Since it’s getting close to Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be appropriate to ’show some love’ for new and prospective bloggers out there by gathering some information that might be useful to them. To that end, over the last few weeks I’ve asked several established bloggers to answer a few questions about their experiences as new bloggers, how they developed as authors, and what advice they might have for those just starting or thinking about starting. Several bloggers graciously answered my questions and allowed me to post their answers, seven in total. They are Kabitzin from Sea Slug Team, Scamp from TheCartDriver, Ghostlightning of We Remember Love, NovaJinx from Jinx.fi, RabbitPoets from his self-titled blog, Eternal from Memories of Eternity, and THAT’s own Crusader. From their responses I have gathered a great deal of information and opinions, some of it in agreement and some of it reflecting the different approaches and attitudes of each writer. But from all of it I hope that this post will provide some inspiration, tips, and encouragement for anyone who is looking to get into the anime blogging community.
Foreward
As someone who is still fairly new at blogging, having started in July, I’ve sometimes thought about how other bloggers got started. When I look at the community I see some figures that have been around for quite a while and it almost seems inconceivable that in the past they started out just like I did, thinking up ideas for their first entry, struggling with technical issues, unaware of much of the wider online anime community, and step by step learning more about each. But everyone in the community did start at some point. They dealt with the same issues that face new and prospective bloggers now: ‘what style of writing should I use?’ ‘Should I start my own site or write for a team?’ ‘Episodic coverage or editorials?’ ‘How many entries per week should I aim for?’ There are so many things to think about and the prospect can be intimidating. But blogging is also very, very rewarding. You can have a lot more fun with the anime you watch, delve deeper into its details, meet fellow anime fans from around the world, and maybe even make a name for yourself as those whom I asked to participate in this project have. There are haters out there who just like to beat down anyone not up to their ’standards’, but truly the community is about creativity, fresh ideas, love for anime, and camaraderie among fans. It is my hope that this post shares some of that community love and encourages the next generation of bloggers.
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Carefully cultivate your terrible/amazing puns….or don’t.
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Kabitzin – Sea Slug Team Blog.
-Why did you start blogging? I like to talk about anime, and blogging lets me reach a much wider audience.
-What influenced the development of your own blogging style? I enjoy joking around, so this translates into my blogging style, and I keep my posts focused because I want to be able to talk about a lot of series without devoting hours and hours to each post.
-Do you have a personal philosophy, motto, or focus for your blogging? Write something that you yourself would enjoy reading. I actually read my old posts from time to time, and occasionally they’re funnier than I remember them being.
-What would you say is the most important skill for a new blogger to develop? Pace yourself, and learn to be consistent. It’s better to learn gradually and ramp up slowly than to burst onto the scene and flame out in 2 months.
What’s the one thing a new blogger should avoid? Avoid listening to old bloggers who complain about new bloggers. In almost every case those guys are wrong and on their way out of the blogging and/or anime scene anyway. You work that new blog and let those haters talk about the “good ole days.”
-If you could give one sentence of advice to a new blogger, what would it be? Don’t be intimidated about what others are doing. Specifically, never feel afraid to post about a series just because you think everyone else is posting about that series. That would be like speaking in Latin merely because everyone else is speaking in English. Ok, now you are all elite and cool, but who are you going to chat with?
-Char warned us about the ‘mistakes caused by youth.’ What was your biggest newbie mistake? I didn’t follow that previous piece of advice when I first started. I didn’t want to talk about popular series for fear I wouldn’t have anything new to add. Now I know to hop on that bandwagon and cater to the huge demand.
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Scamp from The Cart Driver.
-Why did you start blogging? I’m not really sure anymore. My IRL friends were most certainly not the type to watch anime and I had no way else to discuss my newfound addiction. I came across a few anime blogs and thought ‘hey, this looks cool’ and joined a team blog. So I guess the reason I started blogging was to discuss my anime addiction with someone, or at least get my thoughts out there. Not that my original reason for blogging really matters to me anymore.
