This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
A Life About Anything, Everything, Nothing At All 
It is a little over 5 years since I first began thinking about writing; which,, then was to be a little “coffee table” book, entitled “Too Soon Old, LTD (long time dead), of musings and snippets about what I have learned as I have traveled along my way.
Today, it seemed to suddenly hit me – For what was I waiting? Time was continuing on; not waiting for me. There has never seemed to be a perfect time to publish my thoughts and writing. It is time for me to venture into new unknowns, to do the things I have always wanted to do. Skip over the unpacked moving boxes of 7 years. Skip over the garden weeds. Skip over the skepticism of who am I to write. After all, if no one reads, no one benefits, no one laughs; it will be okay. I will have done one more thing that I wanted. Hopefully I will leave this world with just one little thought that makes it a better place.
Disclaimer: Don’t expect some writing marvel. Don’t read this if you are afraid that you might identify. Don’t try to correct me or fix me – I am flawed, I am human. Keep your disagreements to yourself, or write for yourself. There is no particular order; after all this blog is about Anything, Everything, and Nothing at all.
So I leap with the ramblings, meandering thoughts of a normal everyday person capable of making absolutely perfect sense, and, absolutely no sense at all.
My best to all who journey; may yours be only as yours can be.
Annie Moss (no stone unturned)
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