Today is the fourth installment of our 10 in 10 series and the focus is on blogging. If you missed the the first three posts you can find the links here.

Everyone talks about how the new year allows each of us to start with a clean slate.  We can make a resolution to lose weight, get in shape, or become a better person.  The same can be said for our social media activities as well.  The new year brings the opportunity for us to change some things about our online identity in much the same way as we do offline.  In that spirit we have compiled a list of the top 5 New Year’s Resolutions for blogging:

  1. I will post on a regular schedule. The key to blogging success is to post on a regular basis.  People want to come to your site and see that you have regular updates.  (Content is important too…hang on its next!)  So this year pick a number of posts that you would like to hit each week and then do it!  Consistency is more important that volume.
  2. I will create good content. This is not earth shattering almost all bloggers will vouch for this recommendation because as we all know “content is king.”  Check your spelling, make sure your thoughts are well organized.  Read, re-read, and then re-read again before posting to make sure that its just the way you want it.  The content will keep people coming back to your site.
  3. I will watch my length. There are not many people that can write a 2,000 word posts on a regular basis and keep an audience on their blog.  Keep your blog posts under 500 words for the most part.  You might be thinking, “But I have a lot to say!”  Well, then say it in a 4 part series.  Not only will that keep your post shorter, but it will also help you with the regular posts!  No one has time to read 2,000 words from you on a regular basis.  (Okay, maybe your mom.)  Trust me, shorter is better.
  4. I will have a blogging policy. If you have employees chances are some of them blog about their career/expertise.  This should not be viewed as a negative.  Instead companies should follow the lead of Michael Hyatt (CEO at Thomas Nelson Publishers) and not only encourage participation but link to your employees’ blogs.  In fact, he has made Thomas Nelson’s blogging policy available for use by your organization.  Click on this link to see the policy and make sure to tweak it for your organization.
  5. I will engage with my readers. There is a commenting section at the bottom of your posts for a reason, don’t ignore the comments.  Your readers are responding to your post and you should be kind and interact with them.  In a future post we will talk about dealing with trolls and what type of commenting policy you should adopt for your blog.  But, in the meantime use the comments section to get feedback and talk to the people that give up a little bit of their day to read your stuff.

Those are the new resolutions for blogging.  What did we miss?  Anything you think we should have placed in the top five?  Drop us a comment and we will be sure to respond!  (See #5 above!  Really…try it.)