The first 7 days of blogging
Thousands of blogs are being created every week and many of them are making critical mistakes within the first week of starting. If you are thinking about starting a blog here are some things that you should think about and do within the first 7 days of starting your blog.
Day 1: Don't launch until the blog is properly setup
Many people launch a blog that is not fully setup; the design may not be complete or the RSS feed may not work. Before you launch your blog make sure that your design is complete, RSS feed is working, you are setup to ping the blog search engines and your blog is optimized for the search engines. Day 1 is the most crucial day because without launching with all these things in line it can hurt the future success of your blog.
Day 2: Pick a topic and stick with it
It is your blog so you can write on what topic(s) you want to write on, but whatever topic(s) you choose, you want to stick with them. If you blog about gadgets don't switch the concentration of your blog later on. Your readers are most likely interested in gadgets and if you start wondering off and start blogging about random things such as furniture they will lose interest and stop reading your blog.
Day 3: Be consistent
The frequency you blog at is up to you. If you want to blog monthly that is fine. If you want to blog weekly or even daily, that is also fine. But whatever frequency you blog at make sure you stick to it. Don't blog daily and then skip a whole month; by blogging on a consistent basis your readers will know when to expect new blog posts and they will be there, ready to read them.
Day 4: Don't leave your readers stranded
Within the first few days of blogging it is really important to interact with all of your readers. If someone emails you asking a question or suggesting something make sure you respond to them. If someone posts a comment on your blog make sure you respond back with a comment, an email or even both.
Day 5: Get to the point
You can post a whole book and it might be the greatest thing you ever wrote, but that does not mean people will read it. If you write concise and detailed posts the chances are more people will read them versus really long drawn out posts.
Day 6: Spice it up
Add some flare to your blog. Keep your readers on their toes by doing something unique, funny or even something out of the ordinary. Whatever unique thing you do, it can really help keep your readers coming back for more.
Day 7: Don't expect the world
It is very unlikely for your blog to become popular within the first week. It can take months if not years to create a popular blog. Just because things might not have gone the way you wanted in the first week, don't give up. Keep on writing and your blog will grow in popularity.
Whatever type of blog you have started, whether it is a personal blog, company blog or even a blog you started to make extra income, don't forget to communicate with your readers and other bloggers and also have fun while you are doing it!
Enjoy the post? Here are some more that may interest you.
Trackbacks (1)
- Andy Beard, October 21, 2006
“How to move your blog or start a new one” — it is missing some technical matters that I believe are vital, and it doesn’t address what you should do if you are moving an existing blog to a new domain. It is still a new blog, but some of the suggestions should still be applied, with the add...
Reader Comments (34)
- engtech, October 17, 2006
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I only agree with #1 if it is a corporate/celebrity blog.
For anyone else it will take time for you to build up an audience. It isn't like you are opening up to 1000s of visitors waiting outside to read your post on the first day.
- Neil Patel, October 17, 2006
- tabrez, October 18, 2006
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Finishing the design and setting up of the blog before making the first post is not necessary for all kind of blogs. There wouldn't be too many people to read the first few posts anyway; this time can be used to apply the finishing touches.
I say, the blog should at least be functional and navigable in the beginning and then the finer details can be completed in the first 1-2 weeks.
- Askar, October 18, 2006
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I agree (to a certain level) with your first point Neil. To me I think there needs to be a balance. May be you won't have EVERYTHING in place for a launch but I would say making sure some of the basics are in place is a must.
But I completely agree to the point that its better to have as many posts as possible at the time of launch so as to make it look like an active blog.
To your second point what would be your take if the topic is diverse, for example to talk about gadgets and furtinure together? What would you do? Will you keep seperate blogs based on the topics and will you just declare that this blog will talk about this, this and this? Just curious.
Overall it's a great post. Keep it up Neil.
- Neil Patel, October 18, 2006
- Jeremy Luebke, October 18, 2006
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On point #1, the only reason I would say post first, is because so many people fall off the blog bandwagon after a few weeks. If you like it and end up sticking with it, then worry about making the perfect blog site.
Now if this will be a company blog attached to another already trafficked site, #1 is a must.
By the way, nice Digg effect yesterday. I would love to see some traffic figures that took the site down.
- Neil Patel, October 18, 2006
- Jared, October 18, 2006
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I really think if you are going to have a "Corporate" blog it does need to be setup correctly before the launch. That is your companies branding and any problems there will reflect the way you do business.
But on the other hand I setup my own personal blog (JuryRiggin) and the first night (don't ask me how they found it) I had a link to my very first post. So I ask, would they have linked back if was not setup correctly, or was my post really that good, doubt it?
Nice article, I tried to do a trackback and got an error though.
- Neil Patel, October 18, 2006
- Bill, October 18, 2006
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Great article! It is good for a new blogger such as myself.
