What I Learnt In 2009….And What To Expect In 2010
”Today I want to talk about 2009 and what lessons I have learnt in the short time I have been blogging, valuable information I have gained, blogs I feel inspired by and of course what you can expect from me in 2010.
I started blokebuddy in October 2009 with an aim to be one of the biggest blogs out there in my niche, and of course I still hold that as an ambition of mine, but one thing I learnt very early on is how much hard work it is and how much effort you need to put into a blog to make it work. I do not protest for one minute my blog is successful and after 3 months I would defy anyone who says a blog can be after such a short time, but hey I am in this for the long haul and today I want to share with my modest amount of amazing readers some things I have learnt and what the future holds for blokebuddy.
2009: What I have Learnt
Since October there have been many ups and downs as far as the blog is concerned, getting it up and running was a major headache that took a good 2 weeks to sort out, I had so much trouble finding a free theme that didn’t have some sort of annoying bug that meant the site looked rubbish, in the end I settled for my current theme from studiopress.com called ‘magazine’ I did have to pay for it but I enjoy the theme and it fits the blog nicely.
The biggest thing I learnt in 2009 was how much time and effort It takes to run a blog, I rarely get to bed before 2:00am whilst still holding down a full time job, when i’m not constructing a post I am promoting my blog in some way. I do not for one minute claim my blog is the best in the world, as that is for the readers to decide, but it doesn’t hurt to think like a successful blogger to help focus your efforts and gain popularity. I am in this for the long haul and have a lot to learn, but thankfully I realise that success is the result of hard work and luck, and i’m hoping to get some of the latter in 2010.
Lastly for this section, another thing I learnt is to have some goals. When I first started blokebuddy I had illusions of grandeur and that I was one day going to be a really successful blogger, and again I still believe I can, albeit with a lot more humility and direction, I now have a set of goals I want to achieve, small milestones that I have set myself that may seem insignificant to the A-list blogs out there, but you have to start somewhere right?
Blogs That Have Helped Or Inspire Me
Since I started the blog there have been many sites that have helped me move forward with advice, and some sites that have inspired me in some way. I am still very much a blogging newbie and I can not stress enough the importance of valuable information and help, this is where I got it.
- Problogger.net – Darren’s site has helped me understand and execute some fundamental basics to my blog, such as how to promote it, how to engage readers and also the importance of blog design.
- Man-Over-Board.com – This site is much like my own, and has provided me with some inspiration for some of my own posts, well worth a visit.
- Artofmanliness.com – This is one of the best male interest blogs out there, also one of the most well established.
- Maninstitute.com – Again another site within my niche and a fairly new one added to my blogroll, I enjoy his posts and his site layout is nice too.
- Shiteilike.com – Shiteilike will always be a bit special to me, as it’s the first ever site that allowed me to guest post for them, and for that I am eternally grateful, thanks Robbie G.
- Justaguything.com – This site gave me some inspiration on the design of my blog, it made me think more about the aesthetics of the blog and the importance of a well dressed and clean blog.
My Best Posts (in my opinion)
In my short time so far I have written nearly 100 posts, a benchmark I am pleased to reach, below is some of my posts that I feel have added either humour, entertainment or informative value to the blog, I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did writing them 
- How To Shave Correctly
- Fishing For Beginners
- Is Your Wife Cheating And Blogging About It?
- Hedgerow Food: A Guide To Getting Free Food
- 10 Things Men Don’t Want To Hear
- How To Survive Like Ray Mears
- What If Me And Clint Eastwood Were The Last Men On Earth?
- How To Give Yourself A Man Makeover
What To Expect From Me In 2010
2010 is the year I want to really push my blog forward, and reach some of the milestones I have set myself, but below is a list of what I want, new things I want to give my readers, and improvements I want to make.
- Video Posting – This year you will start to see a weekly video post of me talking about a certain subject or answering reader questions.
- Giveaways and competitions – I value my readers, so I want to be able to give out more prizes and giveaways.
- Interviews and guest posts – With influential, funny, informative people in my niche.
- Forum – As the blog grows and I gain more readers, I definitely want to incorporate a forum into the blog.
- First hand product reviews – I will be doing personal reviews of various toys and gadgets to help give honest first hand experience for my readers.
- Better reader engagement – I want to find new ways to inspire my readers, and find ways to help you interact with each other.
Well I hope this posts has given you all an insight on what to expect this year, and I would like to thank my readers for continuing to read my blog, I can’t thank you enough, if you have any suggestions for the blog like what you would like to see more of, design, layout, anything, then contact me I always want to hear from you guys. Thanks again for visiting and I wish you all a very happy new year!”
Adam Garratt
picture from cambodia4kidsorg
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Thanks for the mention, man. Look forward to working with you in 2010.
No problem at all,
What a great post and reflection upon what has transpired for you and your blog over the past few months. Seeing how we both started at the same time, I must admit, I also check your blog almost daily to see what’s stewing in your mind
.
You did a great job of listing the important things that have helped you along the way. I am sure the way you’re going you will be a great success. Just remember what you said in so far as how much time and effort it takes to do a good blog.
I think many readers who happen by, have no idea what effort goes in behind the scenes, but that’s ok, as long as they become a loyal reader and enjoy what you have to say. What more could you ask for???
I am also very grateful to be mentioned and truly appreciate you doing that. I don’t look at any one’s blog and think oh their my competition, far from it. I look and become a fan and wish them nothing but the best . I have been self employed most of my life and even in the “real” brick and mortar” business, I have always looked at someone who put in the long hours and hard work and would buy from that person before I ever thought to go to a corporate version.
My wish for you this 2010 is that at the same time next year we will be looking back and feeling even better about the state of our little piece of the blogosphere and toasting each other with a glass of bubbly. And also that God willing we can still lift that glass.
I look forward to your continued success and know you have an avid fan over here in NY, Cheers mate!!!
Thanks buddy, yeah 2010 is the year i’m going to work extra hard to make the blog as best I can for my readers, it seem that so far a forum is fairly wanted, i’ll guess i’ll see how the poll goes over the course of the month, to get a good idea what my readers want.