There is a group writing project “If I had to Start My Blog Again” at ProBlogger.net. If you are just starting with your first steps in the blogosphere, go read at least these posts – they’ll save a lot of time and will provide you with a lot of things to think about. If you are an experienced blogger, then check those posts anyway – you’ll still save a lot of head-banging. And, of course, you are very welcome to share your thoughts on the subject.
And just to give you an example by my own actions, here is the list of things I’d do differently (though most of them were mentioned by other bloggers too):
- My own domain. I should have bought my own domain on the first day of blogging. Even earlier. Moving my website back and forward didn’t do it any good.
- Less of DIY. Somehow I felt that because I am an IT professional, I had to do everything myself. Blogging scripts, webdesign, hosting, etc. Over time I realized that I can use other people’s work too. And that it won’t make me any less of a professional. If I’d realize it earlier, my blog would have been better today – with more posts, with less formatting troubles, with less outages, etc.
- Speciality. I should have picked a topic for my blog. For way too long it was a blog about everything – me, technology, web, movies, etc. It’s difficult to change this now, but I’m working on it (for example, with a bunch of my other abandoned blogs)
- Better writing. I should have paid more attention to my writing. Especially considering that English is not my native language, I should have been twice as focused on what I type. And, of course, writing in full sentences would have helped too. I’m glad to report that I’ve realized this some time ago, and I am also working on improving my writing. The progress, though small, is obvious.