I am trying to reach “inbox zero” on my personal email, and in doing so I’m sorting through more than 20 years of correspondence that I’ve let pile up in my inbox. (
Yes, I’m THAT guy.) In doing that, I found an email I sent to myself, from my work email, sent on Jan. 31, 2008. Subject line: “Blogging.”
I had no idea what it was. As it turns out, it looks like an outline for a presentation I probably gave to some high schoolers.
In 2008, I was one of Wyoming’s premier bloggers (a phrase that, at least until this moment, returns no results in a Google search) with my “Sports Goulash” high school sports blog for the Casper Star-Tribune. The blog no longer exists, but in its heyday, boy was it fun.
Here’s the email I sent to myself, fully unedited. I’m surprised at how much of it stands the test of time and translates well to social media, too.
How to blog:
Put something up every day. If you can’t do every day, do every other day. It doesn’t have to be special. It just needs to be up. Give people a reason to visit your blog every day.
Keep it simple. The most complex posts I write get almost no feedback. The simple posts get the most. Don’t dumb it down, but don’t give your readers so much that they can’t digest and respond quickly.
Respond to your readers when they make a comment. People like to feel like you’re listening to them when they comment. You don’t have to reply to every comment. And it doesn’t have to be deep. You can just say, “Good point, dude,” and leave it at that. But once they know you’ll engage them in conversation, they’ll come back.
Once a discussion gets going without your involvement, stay out of the way. Your job is to get the discussion started, and once that is done, let it go.
Don’t notebook dump. People can tell when you’re doing that. Give them something original, not just the last 8 inches that you lopped off a story because you didn’t have the room.
Have an opinion — but not on everything.
Find a voice that’s different from your newswriting style. I keep my blog much more informal than my stories on purpose. I strive to keep a consistent relaxed and informal voice on the blog to keep readers comfortable and to let them know they’re reading something different from my news writing.
Remember we’re trying to write for our readers, and most of our our readers are Wyomingites. Us Wyomingite readers, we’re not quite as polished as, say, readers from Denver. Remember that you’re writing for a majority of people who think Casper is a big city. Being a little corny doesn’t hurt. Bad jokes are OK as long as you know they’re bad. Just don’t be fake about it.
Stay within your blog’s bounds, but don’t be afraid to tell stories that are completely unrelated to the usual topic of your blog. When the Casper Mountain fire broke out a couple summers ago, I wrote a post that was about — in part — how my cat was struggling with all the smoke in the air. I gave readers a piece of my world. That helps them identify more with you as a writer and a human.
Tell stories about your beat, but don’t pull the “Woe is me, I’m a journalist” stories. Last November, when I got locked inside Glenrock’s football field after a playoff game, I briefly mentioned it in my blog. One sentence, maybe two. Those one or two sentences spawned a lot of reaction in the comments section.
Let readers know about stuff you’re working on. They’ll feel like “insiders.”
Keep it real. Keep it fun. Keep it about your audience.
Yes, I’m THAT guy.) In doing that, I found an email I sent to myself, from my work email, sent on Jan. 31, 2008. Subject line: “Blogging.”