Todd Dorman, 24-Hour Dorman blogger for The Gazette, responded to my request for advice for blogging journalists. This is one of several posts related to Bloggers share lots of advice.
I think the most surprising thing for me about blogging is that after 18 months It’s still a crap shoot. I figured I’d be an expert by now. OK, not really.
Because I don’t have a specific beat, my blog is sort of a grab bag of things I write and things that catch my eye. Occasionally, I’ll post something that’s probably guaranteed to spark hits and conversation (greatest Christmas songs, best guy movies, favorite dive bars etc.)
One surprisingly popular post taught me that readers really like to give advice. That simple beer post really stuck with people. I still run into folks in the grocery store etc. who ask me about Grain Belt. Part of a blogger’s job is informing, but a big part is giving people a chance to share what they know.
I post my columns on the blog, although only a handful have been what I’d consider well-read. I’ve learned that shorter posts are better. (Andrew Sullivan showed me the light) Frequent posting drives audience growth. Strong perspective and personal voice are really important. But there are also times it’s best to simply showcase others’ perspectives and get out of the way.
Polls work well. But my morning news summaries were largely a time-consuming flop. Hits went up for a while, but then went back down. Aggregators and feeds, I’m afraid, were way ahead of me.
Being part of a blogging community that shares and links to each other’s work is a good thing, obviously, and there are some sites that can really drive hits. The temptation to avoid is writing stuff simply to catch their attention, like smacking Culver every day so you get linked from The Bean Walker, for instance. Good stuff will get noticed and get linked.
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