“Don’t go into blogging to make a living,” Mr. Cuban warned in an e-mail message. Still, he and other top bloggers with day jobs agree most people could attract a following on the Web. And whether a person blogs to make a little money, to influence opinion or just for sheer ego gratification, amassing a large audience is the goal.
Here’s what a number of successful bloggers with successful nonblogging careers say are the ways to think about getting into the business of blogging.
Pretty good article and I think it hits all the right key concepts. Especially:
-- Write about what you want to write about, in your own voice.
-- Just post it already!
-- Keep a regular rhythm.
All those are good. If you end up trying to write Like An Expert people will get bored with it. I think people read blogs for the same reasons they like to visit with different people: they like hearing what other people have to say about stuff. Although at times I do lapse into professor-speak (can't go calling post-processualists fuzzy-headed mentalists, donchaknow) I usually try to just blab. Learned through many hours on forums. That's also part of the "Just post it" too, although to be honest I think most people have the opposite problem, IYKWIMAITYD.
Posting regularly also helps. Several times I've discovered blogs only to find that the author doesn't post regularly. How often do I check? If I know he/she posts several times a day I'll go back often; once a week, I'll go back less often. But if there are months between postings and then a flurry, forget it. It's all about generating and maintaining a certain relationship with your audience.