My topic is about “Azrael’s guide to blogging”, but I changed it to my presentation about what I’ve learned from blogging in 11 years. It’s the things that I learned and some stuff that I realized during my blogging adventure from 2003-2014.
so here it is… tadahhh..
Hi everyone, welcome to my talk here at the When in Manila blogging summit, this is my special presentation for this event, my talk titled “What I’ve learned from my 11 years of blogging” – its all about the things that I learned during the year 2003-2014 in blogging and also social media.
Thanks again to Vince Golangco and his mighty team of When in Manila warriors for inviting me and be part of this summit. Congratulations to WIM for being the top lifestyle blog here in the Philippines, buma-viral lagi ang mga post sa blog nyo and that’s awesome. Last night I saw that their blog post about the Akyat Bahay gang warning is featured in local tv news.
About me… just read the details above
To start…let me show you my blog – Azrael’s Merryland Blog, I’ve been blogging in this platform in Blogger.com for 11 years and Its my home in the digital world. I love to publish stuff online since 1999 in my own Yahoo! Groups, but later on I moved to Blogger.com when my comic book artist friends influenced me to try blogging.
From a personal blog it became a pop culture blog, then it became as my life blog and me reporting about tech, lifestyle, travel, food, and many other.
Blogging is easy...can you agree with that?
As long as you have an internet access, a laptop and an interest to try blogging, you can easily set up your own blog as 1,2, and 3. The question remains, how long will you stay blogging?
Writing and publishing is very easy, with a click of a button, you can get as many as 1 view per day, yourself as your very own reader after your first post, and next a hundreds to million hits per day.
If you promote your blog well in social media, there are many chances that you can be famous. In a simple blog post exposing some out of this world story, can give you a million hits. For example that hotel story in Cebu, that rotten relief goods and your story about your pet cat with cute eyes and whiskers.
Also, in blogging, you can get a new career, you can be working in different fields, from fish ball blogging into a star graded Michelin restaurant reviewer.
How to be a successful blogger.
It’s a question being asked to me for many times, I started to think what are the ingredients, but I know that being a successful blogger requires you to be responsible and credible first. But for today, I realized that beauty and the good looks are needed in order to successful, you also need the proper skills to write and compose awesome articles, produce awesome photos and videos, and also have the money to finance your blogging experiments. Yup! you need money to fund your food tripping and travel adventure.
If you have the passion in blogging, you can go beyond and reach outside the online world, making a breakthrough outside blogging is a sign of being successful.
When I started blogging, I don’t have the good looks, the skills, and the money, but I have the strong passion to write and produce content for my readers, after some years, I started to work on my skills in writing, I practice in interviewing high profile persons and enhance the level of my photography.
I learned a lot in blogging during my fresh start, its okay start blogging without those qualities that I mentioned above, I started blogging without my own proper computer and camera, what I have in me is the passion for blogging, Its okay to start from nothing, in later time you can learn too on how to be beautiful, have good looks, be a better writer and publisher and then go rich during your blogging career, its one step a a time, start small and then be successful.
Get your blogger buddy
Its better to work alone, but its better to have your own blogger buddy, you need some trusted people to guide you and to throw some constructive criticism at you,
it’s a way that you can enhance your blogging skills and socialization. Blogging alone in this world will isolate you from the public, that’s why I suggest you get a friend to be your blogging partner. Its fun to compete with each other and help with one another. Collaboration with other people will fire up your passion to produce more good content, if you see that your seatmate is a good blogger buddy, then send them a note and invite them to brainstorm with you and be successful together.
(above is my first photo op with Neil Gaiman, not entirely my blogging buddy, but we talked via email and via blog during his last visit here in Manila, but he is an awesome guy to be your blogging buddy virtually )
Today my blogging buddies are my family, friends and team at PBNetwork PH.
Stay focused and be consistent
This is the thing that lacks in my blog, but after for long years, I managed to stay on the topics that I’m only interested to feature in my blog. If you blog about only cats, it will be weird if we saw some blog post about fish, but that’s okay, blogging a different topic is a transition of yourself to produce another content for other readers.
You have to think first if you are ready to change your blog theme, I know some people who converted their blog from a personal diary of a high school girl and now into a popular food blog, others converted themselves into travel blogging, its okay to change your topic, but make sure you inform us well if you will shift to blogging from cats to fish to horses.
Get Rich!
Lots of blogging seminars are promoting this…get rich in blogging.. yeah right.
Did you know that its easy to earn money in blogging? But its also hard to earn money in blogging, but I’ve learned that earning money in blogging is not forever, I was been banned in Google Adsense way back 2007 and I don’t know what’s the problem,Google didn’t even send a note why they blocked their ads in my blog, then for a shocking news, a friend that I know who earns $2000 US dollars in blogging just lost a lot of money when Google Adsense shuts their ads from their blog. You have to be careful if you want to earn more.
I suggest that you keep your job and don’t quit yet if your blog income is not stable, if you are earning big in a regular basis, make sure that your content doesn’t violate any TOS of any blog ad networks.
There’s also a dark side of blogging, just beware of it… learn to say NO if you feel that there’s something bad can happen if you post that blogging campaign, learn to say NO and refuse even if there’s a pot of gold as a reward. Take note that your credibility is on the line.
Love it!
Just love your blog and your job, if you love what you are doing, I guarantee you that you will be a better blogger. Love your readers and your fans, because they are the ones who help you for the conversation and your cocoon for being a successful blogger. Love Google and Facebook, nuff said. Hahahah
Love your haters..because they are the ones who makes you even more better.
Be a content producer
Blogging is not limited to writing and posting it in your blogpspot or wordpress, try other modes of online content production, like video blogging, podcasting, photo blogging, or live streaming. If possible, be a blogger for all season, be the diamond blogger, mega blogger, or the Asia’s blogger bird haha. Try new things and new trends in publishing, don't be afraid to be a newbie again in a different platform.
Create your experiences into a life changing story, or go back to your home town or province, help their provincial trade and tourism by blogging it. Talk to a homeless person and write a story of why they ended being homeless. Observe, analyze and then write, try to reflect and shout out, because your opinions and comments are very important in this digital generation.
Be our eyes, ears, mouth and brain whenever you go… just click and show to us what is wrong and what is funny.
Be the future of blogging.
During the last iBlog10, I saw lots of young bloggers attended the annual blogging summit, my view is the same here in WIM blogging summit. I told Vince that day that we should take care of these young bloggers because they are the future of blogging.
Back in 2006, I heard the same thing from two top bloggers, they know that in the coming year that I’ll be influential, those two bloggers are my idols and I thank them for believing in me. And I’m sure I didn't let them down.
You too can be influential like WIM, be influential on your own and not just being part of WIM, be what your are and who you are…its time to get ready and be part of the next century of blogging.
Be the future!
Thanks everyone for listening and I hope you learned something from my 15 minute talk and 10 slides.
Let me take this opportunity to invite everyone in our 13th Philippine ToyCon 2014, this will be on June 20-22, 2014 in Megatrade Hall, SM Megamall.
We also have a Toycon event launch and press con on May 31, 2014 at the Newport Plaza in Resorts World Manila. Feel free to drop by because we will be bringing a teaser and part of the toycon show in this mall, its open to the public and entrance is free.
Thanks everyone!! and feel free to message me if you have any questions.
Here are some photos from the When in Manila Blogging Summit. Thanks to @kaxmerioles and @joemzkylism for posting some photos in their Instagram
See you all in my next public talk about blogging and social media
for lecture talks or seminar invitations, pls email me at azrael@gmail.com / or send me a tweet at @popazrael / or a Facebook PM at www.facebook.com/popazrael