-What influenced the development of your own blogging style? Reading other anime blogs. Doing my rounds on Animenano (and the Animeblogger Antenna back when it actually had all the aniblogs on it) I gradually learned both what I liked to read and what bored me silly. I stole certain aspects of my favourite bloggers and incorporated them into my posts, such as Jason Miao’s tangential points in episodics which made the post far more entertaining. Actually I’ve copied Jason Miao an awful lot. I’m surprised nobody has noticed it yet.
-Do you have a personal philosophy, motto, or focus for your blogging? Encourage a response from the reader. This doesn’t necessarily mean a comment, although that would be the ideal response. Make them think, challenge their views and come up with their own opinions. Actually I have a few mottos. One of the most important one that many other bloggers seem to forget is that you’re not writing just for other anime bloggers. Remember the random lurkers and turn them into regular commenters. Basically, make those lurkers respond, which rounds off this answer rather nicely.
-What would you say is the most important skill for a new blogger to develop? Experience I guess. That sounds awfully silly because that’s the one thing you can’t possibly have when you start but I’m talking more about reading other anime blogs and, more importantly, watch more of the bloody thing you’re talking about. Arm yourself with the knowledge of your medium and you’re posts will automatically improve. Seriously, don’t ever slow to a crawl watching anime and still be blogging. Unless you’re properly enthusiastic about your medium then nobody will want to read you.
What’s the one thing a new blogger should avoid? Grammar? No really, nobody wants to read a half-arsed post. Just because you’re out of the education system and out of work doesn’t mean you can erase legibility. When I visit a new blogger and I see sentence structure all over the place I instantly click that x button. Stop writing for your own amusement. Write for other people’s amusement.
-If you could give one sentence of advice to a new blogger, what would it be? Watch more bloody anime!
-Char warned us about the ‘mistakes caused by youth.’ What was your biggest newbie mistake? I got trolled by Dattebayo. I honestly thought they had dropped Naruto and, in what was probably the third post I ever did, talked about it. I got a stream of comments saying YHBT. I felt really really silly that day. Arm yourself with knowledge kids and you won’t make these mistakes!
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Always remember your love for what you watch.
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Ghostlightning – We Remember Love/Power to the Dream.
-Why did you start blogging? I started blogging because I have a strong desire to talk about anime and manga with others; to promote Macross and build a shrine for it with my own hands, and I found the structure of forums and image boards too limiting to what I felt I could do in terms of post formats and templates.
-What influenced the development of your own blogging style? The Animanachronism at first; Iknight is still my hero. Over time however, I’ve been profoundly influenced by the design thinking of otou-san of Shameful Otaku Secret; and then by the intellectual playfulness of animekritik who runs Kritik der Animationskraft. These two know how to have fun in a post. My fanboying approach is all my own I think (albeit profoundly enabled by one post: It Takes a Fanboy).
-Do you have a personal philosophy, motto, or focus for your blogging? “Remember Love.” It’s an aesthetic I appreciate in shows and manga: a kind of fanservice built on referencing and intertextuality. In practical terms, I don’t review, period. My posts are for fun speculation and discussion, and not for evaluation or appraisal of the quality of the subjects.
-What would you say is the most important skill for a new blogger to develop? I think the most important skill is pacing oneself. New bloggers are filled with a lot of energy that can (and will) evaporate especially in the face of less-than-stellar feedback (views, comments, etc.). Give every post everything you’ve got, but if you must write every day — don’t try to publish every day. Learn to schedule posts at a sustainable pace.
What’s the one thing a new blogger should avoid? New bloggers should try to avoid thinking that if they post something, it automatically means something to someone. Don’t forget that readers read blogs for mostly entertainment. Always try to add value.
-If you could give one sentence of advice to a new blogger, what would it be? Keep it fun for yourself. If you’re not enjoying yourself, you reduce the chances of your readers enjoying.
