This week I’m celebrating the sixth-month mark of ninabadzin.com by sharing “what I thought” about blogging at first vs. “what I know now.”
#1. WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT THE BLOG’S NAME: I needed a cute or catchy one.
What I know now: You don’t. My first name was “A Mom in the Middle.” For writers, I advise using your real name or your pen name. So while the name “Nina Badzin’s Blog” does not smack of creativity, it describes the blog. ME.
#2. WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT AUDIENCE: Family and friends would read my blog.
What I know now: They mostly don’t, not even my husband who gets a mention in nearly every post. But I’m 100% okay with that. In my first few weeks of blogging, I desperately sent links to my family and friends, begging them to “like” posts on Facebook and all the other nonsense that makes people curse you. I’m extremely grateful to any of my friends and family members who read the blog, but I do not expect it at all. The majority of my traffic come from other bloggers, Twitter friends, writers and even Google. Also, something for newbies to consider: I think I got decent traffic rather quickly because I was on Twitter for about nine months before I started a blog. In fact, my first post ever was about cheating on Twitter with WordPress.
#3. WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT TIME MANAGEMENT: The blog would suck up every minute of writing time.
What I know now: It doesn’t. But only because I’m careful about how often I blog. I post only once a week, which allows me to spend the rest of the week on fiction and keeps the “New Post” tweets and retweets to a minimum. Also, since I’m not asking other bloggers/readers to read several posts a week from me/retweet me, I don’t feel as obligated to read every single post other bloggers write. Don’t get me wrong, I read as many as I can, but like anyone, I can only take in so much and still pay attention to the rest of my life. I tend to read my favorite bloggers once a week and only their most recent posts.
#4. WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT RESPONDING TO COMMENTS: Readers will return to my blog to see my response.
What I know now: Most do not. I figured this out when I started reading more blogs and leaving comments. I rarely go back to see the author’s response, which would eat up too much time. Furthermore, I don’t subscribe to comments on other blogs because you end up getting inundated with emails. So I was left to figure out how to make sure the people who commented on my blog would know I was reading and appreciating their thoughts.
My blogging friend, Jana, taught me to respond via email rather than directly on the blog. As long as you cc the commenter (address is always right there on the email) AND your blog moderator address (hit” reply” in your email program), the response appears simultaneously on your blog and in the commenter’s inbox. It’s the perfect solution and takes no more time than responding on the actual blog platform.
One more note about comments: As a reader, I’ve learned that not EVERY comment needs a response. If I read someone’s post about a fantastic book and I comment, “I loved that book too,” I do NOT expect a return comment to that simple note of agreement. I think there are cases when a response is simply unnecessary, and I’m more irked than anything else when I get an emailed response to the comment that says, “Wasn’t it great?” As in tweeting, sometimes you need to leave well enough alone. I try to exercise this subtle etiquette when responding to comments on my blog. I’d say I respond to 90% of comments, but of course I’m not one of those bloggers who has 200 comments per post so I can still do this. Bottom line: every post and every response takes a reader’s time. Make sure you’re not wasting anyone’s time (including yours).
#5. WHAT KIND OF BLOGGER I THOUGHT I’D BE: One who wants tons of badges, does giveaways, seeks ads, is starved for stats, etc.
What I know now: I’m not. As in my non-virtual life, I like to keep my blog simple and straightforward. I don’t want badges all over my blog, therefore when someone gives me a blog award, while I appreciate it, I’m not going to display it anywhere or participate in giving them to others. I’ve never done a link-up and I still don’t know what a meme is. I understand the desire to earn some money from blogging, but I’m not willing to write a “filler” post about xyz just because xyz sponsored it. I guess in some ways I’m still very much a beginner in the blogging scene. Hopefully I’ll have more tips and better ones in November when I hit the first anniversary.
Thanks to my wonderful readers old and new who make blogging such a blast! If you have tips and thoughts to share please add them below. Nina 
Nina (@NinaBadzin)
Latest posts by Nina (@NinaBadzin) (see all)
- The Post Listen to Your Mother Post - May 14, 2013
- When a Friendship Needs a Break - May 6, 2013
- iPhone Diet: Success and Setbacks - April 29, 2013
Welcome! I am a freelance writer living in Minneapolis with my husband and four children. My essays on parenting, social media etiquette, improving my habits, Jewish life and more appear in the Huffington Post, Kveller.com, The Jewish Daily Forward and elsewhere. I'm glad you found your way here!
