Happy Birthday Organize IT! How I Did 2 Years Of Blogging, What’s In Store For The Future And My Favorite Posts

August 25th 2008

Updates

This week Organize IT will be two years old! This is a great achievement for me because most of my hobbies and interests usually succumb to a loss of enthusiasm after just a few months. Two years is probably a record for me and I’m still going strong. In this post I’m going to cover a few suggestions I’ve picked up for how you can have a blog that lasts for two (and hopefully more) years, my own favorite posts from the last year and what the next twelve months will have to offer. Thanks for the support!

Write about what interests you
It’s the simplest rule. If there isn’t the enthusiasm there, you simply won’t have the motivation to keep doing it. Last year I tried running two other blogs without much success because ultimately I just couldn’t be bothered writing for them. A good place to start is by doing a blog about one of your favorite hobbies or even your niche at work. One of the best things about regularly blogging is that you will learn new ideas and develop your own thoughts. Perhaps, businesses should encourage their staff to blog about their work and help improve their knowledge?
Have a schedule that suits you
For a newbie blogger it’s quite easy to fall into the trap of thinking that more posts automatically equals more visitors and then force themselves into inconvenient, difficult posting schedules. As I discovered for myself, it’s not the quantity but the quality. I used to stretch myself, my writing and my ideas over five posts a week. Now I only do three but it gives me the time to really expand and develop posts. The result hasn’t been a drop in visitors; quite the opposite.
Network, network, network
You can’t blog effectively in a bubble. Get in touch with other bloggers in your niche, leave comments, share links, use social network sites. If nobody is reading what you write, what’s the point? When somebody leaves a comment saying how they enjoyed reading your blog, or somebody submits your post to Digg and it sends thousands of visitors your way, that’s a great boost.

The best posts
I’ve shied away from doing too many links back to old posts because I already do a recap at the end of each month. However I think it’s appropriate with the second birthday to do something. To make it a little different I’m going to list my own, favorite top five posts from the last year (not an easy task). Do you agree with my choice? Why not leave your own choices in the comments!

The future?
My first ebook, Clutter 101, has gone down really well and I have a couple of ideas for my next ebook. I am also going to update my collection of templates as they have been neglected recently. Every so often I like to collect thoughts from all you readers so that I know I’m going in the right direction with Organize IT. Do you like the new design? Are you enjoying the quality of the writing? What would you like to see more or less of? Any other suggestions? Leave a comment below!