The Construction Of Your Blog

Blog Construction Process

If the idea of sifting the news 20 hours a day for blog material gives you the willies, don’t panic: get a partner.  One of the most popular blog formats (or rather, the format of many popular blogs) is the multi-contributor blog.  I mentioned the Volokh Conspiracy earlier; it’s written by several legal experts who contribute in their areas of expertise to the blog’s main theme.  National Review’s “Corner” follows a similar format: NR’s columnists answer reader mail and contribute quips and opinions, making the page a lively read.  Creating a multi-contributor blog means that you’ll be sharing your Blog Empire with co-regents, and as history illustrates, this has challenges of its own.  But if you share a love of your subject with other experts, you’ll be doing your readers a favor by sharing divergent opinions with them.

A second possibility is to join a site that has multiple blogs on it, drawing traffic that may come to read others and stay to read you.  A number of newspapers like the Lawrence Journal World feature a stable of bloggers on their site and may even feature some of their bloggers in print or on their paper’s front page online.  For the blogger who wants to build an audience quickly, this may be an option.  Be aware, however, that writing under someone else’s banner means you will be giving up significant creative control: it may be a good starting place for you to build a name, but you’ll soon want to strike out on your own.

Well, What Do You Now Know About Blogging?

Now that you know what you can build, let’s take a look at what you want to build.  The first step in that process is looking at who you are, what and who you know, and what you love.  What do you have to offer the millions of potential readers who will join your Blog Empire while they sip their morning coffee?

To find out we’re going to answer the most important question for your future success: where you’re going to build your capitol, the headquarters of your own Blog Empire.  Basically, we’re going to brainstorm and free associate.  There are no right answers, no wrong answers, and nothing is too crazy to write down at this point.  Remember, if you love it, someone else probably loves it, too.

Take out a blank sheet of paper and get a nice, tall drink.  Then answer the following questions as best as you can. Some, like your age, may seem silly or irrelevant.  Some you may simply not have an answer to.  That’s perfectly all right. Just be as thorough as you can.

Question 1: Who are you?   What is your age?  What is your gender? What is your race? Are you religious? Are you a dazzling urbanite, a laid-back rural, or something in between?  Do you think about these issues every day?  Do they matter to you or to your friends? HOW do they matter? What languages do you speak? If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Try that last one again, honestly this time.

Question 2: What do you know?  What and who do you know? Where have you gone to school?  Where do you work and what do you do? In what areas are you an expert?

Who else shares your love, your passion, your expertise? What work, education, or hobby-related areas could you be said to have a reputation?  What do you have a reputation for? 

Question 3: What do you want to know?  When you log onto the internet, where is the first place you go?  What are you looking for? What do you expect to find? How long does it take you to find it? Is everything in one place? How many sites do you visit before you’re satisfied? What do you WANT a reputation for?

Question 4: What are you passionate about?  What makes your blood boil? What makes you jump up and click your heels?  Have you ever written a letter to the editor?

What was the subject? Did you check the paper every day for responses? What politicians or issues do you love enough to walk door-to-door for? Why? If you were king, what would be the first thing you’d do? If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you’d buy?