[...] Blogging Tips: What I Know Now (ninabadzin.com) [...]
Reading this inspired me to create one myself!
but the thing is I am always mixed up and lost whenever the chance for writing comes. I think I would be needing tips from you…
[...] working with editors; I wrote guest posts for some popular blogs; I joined Twitter; then later started this blog (which people seem to read). I also joined Backspace (a writing community), and I attended a [...]
I’m gobsmacked – you have pointed out almost EXACTLY what my own blogging experience has been so far! The only difference between us is that I do like to link up with other blogs and the occasional meme from time to time. I find by doing that I get the chance to expand my readership (and on the very odd occasion gain a new subscriber!) but it helps when the old creative juices are running a bit dry.
I’m with you on the badges thing; if I’m distracted by them on other people’s blogs then the same goes for those who read mine, so I leave them off.
Congratulations on reaching freshly pressed too. That’s a great achievement…and no, you don’t get a badge for it!
Hi! So glad you found me.
The post wasn’t on Freshly Pressed though. It was on a different site . . . I’d LOVE to be on Freshly Pressed though! 
It is too hard to put badges on the blog. I did have a couple of them, but I lost them when I changed themes.
Hi there! Your blog looks great . . . I thought about using the Chateau for a while. It’s a nice one. Anyway, you could easily put the badges on with the image widget, but I think all the blogs look so much less cluttered without them.
Nina, thank you so much for this entertaining and very timely post which ticked all the boxes of thought I am currently having about my blog. BTW, no obligation to reply to comment!
I needed to read this as I have been blogging for a few months, mostly about a recent road trip. Now I am changing my focus to Life as a retiree, getting healthy etc. so It is like starting over.+
thanks for the tips
No problem and hope they help! Good luck!
G’day Nina
And I found your blog through?…….Twitter! There you go!
I agree with your overall advice on this blogging thing. Originally, I devoured books on blogging, agonized over how many link badges and widgets to have, and ended up trying to juggle 3 blogs at once! Ridiculous…
Now, I have just one blog on a discreet range of topics, and I also post once a week, if I’m feeling sharp; my 94-year old Dad occasionally reads a post; and my connections develop through trying to develop & join in meaningful conversations. I’ve been thinking about it a bit lately, and I wonder if ‘good’ blogging isn’t just having pen-pals over the ethernet.
All the best
Richard
I really enjoyed reading and learning from this post. You should be FRESHLY PRESSED!
Oh, I would LOVE that!
You seem to be enjoying quite a following Nina, so your tips must be working. I too thought that my friends and family would be my primary readers, but discovered that they are not, except for a few loyal ones. There are some friends whom I don’t even want to read my blog – such as work friends. I can share my writing with strangers just fine but sometimes it is more than I want to share with work friends and acquaintances. After all, our writing is a glimpse into our souls. Most of my followers are fellow bloggers and I’ve grown quite fond of them all, and appreciate their loyalty. Congratulations on your blogging success.
Yes, blogging friends are a real thing . . . it’s a concept only other bloggers understand!
Great information and very timely (I was referred to your Post through my new subscription to Daily Post from WordPress, which I am finding very helpful). I am a new Blogger and have a lot to learn. The replying to comments via email is a great tool – I’ll need to learn how to do that. I am mentioning your article in my Post today. I’m finding that reading comments from others is also a great resource for additional info and will recommend to my readers to do the same. Thank you!
[...] Read the entire post at Blogging Tips: What I Know Now – Nina Badzin’s Blog. [...]
Well said, I agree with most of what you are saying. I started blogging about 10 months ago and am also learning the ropes. It is true that a blog can take up a lot of your time. So I am re-evaluating why I started the blog and why I am doing it. I love writing and am sure next year this time my blog might look much different and might be in a total different direction.
[...] I had a staggering piece of information introduced to me via Nina Badzin’s post “Blogging Tips: What I Know Now” (referenced on The Daily Post). [...]
