Realizations of a novice blogger

This month has been the first time I have really put forth the effort to carve out my online presence.  This blog has about 150 posts, and it has been in operation for over two years, but I'm really still a n00b.

These are some of the things I have learned over the past few weeks:

I was posting just for the sake of having something to post every day.  And I felt like some of it was, if I am honest, annoying.

I write really, really, really, really long posts.  I'm sorry.  I will try to keep them shorter.  I even cut this one into two posts already.  As if you could tell.

I have a bad habit of being a first-draft blogger.  Half-baked thoughts may be "raw" and "honest" but there is a reason some things should be cooked thoroughly.  I need to break this habit.

Fortunately saving drafts has helped me this week in a few ways:
My writing has more clarity and purpose when I begin to write a draft, and save it for publishing later.
Having a draft available to work on means that I do not have to spend as much time creating or fighting through a mental block.
Scheduling a posting time makes sure it doesn't remain a draft forever, and gives me a deadline to just let it go.  I believe it was Steady Mom who mentioned that she does this.  Or maybe it was Clover Lane.  Either one of them is believable, because they put out great content, and have solid advice.
The evening before a post is scheduled, I just give it a final once-over, and wish it good night.  In the morning, it has posted, and I can have my quiet time, my coffee, and cuddles with my little girl, without fretting that the blogosphere has gone on without me.


When I have my quiet time in the Word in the morning, taking the time to pray and waiting on the voice of the Father, I feel less of a need to seek out affirmation and feedback from the world online.  Inspired to Action has been helpful; I'm not following their specific program, but it was enough of a push to get me moving. 


Creating a blog calendar has helped me keep straight what I will write for the week, and figure out what blog carnivals I would link to, and let me see a pattern--if any--to my posting.  Alicia's Homemaking mentioned a blogging calendar and the lightbulb went off above my head in a "why didn't I think of that?" moment.

I stalked my stats this week.  I'm trying to figure out what they mean.  I read Kludgy Mom's articles about a million tools to make your blog more useful and cooler and to help you make sense of the stats. I haven't made sense of them, but they're entertaining. But now I have a search widget, and it entertains me.  Go ahead, search it.  It'll be fun.

Apparently I need to work on asking better open-ended questions.  Or maybe I just ask them on days when I have more traffic.  As though I could time that.

I am really close to opening a Twitter account.  Will that place me on the dark side?

Have these been lessons you have learned as well?  What else have you learned that you can share with a young grasshopper?