While your advice is good I would note that it is much easier to be “famous” as a technology/computer science blogger than another kind of blogger, since a disproportionate number of people on the internet are interested in those things. I work on a blog about academic philosophy, which is perhaps the equivalent of a programming blog, but for different crowd of technical people, but obviously I see much less traffic in part, I think, because many of the people interested in the subject barely know how to use the internet. Certainly they don’t spend a significant amount of time looking for new online resources on the topic. Fortunately, I don’t blog for the sake of my ego, but because writing is simply something I have to do professionally, and a blog is just one more way to practice.
Hey Jeff,
Good stuff man. While there are lots of blogs, lack of perseverance alone does a good job of dispensing with most of them rather quickly.
One thing that helps me is keeping a backlog of topics. Inspiration doesn’t always strike when you sit down to write; there’s always a motivator (for me at least). When that hits, I jot down a quick outline and dip into that backlog on a steady basis. This keeps me from blowing through a lot of good topics in one day and ensures I’ll be able to update with regularity.
Rob
Very nice. I’ve only been blogging since April of this year, but I average a little over one post/day. Since my blog is closely related to an off-line community–the neighborhood surrounding Malcolm X Park in West Philadelphia–one of the ways I’ve found to motivate myself is to essentially promise people that I’ll write a post to the blog about their event, business or activity. Because I do a lot of writing in my other life, I enjoy sometimes just posting a photo, short video, or scanned item rather than writing a lot. I also have very modest expectations of large readership. My chief difficulty is trying to develop a readership in a community that has very little computer access.
Andrew
Thanks for the advise. Now I feel better. At least now I know that the blog cannot be a success overnight. Hopefully in a year or two I’ll have visitors to my blog.
Very insightful post Jeff. Thanks for the added motivation you big fat showoff! 
Jeff,
I just wanted to say, thank you. This post finally inspired me to set up my own blog, admittedly it took me a while after your post but I have now done it.
I can only hope that my blog is as good as yours.
Rob
I don’t fucking understand people. What has Jeff achieved that doesn’t sound like a boxing analogy. Seriously STOP been O.K. trying to improve by writing more and more of the same convoluted crap. JUST GIVE UP, knowone 'll resent you for it. They’ll probably commend you for not plugging your link to them and their friends every 5 seconds.
I’ve just started this whole blog thing and i know im a great writer and i know my works not just what i’ve been pondering when i should be working in my grey branded office. So im happy to continue. If i thought i was ok or a bit shit, I’D GIVE UP.
oh and jeff, my latest guides HOW TO BE A WRITER, might pick up some tips.
Thank you for the encouraging article. I’ve just started my own blog and have 3 full length articles on there now, so am averaging about 1 article per week. Do you have any figures showing how your blog traffic have increased over time?
thanks!
Rose
I had started my blog a while back and shelved it, and now I came across your blog and revived it… I’m going to try to take it to the glory! (expected in 2011)
=)
I have been reading your blog for some time now.I had been thinking of starting a blog since a couple of months, after reading this post and some related posts on your site i finally did. Thank you for your insightful posts.
P.S. If blogs were a commodity, yours would be gold.
Hello Jeff,
A friend pointed me to their peice, and I am glad she did. I really like what you have to say about keep plugging away at it. Get better, and Rome, as your website, blog, or what have you, will improve. I have recently started a push on my own blog, American NonFiction a zine in blog form, three times a day.
Your post has inspired me to keep up the work. Thank you
Heartfelt Departing Sentiments,
Wesley
Great article. I’ve recently started a blog (http://www.samalamadingdong.com) and i’ve got to say that maintaining a high level of activity really does take considerable effort. I do enjoy writing though, and although i’m not doing a lot of that for my posts i think i do get to interject some of my humor and talent into each post. I agree that it’s all about being committed and consistent - i’ll try take my own advice!
Wow. What a great post! You’ve really buoyed me up! I started blogging in July of 2007, but really consider my serious blogging started in December of 2007. I’ve been getting down on myself, because even though I think my blog is well designed (for not self-hosting) and my writing’s okay, I’ve been thinking that I’m not as good as this blogger or that blogger and I’ve always known that writing hasn’t been my strong suit, so what the HECK am I doing blogging?! Where I have to WRITE? A LOT? And I’m not even good at it!
So thank you for this post. You’ve encouraged me to continue what I’m doing and not give up. Thank you thank you thank you!
I post daily. When I have time I stockpile posts, so I try to have at least 5 spare. My aim is 100 spares!
I’m trying to post daily, but I fell off last week and missed 3 days. What I’ve tried to do to make it easier is to schedule several posts on the weekends so I don’t physically have to post daily. I need to do what Shane is doing - have quite a few in the hopper so I always stay ahead.
Thanks for the inspirational post. I know there are many of us who struggle with this and need posts like this to keep us going when we don’t feel like it.
@Filini says: …will you always have something interesting in your mind to blog about? I’m not sure I would, and that’s one of the reasons for me not having my own blog.
This brings to mind a relevant quote by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.: When you have nothing important or interesting to say, don’t let anyone persuade you to say it.
Also apropos, Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. (Thomas Edison)
What an inspiration!
Writing every day is key. I’ve heard said enough to believe its potency. I loved this article because it speaks to everyone.
Thanks.
Great post. It’s easy to get discouraged in the beginning, but I also recommend sticking with it for a year.
It’s always refreshing to read about somebody who started from very humble beginnings and is now so successful. As I have just started blogging it’s inspiring to know that every professional blogger was at some stage right where I am now. I have a saying, persistence over resistance and it has stood to me fairly well so far.
If anything, what I’ve learned is this: if I can achieve this kind of success with my blog, so can you…It’s not just because I’m that annoying blog guy; it’s because I’d like to wish the kind of amazing success I’ve had on everyone I meet.
I also use something called the rule of 5. Basically you do 5 things every day that takes you closer to your goal. I’m not saying to post 5 things every single day but doing 5 small things that improve your blog daily will hopefully in the long run pay off for me.