Ten Top Tips for Bloggers

This week I was very much inspired by Jana Riess’ wonderful post, “Ten Best Practices for Bloggers” at her blog, Flunking Sainthood–titled after her funny, wise book (I wrote about it earlier late last year here.)

Here are just the first two of her tips. If you’re a blogger, or are considering becoming one, I think you’ll find Jana’s list well worth reading in full.

“1) Think of yourself as a curator of ideas. At a museum, a curator is a person who chooses exhibits, researches them, carefully marks them, and presents them to the world. A museum curator knows her niche audience. As a blogger, you will come to know yours too, though this takes time. One of the best things you can do as a curator is to try different “exhibits” and see what people respond to most.  Whether you are pointing readers to new books, other people’s posts, or what was on Colbert last night, you are custodially managing information and ideas for your readers.

2) Remember that your blog is a community, not a soapbox. A blog is definitely a place for you to express opinions (in fact, you’ll probably find that the stronger the opinion, the greater the traffic—a depressing reality in these polarized times).  But there is a difference between a blog that relates opinions and curates information and a soapbox that only exists for one reason, whether it’s to hawk a book or an ideology. Discuss other people’s blog posts, and whether you agree or disagree. Showcase a news article or op ed. And when you have generated a large enough audience that you can pose questions of your readers and actually get answers (which takes a while), ask a question aloud and solicit your readers’ ideas.”

Do yourself a favor and read all of Jana’s post here!

happy weekending!