What seemed at first like a casual walk in the park has turned out to be a whole new challenge and career path with all of the the learning curves of a doctor or surgeon, programming specialist, or nuclear scientist. There are whole new set of skills and techniques I’ve had to learn on the fly and deep disciplines to master and get right the very first time. Some of these skill sets are too new to master and sit back and relax. They require intense study and investigation around shear mountains of moving targets of information and sometimes outdated methods.
A dope dealer once told me “We give it to you free, until the day you ask for it”. I now understand that just like the dope dealer told me, getting into blogging is free, while staying into blogging requires a major investment of time and money. Beyond your computer system and broadband/site hosting accounts you’ll need Search Engine Optimization services or skills and much much more.
At every twist and turn I learned that there are plugins, extensions, themes and additional resources one needs to help make the magic of this thing called blogging work without driving you mad. Much of this learning and the hard work comes before one even makes a single penny, if ever.
I have learned that probably the best one can hope for at the start is to lay down a strong foundation by developing a blogging style like decorating a six-foot Christmas tree. Select and set up a healthy hearty tree, hang the baubles, string the lights and tinsel, put on the crowning star, power the lights and invite friends, family and your visitors to place gifts under the tree. Your task is to bring it all together and make it gorgeous. Then Celebrate!