- Naples Florida Real Estate, October 18, 2006
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I would like to see some suggestions on how to get people to that blog in the first 7 days. That's the toughest part of the equation in my opinion. All of these suggestions are moot if nobody comes to see it anyway.
- Chris Naaden, October 18, 2006
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I agree with all these points. It also helps to have a partner. My wife is a great writer and storyteller (ducksinatub.blogspot.com), but that's all she wants to contribute. So, I have to be her agent, and I have to make sure this is all set up. It helps to have accountability somewhere, even on the technical side.
- Oswald, October 18, 2006
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The nice one, Neil. I totally agree with the things you wrote here.
- ramzwatcher, October 18, 2006
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good point here Neil. Just want to add more: Mix around for day 8 and above |o|
- Chris Gribble, October 18, 2006
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Hey great post. Just starting myself really. Although I began in Feb. but a baby got in the way. But I am posting regularly again. The site is starting to look how I would like.
- acctuary, October 18, 2006
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As a new blogger, I appreciated this. But I thought that on the seventh day, the blogger rests!
- David Temple, October 18, 2006
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Thanks for reminding me not to expect the world. Seems I've taken the first six steps although some posts may be long. Now comes step seven, patience.
- Charlie, October 18, 2006
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Good post.
I'm glad you put in #4. In my experience, it seems bloggers (and webmasters in general) forget that the internet is a means of communication. If someone on the street were to ask me for help, I'd give them my time. I see no reason why we bloggers shouldn't do the same.
Thanks!
- fullfilth, October 18, 2006
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a very clear and good guide for biginner like me. thank you.
- Neil Patel, October 18, 2006
- belinha, October 19, 2006
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I did it almost like you said.But my blog isn't about writing at all.By now I think that if I wrote someting I would have more people coming. But I'm sticking to my first idea- a blog to see not to read about...
- belinha, October 19, 2006
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I mean, a blog to watch!Sorry but my english isn't so good!
- churchpundit, October 19, 2006
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Awesome post. Good advice even if you are not BRAND new at this, isn't it? One of the things I would suggest too is: DECIDE how much time you're going to devote to your blog per day and try to stick to it, otherwise the addiction grows until you are all alone in a dark room with just a plugged in gadget and invisible acquaintances 8) thus spoke churchpundit!
- MInTheGap, October 19, 2006
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Great post-- the obvious followup would be "how often to change your site design/layout", etc. At some point, things need to change for things not to look stale-- even if you have great content!
PS-- This site didn't render correctly for me in FireFox and I couldn't see your "preview comment" or "Post" buttons. Maybe a problem with css? In any case, perhaps it's just me, but you might want to take a look...
- Elle, October 19, 2006
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Hit the nail on the head! These are excellent pointers to launching in the right way. Definitely agree about frequency - not always easy to stick to but definitely the best way to run a blog. Your readers should get a feel for how often you post.
- Jose, October 19, 2006
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I really enjoyed this post.... great points.
Maybe you can follow this post with a volume 2 "how to monetize your blog".
- Neil Patel, October 19, 2006
- Steve Johnson, October 19, 2006
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Neil, Firefox worked fine for me.
On #1: I agree with a lot of the commenters--if you wait until things are 'perfect', you'll never launch. There are also issues that may not have been foreseen that don't appear until certain conditions are met, such as the appearance of post titles or internal subtitles that run to two lines.
For #5: Some may say that longer posts should be relegated to pages, but there are many sites that post long articles when the subject matter demands it. I've read a lot of 'concise' posts that leave me asking, "Where's the beef?"
All in all, this article caused me to think a little, and to respond--good results for any article anywhere.
- Riihele, October 19, 2006
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Hei Neil. These are very important points that are neglected many a time in the beginning, making the blogger dishearted. I did not open my blog to the public until I was ready and by which time, I had found my style, my voice and pace in the cyber space. Take care.
- Neil Patel, October 19, 2006
- Leon, October 19, 2006
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Great post. I especially agree about the one concerning popularity. Many bloggers expect the world to be at their beck and call once they hit "Publish". The majority have a rude awakening.
- caspermc, October 24, 2006
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Well, I just started a blog yesterday. I think this could be very helpful for the next few days. Thanks
- TonyMilano, November 25, 2006
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I just came accross this post/site. I think your points are on the money. I'm just learning about this whole blogging thingy. But, if you build a solid foundation it's all up from there. Thanks.
- DustinBrown, January 5, 2007
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It will take years to establish a good blog?I hate it when people like you pontificate about crap like you wrote the damn manual. How the hell do you know...blogs have been around for how many YEARS now? Its not like blogs are some epic technology like the printing press. They're just the the beginning of something bigger. Who wants to be sitting around reading somebody's play-by-play 50 years from now. But if there's folks like you who want to waste years of their lives to "establish a blog audience" have at it. Congradulations...you have won...a crowd of dorks who are taking a break from online porn.