-Char warned us about the ‘mistakes caused by youth.’ What was your biggest newbie mistake? My biggest mistake would probably be trying to publish every day. I kind of burned myself out — though it only showed in the quality of the posts (rushed and/or lazy ideas and writing).
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RabbitPoets – RabbitPoets.com
-Why did you start blogging? I started blogging because I wanted to talk about anime, but didn’t have IRL friends who were into it. Forums were ok, but I felt they were too impersonal. It’s tough to make connections. But with blogging, people have “faces” and you can connect on a more lasting and personal level.
-What influenced the development of your own blogging style? Experimentation. I tried to keep the first anime blogs that I’d started reading in mind as a template, but once I got to actually writing, it was all trial and error. It takes time… and a lot of posts. Even though my basic format hasn’t changed much since I started, I feel like it took me a good 9 or 10 months until I felt like I really figured out my “voice” and had a good handle on writing each post the way I wanted to.
-Do you have a personal philosophy, motto, or focus for your blogging? I wish I had a snappy tagline, but basically, writing has to be entertaining. If the process is fun, the product will be good. If I’m not enjoying what I’m writing or what I’m writing about, then obviously no one else is going to enjoy reading it.
-What would you say is the most important skill for a new blogger to develop? You do need to be passionate, not just about anime, but writing about anime, because blogging does take a lot of time. But beyond that, I’d say that it’s important to learn to write well and with personality. The personality comes on its own, but at the very least, you don’t want to sound like an illiterate 3rd grader. I know it might sound like overkill, but reading a book about writing never hurt for blogging – or life for that matter.
What’s the one thing a new blogger should avoid? Don’t worry about web traffic. I know it can be a little demoralizing when you spend a couple hours writing an opus and then you find that only 12 people have read it and the one comment you have is actually from a Russian dude selling V1@gr@, but that happens. You never know what’ll strike a chord with people. I still get that wrong all the time. But if you can consistently write good stuff, people will definitely find you.
-If you could give one sentence of advice to a new blogger, what would it be? Isn’t it amazing that there’s a bunch of people all over the world that like the same things you do? So have fun with it!
-Char warned us about the ‘mistakes caused by youth.’ What was your biggest newbie mistake? My biggest noob mistake was probably thinking Kurokami was a show worth writing about for as long as I did. So much of my life wasted on that piece of crap! Every once in a while I go back and lower my rating for it just out of spite.
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Thankfully the interviewees didn’t charge me for it…but I still had to sing the group song.
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NovaJinx – Jinx.fi
-Why did you start blogging? Setting up a blog had been on my mind for various reasons in early 2007 but it was my first encounter with anime blogs that encouraged me to go for it. In the beginning I didn’t set out to blog solely about anime though – at first it was more like a diary about various happenings with anime thrown in here and there. I also wanted to somehow improve my English writing for an exchange term in the United States.
-What influenced the development of your own blogging style? Although it was bj0rN’s anime blog that I first stumbled upon, I was mainly inspired by RIUVA’s tj_han and THAT’s Lupus-sol. I loved their rants and snarky style. I might also mention tsubasa from Otakunvirka, the Author from Ani-Nouto and Maddox as some other notable sources of inspiration.
-Do you have a personal philosophy, motto, or focus for your blogging? I suppose it would be to only write out of inspiration and never try to force oneself. Aside from that I keep my options open, I can do both episodic posts and big walls of text depending on the inspiration. The way I see it, the most important thing is to find whatever gives you the kicks. Everything else is secondary.
-What would you say is the most important skill for a new blogger to develop? That’s a tough one. For us non-native English bloggers language skills are essential but time and experience should take care of that. I think being able to enjoy of what you do and socializing with other bloggers are very important.
-What’s the one thing a new blogger should avoid? Being a hermit. I think it’s extremely important to get to know your colleagues and the ’sphere at least a bit. It can help a whole lot with maintaining motivation and getting inspiration for good posts. I know the veteran bloggers can seem nasty and many behave like jerks until you get to know them, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. There are nice people around too.
