by May Monten

Created on: June 01, 2010   Last Updated: June 18, 2010

You really do become a better blogger with practice.  Blogging has a lot of feedback built in.  You can look at your stats, and see how people found your blog and how long they stayed around.  (I recommend getting the free program "StatCounter," and looking in the "Visitor Paths" section for some very helpful feedback on which posts your visitors are most interested in).  You also get feedback from comments that people leave, and you may get email, sometimes, as well.  All this feedback speeds up the learning process, so that if you blog for a while, you should notice that you are making tangible progress, which can be very exciting.

There are several skills involved in blogging, and as you continue to blog, you will probably notice that you are getting better in all of them.  Major skills include technical, writing, and social aspects of blogging.

* Getting better at the technical side of blogging *

You become more skilled technically by solving problems as they arise.  You can find the answers to many technical questions by searching via Google.  If you're especially interested in this aspect of blogging, you might want to do some background reading.  Often going beyond the internet and looking at print books can be an efficient way to acquire new knowledge.

* Getting better at writing *

If you're new to blogging, you may find that you need to learn to write in a style that's different from what you're used to.  Although there are many exceptions, as a rule, blog posts tend to be short, punchy, and have a tone that is both casual and authoritative. The more you write in this style, the easier it becomes, and the more you'll be able to show off your personality and your writing flair.  Be sure to read plenty of other people's blogs which are written in a style you enjoy.  Don't try to consciously imitate them.  Just absorb their bloggy goodness in your pores, and before you know it, by some mysterious process, your writing will get distinctly better and start to flow out of your fingertips.

* Getting better at the social aspects of blogging *

You can learn, by trial and error, which topics will often attract comments, and which usually won't. You will also learn, by experience, how to deal with the trolls and other nasties that roam the internet.  Hopefully, you won't get too many of them, but if you deal with them in a consistent way, you can greatly minimize any problems they might cause.  Finally, you can become better at promoting your work on social networks by learning more about the networks themselves.  They are not all the same.  Study the social networking sites individually, and you will get better at promoting your blog while maintaining a good reputation.

You will become a better blogger the longer you stick with blogging, as long as you remain attentive to the various kinds of feedback that you receive.  Consider the feedback, whether positive or negative, to be a gift, one that will help you become a better writer and blogger at at an accelerated pace.

Learn more about this author, May Monten.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.