I have been contacted by people numerous times when their blogs were “broken” and they needed it fixed. There have been a variety of reasons behind the damage, but one common cause I’ve seen is through the misuse of Microsoft Word.
Like many other people, I do a lot of my writing in MS Word. There is nothing wrong with using Word to hammer out your blog posts, the problem lies when you transfer your post from Word to WordPress.
Bad things can happen if you transfer content from MS Word to WordPress the wrong way. So please please, pretty please with sugar on top, never copy and paste your post from Word directly into WordPress!
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Even though every item here could be a blog post on their own, for now I’ve decided to just list some random thoughts I have in regards to blogging.
- The quickest way to royally screw up a blog is to copy and paste a post directly from Microsoft Word
- Having a unique “voice” is important, but that doesn’t necessarily make you special
- If blogging is becoming a chore then perhaps it’s time to rethink why you’re blogging in the first place
- A great design can’t make up for crappy content
- Great content can be hindered by a poor design and/or layout
- Chances are good that you won’t ever make a living through blogging. Just accept it
- If everyone is agreeing with you, you’re doing it wrong
- Only a small percentage of people comment on your blog so spend some time responding to these people. They are important
- Advertising on your blog can bring in revenue, but don’t make your blog look like it’s in NASCAR
- Linking to other blogs is a good thing. Share the love
- Don’t let the content in your sidebar be the main attraction of your blog
- Use whatever blogging platform you’re comfortable with (I recommend WordPress)
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Everyone, even the “pros”, are still learning
- There is no easy way to create a popular blog. It takes time, a lot of work and some luck
- Backup your blog, and back it up often. You’ll be thankful for doing this if and when disaster strikes
- Visit a commenter’s blog sometime. They have good things to say too
- After you have written a rant post, wait at least a day before posting it. Trust me
- The rules that govern your blogging niche do not apply to other niches.
- Your blog is an extension of you. Can you see yourself in your blog?
- Blogging is like baseball. Some posts are homeruns, some are singles, and there are the occasional doubles. Many posts are outs.
- Too many social sharing options on your blog makes your look desperate. Don’t do it
- Sometimes it pays to ignore your Analytics stats and go spend time with your family instead