-If you could give one sentence of advice to a new blogger, what would it be? Always enjoy of what you do and ask around if you need help.
-Char warned us about the ‘mistakes caused by youth.’ What was your biggest newbie mistake? Hmm…I’ve made so many that it’s hard to choose. I’d say writing argumentatively about something I didn’t actually know much about.
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Eternal – Memories of Eternity/The Moestrom.
-Why did you start blogging? I wanted to learn more about anime. Pretty simple. The decision to start was daunting because I was clumsy with programming and web design (which I still am), and I had never written non-fiction before, but I stuck with it because it seemed like the right thing to do. Watching anime is great, but I started to feel like I was missing out on something by alternating between watching new shows and chatting about them with my friends at school. In retrospect, that feeling was right.
-What influenced the development of your own blogging style? At first, almost all of my influences came from other bloggers. Aside from a few specific writers who influenced me all the way, I started out by latching on to a few beginner-level bloggers who wrote casual episodic impressions and merchandise posts. As I gained more experience, I expanded my reading list, and I eventually inherited my interest in editorial blogging from some of the bigger writers in the sphere. However, even after I decided on a focus (which took a few months), it still took a while for me to find my own strengths and limitations. The development of my style after that came from introspection: figuring out what I can do, what I can’t do, and how to make what I do better.
-Do you have a personal philosophy, motto, or focus for your blogging? It depends on how you look at it. From my perspective, my philosophy is to write without fear of making mistakes. Some of my posts might be terrible, but as long as I genuinely think it’s good when I hit the publish button, there’s nothing to regret. In a broader sense, the focus of my blogging is to fulfill my original goal of learning more about anime. This means exploring genres and perspectives of viewing that I had never considered and that I might not feel comfortable with. It’s extremely important to keep the “anime” in “anime blogging.”
-What would you say is the most important skill for a new blogger to develop? The ability to assess your own strengths and weaknesses. When you’re blogging about anime, you can use anything and everything to your advantage: life experience, work, academia, or good old media consumption. It’s important to keep an open mind and use your skills to your advantage. After all, some people can’t write; some people aren’t funny; some people have no eye for technical detail. However, chances are there’s something you can do and it’s important to be able to locate and focus on that strength.
What’s the one thing a new blogger should avoid? I know it’s hard to avoid this one, but self-conscious posting (excuses for breaking your schedule, personal introspection on your experience in the community) doesn’t do much for anyone. Pointless meta doesn’t help either: you should think twice before telling us what makes you drop anime and what you like/dislike about the different types of anime blogs, because we’ve probably already thought about that. Of course, I’ve done both of those things, so mistakes are forgivable.
-If you could give one sentence of advice to a new blogger, what would it be? Blogging will occupy your time to watch anime and eat away at your mental energy, but if you don’t come into it half-heartedly, you’ll gain more than you lose.
-Char warned us about the ‘mistakes caused by youth.’ What was your biggest newbie mistake? I should have spent more time lurking before making my own blog. It’s no big deal, but you’ll make a stronger impression on people if you know what you’re talking about right off the bat. For me, my blog will always be older than people think it is because it took me several months to get off the ground, and there are a lot of embarrassing posts in my archive that fit Char’s quote to a T.
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Be enthusiastic!
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Crusader – THAT Anime Blog.
-Why did you start blogging? I got pulled out of school for garrison duty at the time, and I was low ranking to the point where I had free time after work since I couldn’t do much more than grunt work. Impz put out for auditions and I did it on a whim. It was just something to do in between work days and working on my other hobbies.
-What influenced the development of your own blogging style? I try to be like Mystery Science Theater 3000, though I am no where near as funny, as time goes on my profession has started to color my out look when it comes to anime so I am rather unforgiving when it comes to male characters in general.