How do you respond via email (and simultaneously sending the reply to the blog post)?
I tried it but doesn’t work since the email address used by wordpress is the do not reply email.
Is it necessary that the comments are automatically approved? Thanks
Here’s what I did in gmail.
1. I read your comment 2. pushed reply 3. added YOUR email address to the CC box. 4. pressed send
THAT’S IT!
Thanks for these great tips. I’ve been blogging on and off for a good few years now, but I’m only now just trying to do it a bit more seriously and have a goal with it. Many a year ago I was one of those bloggers who’d want to have various badges and what nots. Thankfully, I’ve changed a bit!
My friends hardly ever read my blog. A few do, which is always nice. But they were never my main target, just a happy coincidence if they did come along.
I had a question – how do you find other bloggers? I’ve got a couple of friends who I know have blogs and with whom I share interests with. So in between us we visit each others blogs, but how do you find new blogs/bloggers?
I find other bloggers via Twitter. That’s the only way that really works (that I know of). Fast and effective. You have to regularly visit other blogs then and comment there regularly. (Sounds like you know about that part though!)
I was going to try that email thing you suggested out, but then i realised im not a computer savy as i thought i once was, I’ve been looking for tips for my first “proper” blog and how to do it. I came into it all guns blazing thinking id have like a million readers and post 72 times a day, The actuality is i post when i have something to post about and if i have readers or not, Its becoming less important to me (don’t get me wrong i want readers just its not as important as me sharing my thoughts now).
[keep it coming haha]
This post has helped me loads in figuring out if im doing everything right or not.
So thank you very much for that. I look forward to any more advice you have to impart with in the near future
:Wayne
Reading this made me laugh- yesterday I changed my blog title from my name to a title! I thought maybe I needed something defining or catchy. However, I’m not going to change it back just yet. Your blog also put me so much more at ease. I took a gamble and posted something on my blog that is extremely important to me; I really needed some support from my limited group of Facebook people and have been waiting for comments to trickle in. And of course, there’s been none(big sigh). Knowing that this is completely typical doesn’t make it hurt so much, ha! I have already begun to turn away from focusing on Facebook support and am delving more into learning about blogging and becoming better, more knowledgeable, while building my contacts from people I’ve yet to meet, so finding your words came at a perfect time. Long-winded thanks, but, thanks!
Now for Twitter.
Hi! Well, if you don’t mind my two cents . . . “Of Words and Writing” could be the title of a million different blogs whereas your name is far more original.
I am a new blogger and I appreciate your insight. Thanks for sharing.
Of blogging – I’m more confident now that many are thinking alike. Thank you fro the nicely put thoughts.
Hello Nina,
I hope to have your writing skills some day. I just started blogging 6 months ago, although not new to internet marketing, it helps the learning curve some. I’ve never consider myself a writer, and being honest I would have poor sentence structure , mispellings , run on sentences haha. Just writing never been my strong point. Reason why I say this is, people will improve in blogging and their writing. I know a lot of people who are afraid to write because they don’t wanna make grammatical error’s. I’ve always been one to say , just get started it’s okay to show mistakes. Show’s that you are human.
Sorry, Off to a rant. Just wanted to say nice blog and very clean. I’m currently testing monetizing and not really sure I like the ads. Just have to work on placements that won’t annoy readers.
Shane
how long have you guys been blogging?and how long does it take 2 get the hang of this?
When I wrote the post, I’d been blogging for six months. I felt I had the hang then, though there’s always more to learn. In November it’ll be a year.
*sigh of relief*
I’m new…and was a little upset yesterday at the tremendous response of 2 views to a new post that I thought my family and close friends would absolutely read and respond to. LOL.
Thank you for your insight and tips…it really made me feel better about continuing with my blog beyond my first month.
I’ve been blogging for two years and one thing I’ve learned is that there is always something new to learn. An incredibly useful post.
I found you via The Daily Post.
Thanks for these insights! I’m still pretty new at this…
I’d love to get into Twitter, although I’m not really clear on what it is (yes I’m one of those), but I’m living in China for now and Twitter isn’t very popular with the ruling sensorship and of course my VPN just decided to quit on me!
Any, thanks!
