I once told myself that I would never give advice about blogging. Why? Because it isn’t really my thing. And two, a lot of other people (who are much better at blogging than I am) offer blogging advice all the time. But a lot of people ask me questions about blogging. Most of them are looking for advice or ideas or just how to get people to read their blog. So… against the advice I once told myself, I offer you my best advice about how to become a better (maybe even influential) blogger.

1) Stop reading advice posts about how to blog and instead just go blog something. Chances are, if you follow MY advice, it won’t work for you. Yes, I realize those last two sentences sort of contradict each other, but they’re both true, so you have no choice but to wrestle within the tension.

2) Most of the time (not always), becoming popular in the blogging world is a complete accident. So go creates accidents! Seriously, be creative. Most accidents are just accidents that nobody reads or views. However, sometimes an accident will increase your traffic, offer you a voice, and fuel you to continue creating accidents.

3) Be funny, sensational, opinionated, over-the-top, interesting, deep, provocative–just be SOMETHING that sets you apart from others. Let’s face it: MOST BLOGS ARE BORING. And nobody has time to read boring blogs. So… stand for something. Stand against something. Sure, the middle ground is safe and comfortable, but the middle ground is also boring (most of the time).

4) Stop complicating blogging. People over-think blogging all the time. It’s just a blog! Simplify your process. You don’t always have to be deep or inspirational or that blogger who tries to suck something uber-spiritual out of everything he or she blogs about! Sometimes a picture is just supposed to be funny. Let it be funny. Sometimes a quote is inspirational on its own WITHOUT you explaining WHY its inspirational on its own.

5) Your readers are smarter than you think. For some reason, people always underestimate their readers. Often bloggers allow the thoughts of an unintelligent few (though these people are sometimes slow, they have a great talent for writing criticizing emails or DMs) to define how they will blog in the future. One reader’s complaint is so often FAR louder and more important than 10 readers’ compliments or 1000 readers’ “no comment”. This is especially true in the Christian blogging world. If 2 people complain about one’s post, often a blogger will allow those 2 opinions to outweigh all of the other opinions from people who LOVED the post or JUST READ THE POST and didn’t write to tell you they loved it. STOP giving power to the anal few. They have a choice whether to read your blog or not, let THEM make that choice. You just be yourself and keep blogging; let the readers figure out for themselves whether they like you or not. (And some won’t like you! And they’ll probably send you emails.)

6) Don’t just blog about nothing. Blog about something you’re good at or passionate about or interested in. And then KEEP blogging about it. Stay on message. Find creative ways to convey that message. You don’t have to be a Nazi about things. Time and readership will eventually give you permission to use your blog to write about other things. But until the readers TRUST you and KNOW you, giving them your best is important.

7) Resist measuring “influence” and “success” on statistics! Instead, measure influence and success by the conversation/debate/engagement that your blog sparks. Numbers don’t convey influence. What those “numbers” (as in readers) do after they read your piece measures influence. If 200 people read your post and only 2 people leave comments, you should rethink how you presented that information. However, if 50 people read your post and 18 of those people leave comments and engage conversation, you’re doing something right!

8 ) Blog fatigue happens. If your blog is controlling you as opposed to you controlling your blog, take a break. Don’t post that you’re taking a break. Just take a break–even if it’s for a day or a weekend or whatever. Refueling is important.

9) Gaining readership takes time. I started Jesus Needs New PR in 2006. That first year 14,000 unique visitors came to my blog. Last year, more than a 1,000,000 unique visitors came here. There’s no real secret. Blogging is work sometimes. But it’s also fun. If you stay at it and make it creative and resist taking yourself too seriously.

That’s all I have for now….

What’s your best blogging advice?!