50 Lessons I Learned After 50 Months Of Blogging

My friendtor Anthony Moore published a piece exactly like this a few days ago. I commented saying that I loved it, then he responded saying he wondered what I would say in a similar piece.

I decided to take him up on that offer.

In January of 2014 I started my first REAL blog for a class project. That was 50 months ago.

I say all the time I’ve blogged only for the last two years, and that’s largely true. It’s just, I hardly ever considered that class project my REAL starting point.

Nonetheless, I guess I’ve officially been blogging for 50 months so far.

It’s funny — I got a C- on my blog from back then.. which led to a two-year hiatus from blogging. Which leads to my first point..

You always suck at the beginning. Always.
Responding to every comment is never a waste of time.
Leaving 5 comments a day on Medium is one of the best marketing strategies you can use as a beginning blogger.
If someone emails you a question, that’s a tell-tale sign you have a serious future in blogging.
Blogging is the most humbling thing you will ever do. People will light you up if your logic isn’t sound.
PLOT TWIST: You can be better than these people if you legitimately try to see their point of view and change.
Blogging is by far the easiest/best way to become a better person. You’re constantly having your views attacked/challenged, while others keep their thoughts to themselves. Congratulations, you’re going to grow 1,000% faster than everybody else.
Headlines are 90% of the battle.
If your post doesn’t present anything new, you shouldn’t even write it.Like, your points should be brand new. If you’ve seen them before in another article, that’s BAD.
I come up with all my post ideas directly before I write them.
My best-performing blog posts were written in less than 45 minutes.
Post sucks? Don’t delete it. Save it and come back to it a month later.
If you’re pissed about something, fire up your laptop and write immediately.
If you’re pissed about writer’s block, go eat a snickers. Then eat another one. Then come back. You’re welcome.
Use Coschedule’s Headline Analyzer.
But don’t get too angry if you score a 54. Re-work the headline for 5 minutes then just publish it.
Your tribe will read everything you write, not your friends or family (weirdly enough).
Scared to post something where you’re being raw? People don’t care as much as you think they do. There is no spotlight surrounding you every moment of every day. I say this to inspire you to publish!
During your first six months, it’s best to post every single day. Nobody does this, which means nobody’s getting the practice you’ll be getting.
BLOGGING IS ABOUT HEART. You should care about the stats, but don’t let them overwhelm what your soul wants to express.
Start building your email list NOW. If you haven’t started yet, stop writing everything and get that set up immediately. It’s THAT important.
Be patient. It’s taken me two years to get 40,000 page views per month.
Once you start finding success, your growth becomes exponential. I’ve gotten 1,000 email subscribers in the last month alone.
Every email subscriber you have equals about $1 per month.
If you have a blogging question, Google it. I’ve learned everything I know from Google.
A 300-word article crammed with useful advice is MUCH more valuable than a 2,000 word piece with regurgitated fluff.
You won’t want to write every day, but neither does anybody else. If you can find a way to get over this, it’s a foregone conclusion that you’ll see success.
Writing with zero expectations is a surefire way to enjoy blogging.
Just because your article got 5 views doesn’t mean it sucks. Your headline probably just sucked.
Don’t throw away 700 great words by spending 10 seconds writing a headline.
There are a billion reasons people shouldn’t read your article. Get to your points, and get to them quickly.
Writing isn’t always fun. Read that again for me.
Everybody has time to write every day. Don’t give excuses.
Grammar doesn’t matter that much.
Neither do big words. This isn’t a college paper. I write with the vocabulary of a 5th grader.
Some of the best writers I know do not speak English as a first-language.
Your content MUST be native. A tweet should look different than a LinkedIn status. A Medium post should look different than a WordPress post. Your words will mean nothing if they don’t look natural to the platform.
For the love of Pete, use stock images.
Do not use weird images you found on Google. Use Pexels and Unsplash for everything. I repeat: EVERYTHING.
Like, literally, all you have to do is read the best writers on Medium for an hour and you’ll understand how to make your post look beautiful.
Other people will be mean to you in the comments. To disarm them, reciprocate with love. It’s never not worked for me.
Writing and blogging are two totally different things.
Medium is STILL the best place to grow an audience, period.
For the first year, I did everything on my own. Then I started reaching out to other bloggers to meet them/network. This has made the biggest impact on my success EASILY.
Building an audience requires one set of skills. Monetizing that audience requires a totally different set of skills.
Some of the best writers I know never got into blogging for the money. You shouldn’t either. Get into this because you love to write.
Content writing is a long game. You’re constantly telling your story over a period of months/years. With each new post, your audience discovers one more piece of your puzzle. That’s why blogging is so powerful.
Haters normally hate on everybody. Just look at their profile and see some of the recent responses they’ve written.
Always make your writing about helping other people. This isn’t just about telling your story/a way for you to vent when you’re pissed off. Ground your content in giving more than you take, and you’ll be so much closer to success.
The best posts happen when you’re deeply, deeply upset. Use writing to help yourself feel better, then publish it to help other people feel better who are going through the same thing.

