6 Things I’ve Learned Since Starting The Muslim Blogger
04. Feb, 2009 
5 Comments
Buzz it!
Recently, I covered the question of how often you should update your blog. That post didn’t come from some idea that I had floating in my head. It was written based on my own personal failure to really think about and look into the topic.
In this post I want to cover 6 more points that we all need to be aware, and stay aware, of.
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1. The Title – Crafting a title is more difficult than I imagined it would be. But know this my fellow bloggers – the title is one of the most important factors in determining the success of a particular post. Usually, I come up with 3-5 titles before publishing and even then I may not be fully satisfied. The changes won’t necessarily be major ones. For this post, I made 3 minor changes to the title. I’ve included them here for you to take a look at. The changes made in each are in red.
- Things I’ve Learned Since Starting This Blog
- 6 Things I’ve Learned Since Starting This Blog
- 6 Things I’ve Learned Since Start The Muslim Blogger
2. The Intro - The first sentence, maybe first paragraph, of your blog should almost always be deleted when you’re finished. Rarely is the sentence you started with in sync with the rest of the post. As a matter of fact, I ended up deleting the first three paragraphs of this post before putting it up for you to read.
Just so you know, this isn’t necessarily something bad. From time to time, you may find yourself so stuck on constructing a great introduction that you never get around to writing the post. A good writer recognizes a mental/creative block and works around it.
Be sure you closely examine the intro of your post before presenting it to your readers. And be sure to ask yourself whether your opening is actually contributing to the post.
3. The Wording - Focus on the wording later. Before you start worrying whether you communicated the idea correctly, figure out what it is you want to communicate. Readers come to your blog to learn something. While they do appreciate good writing and quickly frown upon the opposite – the wording of your post should not be your priority at this point.
Write your ideas down and draft your post. When you go back to edit or proofread, that’s when you start focusing on how you said it.
4. The Organization - Staying organized cannot be underestimated. This I knew and expected but what I’ve learned is that if you want to take blogging seriously then staying organized is not an option. Allowing yourself to lose control can quickly turn into a nightmare
Your readers will also know if you’re not an organized blogger. That doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t continue to read and appreciate your work – it doesn’t mean that at all. However, if you want to truly give back to your readers and entice new people to visit (and revisit) your blog then you have to be on top of things.
5. The Numbers – Don’t allow the numbers to affect you. Some of you might use Google Analytics, the built-in WordPress stats app, or some other method of gathering statistics about visitors to your blog. All of these are great tools that can give you a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t, the type of posts your readers are interested in, and how to maximize your ad revenue. However, if you decide to use those then do not let the numbers become an obsession that drives your writing. What drives you and gives you the desire to write should be the passion you have for a particular topic.
6. The Readers – Respond to your readers. Since the start of The Muslim Blogger, I’ve received multiple e-mails asking me for quick advice or to take a look at their blog and give them feedback. Others have been asking about blogging or writing in general. Whatever the case may be, be responsive. Responding to personal e-mails from your readers is just as important as interacting with them in the comments section.
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These are a mere six lessons learned I thought would be useful to share. Without a doubt, there will be countless more in the future. But that’s just me. I want to hear about you. Some of you are new to blogging and others of you have been active in the blogosphere for quite some time.
So newbies and veterans alike I ask you – what lessons have you learned since your started your blog?
(Photo: oskay)
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Just wondering – when you talked about the intro, the first thing we learn in English class and in newspapers is to have an “inverted pyramid” style of writing (your first sentence is the most important one and you slowly break it down). Is it the same with blogging or should there be a different approach to writing our intro?
Salam kbaz,
guess what.
I have a blog too – check it out (www.creativejuice.org), tell me if u think it’s epic…or not
comments/suggestions (by you or your readers) are encouraged and welcomed.
shukran ya CD
@Arif
Forget what you learned in English class, in a book, or even some of the things you read on this blog. There are certain guidelines and pointers that may apply to everyone. But, when it comes to writing style – the most important thing is what works for you.
When you sit down to actually write, many times you’ll find that you start off somewhat slow. After a few minutes, the flow of your post begins to take form and the ideas start connecting. It’s the beginning part that needs to be looked at, revised, and probably removed.
Whatever you do – do not get stuck on the intro. By all means, skip it. The introduction may be important, but readers often skip the intro and get straight into the article itself.
Great post and great blog! I just stumbled on it today. I’m happy to see other blogs from the “muslim perspective”.
This is the worst website EVAR.