Aaakh! Have you ever accidentally hit publish!?! Instantly realized the error and deleted a post?
What happened? I scheduled several posts, was making a few last edits and hit “Update” button… except oops! In this case, had barely started the draft let alone ready to “publish”…. gulp! DELETE!!
So now, as well as being late to WordPress’s “Zero to hero: 30 Days to a Better Blog” have a blogging blooper to recover from too!
Day 21: Build on your last post – While I automatically publicize on Twitter, LinkedIn and Tumblr, I prefer to control what, how and when a blog post goes on FaceBook.
I sometimes build on earlier posts… like with “Mumbai Theatrical Debut!“,”Costume Crisis!” and you’ll see soon a post on “Hair today, gone tomorrow!”
Day 22: Try (Another) Blogging Event – Gonna skip for now…
Day 23: Publish a Roundup – Inspired by Zhongguo Jumble, I already have the habit of preparing a quarter summary. Phew! That was an easy one. 🙂
Day 24: Chat with Other Event Participants – Again moot as skipping Day 22’s assignment.
Day 25: Add One More Custom Touch – Post Malaysia, plan to give this a try! I added a Revolver Map widget as thought it was cool on another blog.
Day 26: Set Up a Few Drafts for Later – Triple moot as have much more than a few drafts!
It is a good tip – pound out something quickly, leave it for a bit… revisit, edit or trash if no longer seems interesting or relevant. Except if you accidentally publish a draft you were just starting – doh!
Also if you have busy periods (don’t we all!) it is super handy to trot out a completed post waiting in ‘reserve’. 🙂
Day 27: Revisit a Task – Decided to finish up another post on India’s tax system. Yeah – I know! It is like getting a root canal. But it is on my mind these days as I gear up to filing as an independent consultant with international projects. You’ll see it soon enough!
Day 28: Build on Your Popular Content – Believe it or not, my all-time MOST popular post is.. drum roll…
Why? Credit searches for “Balvenie Triple Cask”…
And I do delight in sampling different whiskies, so it is a regular topic. 🙂
However, even my experiment with a poll proved, it isn’t the most popular topic with engaged blog readers.
The next popular posts are:
- “Can you drop the Indian accent?” – Accents and voice overs
- ‘Eve Teasing’ – The other side of my love affair with India
These topics closely capture the core concept behind this blog – expect more posts on related topics!
Day 29: Build an Editorial Calendar – I toyed with series… Saturday on music, some Sundays a light Urban Village post, two Thurdays a month on whisky… prefer to post on a less structured schedule though…
Day 30: Set a Goal for the Next Thirty Days – My initial goal was one post a week. As my life is taking yet new twists and turns, it is a good time to give this more thought…
Having taken a stab at completing Zero to hero, what’s my perspective?
- The professional trainer part kept reminding myself to keep an open mind, give new things a chance, but also keep doing what works, and make learnings my own.
- It helped me realize that even without a structured process to improve, I’ve picked up a few tips seeing what others do that I appreciate.
- However this blog is a personal indulgence – something I do to share stories that interest me and may interest others.
- The mechanics don’t concern me, the topic and human element does – especially engagement with others.
So ta ta! Goodbye “Zero to hero: 30 Days to a Better Blog” journey.
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Everyday Asia 
Totally with you on the last point 🙂
A five star effort on the blog improvement front. Makes me think I should be more strategic and organised!
Piffle! You have such an enjoyable blog, why muss with a good thing?? Unless something isn’t working for you…
Yeah, I agree with the last point too! It’s the comments and interaction that make it all worthwhile! I don’t really care what colour it is or how many widgets I have 😉
The biggest realization out of the entire process was just that! The doodads isn’t the real route to growing this blog… it is the interactions and reading others blog on interesting topics that keeps me engaged!
Yeah, it was a really pleasant surprise! Apart from when my mum said ‘meh, your blog is grand but the comments, now those are hilarious…’ Sigh. 🙂
Heck if you’ve got folks like Lady of the Cakes commenting… bound to be chuckle or two, three or more!
Yeah, she even asks me how she is! “How’s that woman with the buns doing? She’s very funny…” Or something to that effect 😉
Haha! That’s brilliant! Takes a virtual community to a whole new family level 🙂
I think my mum should adopt her 😉 She might have to learn how to bake though…