I am at the Echo Conference, a church media conference in Dallas at the Watermark Community Church. I’ll blog my notes.

The Most Epic Blogging Breakout Ever – Scott McClellan

1. Design:

  • Content is king – but design is huge. Wordpress offers great flexibility and ability for high design
  • Try to think about who is coming, how they’re getting there and give them a framework and context for what the blog is about. If they can’t get an idea of what’s going on and why they’re there, they will feel like an outsider and go away and not come back.
  • Give people an excuse to come back, subscribe to RSS feed

2. Voice:

  • Discover your voice: what should I write from my blog that only I can write?
  • Compress what you are hearing and learning and add your take

3. Rhythm:

  • Think about the timing and sustainability of your blogging
  • It sets expectations and allows people to get into the groove

4. Read:

  • It’s great that we want to create, but a good blogger reads blogs
  • Ask yourself what worked and didn’t work in that post, what moved me or caused me to act
  • What is this good blog doing, and what is this mediocre blog not doing? Pick it apart.

5. Generosity:

  • Seth Godin/Linchpin
    – the Generous Artist – artists who use their art to give gifts, with what they create with no expectation of repayment.
  • Sometimes we create blogs to get something; affirmation, ads cash
  • A great blog is not a transaction but generous – it’s not about earning, but giving

6. Story:

  • Stories are the way God changes us – Don Miller
  • The best blogs tell a story, one that takes shape as the blog goes along, or little stories that connect with people and resonate.
  • Installments (stories of change) that paint a broader picture of what’s happening.
  • Stories connect much more than funny videos and striking statistics
  • Blogging allows us to mix media to tell better stories (slides, embed video, audio)

7. Comments:

  • Seth Godin has no comments…Scott is rethinking the value and right forum for comments
  • People can be stupid, why am I providing a forum for it?
  • If somebody want’s to say something, they can get their own blog.
  • What does it mean to facilitate and moderate comments, maybe certain categories in WordPress allow comments and others don’t.

8. Intentionality:

  • Best blogs are done on purpose, the reek of planning and intentionality
  • Best blog posted have been researched, proofed, sent around
  • Great ideas happen by accident, but great art doesn’t – it’s hard work
  • Don’t let resistance get you – it keeps you from doing the creative work you’ve already conceived of (Pressfield – The War of Art)
  • Jon Acuff, “I’m a writer and writer’s write”
  • What do you want to do with your blog – articulate the mission
  • Aim small…miss small – narrow your focus