Now all you need to do is the Write Thing!

Once the initial post is out there start carrying a notepad around with you to capture your ideas and work on your drafts.

Some Bloggers plan their posts way in advance and then go through several stages of revisions until the final product emerges weeks later.

Other Bloggers just sit down and type it in and hit publish.

I am somewhere in between these two extremes in that I generally know what topics I want to cover and have a brief outline floating around in my head before I write.

Editing is not the enemy - Editing is EVERYTHING!

Any writer worth reading has some editing process that they go through - it can be as simple as hitting the spell check button, or re-reading the post 3 times before publishing.

I know of one blogger buddy of mine who sends all the blog posts to a few close friends on paper, gets feedback then sends the edited version to her mother for final approval. Each to there own!

So get organized and get out there and do the "Write Thing"!

Your First Post

Lay down the law!

Tell them how it is going to be and don't hold back.

Take the helm of your blog and just go for it!

Define what you are writing about and dive right in!

Do it, do it NOW!

Getting Started With a Blog....

So you want to start a blog?

There is only one thing you need to start a blog and that is:
Patience

This may seem like an odd prerequisite for blogging but it truly will make all the difference!

There are several blog sites out there that you can sign up for free and start posting away - Patience will help you get over the (relatively short) learning curve.

Patience will also help you overcome those times when you just want to stop because you don't see the results you wanted (with readership).

Patience will allow you to try different writing styles till you find your voice.

Taking the time to become a great writer and build a readership can take longer for some than others, but it still takes considerable effort and Patience.

Ready Set Go!

Write what you know

The things you are passionate about are the things that you will be able to spend time writing about.

You are an expert in the things you know, so act like it.

I had one friend who kayaked for several years and even though he had great stories every weekend all summer long he never felt like he was enough of an expert to blog about it.

After some coaxing, and encouragement he is now enjoying several thousand views from people following his weekly posts about his kayaking exploits.

Is Ben the best at Kayaking? no.
Is he formally educated in all things kayak? no.

Ben is just a man who enjoys kayaking and shares his love for his green plastic boat with the world through his blog. The followers found him, not all at once but he kept posting and soon there were a few followers, then a couple of guest posts on other boating blogs and he had 50 followers!

Ben called me on a Thursday afternoon out of breath.
"Jay, I have 50 followers!" he was blown away with what some consistency and passion had turned into. This was almost a year ago.

At the time of my writing this he has a fully sponsored blog and only works part time and is a test pilot for a major kayak manufacturer and has had several of his blog posts published as magazine articles.

So brainstorm today and make a list of the things you are passionate about and pick the one you are most excited about, and write a post about it! - you never know where it will take you.

Spell check is there for a reason!

Spell check is built in the browsers these days.

use it.