-Do you have a personal philosophy, motto, or focus for your blogging? I try to be funny with wildly varying degrees of success though I take the view of do what ever suits you. To each his/her own should be the rule instead of dogged insistence on one way or another, since we all come from different walks of life and will have differing view points on most matters. It’s like the Battle of Guadalajara, we can all see the same event but walk away with different conclusions, however there are times when one is more correct than the others even if all have merit.
-What would you say is the most important skill for a new blogger to develop? Tenacity, is what every one needs to have when it comes to everything. Your first couple posts won’t win you any awards and it’s important to realize that a rocky start is the usual and not the exception.
What’s the one thing a new blogger should avoid? Starting with high expectations and then failing to meet those loft goals is a recipe for a quick burnout. Finding a style that suits you is what is important and you should play to your strengths. Editorials aren’t qualitatively superior and if you go down the route of editorial standards and set yourself up to be a sort journalist you better be ready to back it up. Otherwise if you stick to opinions it’s easier and you aren’t going to fool yourself into thinking you are more than what you are. Also being in college doesn’t make you smart, nothing inflates an ego like an ignorant mind armed with a little knowledge. Knowledge is power but it needs to be tempered by experience.
-If you could give one sentence of advice to a new blogger, what would it be? Do what you feel is right.
-Char warned us about the ‘mistakes caused by youth.’ What was your biggest newbie mistake? Letting my hatred for typical shounen heroes cloud my judgment when they fail to meet my high standards of male behavior. I am a repeat offender and because of my insistence that most males are loser harem animu males are worth less than the piano wire required to strangle them I cannot see what little good they possess. It is a mistake of youth to be sure, but on this matter I refuse to grow up or act my age. Also I hate Zekes and the mistakes of youth line is probably in reference to Char’s mom who should have aborted the bastard.
43 Comments
One of the best blog posts ever. Nice job.
Uh…I think part of Eternal’s fourth response is missing.
RabbitPoet’s advice to new bloggers is, I think, great. There’s no point in doing something voluntarily like this if it’s not fun for you.
@ Skyhack
Thank you very much. The contributions by all the people interviewed really did the work for me, heh.
@ Melfloraine
Just noticed and corrected it a few minutes ago, stupid copy/paste errors leaving things out. RabbitPoet’s point really does get to the core of blogging, doesn’t it?
Nice post. Some of the advice here is not just helpful for anime blogging but for blogging in general as well.
Some of the links in the post (to the other blogs) are messed up though (forgot to put “http://” in the address).
Thanks. Fixed the links a few days ago, thanks for pointing out the problem. One more tip for new bloggers: don’t proofread entries while severely sleep deprived, lol.
Why did you start blogging? Because I felt like it.
What influenced the development of your own blogging style? (Maddox + the blogging style I’d developed back in high school) / 2.
Do you have a personal philosophy, motto, or focus for your blogging? Yes.
What would you say is the most important skill for a new blogger to develop? Thick skin.
What’s the one thing a new blogger should avoid? The plague. Also known as the Black Death. Just because everyone else is catching it doesn’t mean you should too.
If you could give one sentence of advice to a new blogger, what would it be? Stay hungry, stay foolish.
Char warned us about the ‘mistakes caused by youth.’ What was your biggest newbie mistake? Being unfamiliar with the technology. I should’ve taken the time and effort to familiarize myself with RSS, CSS, valid HTML, and all that other good stuff from the start.
I had actually wanted to contact you for your input but couldn’t find an email or other contact info on your site. Thanks for adding your views after the fact.
Interesting to see this kind of post. Kind of gives a behind-the-scenes look at the community.
Great post mang. It was interesting to have a chance to peek a bit behind the curtains of my colleagues. And I’m sure beginners will find this useful and encouraging – as Crusader said, a rocky start is anything but unusual. Though I suppose much of it depends on how much you care about comments and readership.
