Annual Review 2009: 105 Lessons in Blogging

I’ve had quite a year when it comes to my blogging and the lessons I’ve learned. In this annual review, I’m listing out 105 lessons (or you might consider them tips) in blogging.  If you’re new to blogging, I hope this post helps you out.  If you are a problogger, I hope you feel confident in posting a comment or letting me know your view on what I list out.  The list of blogging lessons are in no particular order.  They are listed in the order in which they manifest in my memory.

1. Blog on a subject you care about and love
2. See a blog as an extension of yourself (your personal brand)
3. Wordpress is an amazing platform for a blog
4. Find Hosting for your Blog – Host Gator has been the best I’ve found
5. Choose a premium theme unless your a brilliant theme developer
6. Find someone like me to tweak your premium theme and personalize it to you
7. Blogging helps with depression and anxiety
8. Blogging builds trust, social capital and credibility
9. Your blog will replace your resume
10. Use Compete to see how you compete with other bloggers and websites
11. Design is important – Don’t ignore it’s value
12. SEO is important but not THAT important – Read SEO School and you’re set.
13. Posting frequency is desired but a posting strategy is a whole new level to the game
14. Have a comment strategy
15. Comment authentically on other blogs
16. Link until the cows come home – If you find a blog you love, show love by linking
17. Install the Commentluv Wordpress plugin to entice other bloggers to comment
18. Backup your Blog Database, Posts, and WP-Contents Folder
19. Find a way you’re comfortable in communicating – Writing, Video, Audio or Photos
20. Ensure you have a way to capture blog post ideas as they come to you
21. Blog posts ideas will come to you at the weirdest times
22. Embrace creativity and aim to show it in everything about your blog
23. You’re allowed to have more than 1 blog
24. Passion is a prerequisite. Now is the time to Crush It.
25. Smaller paragraphs help readers like me and you
26. Take time to write – You don’t have to start and finish a blog post in the same day
27. Remember that people have different learning styles – Think Video & Audio too
28. Market your business using a blog but remember that you must post new content
29. Blogging is anything but passive
30. Reply to comments on your blog – See Happy Lotus for a perfect example
31. Start creating an e-mail list right away – Aweber is an amazing service
32. Have fun and be real – Don’t take blogging too serious
33. Consider getting someone to Install Wordpress and get you going right
34. Push – Don’t Quit Blogging
35. Never feel bad about self-promotion
36. Take the time or find someone to design your blog header
37. Don’t bother with Adsense unless you have insane traffic
38. Read! Reading will open up your mind and improve your blogging
39. Always ensure you have atleast 1 photo in each blog article
40. Browse magazines consistently – It helps scratch that idea itch
41. Realize that comments can inspire new blog posts
42. Wordpress software will Update – Premium Support like WooThemes is important
43. Blogging has a lot to do with self-motivation
44. Learning all the little things in blogging will take time – It’s okay
45. Use your blog as a way to do lifestyle experiments
46. Appreciate viewers fine combing your blog for design issues
47. Optimize archived blog posts for the search engine
48. Allow your blog to evolve – Don’t wait to figure out design/content focus
49. Linking out to other websites will give you a nice warm feeling inside
50. Include your social profiles somewhere on your blog
51. Create an account with Google and use their services
52. Fuck Bounce Rate – It’s going to suck ass. Seriously.
53. The value of Problogger.net is actually in the comments on the blog
54. Making money from your blog will take a considerable amount of time
55. Create your own product
56. A clear and defined direction will do wonders for a blog but never forget about evolving
57. Holding a cubicle job and writing a blog is fucking HARD – You’re not alone
58. I blog so that you have something to read at work
59. The Whuffie Factor is for real
60. Browse other blogs and reverse engineer the way they make money
61. Write list posts from time to time because they feel good
62. A Photoblog is a great way to change up the routine
63. Develop your own blogging habit that feels right to you
64. The niche chooses you – Not the other way around
65. Animoto will add some spice to the blog for a small amount of work
66. Get yourself set up on Gravatar and use that image everywhere else too
67. Include your photograph on the about page – People want to see you
68. A blog doesn’t grow on it’s own
69. Write Magnetic Headlines
70. Show your readers how to utilize programs and services
71. Analysis of other blogs is just as, if not more, important than your own
72. Practice the art of giving – Link, Stumble, Tweet, Digg work of others
73. Building an audience that cares is worth more than being indexed in Google
74. If you don’t have a blog of you’re own, you should get one – I can help
75. Use All-In-One-SEO plugin if you don’t have an SEO optimized theme like Thesis
76. Don’t accept any type of abuse or attacks in your comments
77. Remember: Writing daily doesn’t mean you must post daily
78. There are more currencies than you realize in the Blogosphere
79. Get a smart phone – It will change your life and your blog
80. Hating your Day Job isn’t a business model; however, happiness is
81. Facebook isn’t the only way to connect with family and Friends
82. 1000 Fans can and will change your life – How can we get there?
83. You won’t have an amazing blog without a few failed blogs
84. Blogging is a form of process – be in it for the long haul
85. At some point, just stick with whatever design you have – Focus on content
86. Use a Photoblog as a way to promote your main blogging hub
87. There are great Wordpress Themes for photobraphy
88. Hustle – Spend a great deal of time in the trenches
89. Side Effect of blogging: Creating beats out Consuming
90. Talk about books you love and would interest your readers
91. E-mail friends and family to forward your blog to their circle of friends
92. Be there before the sale
93. Invest in your readers
94. The Internet is young, blogging is younger – Ignore Everybody
95. Think about legacy – Does your day job give you the opportunity to build a legacy?
96. Blog about your process -  Art, selling a house, planning a wedding, a photoshoot etc.
97. Avoid vampires that think blogging is for losers (we all know it’s for geeks!)
98. Take pride in know that you’re doing something special and interesting
99. Make regular deposits to your blog and soon it will be full of value
100. Form your personal brand and blog around your true values in life
101. Doing what we love is the most important thing we can do
102. Owning a blog will change the way you look at your own lifestyle
103. Linking to Problogger is cool but probably won’t get you noticed
104. The sprint versus the marathon? I am in it for the marathon
105. Blogging will allow me to cut the cubicle umbilical cord in 2010

In Summary

I learned a lot about blogging in 2009. Most of all, I learned that these 105 lessons changed my life and have helped me to deal with my issues of depression and anxiety.  The final lesson is noted with extreme excitement.  Yes, this post was done to reflect on a few of the things I learned this year, but deep down I want it to be something people can refer to as a simple and hopeful look at blogging.  Never before has it been so possible to pursue your truest passions in such a low cost way. Success doesn’t happen overnight – You’ll find every blogger saying that.

Please feel free to share this post with your friends, and leave some additional lessons you learned in the comments! I’d love to hear from everyone.  Use the social links below!