My Blog’s One-Year Anniversary: A Retrospective & Lessons Learned

My blog is a year old. Yea! At this important milestone, it seems appropriate to take a moment and look back over this past year. I’ve learned quite a bit, have enjoyed it immensely, and am looking forward to implementing my plans for the future.

I’ll give a quick background, a development timeline, highlights, negatives, and other thoughts.

Background

My blog is about the changes affecting the field of technical communication. I’m a long-time technical writer (20+ years) and have received four industry awards. The reason I started the blog is because of this. About 3.5 years ago, I had an accident that made it unable for me to work for a while. Prior to said accident, I had completed a project at work where I designed a doc database, created the xml/xsl framework, designed the docs, and wrote the docs using content management strategies. I was working on different modes of delivery other than traditional methods, and was beginning to work on analyzing docs for output over mobile devices. Then, poof! I had to stop for a while.

My interest in new methods and amazement with all the demographic and technology changes never wavered in all this time, however. Hence, my blog. The name 2moroDocs came from those thoughts – I wanted to capture the future, so used a common texting abbreviation for tomorrow. The blog is all about new methods and considerations.

Progression

For those thinking of starting a blog, here is how mine evolved, in case it helps somehow.

Initial blog

I started a personal one at Blogger.com. If you want to start somewhere, that’s a great place. It’s free, and takes a few minutes to get up and running. Go for it!

Move to WordPress

Then I started setting one up at WordPress.com. Another great no-cost option. This is also a good way to get started with the WordPress interface and start learning its setup.

Move to my own Domain and WordPress

I decided that I really needed to have my own domain and to fully learn WordPress. I found a good host, purchased my domains (.com, .net.) , and started working with one of the many free WordPress themes. (You can find these on WordPress.org > Extend > Themes.) There are some wonderful themes out there. I’ve since moved my blog and company site (Tailored Thoughts) to premium themes. That’s one more evolution.

About WordPress

I can’t recommend WordPress enough. Every tech writer, I think, should know something about it. It’s open-source and has an incredible community where everyone helps and contributes. The infrastructure, UI, and basic file setup is the same, so anyone that knows WordPress should be able to jump into any other WP site and basically know how to get around in it.

What You Need to Know

- CSS

You’ll definitely need to make changes to the theme’s CSS file.

- Programming

Code is in PHP, but if you have any familiarity with code or work in the code much, you should be able to figure out what’s going on. At the same time, you don’t necessarily need to know a lot of programming. There are widgets you can move around. However, I’ve always been one to work under the hood in the code, so I think it’s good to get in there and see how it works.

- Graphics

You’ll likely want or need to change some of the graphics in your theme. Knowing how to change them in PhotoShop or a similar program is important. Also, you’ll likely want to create new ones to add. I’m able to make all the changes I need to graphics using my home version of PhotoShop; you don’t need the full app.

Other Helpful Skills

One advantage of being around IT for many years is you pick up many skills along the way. These helped me.

- Familiarity with Websites and HTML-Based Docs

For years, I’ve worked with websites in one form or another. Whether it was straight Internet or intranet websites or html docs, I’ve been in there designing and coding pages.  This goes all the way back to the ‘90s for me. Two of my awards from 1998 were related to this. One was for a reference guide for botanists that I put online as a website, which wasn’t really done at that time; another was for a site in which I used Javascript to hide and display info as the user needed.

Internet sites have their own attributes as well. Many of these are built right into the WordPress framework, so you don’t have to think about it. The more you’ve worked with preparing sites for the Internet, and for docs, the more familiar the code and options will be in WordPress.

- Familiarity with Programming

Let’s face it. The more programming you know, the better. That’s true for any tech writing situation. You’re able to see what functions are being called and how to read through them to figure out what’s happening. Some things happen in the code, and others in the CSS file. It’s helpful to know where to look. Might take a little back-and-forth. Knowledge of <div> tags, start and end tags for multiple functions and divs, and general page code framework is all helpful.