As a blogger, I was born and raised in the English scene and didn’t know or care about my countrymen (with the exception of tsubasa) until a year ago when I ended up on a certain IRC channel. Before that I had had absolutely no contact with the Finnish anime fandom in any way. It was very interesting how different approach Finns had to anime blogging. Episodic and dynamic blogging (Kurogane-style) were frowned upon as nonsense and whoring to just get more readership. In fact just caring about how big your readership is, how it’s developing and the quantity and quality of comments seems to be some sort of taboo – if people do it, they sure stay quiet about it. You can see this materialize in the posts Finns like to write – very long, often argumentative and analytical. It’s also probably due to this that the Finnish bloggers are pretty much group hermits – they don’t seem to care about the international scene at all. Some Finns even have a somewhat negative attitude towards the English ’sphere, viewing it as a bunch of circlewankers doing anything that it takes to milk the audience for views and comments.
So if my first contact had been with my local colleagues, I think Jinx! would be a whole lotta different and I probably wouldn’t be answering questions here like this. Kind of interesting when I think back to it now.
Anyway, newcomers, the ’sphere needs you. Don’t be discouraged if you have a rough start. Like I wrote some years ago, “you can’t be RIUVA with five posts in”. We’re all here because we’ve been pushing on through thick and thin. Don’t be intimidated by the old timers – before you know it, you notice being one of them. Just ask me.
Interesting differences between the English language and Finnish scenes that you mentioned. I can see why you might like the English language one better though, the Finnish one sounds kind of dull or maybe overly serious. Not to say that everyone in it is that way, but that’s the impression I got from your comment.
Great post! lots of nice info on how everyone got started and wonderful advice too, I am fairly new to blogging so its nice to see there are helpful people willing to share.
Thank you. The community always seemed kind of intimidating to me as a lurker, but once I actually got to interacting with people I found that pretty much everyone is really friendly and open to new bloggers.
I know it can be a little demoralizing when you spend a couple hours writing an opus and then you find that only 12 people have read it and the one comment you have is actually from a Russian dude selling V1@gr@, but that happens.
^^THIS! Then there’s those posts that only have two comments, one saying ‘lol, nice post’ and the other pointing out that I’ve mixed up Clamp and Shaft yet again. In fact, it took me a year before I started to get any sort of consistent comments on my posts
RP really did put it well, hehe. Having realistic expectations and the fortitude to carry on seem to be recurring themes in the responses.
Fantastic post – its nice to read how people got started. As a new blogger myself I definately appreciate the advice the established bloggers give here, thanks for putting this together!
I’m glad you found it useful
I’m hoping that it will reach a good bit of new bloggers, as well as provide some interesting experiences for other established ones as well.
>>Also I hate Zekes and the mistakes of youth line is probably in reference to Char’s mom who should have aborted the bastard.
Crusader, you are still the best. o7
Hehe, he’s the reason I started reading anime blogs in the first place after I found my way by chance to THAT through a google image search.
Yay!!! Seitokai gets some love in this post… Good insights in how some bloggers choose their own style, although I had no idea that Crusader-gunsou’s approach was MST3K…
Seitokai was such fun, and while it seemed a bit underrated in blogs it is getting plenty of love in the International SaeMoe League this year. Seeing everyone’s responses was really interesting to me as well, since I never really directly addressed the question in conversations before. Glad you enjoyed it
Nice post! This should come in handy to the new bloggers lurking out there, especially since THAT is pretty well known outside of the people who frequent the sphere.
By the way, not to nitpick, but don’t you mean “foreword” instead of “forward”?
Hopefully it will, thanks again for participating. And please go ahead an nitpick, I proofread/edited the post on far too little sleep and am always happy to catch and correct any mistakes.
Fuck. Every time I decide to put blogging onto an old and dusted bookshelf I’ll never look again into, somebody comes with a post like this and inspires the hell out of me to become better.
Keep going! And if I ever write up a round two, might you be interested in contributing your views?
