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Ricky Buchanan is always popping up with something interesting. She’s probably the most well-rounded commenter on Website In A Weekend, having contributed really useful observations on articles ranging from FTP connections (IIRC, “Dave, this article is kind of vague on this point…”), to WordPress plugins (“Dave, this article definitely needs clarity.”) to some really pithy comments about blogging alliances. I made her turn those comments into…
A League Of Ordinary Bloggers
-by Ricky Buchanan
I’m part of a group with two other bloggers.
We originally came together in November 2009 after a posted thread on the ProBlogger forum where one of us was looking for blogging buddies.
I emailed the other three who had expressed interested on the blogging forum and got responses from three, so three of us there are. We decided that four was an upper limit on the number of people we’d want on the grounds of organisation for what we wanted to accomplish so if somebody relevant pops up we’ll probably drag them in.
I’m calling us the League Of Ordinary Bloggers. Not to imply we’re second rate… but to remind you that none of us are anything extra special.
There’s nothing that about any of us that any other blogger doesn’t have. There’s nothing about our group that any other “ordinary blogger” couldn’t replicate with a smidge of effort.
I hate the name “secret blogging alliances” because first keeping it secret seems somehow underhanded but also because it implies those people have some Big Important Secret that you – an ordinary blogger – doesn’t have.
So far we’ve provided motivation, reminding, and mutual feedback about blog layouts and specific posts.
For 2010, we decided our first thing would be to email our goals to each other, and I think we all got motivation and ideas from reading the others’ goals – I know I did! We’ve been intermittently posting shorter term goals for what we want to accomplish in the next week or fortnight as well, and reminding each other to post about the results, and whether we achieved our goals.
I got the courage to finish my first free “ebook” (actually it’s more of a list, but it’s a downloadable PDF with a cover so it counts!), after one of the others posted a draft of an ebook he’s putting together. Reading his draft reminded me that perfection isn’t required and gave me the “if he can do it…” push I needed to have the courage to make it available.
It’s because of this group that I have clear and measurable goals for each of my websites for 2010. It’s also because of this group that I’ve gotten around to doing some of the less enjoyable tasks – there’s something very motivating about knowing you’ll have to confess procrastination unless you get it done!
So I highly recommend finding some blogging buddies for mutual motivation, but don’t be deluded into thinking it’s some Magic Seekrit Ingredient that will revolutionise your life. Like most other things with blogging, it’s a tool you can make use of…
When's not hanging out with her Seekrit Blog Club, you,
can find Ricky Buchanan hanging out at
iTalk Magazine,
a site dedicated to brand new iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users.
Stop by and say hello.
