A grad-school colleague and dear friend of mine has recently gotten tenure and will be going on research leave next year. In a recent email exchange about something we are working on together (and which will hopefully become a working paper sometime next summer), she told me that she’d been toying with the idea of joining the blogosphere, and that she welcomed any advice I might have for her.
Since I spent a good amount of time thinking about what I wish I had known a year ago, I thought I should share it more broadly. Here is a list of 15 things I wish I’d known before I started blogging. If you have a blog (and it need not be academic), please add your own suggestions in the comments.
- This is optional, but very helpful for those moments where you don’t have time to come up with fresh new material. Before you start blogging, start accumulating posts (or post ideas) in a Word file. I did that while on sabbatical in 2009-2010, long before I posted anything. It came in handy once or twice.
- There is no use in promoting a blog on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, etc. if it only has few posts. You should wait until you have at least 25 posts (or ten “substantial” ones, i.e., not just a bunch of links) before you start promoting your own blog.
- Five hundred words per post at most. Anything more than that, you split into a series of post. If you read Paul Krugman’s blog, he always manages to explain things concisely (and oh-so-clearly!) in way less than that. This is truly where blogging enhances your writing.
- Post at least three times a week, even if it’s just to post the abstract of a new working paper, or to post links. Readers who do not use RSS (and there are still many!) will tire of not finding fresh content every time they visit. If you will not be able to post for a while, write a post explaining that you’re taking a break. There were 184 million blogs out there in 2008. My hunch is that at least 75 percent of those are derelict.
- Write in very short paragraphs. For me at least, there is a considerable difference between reading something on paper (or my Kindle, for that matter) and reading it on my computer screen. I approach paragraphs as I did when I wrote for my college newspaper.
- On the technical back end, I don’t know what to recommend, since I’ve only ever used WordPress on my own domain name. I’m not sure I would recommend using a blog service like Blogger or Blogspot, although some famous blogs are on such services. I registered my domain with GoDaddy, and although I used the same service for my hosting, it was horribly slow. So on Don Taylor‘s recommendation, I switched to HostGator (it’s what the Incidental Economist uses for hosting, and
DonDon’s co-blogger Austin Frakt says the only time they everrun into problems is when Paul Krugman links to them, and they have tens of thousands of view in one afternoon)ran into problems was because of a conflict due to the Twitter sidebar. It is actually really easy to install a WordPress site on your own domain, as there are dozens of tutorials out there, and many popular hosting sites like GoDaddy will even install WordPress for you if you want it. - Write about what interests you. It’s what gives your blog its own personality. Unless you bring in a great deal of value added, don’t feel like you have to blog about a given topic just because everyone else does.
- When you feel like you are ready to start promoting your blog, after you have been doing it for at least a couple months or have accumulated at least 25 posts, create accounts on sites like Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, and Reddit.
- Perhaps more importantly for promoting your blog, join Twitter, and start following the people whom you find interesting. Most people are nice and follow you back. Twitter is also a great source of things to blog about. For me, it was crucial in keeping track of what happened in terms of food prices and social unrest in 2011.
- Twitter might seem overwhelming at first. You may ask yourself, “How can I keep track of all this?” The answer is “You can’t,” unless you spend your days looking at your Twitter feed. Twitter allows me to take the pulse of the development policy world. The metaphor is richer than it appears at first sight — a doctor does not constantly check a patient’s pulse, only when it seems warranted, or when they think about doing so.
- Your self-description on Twitter is all-important. Mine reads “Assistant Professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. My research focuses on development policy. RTs ≠ endorsement.” I follow other academics back almost automatically, out of solidarity. Likewise for people who write in their self-description that they are interested in development. But I almost never follow people back with blank self-description, unless they are real-life friends.
- Back to blogging: be generous with attribution and links. There is nothing in social media more disheartening than working a few hours on a great post, only to see someone make the same point somewhere else without mentioning where they got the idea. Likewise with tweeting.
- Most academic journals now have RSS feeds for articles just published (or, as is the case for some journals, for articles just accepted and in press), which helps keeping track of new articles. The NBER also has an RSS feed for its working papers.
- When you finish working on a working paper, blog about it. Of course, the reader should know that it’s still a work in progress, and that it’s subject to change. I’ve received many good comments on my food riots paper when I first talked about it, after I’d finished writing the working paper version.
- When one of your article gets published online, blog about it. This gives you a chance to discuss what the paper does more informally (and in many more words) than the abstract does, and so it increases the chances people will read your paper and cite it. This can only be good for your career.
For similar lists, see also:
- Dan Frommer’s “Ten Steps to Better Blogging.”
- Austin Frakt on “How to Succeed at Blogging.”
- Penelope Trunk’s Guide to Blogging.
There is also the Huffington Post Guide to Blogging if you want to read an actual book on the topic. I read it after blogging for about ten months and did not find it very helpful, but I might have a different opinion if I’d read it before I started blogging.
#16 Comment on fellow blogger’s posts offering your opinion on their post or adding additional detail and ideas to the conversation. Comment sections appear for a reason, so connect with others in your field and see what they’re talking about on their blogs.
Thanks! That’s a glaring omission, as one of my New Year resolutions is to comment on other blogs more. Thank you for reading!
Good advice Marc – I will probably be taking the plunge in the next couple of weeks, so your experience is valuable.
Great advice, Marc. I agree wholeheartedly with 1 (pile up ideas), 5 (write short paragraphs), and 7 (stick to your interests), and I double-endorse 9 (use Twitter). I also started blogging in 2011, and the one-two punch of Twitter and the blog have opened some valuable professional doors for me.
Where I disagree is on 3 (no more than 500 words) and 4 (post 3+ times per week). I think there’s room in the blogosphere for longer-form posts, as long as the length is driven by substance and not the absence of editing. I also think readers don’t mind if you post infrequently, as long as you don’t go silent for so long that they forget the sound of your voice.
#3 is a tricky one because when it comes to what Google likes there are strong theories that 500+ words might be preferable to less than that. Google can be a massive traffic source if you can rank for popular terms (or even a bunch of long-tail terms).
On #6, WordPress is the favorite amongst serious bloggers by far when it comes to platforms and with due reason. If you can afford the hosting/domain I would suggest WP all the way for a blog. As for hosting, I would never recommend GoDaddy. It is simply horrible and really just markets to beginners who think it must be quality since GoDaddy is such a force in the domain name market. Turns out that it isn’t and most experienced webmasters do not host with GoDaddy. Personally, I’ve been with Webzpro for a couple years now (I have a handful of sites including some non-blogs) and would recommend that to anyone looking for hosting.
Thanks Marc for sharing your experience. This is a very useful list indeed!
I totally agree with keeping the word count below 500 (of course there can be exceptions) and on posting regularly every week. Though, I think that there should be also a reccommended upper limit in the number of weekly posts. I don’t like leaving unread posts piling up for a long time and pressing the infamous “Mark all as read” button on Google Reader can be very painful.
When I subscribe to a new blog that I don’t know well, usually I can handle a few posts per week. If I see hundreds of posts, the blog becomes more difficult to follow and I might lose interest. I’d say that 3 to 5 posts per week is my favorite frequency; up to 15 is fine for blogs that I already know and like. More than 15 only in a few cases. On the other hand, it is true that posting frequently could be a good way to get your blog noticed.
Thanks, Edoardo. I agree that some blogs have too much posts. I follow a few where, much against my will, I often have to “mark all as read.” I don’t like doing that, because I am sure I am missing out, but until I start getting paid to read blogs, I don’t have much of a choice. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your comment!
Thanks – great tips. I wholeheartedly agree with 1. as you never know when an idea will strike you or when you will feel inspired to work a bit more on an idea you already started but didn’t finish. I wouldn’t use Word for this though. I find it better to use something like Evernote for taking down ideas since I can do this from wherever I am on my phone., computer etc. and am not tied to a word file on my own PC or Laptop. I also use Microsoft Livewriter for drafting blog posts offline. It’s simple to use and syncs well with WordPress.
Another tip I’d add on linking is also to link back to your own previous posts if your current post builds on an idea you blogged about before.
I don’t have any direct evidence for it – but I also think that blog posts work better with a relevant eye-catching image in them – I try to do this for about half of my blog posts. For some reason finding a good image also helps me think more clearly about what I’m trying to say in my writing.
[…] I have added a few academics to my list of must-read blogs. Today, one of those bloggers posted a list of tips and one struck a chord with me. Particularly #4. Post […]
Within the context of your actual blogpost (what *you* have learned), all the points are relevant, of course (as they were relevant to you) :-)
For novice bloggers, it should be stressed once more, that these are the lessons you have learned. There are more hints for novice bloggers, which might or might not be more relevant for their experience. Looking at some of the comment, people seem to be generalizing your blogpost into “How to start blogging in 1-2-3”.
Some of the issues I would like to relativate is the amount of posts to publish per week, and the length.. It really depends on the context. Some successful blogs only publish 1 good post per week or two weeks. Some publish very short pieces, some publish lengthy pieces.. Depends on what you blog about, what your target audience is, etc…
If there is any hint I give “wanna be” bloggers, is to define well what they want to do, before they start it. Based on that, the blog platform can be defined, the time involved can be estimated, the way to promote it can be defined (with the time estimated to do so – as Twitter, Facebook, social bookmarking take a lot of time even just to create the social network size that would help your blog).
Overall, helpful post in a starting kit for bloggers :-)
I would agree on most points, but not about length or frequency. Both of these variables are highly dependent on what you want to write about and to whom you imagine reading your work. If you’re looking for ‘mass public browsing’ then the variables you identify (short, common) posts are good. If, on the other hand, you’re looking to provide significant resources to the public/experts interested in a field of study you’re invested in, but do not want to write a traditional ‘academic’ piece, then long form writing that is published a few times a month can be suitable.
Something that you didn’t include: learn to write a title. Most academics (myself included) have horrible times preparing catchy, attractive titles, but those titles will tend to drive traffic to your site.
[…] will have something to add. Indeed, you should check out Marc Bellemare’s recent post on things he has learned as an untenured blogger. Speaking for myself, though, I have not regretted blogging at all, and aside from sometimes […]
Thanks for your comment, Ian. Actually, I use Google Documents for my ideas file. As for Evernote, good recommendation. I used to use it, but I ended up uninstalling it because I wasn’t using it all that frequently. I also agree about the linking back, especially in my case, where I am getting tired of making the some points over and over (and over) about food prices.
Thanks for your comment, Peter. I agree that this shouldn’t be a how-to. More like “here’s what worked for me, your mileage may vary.” After thinking about it, I agree that the number of posts per week is idiosyncratic and should be adjusted to your tastes. Becker and Posner write about once a month, and really long posts at that, and it works for them (not that I am anywhere near their intellectual league!)
Thanks for your comment, Christopher. See my response to Peter for further considerations on length and frequency, as this is highly idiosyncratic.
And goodness gracious, yes! Titles matter about a hundred times more than most people think. I always spend a great deal of time trying to find the best title. That is a great point, thanks!
Thanks for your comment, Miraj. I had no idea about the hypothesis you put forth regarding Google’s search algorithm. And I whole-heartedly agree with you: what GoDaddy have going for them is marketing. They were the only service I knew about for hosting when I began. I take good note of your Webzpro recommendation.
[…] was a bit of discussion last week on the internet on blogging by academics. Particularly for economists, blogging is a […]
[…] (bloggingyourpassion.com)For Bloggers By Bloggers Weekly Review (bestbloggingtipsonline.com)What I’ve Learned from a Year of Blogging: Advice for Would-Be Bloggers (marcfbellemare.com) Posted on January 9, 2012 by Todd Lohenry in BloggingTags: Blog Blogger […]
A bit late but wanted to get back to you because this is a nice post and I particularly liked the comments about: being honest and respectful about citing/referring to other sources, keeping your list of blog ideas (got over 50 in my own doc right now).
I would also add a couple of recommendations from my own blogging practice:
– always review your posts after leaving them aside some time, before publishing them;
– add videos, audio files, presentations etc. when you can as it breaks the routine of reading. Some people have very successful video blogs – takes time but is certainly worth the effort;
– engage with other blogs to create a buzzing community of related interests (this is the first comment made here too I see now).
FYI, I also blogged about my blogging practice with some observations about its value:
– http://ow.ly/8pdNb
– http://ow.ly/8pdNl
Thank you!
Ewen