How Do I Start a Blog?

Blog cartoons by me, Mike Lynch, originally appeared in Prospect Magazine (top) and Harvard Business Review (down there).


I was asked in an email "How does one start a blog?" I wrote a short note back, and thought I would share my response here.

WHAT TO USE
I use Blogger because Blogger is free and Blogger blogs appear on Google searches, which draw more people to your blog. 

BLOGS TAKE TIME
I began my blog in 2006. Within a few years, it had a reputation as a "go to" place for cartoonists. Lots of people liked it and its presence has helped awareness of who I am and what I do. 

But, look out: there is no equation like "the number of hours I spend doing my blog equals a specific dollar of income." Or, in fancy CPA-speak, there's no exact ROI formula. 

Anyway, I do it because I enjoy it and that's really the secret to maintaining a blog: that you are excited to share stuff.  

THAT STUFF YOU SHARE DRIVES THE BLOG
And by stuff I mean "content." You have to have new content, every day. Content drives traffic to your blog.  

Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) can also help awareness and get people clicking on your blog. Never tried social media? Pick one and watch it for a week or 2. That's the best way to see what these things like "hashtags" and "liking something" and "going viral" are like.  

THE GRIND
Blogging takes time and there are certainly days when it's particularly grinding to wake up and wonder, What will I put up on my blog today?  

Hope this helps. I get thousands of people to my blog every day -- and even the stuff on the blog that isn't about cartooning (like the posts about our garden) generate page views and comments.  

Good luck with your new blog!

-- This was an edited version of a blog entry from February 14, 2014.