10 Commandments of Blogging

Posted byiPapitoPosted inDad's ExperiencesTags:, , , , ,

Main Picture credit to blog.red-website-design.co.uk.

If you do a search on the internet about the 10 commandments of blogging, you will of course find tons of blogs that give their perspective about what they think or believe are the top 10 commandments of blogging.

Now, I looked at several and pulled out what I saw was similar and a couple that I thought made total sense, at least for me and my experience so far. Now, I linked them below, and feel free to take a look at what other bloggers think are the 10 commandments for blogging.

Picture credit to freeworkathomeguide.com.

The following are what I believe are the 10 commandments for blogging.

  1. Blog Often: This was from Jeff Goins, and I agree on this one. I think this one is big, and the reason I say this is because I noticed that when I do not post say in a couple weeks or days, I see a decline in the number of visits to when I have posted continuously for a week. So, posting often should be a goal. I say if you can get one every other day, it is a good start. Eventually leading up to posting daily, whether it is directly as a post, maybe a YouTube video, or a podcast should be the goal.
  2. Use Paragraph Breaks: This was from Jeff Goins, and I agree on this one as well. This one I learned the hard way. Now, I say this because at first, I was posting long-winded stories and some of my paragraphs were, I am pretty sure, way too long. So, after looking at other bloggers, I realized that they were breaking them down into bite-sized paragraphs. What I mean by this is maybe two or three sentences per paragraph. This gives the reader time to absorb what you are saying without getting lost in the words. So, keep it to 2 to 3 sentences per paragraph
  3. Use Pictures and Videos to add Visualization to your Posts: This was from Jeff Goins and I agree on this one. This one is coming from an old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. I believe this before as I do now. Adding a relevant picture to your post adds readability to your post, in my opinion. First, it allows the reader to visualize what you are saying. Second, it breaks up the reading allowing the reader to take a break from the reading. So, I highly suggest adding pictures to your post, I like to keep it to only 3 pictures per post. This also saves space in your server.
  4. Keep it Short: This was from Jeff Goins, and I agree on this one. This ties to number 2, and what I believe is meant here is that you need to keep your story short and to the point. I have seen other blogs and I come to realize that if I keep my posts to the size of one normal 8×10 page, it works out beautifully along with the bite-size paragraphs. I know sometimes you have a lot you can say on a topic, trust me it happens to me, but I think here is the perfect opportunity to hook the reader, and have them come back to read the rest of your post/thoughts – just an idea. Of course this post is not the norm.
  5. Tune the Noise Focus on Your Self: This was from Blog Genesis, but I interpreted it as; don’t get so hung up on what the other blogger is doing that you lose sight of what you wanted to do all along. Stick to your ideas, and your plan, focus on what you want, and during that pursuit, you will need to make adjustments, which is ok.  The goal here is to not jump on a viral bandwagon, but instead focus on you. It doesn’t mean you cannot use someone else’s idea, but you need to make sure that you turn that idea into what you believe, your story, you.
  6. Be Genuine and Be You: This was from Blog Genesis, but I interpreted as; I think this one can be a bit tough because I have seen where bloggers say you shouldn’t use your blog as a personal journal and sometimes some of us simply want to share our experienced and we might reveal a bit more than we should have. I think the trick, and works for me, is to simply write all your thoughts, everything that comes to mind, just write. Then step back, reread what you just wrote and make the necessary adjustments to make it fit what you intended your blog to be. I think being genuine, being yourself is what gives a blog its personality – so be you.
  7. Embrace Change: This was from Blog Genesis, but I interpreted it as; understanding that if you are just starting out it isn’t going to be easy, and you’ll probably make mistakes, which is totally ok. Just remember, with anything, whether you are starting a new job, making a recipe for the first time, being a first-time parent, or being in your first year of a relationship, you will make mistakes, but understanding that change is necessary will get you through these times. So whether you replace the salt in a recipe with another ingredient, learn a new application at work, or change your first diaper, just remember it is all a learning process and change is inevitable – just be ok with it.
  8. Always Express your Creativity: This was from Compukol: Carolyn Cohn, but I interpreted it as; writing about something important to you, what inspires you, drives you, and sharing that. Now, make sure that you present it in a way that is creative as you know you want to be because sometimes we tend to hold back, but just set yourself free, never forgetting that whatever you are writing about provides the reader a solution or answer. It will come to you, and you be amazed at what you can come up with if you simply let go and express yourself.
  9. Post with a Consistent Format: This was from Victor Mochere, but I interpreted it as; writing in the same manner each of your posts. What this does is, it lets the reader know that the next time they stop by your blog and you have something to share, it will be laid out in the same manner, this brings familiarity to the reader and we all know that we all like familiarity. So, if you write 8 paragraphs with three sentences each and three pictures, stick to that format and it will be easier for you as well as the reader.
  10. Write to be Real, Not to Go Viral: This was from John Pavlovitz, but I interpreted it as; exactly what it says, be you and try forgetting about getting that one viral post. It’s like a boxer, trying to land that one punch, and later running out of steam and losing the fight. Instead be you, write what you want to write, and more than likely one or more of your posts will eventually go viral The thing is, that should not be your goal, instead the goal is to bring back your reader each day to read what is next, not come back when something is viral.

Here is the list of bloggers I looked up that gave their top 10 Commandments for Blogging, and I took out what I believe works. Feel free to click on the links to check out their post.

Picture credit to earningdiary.com.

With that I thank you for stopping by and I leave you with this thought, “Let nothing dim the light that shines from within – Maya Angelou.

Published by iPapito

Strange but true, I was born in San Salvador, as an abroad US citizen. It sounds strange, but you see, my mother was 5 months pregnant and happen to be visiting San Salvador. She slipped and fell in a pool and well, I was born. I am a twin, but unfortunately, he did not make and I did. My mother’s side of the family happens to be well of, and I had the opportunity to live a nice life early in my childhood. You know, private school, servant, nice home, and vacations. Things change when my mother decided to follow my father to the United States and well, that is where my story begins. I started a blog a while back, but life sort of hit and I left it behind, but now as I am a bit older, I decided I needed an avenue to share my experiences with others, while at the same time allowing me to open up and talk like I am on someone’s couch, I guess you could say. This blog will be more like an open book, created by experiences that I have had throughout my life. Experiences that many could relate to and what I did or how I handled it, you know after the fact. You never know there just might be a piece of information, idea, an option that someone could use and it would help them through the experience. Just remember these are my experiences, things I have been through, work through, and lived through – it does not mean I am right, but it does not mean I am wrong – it is simply an experience.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: