Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Blogging Tips

Since I had a really lame post today, I might as well do something different here. I have had a blog in one form or another for about 5 years. Most of them have been very personal which has meant that I eventually end them and restart another because I no longer want certain people to read them. Yes, the CharmCityGirl has led a rather dramatic life. But anyway, I decided with this blog to follow a specific format, keep it almost all Baltimore related and keep my personal drama pretty much out of it. So I have done some thinking and investigating and this is what I came up with:

1. Blog what you know but also blog what you want to learn. I am a real homer. I love my little city even though it's not as big a glamorous as the Big Apple. So I want to focus on it and promote what I consider to be the most wonderful parts. I review a neighborhood each week. This means investigating them so I better be interested in learning about them. I am still learning how to best do this.

2. Research other blogs on the same subject. I wanted to learn what other Charm City related blogs might be out there. You might be able to use some information for your own blog. You might want to be reasonably certain you aren't too much like someone else's blog. I wouldn't want to use the exact same picture in a headline banner of the Baltimore Skyline for example. Of course you can never guarantee anything.

3. Stick to your subject matter. Sometimes I want to just go off on something totally off topic. I can be a very ADD or ADHD blogger. But I am trying...I find that while I don't have many readers, I do have readers who come to my page on the day when they know I am blogging about something they want to read.

4. Be willing to accept advice. Invite suggestions.

5. Comment on other people's blogs and respond to comments others make to your blog.

6. Write something every day, but don't go on and on and on. Get to the point. Edit yourself. This is the internet. No one reads novels on the internet. We want a quick read before the boss comes by and catches us.

3 comments:

Cricky said...

I've never been to Maryland before. But your blog makes me want to go.

charmcitygirl said...

Well, I guess it's just like anywhere else, if you have the right guide it's great. The great things about this state are that we have diversity here, diversity of people, of landscape, cultures, etc. We have the ocean and the mountains. We have the bay which is very unique because it is an estuary. I am not very well traveled so Maryland and upstate NY are pretty much all I know.

Anonymous said...

Good suggestions! Sometimes it is tough to stay on topic when there are so many good things to write about.

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Today's the last day to submit a post.

Thanks for your time. Have a great weekend!

Jennifer