Exclusive Preview: How to Call Yourself a “Blogger” And Never Write Anything

If you don’t write anything for more than a year, are you still a blogger? This author sure think so. In preparation for this blog’s official relaunch on October 25th, I present you with this exclusive preview of content to come. Read on to learn about how you can be a blogger with (apparently) minimal work - and the ultimate step to start writing again.

5 Ways to Keep “Blogging” Without Actually Writing Posts

1. Keep Up With Blogging News

To call yourself a professional blogger, you have to keep up with news in the blogosphere. There’s no better way to do that than reading some of the best blogs about blogging out there. From tips about maintaining simplicity in your content and design to writing content that’s fresh and eye-catching, there is a veritable smorgasboard of information out there. Tap into this wealth of content and you will have the knowledge to be ready at a moment’s notice to write the perfect article that attracts millions of visitors and crashes your site from the Digg effect.

2. Keep Working On Your Site’s Design

Most professional bloggers will tell you that content is king — worry about writing your best material first, and the visitors will come no matter how ugly your site. I’ve taken the opposite approach for the better part of 2 years; I’ve constantly tweaked the design of this site while hardly writing anything. Lucrative it may not be, but when the random Google visitor drops by, at least they think they’re looking at a work of art. From tweaking sidebars to have eye-catching RSS chicklets to rotating beautiful photos in your header, its vital to ensure that the presentation of your blog is evolving…especially if your content has been left to extinction.

3. Work On Your Supporting Content

If you don’t write new content, it means that people will gravitate to your old standbys — those static pages that Wordpress users love to create and forget about it. It is incredibly important to make sure that this supporting cast is updated and presentable because when you get a reader who likes your site and doesn’t find anything else to read, they’re going to start looking around. Make sure to keep content like your About page fresh and create new things like a Legal Policy that features a robust Privacy Policy and intended-to-be-boring Terms of Service (both copied and modified from Auttomatic, Inc’s excellent examples, under proper attribution of a Creative Commons license).

4. Take On Other Projects

If you’re not going to write for your own blog, you might as well work on some others. I’ve personally undertaken responsibility for the site of a school organization in which I’m heavily involved (gmuMUN.org), while you might be more interested in writing for group blogs or creating site designs for bloggers who actually write. If properly monetized, this can be one of the more financially-rewarding ways to “not blog” while still retaining that prestigious title of “Blogger.”

5. Always Set a Date for Your Return

You can’t call yourself a blogger unless you intend to write again in the future. Thus, you need to set a date that readers can expect your next piece of amazing content to arrive…it keeps them coming back to your site, even if the rest of your content is stale. For example, this blog will be back and better than ever on October 25th…have you marked your calendars yet?

But wait…How Do You Get Back Into Really Writing Again?

That’s very simple…you just start writing. You have to find your own personal motivator, and JUST DO IT. It’s not an easy pill to swallow, but trust me, it comes out easier on the other side. This post was precipitated in the hopes of winning a theme song for this site’s videoblogs, a great prize availabe from an amazing contest that Problogger is running. That’s all there was to it…find something that incentivizes your next post (a prize, maybe AdSense money, possibly increasing your RSS subscribers), and just start writing again. Its like riding a bike again, without the possibility of falling and cracking open your skull (Always wear a helmet!).

That’s all for today, folks. As mentioned before, I highly encourage you to return for this site’s relaunch on October 25th (*cough*October 25th*October 25th*October 25th*cough*). I’ve gotten back to writing for this site…what’s stopping you from doing the same?

This Exclusive Preview sponsored by Problogger and the desire for a theme song; Don’t forget to come back on October 25th, this blog’s official relaunch date!