Current Mood: Bit tired, bit busy.

Current Song: None, actually! I’ve had a bit of a rush morning in silence!

This last Monday (on the 20th of February), was my 6 year blog anniversary.  I missed it entirely of course, as is characteristic of me when it comes to online milestones. I thought I would write a quick 6 things that I have learned from my years of blogging. Whether you’re looking to start blogging, or have been, I think these pieces of advice have helped me immensely along my journey.

Write. Just Write.  Write a lot. Write well. Write badly. Write consistently. Just write. I started off my blog to fill a vacuum, but I find that my consistent writing has helped me develop some sort of voice. This has been really good for my professional work. Not everything I write is a hit in my mind – and probably those of others, but it is consistency that leads to expertise (if you want to call it that).

Interact. The point of blogging is to start a conversation. Sometimes those conversations are large, and sometimes small. Sometimes they feel entirely one-sided. Learn to interact with your readers. Pose questions, let them comment, disagree and agree with each other. If for nothing else, you are building a community and engagement is key!

Develop Armour. Not everyone is going to agree with you at all times. When you’re having a dialogue, there are bound to be people with opposing opinions, and sometimes you will get into heated debates. Don’t carry it around with you for your entire life. It’s just opinion. We have all disagreed with someone at some time.

Be Respectful. Especially when you’re arguing! There is nothing worse than starting an online war. Because everthing you say is now accessible online, don’t ruin your own reputation. Many of you, get your clients from online work and you don’t want someone to come across a version of you that isn’t your best self.

Take Breaks. You don’t need to be blogging all the time. I certainly haven’t been. Later last year, I took a month-long break when I considered actually stopping blogging. I was out of inspiration and out of motivation. It’s okay to take a vacation from your blog to recharge your batteries and find some more things to write about.

Talk about What You Know (and What You Don’t). There is a piece of writing advice that says “write what you know”. Most of the time, I follow this advice. Sometimes I ask my very wise audience about things I don’t have any idea about. The point is to be curious about your surroundings, and passionate about learning.

Bonus! Know When To Quit.  Sometimes you run out of things to say, and you’re no longer driven by the blogging realm. Know when to quit. This applies generally to life. Sometimes we stop drawing inspiration from things. Bow out gracefully when this happens. It’s alright. We still like you.

Now that I’ve distilled down my six years into six pithy lessons, I hope you’ll stop reading them, and go forth and blog!

What pieces of advice would you add to my six?