Wow!  I’m booking number 15 today, 15 posts since I started this blog.  Seems like yesterday…  Okay, a couple are throw-away fluff pieces, so really 12 posts since– okay I was dead wrong on two of them so– half a dozen of them I was talking outta my a– I’ve got one really good post under my belt, so I gotta celebrate and take stock of where I’m going with this whole thing.  Before I break my arm patting myself on the back, though, I want to say Thankyou to my wife for being so supportive and patient with me as I try to get this blog going.

Now, in honor of the presidential campaign season, I’m going to make some campaign pledges to my legions of adoring fans.  Unlike real campaign pledges by real politicians, I’ll make my pledges as specific as possible and I will try my best not to break them:

1. I will write at least 101 posts  It’s a daunting number for me this early.  Especially since I’ve already thought about calling it quits half a dozen times.  What am I doing?  No one is reading.  I’m running out of ideas.  My content sucks!…   Poisonous thoughts like that creep into my mind.  Having that specific number to focus on before calling this a success or failure helps keep those thoughts at bay.
2. I will ship at least one post a week  I tried to settle into two posts per week, but I don’t write that quickly, it’s tough with a day job and I started to get grumpy.  It’s not fair to my wife and son to be grumpy all the time.  That means it may take me more than a year to get to 101 posts, but that’s okay.  There’s no timeline to get this up and running for business purposes or anything.  Making money is not the purpose of this.  This is more about finding my voice and my brand and hopefully writing interesting content along the way.
3. I will write at least 5 guest posts this year  A huge part of blogging is being part of a community.  I can’t keep all this great content to myself!  I have to share the magic with other bloggers!  It should help me grow my audience too.  Because, let’s face it, it sucks blogging in a vacuum.
4. I will write meaty articles  There is going to be some filler from time to time (this post = Exhibit A).    Sometimes my brain is just tapped out and I can’t seem to squeeze out a coherent sentence.  But, for the most part, I want this blog to have some meat to it.  I want it to be filled with interesting articles talking about new topics or approaching old topics from new angles.  That’s another reason I dialed it back to one post per week.
5. I will update my logo by the end of 2016  My logo stinks.  I know it.  It’s something I drew up on a Saturday afternoon because I had to have something.  Hey!  I’m flying by the seat of my pants a little bit over here!  Even though I know I’m more than capable, sometimes you just have to outsource.  I think I may tap Fiverr or 99designs.  Look for a new, more professional looking logo soon.
6. I will continue drawing  My drawings aren’t the best.  I know it.  But I don’t plan on stopping.  Every article will have one of those silly drawings. Whether you like it or not they’ve become part of the brand.  It’s also a way for me to practice quick hand sketches, which helps with my day job as an industrial designer.  I really have let that muscle atrophy a little bit in favor of computer-aided renderings.  Practice makes perfect, so the drawings should improve.  Stick with me.
7. I will NOT focus on my stats.  I’ll be honest with you.  I get sad when someone unfollows me on Twitter.  Man is that a worthless feeling to have.  I know I shouldn’t take it personally.  Most of my followers haven’t even read my blog.  It’s all part of the game people play to build up followers.  You follow me, I follow you, if you don’t follow me back, forget you!  I started to play that game, but I’ve changed course, simply because I was focusing too much on the stats.  I will follow back, if I’m genuinely interested in reading the material.  But I need to focus on my content creation, right now, and social media stats are just a distraction.  I know it’ll be a slower slog to build a following, but I want followers who actually read, like, comment on and share my content anyways.  I’ll do the same for my fellow bloggers.
8. I will NOT focus on making money  The second I signed up for WordPress, I checked into their ad program and allowed myself to imagine what it would be like to earn a “passive” paycheck from clicks and eyeballs.  I had to snap myself out of it.  Yes.  It would be nice to make a solid side income from blogging, but I’ve heard it from too many experienced and successful bloggers that it’s not the right approach.  It’s gotta be for the love of creating content.  Maybe I’ll monetize it sometime down the road, but I won’t let that be this blog’s main purpose.
9. I will NOT be ashamed of having a blog  I’m telling you, they keep creeping in.  Those poisonous thoughts …My content sucks!  I’m an imposter.  I’m an embarrassment to blogging.  It’s what keeps me clammed up whenever I have a chance to bring it up in conversation.  Well, I will be silenced no more!  I am a blogger, dammit!  And I’m going to tell everybody!… right after I write something that’s any good 😉

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