Really good advice here. Too bad this post wasn’t around when I started blogging in 2006. But even now, it’s still helpful =)
Thought I’d offer my advice if that’s okay…
1. Why did you start blogging?
I’ve been working on my main anime fan site for several years and I wanted to try something different. I noticed the rising popularity of anime blogs in the mid-2000s and thought I’d give it a try. Blogging also seemed less time consuming than updates on my main site. Didn’t know I would get hooked on blogging as much as I am now.
2. What influenced the development of your own blogging style?
In the beginning, not much. John (AnimeNation) has always been influential. Recently I’ve taken influence from 2DT and digitalboy.
3. Do you have a personal philosophy, motto, or focus for your blogging?
I guess my philosophy is just to write about what I want, whether it’s anime news items, essays, reviews, commentary on links, etc,. I don’t have a particular focus other than getting my thoughts out there.
4. What would you say is the most important skill for a new blogger to develop?
An individual voice/style together with good spelling/grammar. Even if you’re not good at writing, if your individuality is there and you take the time to proofread, your dedication will shine through anyway.
5. What’s the one thing a new blogger should avoid?
Posting the same news or other posts as many others just for hits. Some of these posts are fine (I’ve done it before) but I think it’s important that every now and then at least, you write posts that are unique to your blog.
6. If you could give one sentence of advice to a new blogger, what would it be?
Along the lines of a quote I once read, “Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self (of course, it’s great to write for yourself AND have a public)”
7. Char warned us about the ‘mistakes caused by youth.’ What was your biggest newbie mistake?
Looking back on my writing style 3+ years ago, a lot of my old posts were sort of fangirly and disorganized. Not sure if this was really a mistake so much as my age/education level at the time.
Thanks for your input too! As mentioned above, if I ever make a round two, mind if I use your response?
Sure, you can use it. I’d be flattered =D
On the subject of trolls or malicious commenters, DELETE. Don’t feed them, humor them or think you can beat them at their game. Even if you can, people will see the nastiness which you may not want them to know you or your blog for.
Also, this is a quick way to get tired and pissed off. As many people have advised, keep it fun for yourself.
No comments > malicious comments.
TRUTH. Playful trolling is one thing, but truly malicious people should go drink their haterade elsewhere.
This is a great post and really encouraging (Yes! I did so many things right!)
It took me more than one year to get any real comment and significant hits.I have been through that long hard way already but after reading this post, I know I still have a lot to learn.
Thanks, glad you liked it! While I set out to make something for newer bloggers, it seems that a good amount of more established writers are finding it useful too. All the better
Nice informational post, it has some nice tips! It helped me out since I’m still fairly new to blogging ^ ^.
Glad you liked it and found it useful!
A lot of common sense advice, but I know from experience that it is pretty easy to ignore common sense when you’re excited about something and trying to do everything at once, haha. Patience, pacing and sticking to one’s guns is, I think, the most pertinent advice. All a blogger can really contribute is his or her point of view — we’re all different; we all have something unique to offer. The best thing a blogger can do to improve is to take what he or she likes from various styles of writing and presentation and temper it with personal style. And above all, be confident in one’s ideas and writing. You gotta have some daring to put yourself out there like this, right?
That said, Kabitzin’s point about knowing what the reader wants is spot on, too. You don’t want to be a total sell out, but at the same time, you don’t want to be a totally self-indulgent shithead either. (I barely started a few months ago and already cringe at my more self-indulgent posts!)
Very true about the common sense stuff, in blogging and in other endeavors where enthusiasm is a big part of it.
This is awesome. I’m so showing this to the blogger I’m supposed to be ‘training’ (before he disappeared) and in the future, I’ll be dumping this on every blogger who asks for advice.
But come on now. You know I’m not going to let myself be excluded from this party. I’ve been around for almost 3 years, I’d say I’ve got some helpful experience!
Why did you start blogging? Attention, probably. I’ve always been a huge attention seeker. I was actually running a freewebs site before this where I wrote reviews but there was no way to get feedback or hit counters or anything, so I never knew if anyone had read it. When I got back into anime in early 07, I was hanging out in the Megatokyo forums, and several of the members had wordpress blogs. I figured I’d give that a try, and ended up sticking with it ever since.
