Advice for my early blogger self – be consistent, and be persistent

If I could go back to early 2004, and give myself advice as I started exploring this “blog” thing, I’d probably recommend the following:

• Write good quality posts over meaningless clickbait more often than not;
• Be consistent, and be persistent – it takes a lot of work to build an audience, but it’s worth it;
• Embrace social media … as a distribution channel. It won’t replace a blog as a serious publishing tool (just wait 14 years, you’ll see);
• Register a great domain early, and stick with it (names are good).

As much as I enjoy what I do, I love blogging. I look at blogs like kottke.org, and I find myself wishing I’d put more effort into my early blogging initiatives back in the early years.

Sure, it still takes a lot of work to succeed, especially back then when it wasn’t that obvious how to make money from these weblogs. At the same time, what an interesting way to make a living if you do.

Featured image by Geraldine Lewa, courtesy of Unsplash