Back when I started blogging in 2005, blogs were still something new. Fresh. Different. Anytime I told anyone I had a blog, it was always met with a side-cocked head a la Scooby Doo. There was a small collection of food bloggers, small enough where we knew each other well, and a seemingly small group of non-food bloggers. And then, of course, Dooce.
Back then, blogs werenât taken really seriously and they were merely ways to pass the time. The more popular blogs became, the more people wanted in. Especially as bloggers started to make money. Book deals. TV shows. Endorsement deals. Sponsored posts. Conferences. Many perks. New blogs pop up on the daily, many with hopes of making it big and dreams of quitting their full-time job in pursuit of blogging from home in their pajamas.
And then reality sets in.
Those of us that have been around since the beginning know the work that blogging involves. Besides the day-to-day routine of writing, editing, and photographing your own content, there is still the behind-the-scenes work of learning code, marketing your work, researching plug-ins, and much more.
Itâs not all take-a-pretty-picture-and-write, repeat.
Especially if you want to make money at it. And this is even more true as you begin to work with clients on sponsored posts, advertising, and the like. More rules, deadlines, FCC compliance issues, competition, and responsibility.
Which means that like anything else, only the people that are most serious stick with it.
But one of the most common themes of having a successful blog?
We have to have a solid foundation of good writing skills.
While writing a blog is a very different animal than writing something that wonât live online forever, any written content starts with the basics: good writing. And âgoodâ refers to engaging content as much as it refers to the technical aspects of it. Because, honestly, who wants to read a blog rife with grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, boring content, and crappy pictures.
Blogging is fun, but itâs work yâall.
Enter Sarah Caronâs book, Better Blog Writing: How to Improve Your Writing to Keep Readers Coming Back for More.
…