How to be a ruthless blogger

I offer an article based on a rather interesting post from Darren Rose (author of the resource problogger.net) “ How to be a Ruthless Blogger (and Become More Productive and Focussed) ”, which translates roughly - “How to be a ruthless blogger (and become more productive and focused ) ". The text in brackets sounds much nicer, but the author apparently decided to “hook” readers with something unusual and sharp - well, this is also one of the ways to attract attention. The article will be able to meet my comments or thoughts on the topic, indicated by the word " mine ." So, let's go .. Sometimes, in order to grow as an author, and raise your own blog to the next level, you need to be ruthless. Otherwise, you run the risk of being distracted very often, become unproductive, lazy, inconsiderate and (or) completely lose your passion for blogging. I propose 7 spheres (regions) that made me become more ruthless in this difficult task. 1. Declare war on comment spam.
If you allow spam to enter the comments, it can seriously damage the blog. Spam carries a potential threat to your brand ( auth. Means you personally, as a professional, if it is a personal blog ) and can even adversely affect the performance of a site in search engines.
My: Here I agree with the author 100%, comment spam is not only annoying, but can also lead to bad consequences, which Darren mentions. Better in this matter, of course, the quality of comments. But if you want to keep the number, I advise you to simply delete the link to the spammer's website. 2. Set your timeline
At the heart of every good blog is the regularity of updating it. Sometimes it's very hard to force yourself to stick to this rhythm, so setting a timeline can help solve this problem. I do not set time limits for specific posts, but I try to stick to the regularity of writing messages every day at a certain time ( auth. - sometimes it’s hard to understand exactly what Darren means ).
My: Self-discipline is good and correct. In this matter, the main thing is to keep yourself in hand: I told myself “I will write a post today” - I did it, otherwise even the “deadlines” will not help. Personally, I determined for myself the frequency - 1 post in two days, sometimes it turns out more often, but the main thing is to do it less often. 3. Develop an effective email system
As your blog grows positive, your inbox will become more cluttered. Therefore, it is really very important to think about how you will solve this problem before it happens. Develop a system for filtering secondary messages, and at the same time highlighting the really important ones. I have outlined some of my thoughts on this here (eng). My: the cost of processing mail, just like checking statistics , should be minimized. 4. Develop answers to the default e-mail.
There is another task similar to email management - developing a system for answering the most frequently asked questions and requests that you receive. I have 7-8 drafts saved in Gmail, which I often use as answers to readers. A very effective way to reduce the number of questions asked is to create a special page with them, then put a link to it from the feedback page. Even if people will not use this link before writing you a letter, you can always indicate it in your reply. My: there is nothing to add - it is ingenious and simple! I often see phrases in blogs of experienced people like “I was given the same questions, now I will only answer for the money.” Point 4 solves this problem much easier and more loyal to its readers. After such texts you understand why the author really deserves the name “problogger” - we still need to grow and grow to such a level. 5. Develop standards for guest posts.
If you decide to follow the path of using guest posts on your blog (or hiring a blogger to write texts regularly), the important point is to set certain guidelines (rules) in order to make sure that the quality of the content will be at its best. These standards, you must first work out in my head, and then bring to the knowledge of "guest authors". The more recommendations you provide to them, and not only about the quality, but also what format of the post you would like to receive, the less time you have to edit these articles. My: for most blogs of the Runet, this problem is not yet relevant, but I think this author’s experience may be useful in the future. 6. Do not be distracted in vain in your “golden hours”
I believe that during the day there are certain hours when I can work more productively than others (for me this is the morning). This time must be given to those activities that are fundamental to the work on the blog. I save this clock for writing most of my posts. At this time, I turn off IM ( auth. - ICQ and any similarity of it ), Twitter, phone, Email, I often go offline and out of the house at the same time so that I can fully concentrate on writing the text.
My: I met similar statements not only with Derain, but I also noticed something similar in myself. It is better to work a few hours during the highest productivity than to spend on a specific task all day. 7. Take a break from work
Being a ruthless blogger is not only about being tougher or becoming more productive — sometimes it's more about deciding to take a break from work. Burning out is a problem for many authors when they are immersed in blogging. Therefore, it is important to take breaks. I like trying to do it at various levels: every day (I take a lunch break, exercise, and dedicate an evening to my family), every week (the weekend is much "easier", and on Sunday I try to completely relax from work) and periodically (I take a week or more rest from blogging in order to recuperate).
My: combining this point with the previous one, you can not only improve your efficiency, but also reduce the negative impact of constant work at the computer. Each of the above factors concern “borders”. They consist in what you do (or not do), when to do (or not do) and in what direction you allow the blog to grow (or not grow). The goal of applying boundaries is not to make you more inaccessible or isolated, rather, to be more productive, focused in order to work on a blog more efficiently. In the process of writing a post, I realized that there are many other areas (areas) where “ruthlessness” is important . The quality of posts, answers to comments / questions from readers, spelling / grammar, and even blog topics (and when / if you leave the topic in offtopic), etc. What other areas do you think require “tightening”, setting boundaries and applying “ruthlessness”? What rules and techniques do you use when working with your blogs? My: everyone probably understood that ruthlessness is synonymous with rigidity and probably relates more to himself than to others - again, this is about “boundaries”, requirements for observing regularity, quality, etc. I hope the material will be useful to you. Source: Tod's Blog. My vision of the Internet