HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: THREE YEARS OF BLOGGING

To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.

--- Benjamin Franklin

Riscario Insider is already three years old. The opportunity to write has resulted in this, the 156th post. That's about one per week. Hard to believe.

When you start, you don't know where blogging will take you or if you'll stick with it. I certainly didn't. I started as an experiment and then kept going. Habits form and so do reader expectations. This virtuous circle helps keep you going. You transform from a sprinter to a long distance runner.

Will you run out of ideas? Probably not. If you're passionate about your topic, writing de-clutters your mind and makes room for fresh thoughts. Just today, I jotted down how to pick a mentor and how to spot tricks that sales people use. Maybe those kernels will become blog posts.

It's easy to keep going if you love your topic and care about your audience. You'll then find the time and motivation to write. You'll find the right frequency for you. For me, it's once a week.

Successful?

Whoever says it doesn't matter if you win or lose, lost.

--- Unknown

There are different ways to measure success. In the beginning I thought I'd make a fortune from ads. I soon realized that a niche blog won't draw enough traffic to generate much revenue. So I went commercial-free. After all, you already pay generously with such valuable currency: your priceless attention.

I restarted ads a few months ago to help cover the costs of my online activities. Did you notice? The revenue may not warrant the aggravation to visitors. I'm not a fan of affiliate links either because they can taint your credibility. QRS is an amazing product. Click here to buy.

Your success in blogging comes in three intangible ways

1. generosity improves you: you become a better person when you're helping others
2. you learn: you look for clear, concise and memorable to communicate your messages
3. honing your skills: how can you lose by learning to write better?

What's New
I started podcasting on January 11, 2009 for the convenience of visitors who'd rather listen than read. You'll see the podcast embedded at the bottom of each post and all episodes on the Internet Archive. I also started using Twitter on February 19, 2009 (@riscario). There's usually a tweet or two a day.

The content continues to shift towards the wealthy. I wanted to write about risks facing average people (e.g., stagnant family incomes was the second post) but can't because I work primarily with the wealthy. Why write about what you don't know about? The insincerity would show. This blog is fact not fiction. Since writing about financial risks would bore readers (and me), there are detours. Some of the most read posts are technically off-topic.

Book
I keep getting asked whether I'm planning to write a book. There's certainly enough content that could be organized and expanded. A paper book is quite unlikely. I might prepare short free ebooks on selected topics.


Disappointments
I wish there were more reader comments. I know there are readers but for reasons I can't figure out, you aren't enticed to share your thoughts. That means there is no dialogue.

What's Coming
Riscario Insider is continuing as before. I'm planning to introduce more video for those of you who would rather watch than read or listen. Video would not be part of each post would be used to augment selected content. My goal is not to be on camera but to narrate PowerPoint slides. Video is the toughest medium for me because I don't have experience in editing but can learn the basics.

Bloggers really should have a series of posts written in advance. I have dozens of drafts on paper but they're not ready to publish. The consequence is that I generally write the post the day you see it. That allows the inclusion of latebreaking events but creates unnecessary time pressure. During my December sabbatical in India, posts were pre-written and published at scheduled times. This felt good.

Thanks for reading or listening.

PS What changes would you like to see? Your suggestions are always welcome.

Links

• your favourite posts of 2009 and 2008
• What's in a name? (the first post from Feb 18, 2007)
• The pulse of content (Mitch Joel)
• image courtesy of Helmut Gevert, Germany

Podcast Episode 56 (5:48)

Direct download | Internet Archive page