What influenced the development of your own blogging style? Many things. I was used to writing reviews, so in the beginning I was mostly sticking to either episode reviews or series reviews, but I really didn’t know what the hell I was doing in the end, and I didn’t get much feedback. It was only when Ghostlightning showed up on the scene in late 2008 along with lolikitsune that I really had my attention called to other anime blogs and I started to learn all sorts of things about what anime blogging could be. I’ve had all sorts of influences, and all of it gets run through the ‘digital boy engine’ of sorts.
Do you have a personal philosophy, motto, or focus for your blogging? PASSION, HONESTY, AND LOVE would be a good one. I put an incredible force of passion into my blogging, try to be completely honest and revealing with my emotions, and tr to express my love, and to love what I do as well. Blogging shouldn’t ever be work, it should always be art. Something that you put your soul into and really use effort, but because you want to, because there’s an emotional payoff.
What would you say is the most important skill for a new blogger to develop? Humility. The worst attitude that you can take is a defensive one, and you need to really follow the advice of other bloggers. Thinking that you know what you are doing and that no one can help you will just turn people away. If someone tries to help you, it is because they are interested, and because they really want to see you become something great. Don’t miss that opportunity.
What’s the one thing a new blogger should avoid? Negativity. If there’s one thing the anime blogosphere does not need, it is negativity. If someone is being a troll or an asshole, don’t try to be like them. The trolls will never care about you, and you won’t be ale to establish friendships with other bloggers, really get into the hobby, and find something to effect you on a higher level. Anime Blogging should not be a bore, and being negative is the fast track to becoming jaded. What’s more, don’t post about things out of a sense of obligations. If you don’t like the popular shows, don’t force yourself to post on them, because it will only make you spiteful.
If you could give one sentence of advice to a new blogger, what would it be? Be yourself, have fun, and keep good company.
Char warned us about the ‘mistakes caused by youth.’ What was your biggest newbie mistake? Oh dear God, where do I start? I didn’t read anyone else’s blog, I rejected help, I wrote like shit, I didn’t spell-check, I assumed people cared about my opinion, I wrote like a raging 16 year old, I pretty much have made every single blogging mistake you could possibly make. That’s why I want to save people from doing what I did – don’t take 3 years to become a respectable blogger like I did – be good from teh start, and everything will come much more easily.
Glad you liked it, and thanks for your input too! Mind if it gets used if I ever make a part 2?
Interesting post. These are good tips for new bloggers. ^ ^
Thanks, it’s good to know that it’s being found useful!
Thanks for the great post ExecutiveOtaku! You’ve inspired me to finally start blogging about anime. I’ve tried blogging before, but it never stuck since I didn’t have a topic like anime that I’m passionate enough to write about.
This time around I’m doing the opposite of what I usually do and blogging before designing my layout. I’ve always gotten stuck on the design since I’ve always been more logical than creative so that always takes me forever to put a theme together. I’ll eventually have a kawaii theme up featuring Ooossu’s mascot, Hiiragi Kagami.
Great post.! Thank so much for this. I really find this post helpful for new bloggers like me (I’ve started mine March last year).
pacing oneself
When I first started blogging and until now, I still have this thinking that I should post everyday. After reading this, I’ve realized that they are right. It really puts a lot of pressure on me. And even if I have that kind of thinking, I can’t blog regularly saying this and that.. ^^”
Thanks again! I’ve learned a lot from this.. ^_^
I would consider myself a very old blogger :p jkjk xD even though I’m not that new, I found this SO helpful! I really enjoyed reading about other bloggers experiences, it’s so inspiring too, so whenever I start going all emo and losing hope on my blog, I’ll come back and read this ^_^ I love all the tips/advices that are given, I’ll definitely keep them in mind~ Thanks for the great post
Wow thanks for the good advice. As I am a new blogger, I feel like I should really take it to heart.
I feel slightly reinvigorated now.
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