When I first started blogging thirteen years ago, I was a little daunted by the prospect of writing articles, posting them, and then watching whether the reaction was positive or negative. To me, it was a scary new world.
To my great fortune (and amazement), readers have been kind, supportive, and their feedback has been most generous. To my readers, I offer my sincere thanks. You’re the best!
As much as I wore the moniker “blogger” proudly, the more I got into it, the more I discovered that a blogger does so much more than just writing.
I don’t think that situation is unique to blogging. When I think back to my years in the public sector, my work titles were somewhat generic and all-encompassing, but they covered a long list of sub-tasks and responsibilities that required many diverse skills.
For a blogger, naturally, writing is the primary skill set needed for the creation of stories and articles.
Also, creating and innovating come to mind, given the never-ending search for fresh ideas and then the ability to turn them into interesting, informative, or entertaining stories.
Once we have our first draft completed, editing is the next skill we use to review and make corrections to spelling, punctuation, grammar, flow, and structure. With that editor hat on, we then ask ourselves whether our introduction is effective, whether we stuck our landing, and how the article will be received.
Sometimes I feel the need to step back and see if the articles I produce stay true to my voice and what my readers are expecting. To me, this is the role of the director. I give myself permission to colour outside the lines from time to time, but there is a definite vision and core values I wish to uphold in my storytelling. For that reason, the director in me needs to check that I am not straying from that vision and, if I am, adjust the next articles to bring things back on course.
With any good blog hosting package, the blogger receives a package of statistics. That is when I put on my data analyst hat to see if I can draw any conclusions about what articles worked better, the ones that underperformed, and why. Is it because of algorithms? Is it because of the time of day, day of the week, frequency, consistency?
Whether designing a website or relying on a third-party service, the blogger needs to have an idea of the look and feel of the website that is most compatible with the type of stories they will be telling. That is when we need to play the role of designer.
Once we post a blog article, it should get picked up by search engines, but social media is an asset to help get the word out. As social media strategists, we figure out where and when to post articles to bring as many readers to our work as possible, given the hard work we put into every article.
If you are a blogger, please pat yourself on the back. Behind that title, there is an impressive array of skills you exercise regularly, as you put your best foot forward and project your voice into the universe.
Bravo, and keep up the good work!
Did you enjoy this post? If you did, your likes and shares are most appreciated. If you haven’t already, please check out the rest of my blog at andrebegin.blog.
Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André
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