- Extras

An important note about WordPress is that you’ll have to make security changes to some of the files. There are also upgrades that you’ll need to install regularly (and I mean regularly). Regular site and database backups are very important. So it’s something you need to pay attention to. Don’t think that once you have it set, you can walk away. Maintenance is a definite consideration; plan for it.

There’s much more that could be said about WordPress, but there’s plenty of info out on the web about it. All I can say is that I can’t imagine using anything else for a website or blog. I sure won’t be designing a website from scratch anymore! There are plug-ins and so much more for WordPress, it just doesn’t make sense to use anything else.

Highlights

1. Without a doubt, my most exciting highlight was when my post about writing procedures in Twitter was included as a Holy Kaw item on Alltop and mentioned in tweets on Guy Kawasaki’s Twitter feed. That was really neat, as you might imagine. What a day that was! The after-effect of that has been very interesting. It was picked up on marketing feeds and mentioned on other blogs, and is still out there. Thank you Alltop! What an honor -

2. Inclusion on the Alltop tech writing page and inclusion as a Daily Reviewer Top Technical Writing Blog.

3. Addition of articles to the EServer Technical Communication Library

The keepers of this incredible database somehow thought that many of my posts were worthy of inclusion. For this, I am most appreciative and feel quite fortunate. And I’ve said this many times, and would whether my posts were included or not: sign up for their RSS feed and check it as frequently as time permits. You cannot imagine the number of informative posts nor the variety of topics discussed. (You can find my topics by searching on 2morodocs and Julie Norris.)

4. Receipt of excellent, thought-provoking comments from readers

If you read any blog, be sure and read the comments on posts as well. Luckily, I am fortunate to have had interesting comments from other tech writers that definitely contributed to the discussions.

5. Meeting people from around the world

I feel like I have new virtual buddies. You get to know people outside your own location, and in my case, from different points on the globe. It’s so cool! I love it. Between this & my Twitter feed, and I imagine my coming Facebook page as well, I assume this will increase. I can’t wait –

6. Reference and inclusion of articles in Twitter and Facebook

A number of people have deemed my content worthy of mention and inclusion in their Twitter feeds and Facebook pages. I am very grateful for that. Thanks!

Negatives

Luckily, I was spared many awful negatives this past year.

Negative Comments

I didn’t have any negative comments on my blog, thankfully. However, it’s not uncommon. So you should plan for it. I did, however, have a very negative tweet about one my posts. I only found this by tracking my article mentions in Twitter. It totally shocked me. Don’t expect everyone to share your values.

If you have a negative comment on a post, I think you have to print/accept it. Otherwise, it would look like you’re censoring. On my blog, comments have to be approved. The reason is because so much spam comes through. I’m just checking for spam, so if you comment and it takes a little time before it displays, that’s why. I usually review comments as soon as I see them come in, though. (BTW – that’s another great reason to use WordPress. There’s an awesome spam-catcher plug-in.)

Negative Tweets

If you have a negative comment or something else on Twitter, sit on it at first. With both the very negative one and another one a while back, the Twitterverse corrected it. I didn’t have to do anything. While there may be times when you do have to act, just be very careful. A hasty response could do more harm than the original tweet. Remember this:

- All tweets last forever, and show up in more places on the web than you can ever imagine. I’m constantly amazed. Search for a feed in Google and you’ll see what I mean. There are multiple analytics sites and apps pulling that in. Even deleted tweets are still out there.

- If you have a blog but not a Twitter feed and think that it wouldn’t affect you, think again. It does. Monitor constantly. Mentions, retweets, all of it on anyone’s feeds. Search for yourself daily. One bad tweet can really harm your brand.

- When deciding whether or how to respond, think about how the recipient might respond. If they have thousands and thousands of followers, could it backfire on you? What exactly are you willing to risk? What if they take it further and make it more viral, and not in a good way for your brand? Think this: who would look worse – you or the other person? Also, are you overreacting? That’s why it’s good to sit on negative tweets, I think. Luckily, like I said, I haven’t had many directed to me. And the Twitterverse did some correcting. So all is good.

