So You Want to Start a Blog

Blogging is a great way to advertise your business.  It can also be a business in itself.  Starting is ridiculously easy.  Maybe a little too easy.  There are a few things I wish I'd known when I was first starting out.

1. The first week of your blog will be fuelled with adrenalin and dreams of glory.  You may want to post for two weeks before sending out announcements.
2. When you leave comments on other peoples' blogs, if you've signed in correctly, your name will link back to your blog.  You don't need to add your URL at the end of your comment.  I wish I'd known this one sooner - there are a few embarrassing early posts floating around out there.  But I've noticed that I'm not the only one who doesn't know this.
3. At some point, your elderly Auntie will find and read your blog.  Think about it.
4. People surfing for porn will also find your blog.  Do not take this personally.
5. PAGE BREAKS!!!!!  They're a really good idea.  Without them, your blog takes forever to load and new readers may get bored and wander off, never to return.  A week, at the most, per page.
6. No one wants to read about your kids!  OK, there are a few corollaries to this one.  If you're writing a personal memoir blog and you have kids, they should appear.  If you have a baby after you start your blog, then, yes please.  We'd like to see pictures.  But remember two things: they're cuter to you than they are to total strangers.  And they do grow up and those pictures?  That were so adorable you had to share them with the world?  They'll still be out there as evidence of what a terrible parent you were.
7. Strangely, pictures of your pets are always acceptable.  Can't think of what to say today?  Scoot up a picture of the cat doing that thing that he does and we'll go away happy.

There's so much more I want to tell you.  But I like to keep these posts short and snappy.  I read somewhere that that's a good idea.

So I'll add more later, as they occur to me.