and thanks for all the fantastic tips! 🙂

  • kat

    Mar 7, 2006 | 7:35 pm

    Congratulations! Here’s to 100 more!!

  • Thame

    Mar 8, 2006 | 3:38 pm

    Great tips and congrats 😀

  • KarmaDude

    Mar 8, 2006 | 4:01 pm

    Amit, Kat and Thame–Thank you

    Amit, there is a little artist in everyone, explore it, and you will be surprised what that artist in you is capable of. Good luck with your blog, and if you need any help with it, feel free to get in touch with me.

  • Amit

    Mar 9, 2006 | 3:30 am

    Thank you KD, I will take you up on that offer at some point. Like I said, I’m learning a little everyday which I know will eventually go a long way!!

    Peace and God bless!

    Amit

  • the little endian

    Mar 9, 2006 | 7:55 pm

    Way to go KarmaDude! Everybody, having known KD for about 10 year now, he is the kind of person who will just keep plugging along – I have little doubt that the next 100 will come a lot faster than the previous. As a contributor to karmadude.com, I must say I am privileged to be in the company of you folks and welcome and truly appreciate any and all comments to all posts. Here’s to growing the blog a lot more. Cheers!

  • KarmaDude

    Apr 16, 2006 | 10:18 pm

    Guy Kawasaki shares his first 100 days of blogging experience.

    At 11:00 pm a few weeks ago, my wife asked me, “What are you doing?â€Â? I wish I could have said, “Making money.â€Â? Instead I told her, “I’m changing the world, 15,000 people at a time.â€Â? To which she deadpanned, “Oh, you’re blogging again…â€Â?

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