Thanks a lot, Nina, for your write up. Seriously, I am still at the I thought I’d be stage!
[...] this issue? I recently had a significant increase in traffic on a post I wrote in May 2010 called “Blogging Tips: What I Know Now,” and most of the new comments focused on that specific tip—”Don’t expect your [...]
Great post, right before I read this post I changed my blog name to my actual name. So I’m glad to hear I was on the right track. I had to stop and leave a comment because this post was so very helpful for me, thanks so much!
So glad the post helped. One more tip: always leave your URL when a blog allows it so people can visit your blog.
[...] Blogging Tips: What I Know Now (Written after six months of blogging) LD_AddCustomAttr("AdOpt", "1"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Origin", "other"); LD_AddCustomAttr("LangId", "1"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Autotag", "books"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Autotag", "technology"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Autotag", "entertainment"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "blogging"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "social-media"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "blogging"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "blogging-tips"); LD_AddSlot("wpcom_below_post"); LD_GetBids(); SHARE THIS:FacebookTwitterStumbleUponEmailPrint Filed Under: Blogging, Social Media Tagged With: Blogging, Blogging Tips « Finally, His Name [...]
I have to agree with your insights in this post, most especially the one discussing about the blog name or title. I think before you step on the realms of blogging, you have to be true to yourself and be aware of your agenda. You have to ask yourself questions like:
1. What niche or topic would I be most comfortable writing about?
2. What could be a unique trait I have as a writer or blogger?
3. How would I like to be known by people?
Well, those are just SOME of the questions you may ask. Thinking before blogging makes it easier for you to lay out your priorities in case you really want to do blogging on the next level.
Thank you very much for sharing this Nina. I am a newbie blogger/writer myself and I have to say that I’ve learned a lot from you. Keep it up! And I hope I can become a successful writer, like you, someday.
Your points are great too! You don’t need a complete plan before blogging, but it’s good to have some idea of how your blog will be different from others while also fitting into the already established field out there. Thanks for checking mine out!
Stop by my blog: http://ninabadzin.com Follow me on Twitter: @NinaBadzin
This is great – I’m trying to figure out how all in I want to go with writing and the effort I’m willing to extend to GET THE STUFF READ. I go all in with the writing, but I am a social media moron, and was just considering whether or not it’s possible to become a successful (read: hired by Bill Maher) writer the old-fashioned way without all the media-savvy. I wonder.
You’re off to a good start by having a blog. They say (whoever they is) that it’s expected to have an online presence now.
Looking back, this post has really helped me a lot Nina. Yes, going over the process of establishing my new (and hopefully stable) blog is a bit of a headache-trigger but everything’s worth it. And by now, I was also able to come up with what I really want to do as a blogger.
Many thanks Nina. You’re so great!
Hi Nina. I just read your comment when you visited Ms Bumble. I agree a comment is worth loads of likes. So here is my loads of likes…..oops…..comment
. Ralph
[...] this issue? I recently had a significant increase in traffic on a post I wrote in May 2010 called “Blogging Tips: What I Know Now,” and most of the new comments focused on that specific tip—”Don’t expect your [...]
[...] Blogging Tips: What I Know Now [...]
Number #4 is genius! Not only did I not know this, but I suspect most bloggers don’t know this. Although the quote button within the WordPress system is great and helps to foster community and engagement, it doesn’t apply to non-Wordpress readers.
And like you, I’m always pleasantly surprised when a real-life friend actually reads something I wrote. It’s actually quite rare. You have a great collection of tips Nina, both on blogging and on twitter. (Initially found you through GoJulesGo by the way, who’s a genius.) Honestly, didn’t realize the too much thanking was due to thanking ETIQUETTE, not actual gratitude. Still pretty sure there can’t be too much of that, thanks again for the link.
Oh crumb! Is it possible for to edit out my name? I have a family and don’t typically give out my last name for safety reasons. Rookie mistakes….
Nina,
. Reading your tips really helped me realize it doesn’t have to be overwhelming, which was a concern of mine. I too want to keep it simple! Feel free to pass along any additional tips as you figure them out!
Thank you so much for all these tips. I have had a desire to blog for so long, I finally just got the courage
Thanks again!
Tonya