I’ve spent a lot of this week starting a new blog and I am thrilled with the look and feel of the site and the traffic so far.  (Blog developed by Green Seed)

I never knew blogging could be such fun, so creative but also demanding. I feel this would be a great time to ask yourself some crucial questions about if you should blog. With this checklist I feel you’ll have your answer.

The five reasons you should blog:

1. Build a network – I’ve already seen that not only am I connecting with new people who have a common interest but I’m also finding more creative methods of finding those people. I also love that it’s global, my blog has been live for 4 days and I’ve had visits from 25+ countries
2. Communicate – It’s a very open way to share your thoughts with a great number of people. A good blog has to include some insight into your daily routine, it might seep out or spill out but the blogs I enjoy are the one where you find the author interesting, funny and clear. Adding personality is critical.
3. Do you journal? – A blog is simply that, you can really mentor yourself via a blog. Are you aware of where you are and where you are heading. It’s a very visible way of tracking how you feel and what it is important to you.
4. Marketing – Blogging is a superb way to introduce you – be it your skills, your experience or your methods and it can drive new business to you without question
5. Enjoy a challenge? – You simply have to be creative. Simply taking ideas and regurgitating them won’t make for a good blog nor will it develop allegiance. Obviously the web is an endless ocean of ideas and it’s how you take an idea and make it your own that will make your blog a success.

The five reasons you might want to just go walk the dog instead:

1. You want to be alone? – Blogging is a solo skill, no teamwork here, not much banter or collaboration either.
2. Repetition – A lot of time on the computer researching, thinking, planning. If you have computer fatigue turn around now!
3. Time – It takes a lot of time to create a worthy blog. More than I ever imagined. Finding the balance will be critical for me
4. Do you finish things? – If I had a bottle of wine for every blog I’ve seen that had 3 posts week one, 2 week two and one a month later and then crumble and die…I’d have many bottles of wine. A blog won’t explode overnight but it will wither amazingly rapidly if you don’t work on it daily
5. Ideas – You have to have them, if you don’t why bother? (see below)

I knew I had to be ready to start a blog. I developed a strategy and an agenda. I researched the potential and decided what framework the blog should take. I think you need a plan similar to this:

Next 1-10 days – Pre-plan 90% of what you’d like to blog about

11-30 days – Plan at least 50% of where you go next

30 days plus – Ensure you have an organized plan of where you are taking the blog

If you think you’re ready to blog we highly recommend WordPress for developers. From our experience it provides great flexibility and customization options.  The range of WordPress designs can allow you to carry your theme/brand into your blog. If you need assistance developing a wordpress blog to compliment your business please contact us.

Tim at greenseedwebdesign