Three years ago to the day, I started Marshallogue. It wasn’t called that at the time, and it wasn’t even at this same domain. Same Marshall, though, still me.
Continuing a time honored tradition, one that’s only lasted one year (I forgot last year), I figured I’d post the 2011-2012 edition of what I’ve learned from blogging.
1. I get the most traffic from Google for posts that solve a specific, often technical problem people have. In my case, the posts on teaching in Korea attract the most visitors.
2. I better enjoy blogging regardless of who reads because when it comes down to it, I might be the only one giving myself feedback. I think other people will always be reading. More often than not, though, they’re silent. But I’m always conversing with myself.
3. Posting repeatedly on one topic might not be what everyone wants to read, but it certainly makes it easier to keep writing. I should choose topics and write on them for extended periods of time more often. I enjoy that kind of writing.
4. When I’m struggling to write posts, it’s probably because I’m trying to write too well. Just publish how I think.
5. Blogging is dying (or even already dead). The bubble burst. Most people don’t keep up with blogs the way they used to. And that’s okay.
6. Email is the single best way for readers to follow Marshallogue. I should have switched to this exclusively a long time ago. Emailing these posts everyday keep readers reading when they might otherwise forget to visit.
7. Just because I announce something here doesn’t mean anyone actually knows about it. I’ve made a few fairly important announcements through Marshallogue: moving to Korea, moving back to America, the adoption fund, moving to Saudi, and so on.
8. I like writing about experiments. These are probably my favorite posts to write.
9. I should tell more stories. Readers enjoy the everyday quirks of life. No one cares about daily routines or really what I think so much. They care more about hearing stories that relate something they’ve noticed too.
10. Missing a day or falling behind on posts here is the single most demotivating thing I can do for this blog. I already said it in #4, but I’ll say it even shorter here: just publish.