Plagiarism

Your posts will be copied, portions reproduced exactly – everything. Assume it will occur. If you don’t want something reused without your consent, don’t post it. (Everything on my site is copyrighted, BTW, so please don’t copy my posts. I appreciate links to the content, as any blogger would.) I have a couple of places I need to contact to request that my content be taken down; just haven’t gotten to it yet.

………………………………

It’s not necessarily a bad thing to have negative comments or to have some of your content reused (and by that I mean word-for-word exact copying of the entire post or a significant portion therof – not single-paragraph excerpts or mentions with links to your site; that’s totally different). It’s a total judgement call on what you want to pursue. Take it case-by-case. However, you do need to be ready to respond to some major negative situation, but hopefully, you’ll be careful to not put yourself in such a situation, right?

Content

The main rule you have to remember is this: you have to post regularly.

Writing Style

- Use numbers to start post titles when you gather info about a topic (e.g., 5 Reasons, 7 Tips, …)

- Write clear titles that also help with search-engine-optimization (SEO)

- Use a more friendly, conversational tone

- Think of SEO requirements for the text, but don’t write specifically for that

I’m not going to discuss SEO in detail here. Read up on it, though. Google has a great file about it on their site.

Article Length
Some posts can be quick and off-the-cuff to meet rule #1 (get something out regularly). Other posts take quite a bit of research and writing, so take much time to prepare. Plan to include both. Most of mine take time; I’ve only had a small few quick ones.

Bloggers are always reviewing all sorts of information from many sources. In some of my posts, I’ll talk about a subject, and include links to related articles. It takes time to review the articles, keep track of them, and list them. It takes time to review and test different apps, or whatever you’re discussing. I’m always grateful for posts on other blogs that have assembled much information and resources in one place. What a timesaver. They have done the legwork for me.

Assume that your blog will take much of your time to maintain. Plan for research time, not just writing.

Take a Chance Sometimes

A few times, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how some posts were received. Some I thought might not get much attention did. So, post something even if you’re not sure how it will be received. Why not? You never know…

Assume There will be Changes

You might want to change your focus a bit. Who knows? You’ll definitely be tweaking content and widgets and other such items. It’s a fast-moving world out there on the Internet and in social media. Be prepared for constant change and update requirements.

Final Thoughts

It’s a business.

Be prepared to treat it as such. If you’re serious about it, don’t consider it a hobby. You’ll find that there are definitely business aspects to consider, so start reading up on those. You’ll also learn as you go.

It’s your personal brand.

Think about how you want to present yourself to the world. Be careful, be mindful, and always put your best foot forward. Once your content is out there, it’s out there forever. It will be referred to, linked to, copied, and who knows what else in ways you never imagined.

It’s a lot of work.

There are many aspects to writing, coding, and managing a blog. Expect it to take up much time.

Have fun!

I have loved working on my blog and Twitter feed this past year. The highlights were wonderful, and I’ve learned so much about blogging, WordPress, and social media. It’s also helped me get back to work. Still can’t work full-time, but I can definitely do so part-time (and do daily) – and more so all the time.

So with my blog and planned updates, related Twitter feed, and coming Facebook page, I’m really looking forward to the future.

Stay tuned; changes are coming. Comment on any post if you’d like – and if you’re looking for consultant assistance with blogging or social media or other tech writing tasks, contact me! Or visit my company site: http://tailoredthoughts.com.

In addition to my faithful blog readers, I’d like to thank some people in particular that helped make this year so interesting and rewarding: Jill Freeman, Julio Vazquez, Larry Kunz, Sarah Maddox, Patty Blount, Ivan Walsh, Alltop.com, and my Twitter followers. And, of course, all my friends and family that have supported me all this time. You guys are the best!

Thanks for this past year everyone!

- Julie