Drawing a mental blank, I decided to write about 10 things I learned from my first 100 blog posts. Ready? Here they are:

1. You can never get rid of spammers. Even though the WordPress plugin Akismet is installed on this blog, I still get a few errant entries that must be deleted.
2. You won’t always agree with your readers comments, but approve them anyway. My initial reaction was to hit the ‘delete’ button to send them into the cyber trash can, but I thought better of it. Instead, I welcome varying opinions. I say that with the caveat that if the comments are rude, disrespectful, ranting and just plain mean, they get deleted.
3. Google AdSense doesn’t always work well for blogs. My regular readers might remember my post about converting No Job for Mom from a website to a blog. After I converted it I noticed my AdSense income from this blog all but stopped. Initially I was shocked, but I realize it’s all good. There’s a larger plan in the works.
4. Blogging is a commitment (no duh). I’ve committed to adding 6 posts a week. I take Sunday off to honor God, spend time with my family and replenish myself.
5. You meet nice people blogging. Although my blog is new, I’ve met quite a few nice people here. The relationships are still young (like the blog), but I fully expect them to grow.
6. My family doesn’t read my blog. They know I spend a lot of time on the computer writing, but they only read a small fraction of what I write. No hard feelings.
7. I’d be lost without my digital voice recorder. In my advancing years, my ideas play a game of hide and seek (they hide well and I’m always seeking to retrieve them). With my digital voice recorder, I can always find and capture them. I strongly recommend a digital voice recorder for anyone serious about writing.
8. Don’t get intimidated. When I first started this blog I was easily intimidated because of the tons of good blogs out there on similar topics. I became paralyzed by fear and feelings of inadequacy. Other blogs had a large readership, they had a better blog design, they were around longer, they had newsletters and were earning tons of money. I focused on their success to my detriment. Now I look at those blogs, appreciate them and learn from them. They are a resource and not a competitor. It’s all about how you look at it.
9. Build a Blog Bank. Because stuff happens, I found there were times when I couldn’t blog about the topic I intended to. Therefore, I would reach into my ‘blog bank’ and pull out one of my almost complete blog post, complete it and then post it. It saves time and allows for continuity. Setting up pre-written entries to be published at a scheduled time works even better. I haven’t evolved to that level quite yet.
10. Be myself. Although this is the last item, it is by no means the least important. I’ve found the one thing that follows me everywhere I go is me and my personality. So, who else can I be but myself, and my blog is a reflection of that.

Blogging Goals for the Next 100 Posts?

Get 5% better. Sounds like a rather tame goal, but if I can complete 100 posts in 95% of the time it took me to accomplish the first 100 posts. That’s an improvement. If each month I increase my readership and my income by 5%, I’m headed in the right direction. If I get 5% more backlinks each month, that’s a plus.

As with the game of basketball, a team wins the game 1, 2 and 3 points at a time. There’s no 20-point shot in basketball. I’m willing to plod along increasing my success 5% at a time. I’m a patient woman (most of the time).

There are a few more things I learned from my first 100 posts, but judging by the snoring emanating from my computer, I’ll stop here.