FIVE TIPS TO BE A BETTER BLOGGER
This article originally appeared in IEEE-USA InSight. It is reprinted here with permission from IEEE-USA. Copyright 2019 IEEE.
I regularly have people reach out to me on LinkedIn asking me how to become a blogger or to check out their blog and give them feedback. Because there are only so many hours in the day and I like to be efficient (optional translation: lazy), I’ve decided to write a blog post for future inquiries. So, hello person of the future who asked me about blogging, here are the some of the fundamental guidelines that I wish I had known in the beginning:
- It’s not about you
You may be able to get away with self-involved introspection if you’re already famous or perhaps ridiculously witty. Unfortunately, most of us commoners won’t build a following if we make our column all about ourselves. Stream of consciousness articles about daily life won’t cut it. Or maybe I’ll just speak for myself here and say I know I can’t get away with it. People are, understandably and thankfully, more interested in their own day-to-day affairs than they are in mine.
- Even when it is about you… it’s not about you
Ok, I can hear the pushback already. I definitely talk about my own life in my column, whether it’s my experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer, past lifestyle as a digital nomad, or even dating drama. But the key difference is that I always give key take-away lessons for my readership. Sure, it may start with me, but it ends with you.
- Read… a lot
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