I don’t know how to get started.

Pretty simple. There are a number of free blogging sites out there. Personally I use WordPress. All you need to do is go to http://www.wordpress.com and sign up for a free space.

I have a blog but setting it up seems like a lot of work.

If you are looking at the setup of mature sites (about pages, formatting, themes etc) then you are forgetting just how long those sites have been up. Start by writing a few posts, then if you feel like it, write an about page. Over time you can add more and more to your blog. Eventually it will look just as evolved as any other.

I don’t have any ideas on what to write about / I don’t have anything to say

This is the easiest one to address. If you are having a hard time coming up with something to write about then use someone else’s ideas. SQL Judo (Russ Thomas) (b/t) does a monthly challenge. Write your answer to one of those challenges. Every month we have a blog party called #tsql2sday. Originally started by Adam Machanic (b/t) each month a different blogger hosts and comes up with an idea for us all to post on. Join in. That’s two different ideas each month.

One other thing that most experienced bloggers do is keep a list of ideas. Some weeks I’ll come up with 4 or 5 ideas, other weeks none. As I come up with ideas I write them down. Then if I don’t have any idea what I want to write about that day I just refer back to my list.

I’m afraid I’ll make a mistake

Ever. Single. Time. Every time I write a new post I’m terrified I’ve made a mistake. I test everything, check against BOL and bloggers I trust and sometimes I go so far as email one or two experts to make sure I’m right. On the other hand, fear of making a mistake is just a form of stage fright. Once you’ve been writing for a bit the fear becomes easier to deal with. I mean everyone makes a mistake now and again right? It’s not really a big deal. What’s the worst that can happen? Someone puts in a comment and corrects you. Usually it’s a polite comment and you’ll learn something (and what could be better right?) I’ve heard of people putting down rude or even mean comments, but in over two years I’ve never had anyone do it to me. And even if I did get one I might be aggravated for a bit but then I would get over it pretty quickly. Sticks and stones right?

On a related note if you aren’t comfortable with your writing skills and want some help there you can submit your posts to Michael J Swart(B/T) who offers to help you become a better writer. He helped me with this post and here is a before and after example I did a while back.

I don’t have time

This is a hard one. You just have to make the time. Schedule yourself half an hour to an hour once a week to do some writing. Personally I write in the evening while my wife and her family watch TV. A long time ago I decided I wasn’t that interested in TV and there are other things I’d rather do. These days that’s reading/writing about SQL Server. But then again I’m a sad confused sort of person. For those of you with a life this is going to be a bit more difficult.

No one is going to read what I write.

I’m going to be honest here. At first, no, not too many people are going to even know you have a blog. But in time you’ll be surprised at how interested people can be in what you have to say. Try syndicating your blog to SQL Server Central and/or Toad World. Both sites are popular places to read blogs so you will end up getting a fair amount of traffic from them.

Excuses are just that. You can always find one, but if you really want to get something done there is almost always a way. If you have any other reasons you don’t feel like you can manage to write a blog but you really want to feel free to drop me a line and I’ll see what I can do to help.

Filed under: Blogging, Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Judo's Monthly DBA Challenge, SQLServerPedia Syndication, T-SQL Tuesday Tagged: blogging, language sql, microsoft sql server, SQL Judo's Monthly DBA Challenge, T-SQL Tuesday