[I have piles of post-its and notebooks full of post ideas. I 'll research, explore, and interview to make unique content. ]
Everyone should have a journal because daily writing is key for self-discovery. Writing daily is also phenomenally good for your health (read: health benefits of journaling) helping mood, long-term memory retention, and much more. These alone are good reasons to blog and I have another one, it's a journey to self-improvement.
I started a blog for an outlet and because making websites has always been an innate perfect fit. This blog has single-handedly led me to blissful self-employment and daily blogging continues to help me improve as a copywriter and photographer. When I first saw beautiful blog photos I thought, "I want my work to be that good" and seeing amazing work on other blogs and websites continues to fill me with aspirations.
Looking back through over a 1,000 posts from the past five years I saw a lot of filler (I valued getting posts out daily over getting quality posts out) and want to make every post count going forward. I invite you to join and make these solemn vows along with me. I feel like they will help anyone who's using their blog as a way to curate and improve (or as an income source).
Vow 1. I will avoid "filler" posts. Every post I write will have a thesis, a point to convey.
Vow 2. I will read blogs, newspapers, books, magazines because you must read to be a good writer and keep informed to be a good blogger.
Vow 3. I won't publish a post until I am 100% sure it's well-researched, aesthetically pleasing, and "ready".
Vow 4. I won't let it bother me if there are time gaps between posting. Quality trumps quantity.
Vow 5. I will always post exactly what I want to post, unswayed by popular opinion or controversy.
Vow 6. I will plan ahead with my editorial calendar and stick to it.
Vow 7. I will set aside dedicated time to work on my posts (research, photos, writing, etc.) without straying to keep quality high and so I don't spend too much time on it. More work in less time.
Vow 8. I will challenge myself to improve with every single post and photograph.
Vow 9. I will continue to refine and edit to produce a clear blog with crystal clear focus.
Vow 10. I will strive to bring a new prescriptive to every topic, particularly previously visited ones. I will try to produce unique content and images that haven't been seen before.
We're in an era where content is constantly streaming. It's at our fingertips nearly 24/7, each voice clamoring to be the loudest in the crowd. Quality and timelessness will always outshine novelty, let's all work our hardest to produce the best with our photos and words. We should push through to put out fresh perspectives, not follow the crowd.
(PS: My long-worked-on blog archive is live! If you're reading this post via e-mail click through to see it in the top navigation, it makes it easier to read all of my posts of various topics from the past 5 years. Many of the earliest posts had to be removed due to lost photos.)
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