Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

Posted byRic JohnsonPosted inUncategorized

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Published by Ric Johnson

After 50 years of concentrating on the art of black & white photography, I still find myself amazed at the depth, richness and beauty, which can be achieved within 10 shades of gray. While my work has moved through various stages & venues, I find I've returned to "straight" photographic techniques. Using a pinhole (lensless) camera has also became a main key of my photography. My photographs tend to focus on themes that show the effects of time within our environment. Not as a comment on our place in time, but as a record of the unalterable consequences of time; whether it's nature or man-made, everything must, and does, give way to it. I treat each scene not as a documentary, but as a portrait, with the resulting photograph printed as accurately and faithfully as possible. I shoot 35mm, medium format and large format cameras, with or without a lens, film only mostly, but have been known to shoot digital. All my b&w photographs are printed on silver gelatin fiber based photographic paper with archival processing and selenium toning and are 11 x 14 and/or larger. My prints have been in numerous shows, published in both book & magazine formats, and bought by many collectors. Most of my art/time/work is using black & white film, but I have been known to use color film as well. I taught B&W Darkroom and Digital adult-ed photography classes at the Edina Art Center for 20+ years; and a proud member of the League of Upper Midwest Pinholers and f295. I also survived a traumatic brain injury (10/2003). What's your superpower?

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