The Newbie Blogger Initiative Starts Today #NBI2016

Bloggers Gotta Blog

The fifth running of the Newbie Blogger Initiative is here. The NBI 2016 finally made it even if it is a month later than usual. Doone over at XP Chronicles refused to let this great event pass this year and I applaud him. So, if you ever thought of putting together a blog, are a familiar face on game forums, or just want to write a little bit to get out your creativity, this is the month to give blogging a try as you will have lots of support.

Actually, the folks that have been around the NBI over the past 5 years tend to provide support thorughout the year regardless of if it’s NBI time or not. I’ve gamed with many of them and enjoyed reading their tweets and posts and they’re all pretty supportive and fun people to hang out with.

So what to blog about?

Well, when I started Beyond Tannahuser Gate I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to blog about, I just knew I wanted to try it out. The NBI leans towards game blogging, but they are fully supportive of blogs focused on anything. As it is now, I’ve posted about games, sports, SciFi, tv, exercise, comic-con, movies, books, comics, my winning fantasy football team, all kinds of stuff, so there’s a big tent for blogs involved in the NBI. Anything you can think of will work if you feel the urge to post about it. And the folks involved in the NBI are not just limited to blogs…YouTubers, podcasters, vloggers, tweeters, facebookers, pretty much any flavor of content generator is welcome to join in the NBI.

When to blog?

I’ve started trying to blog everyday, but that’s definitely not something you need to do. Many bloggers in the NBI post once a week or even once a month. I think the key is to try to be consistent. I certainly haven’t posted on a schedule from when I started in 2012, but I work at it and have put up a daily post for the past 111 days. Sometimes I’ve got posts lined up for a week and other times like Monday, I struggled to get my post up before midnight rolled around. So for the most part, my recommendation is to go at your own pace. Don’t feel pressured.

Blog for yourself

You can chase readership or viewers, but that’s often a losing battle. The bloggers out there that have thousands of readers have been at it a while and worked hard. Don’t expect to have tons of viewers or to monetize your blog right away. You may eventually get there, but if that is your sole focus you’re more likely to fail, be disheartened and throw in the towel. You’ll have a much better time blogging for yourself – writing the posts you are interested in rather than trying to write what you think others want you to post. Unless you are doing this as a job, this is a hobby and hobbies should be fun. When games become a chore and I get tired of the grind, I tend to move on to another game…don’t let your blog become a chore.

As a last note, try to enjoy yourself.

Morning Ramble 2.112