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What I learned in ten years of blogging

ferrucc.io

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Re: What I learned in ten years of blogging

#141

Post by PuffinBlue »

veddox wrote: post #103
PuffinBlue wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I turned off comments and allow people to contact me through Twitter or email. That seems to be such a high barrier to entry that the contact I do receive is almost always because someone disagrees strongly or because they are very thankful for something they learned. In either case, it stops pointless crap like 'first'.

Just out of interest, how active was your blog? (hits/day?) I don't have a commenting feature on my blog - partly because I haven't gotten around to setting it up yet, partly because I'm worried about potential spam. But I would like to get some feedback from my readers, so that's a bit of a conundrum...

I'm not 100% sure. Before I turned of analytics I was getting somewhere between around 16k-20k uniques per month. I don't know the accuracy on that, one was Google analytics, one as server based but filtering out the bots, so perhaps caught a few blocking the trackers (like I do TBH).

That was nearly 7 months ago I guess? Looking in Webmaster search console it says I had 15.5k clicks and 237k impressions last 28 days (compared to 17k/297k 7 months ago), so maybe there are less visitors now. Not sure.

I might turn the analytics back on at some point to find out!

Re: What I learned in ten years of blogging

#142

Post by robocat »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #111
mortivore wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is interesting. If you're not writing for anyone except yourself, then why post it online? Why not just use a journal or an audio diary?

Not OP: I tend to blog tech fixes I found to make them more visible, I'm not really writing for an audience, but just recognising that there may be value in it and so ensuring that such value can be extracted. As much as anything it's a journal for me.

I document my fixes on Stack Overflow, then put a comment with a link to the answer in the code.

It is remarkably convenient, high Google ranking, with zero technical maintenance and seemingly permanent.

Sometimes better solutions are given by other people.

I have even found my own past comments when googling for solutions!

Re: What I learned in ten years of blogging

#143

Post by robocat »

cantthinkofone wrote: post #35
qwerty456127 wrote: post #2

> No one has time to read your article, write the first lines like they’re a TLDR. So true! > For SEO don’t write short articles (>2000 words) So sad!

I'm conflicted about the notion that "no one has time to read your article." That says more about dilapidation of reading culture than the fact that length of a text is necessarily bad. I see it happening to me and I don't read something not because it is valueless on its own but because there is simply too much else outside of it drawing on my attention. If there's more and more pressure to say less, eventually you'…

> dilapidation of reading culture

Surely we read more than we ever did? Surely more people a literate than ever before?

Certainly we didn't read much television...

My friends that are dyslexic or illiterate have learnt to read in their 30s and 40s because of the internet.

Re: What I learned in ten years of blogging

#144

Post by pbhjpbhj »

robocat wrote: post #142
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not OP: I tend to blog tech fixes I found to make them more visible, I'm not really writing for an audience, but just recognising that there may be value in it and so ensuring that such value can be extracted. As much as anything it's a journal for me.

I document my fixes on Stack Overflow, then put a comment with a link to the answer in the code. It is remarkably convenient, high Google ranking, with zero technical maintenance and seemingly permanent. Sometimes better solutions are given by other people. I have even found my own past comments when googling for solutions!

Yes, I've found I use StackOverflow sites mostly now rather than blogging things.

Re: What I learned in ten years of blogging

#145

Post by baby »

ghaff wrote: post #75
heavyset_go wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true. If you run your blog like a business, as in you have a real need for growth and to turn a profit, you will need to pump out content on a regular basis.

>If you run your blog like a business That is a big "if" though. A lot of blogs don't try to be businesses. Personally, I use my personal blog to write about things I'm interested in writing about whether it's hobby-related stuff or technology. About a year ago I was thinking about starting a separate travel and food blog I was going to be more serious about and quickly realized I really couldn't be bothered. If you'…

if you're taking advice on blogging, it's to have a successful blog. Otherwise why would you be taking advice? Just write whenever you want and whatever you want.

Re: What I learned in ten years of blogging

#146

Post by baby »

coldtea wrote: post #74
heavyset_go wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true. If you run your blog like a business, as in you have a real need for growth and to turn a profit, you will need to pump out content on a regular basis.

Well, Daring Fireball hardly writes 1-2 posts a month (and usually small), and yet..

That's not true at all. He writes several posts a day.

https://daringfireball.net/

Re: What I learned in ten years of blogging

#147

Post by baby »

0xferruccio wrote: post #139
baby wrote: post #63

I find this article meh. I've been blogging for something like 15 years so here's my take: * If you've been wanting to blog, stop pissing around, open a blog on wordpress.com and start writing. That's my first advice to anyone. Don't waste time on the technicalities, just write. You can move your blog to another platform later. * Be regular. This is hard. I fail this rule most of the time. But a successful blog is a…

Agree on everything you said, except for two points, which imo are a personal choice. Look at waitbutwhy.com and julian.com they don't write about stuff they find on google trends and don't post regularly, yet they're among the best blogs out there

Yeah, that was more of a "how to get popular" or "what to write on". If you're already in a good niche, write about your niche. If you're already popular, write about whatever you want.

Re: What I learned in ten years of blogging

#148

Post by baby »

hnauz wrote: post #115
baby wrote: post #63

I find this article meh. I've been blogging for something like 15 years so here's my take: * If you've been wanting to blog, stop pissing around, open a blog on wordpress.com and start writing. That's my first advice to anyone. Don't waste time on the technicalities, just write. You can move your blog to another platform later. * Be regular. This is hard. I fail this rule most of the time. But a successful blog is a…

>If you've been wanting to blog, stop pissing around, open a blog on wordpress.com and start writing. That's my first advice to anyone. Don't waste time on the technicalities, just write. You can move your blog to another platform later. Terrible advice. If your blog proves popular, it'll be impossible for you to move away without losing your position in search engines. Lock-in.

You are not going to get popular overnight.

Re: What I learned in ten years of blogging

#149

Post by baby »

hnauz wrote: post #118
gitgud wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's reasonable advice, it's one of the easiest platforms to get started on and to migrate off. Also Wordpress.com allows you to add a domain, meaning that if you change your blog platform, you have the same urls, and the same search engine links... Not locked in at all...

Their pricing is insane, if you want a custom theme or to install a plugin (which is something you will need) you're looking at 25€ per month and you have to pay year by year (300€ upfront). Starting with a cheap shared hosting is a no-brainer.

The point is not to focus on a theme. Just get a wordpress and focus on the content. Then write.

The point is to write.

Re: What I learned in ten years of blogging

#150

Post by znpy »

hnauz wrote: post #118
gitgud wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's reasonable advice, it's one of the easiest platforms to get started on and to migrate off. Also Wordpress.com allows you to add a domain, meaning that if you change your blog platform, you have the same urls, and the same search engine links... Not locked in at all...

Their pricing is insane, if you want a custom theme or to install a plugin (which is something you will need) you're looking at 25€ per month and you have to pay year by year (300€ upfront). Starting with a cheap shared hosting is a no-brainer.

If you are successful enough to need a custom domain, you can certainly afford it.
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