This is an excerpt from “Chapter 3: Writing & Creating a conversation”, that I’m using as an example for the book on writing your first post…
So your first post. The “Hello world, here I am. Time to listen up” statement.
Uh huh.
Right.
Chances are your first post will suck. Oh yeah, pretty much guaranteed, you’re going to look at it in month or so and die a little inside. You’ll want to delete it. Expunge this dreck from the world.
Don’t.
Your first post is something of a birthday statement. It’s what you’re going to look back on and smile after your blog has been around for a year or so. But, yeah, it will still suck and really that’s okay. Just get the first post out there and done with. No, you don’t have to write some great expressive post about what your blog is about, just a “Hi, yeah this is the first post, I’m going to talk about [insert topic], hope you enjoy it…” is great. Don’t worry or stress about post number one. Because when you’ve like me and have passed post 2,001, it would seem like a big deal at all.
As you’re writing remember that these posts are practice. You might hesitate to post them. You might want to read and edit them over and over again. You might think that they aren’t good enough. Well, they are good enough and you should post them. Sure, check for spelling and grammatical errors, but don’t go and edit the post over and over. Don’t try to work and rework your post for just the right turn of phrase. It isn’t worth it. I’ve before and I’m going to repeat it again, ready? Listen. No, seriously, this is important.
Your first post will suck, and that’s okay because all our first posts sucked.
I think my first post, which I wish I could share, but I lost it in a blog move, was something like this:
Here’s a cool thing I found today. I think this collaboration tool is cool. [Link]
Riveting piece of writing isn’t it? A post full of passion and depth, inspiring you to think in a whole new way about collaboration tools. Yeah, not so much. This is why you just keep writing. It gets easier and eventually you find a voice to write in that expresses who you are. Experiment with short posts, long posts, lists, reviews, a brain dump of links, etc.
Your first post will suck, and that’s okay because all our first posts sucked.
Your first post is the birthday of your blog. Any honest parent will tell you that newborns aren’t all that cute when they are born either. I was there for the birth of both my kids, so I know. I loved them both from the moment they came into the world, but cute didn’t come until they were cleaned up a tad. Your blog is the same. At the beginning, writing and posting might seem like a struggle, especially if you’re not used to writing on a regular basis, but it does get easier; I promise. When I talk about sources of inspiration, you’ll see that I don’t just pull ideas out of thin air. Nor do I think my writing needs no improvement. I appreciate the feedback I get on my posts, and especially this book, because often a gentle critical look can help bring out the great writer that you are.
Before you get worried or excited about the content of your blog posts, always remember that blogging isn’t rocket science. There aren’t rules that you must follow to make a “good blog post.” When my friends and colleagues ask me “is this an okay post?” I generally say it’s fine. Sure I might help them fix up a link or move a picture around, but generally that’s it. Why? Because it’s their story not mine. Yes, if it’s a post trying to make a point or something like that I’ll read and offer suggestions for clarity, but that isn’t often.