Thank you again Anthony for giving me this idea. Everybody, go read his post!

Want to get started writing online? I actually have a free 5-day email course called “Your First 1,000 Medium Followers” that will teach you how to build an audience here on Medium! Sign up for it right here. I’d love to teach you a couple things.

I decided to take him up on that offer.

You always suck at the beginning. Always.

Responding to every comment is never a waste of time.

Leaving 5 comments a day on Medium is one of the best marketing strategies you can use as a beginning blogger.

If someone emails you a question, that’s a tell-tale sign you have a serious future in blogging.

Blogging is the most humbling thing you will ever do. People will light you up if your logic isn’t sound.

PLOT TWIST: You can be better than these people if you legitimately try to see their point of view and change.

Blogging is by far the easiest/best way to become a better person. You’re constantly having your views attacked/challenged, while others keep their thoughts to themselves. Congratulations, you’re going to grow 1,000% faster than everybody else.

Headlines are 90% of the battle.

If your post doesn’t present anything new, you shouldn’t even write it.Like, your points should be brand new. If you’ve seen them before in another article, that’s BAD.

I come up with all my post ideas directly before I write them.

My best-performing blog posts were written in less than 45 minutes.

Post sucks? Don’t delete it. Save it and come back to it a month later.

If you’re pissed about something, fire up your laptop and write immediately.

If you’re pissed about writer’s block, go eat a snickers. Then eat another one. Then come back. You’re welcome.

Use Coschedule’s Headline Analyzer.

But don’t get too angry if you score a 54. Re-work the headline for 5 minutes then just publish it.

Your tribe will read everything you write, not your friends or family (weirdly enough).

Scared to post something where you’re being raw? People don’t care as much as you think they do. There is no spotlight surrounding you every moment of every day. I say this to inspire you to publish!

During your first six months, it’s best to post every single day. Nobody does this, which means nobody’s getting the practice you’ll be getting.

BLOGGING IS ABOUT HEART. You should care about the stats, but don’t let them overwhelm what your soul wants to express.

Start building your email list NOW. If you haven’t started yet, stop writing everything and get that set up immediately. It’s THAT important.

Be patient. It’s taken me two years to get 40,000 page views per month.

Once you start finding success, your growth becomes exponential. I’ve gotten 1,000 email subscribers in the last month alone.

Every email subscriber you have equals about $1 per month.

If you have a blogging question, Google it. I’ve learned everything I know from Google.

A 300-word article crammed with useful advice is MUCH more valuable than a 2,000 word piece with regurgitated fluff.

You won’t want to write every day, but neither does anybody else. If you can find a way to get over this, it’s a foregone conclusion that you’ll see success.

Writing with zero expectations is a surefire way to enjoy blogging.

Just because your article got 5 views doesn’t mean it sucks. Your headline probably just sucked.

Don’t throw away 700 great words by spending 10 seconds writing a headline.

There are a billion reasons people shouldn’t read your article. Get to your points, and get to them quickly.

Writing isn’t always fun. Read that again for me.

Everybody has time to write every day. Don’t give excuses.

Grammar doesn’t matter that much.

Neither do big words. This isn’t a college paper. I write with the vocabulary of a 5th grader.

Some of the best writers I know do not speak English as a first-language.

Your content MUST be native. A tweet should look different than a LinkedIn status. A Medium post should look different than a WordPress post. Your words will mean nothing if they don’t look natural to the platform.

For the love of Pete, use stock images.

Do not use weird images you found on Google. Use Pexels and Unsplash for everything. I repeat: EVERYTHING.

Like, literally, all you have to do is read the best writers on Medium for an hour and you’ll understand how to make your post look beautiful.

Other people will be mean to you in the comments. To disarm them, reciprocate with love. It’s never not worked for me.

Writing and blogging are two totally different things.

Medium is STILL the best place to grow an audience, period.

For the first year, I did everything on my own. Then I started reaching out to other bloggers to meet them/network. This has made the biggest impact on my success EASILY.

Building an audience requires one set of skills. Monetizing that audience requires a totally different set of skills.

Some of the best writers I know never got into blogging for the money. You shouldn’t either. Get into this because you love to write.

Content writing is a long game. You’re constantly telling your story over a period of months/years. With each new post, your audience discovers one more piece of your puzzle. That’s why blogging is so powerful.

Haters normally hate on everybody. Just look at their profile and see some of the recent responses they’ve written.

Always make your writing about helping other people. This isn’t just about telling your story/a way for you to vent when you’re pissed off. Ground your content in giving more than you take, and you’ll be so much closer to success.

The best posts happen when you’re deeply, deeply upset. Use writing to help yourself feel better, then publish it to help other people feel better who are going through the same thing.

Get my free 5-day Medium course!