30 things I wish I knew before writing my first 50 stories.

I recently published 50 stories on medium. Yay. Celebrations!!

Each story has a story of its own.

The story of my 50 stories

Here are 30 things I wish I knew before, during, and after writing my first blog.

Published 53 blogs and 20 in draft!!! More about this later.

Before you start your first blog

1. Define your purpose: Clearly understand the purpose of your blog. My niche is mostly educating, inspiring, or sharing personal experiences around product management, leadership, entrepreneurship and business development. Define your niche clearly. Maybe write it down somewhere.
2. Define your target audience and tailor your content accordingly. My audience is mostly budding and experienced product managers and leaders in the making. Therefore, my blogs are also written keeping this audience in mind.
3. Do not overthink: I was very apprehensive to publish my first blog. Once I was done writing, I saw someone else had authored a similar article. I felt very discouraged and felt that I should never publish since folks will think that I copied. Do not overthink. When you have something in mind, write. Write your own stories but write.
4. Plan your content: Create an outline or a content calendar to organize your ideas. I have not done very well at this. Whenever an idea pops into my mind, I write the blog title along with a rough structure. I have 53 blogs published and 20 drafts. These 20 drafts are those popped up ideas.
5. Dream: Always dream big but be reasonable in your expectations. If you plan to have 1 million followers in 3 months after publishing 180 articles, it could be possible but don’t feel discouraged if you don’t reach the goal. For example, I thought that by the time I write 50 articles, I should have at least 2000 subscribers. I have reached only 502 but that is ok. :) Maybe some tips from established writers can help here.
6. Be thick skinned: Success in blogging does not come easy. You will struggle. Do not feel discouraged if you are unable to meet your dream goals. There have been articles such as these where I had put an unbelievable amount of effort and courage and expected these to go viral however, these did not make the mark. It gave me the opportunity to reflect. Iron Man’s Functional Spec for Mark 1 | by Sandeep Chadda | Medium [20 hours of effort over a month] 10+1 Pricing strategies for products (Blog 1/3) | by Sandeep Chadda | Medium [Entire pricing series of blogs took me 15 hours of effort over a month]
7. Ephemeral or perennial: Do you wish to write point in time content or long-lasting content? I only write long lasting content that can last for at least few years. Ephemeral content is short lived for example, news related content. There is an audience for both so select your niche.
8. Don’t write to fill up space: There are many bloggers who target 100 articles in 100 days. I don’t know how that works. Each article needs time. You need to do your research and reflect when you tell your side of the story. I have 20 articles running side by side and it easily takes me 2–6 weeks on each story.
9. Expect failure: Each blog I write, I do with the intention of writing a blog with million dollars` worth of value :) However, many such blogs are dwindling with < 100 views and around 3–40 reads :) Earlier, I used to feel extremely discouraged but now I know how this works. For example, I thought this blog would garner great response but it did not work as expected :) Stop all your feature development! | by Sandeep Chadda | Medium [471 views]
10. Expect sudden surprise but don’t time it: I have around 12 /50 articles that have more than 1.5 k views. Modest numbers however, I know that only 20% of my articles will drive any traffic and I don’t know which ones are going to be those. For example, my most popular articles are:

8 common mistakes in a Product Management interview. | by Sandeep Chadda | Medium

A simple structure to think about any metrics for any product. | by Sandeep Chadda | Medium

Don’t think much. Write first.

As you write your blog

1. What is different: I always ask this question when I write a blog. Will this blog add any value for my audience? If yes, then is my blog unique in terms of content and adding value or can my audience find similar content online? If the answer is yes to both the questions, then I pick up such articles.
2. Use visuals: Incorporate relevant images, infographics, or videos to complement your text. I always use Dall-E from Bing for all my images. No IP infringement concerns. Also, for some blogs where I feel there is a need for additional explanation, I add youtube videos as well.
3. Write in a conversational tone: I use a conversational tone to connect with my readers and make them feel like they’re having a conversation with me. For example, I use sentences in first voice or second voice. You will see a lot of I-s and You-s in my blogs.
4. Provide valuable and useful information: Your blog should offer something of value to your readers. I try to pick topics that provide insights, tips, solutions, or just my story about an existing problem.
5. Include stories: Weave personal stories into your blog posts to make them relatable and memorable. I weave my personal experiences in my blogs to make them an easier read since stories are understood better than concepts.
6. Edit and proofread: After writing your blog, take the time to edit and proofread for grammar, spelling, and clarity. I employ 2 techniques. I paste my content in word and check for vocabulary and grammatical errors. Once done, I proofread the content before pressing the publish button.
7. Be clear and concise: Use simple language to convey your ideas. Avoid jargons, acronyms, or technical terms unless your audience is familiar with them. I follow the rule of 20 by 3. That is, none of my sentences should be more than 20 words or 3 lines long. If so, I shorten them. I also try to keep the reading time of a blog between 5 and 7 minutes. This one is touching 9 minutes so, I apologize.
8. Block some time: Have a periodic ritual to write your blogs. I write my blogs on weekends when my kids are doing their homework. That ways I do not compromise on my family time. But that also means, no homework == no blogs :) For example, as I publish this blog my son is finishing his English homework :)
9. Revisit: You don’t have to start and finish a blog on the same day and publish it asap. Take your time. I often write a blog on one weekend and re-read / publish it the next weekend. That helps me to revisit and revise some of the things I may have written. For example, this blog was first written on July 1st, 2023, but I published it on July 8th, 2023 and edited it even further on July 9th, 2023.
10. Find your balance: At one stage, I was getting so much attention for my blogs that the adrenalin pushed me to compromise on my family time. I wrote about this earlier when I almost stopped writing. A simple structure to think about any metrics for any product. | by Sandeep Chadda | Medium. Find your balance. Don’t compromise on your family, work, or health, else you will start hating what you love doing the most.

Read what you have written before you push the publish button.

After you write your blog

Admission — I have hardly done anything that the maestros do to grow their blogs. Read this as my TO DO list where I am yet to invest therefore you may not hear anything I have done well here.

1. Use SEO techniques: Optimize your blog posts for search engines by incorporating relevant keywords and meta tags. This helps improve your blog’s visibility in search engine results and attracts organic traffic.
2. Promote your blog: Share your blog on social media platforms to drive traffic. I only use twitter, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp for my promotion. I must admit, I have not done very well at that. I have not collaborated with other bloggers or engaged in guest posting to increase my blog’s visibility. I have not utilized any marketing technique to reach a wider audience. Most of my growth is organic i.e., readers like you in medium find me on medium :).
3. Analyze and adapt: One of my mentors told me to keep track of my blog’s performance using analytics tools. Analyze which topics, headlines, and formats resonate most with your audience. I have not done very well at this either. I just write what I feel will resonate with my audience.
4. Build an email list: Offer a subscription option on your blog to capture email addresses of interested readers. Send regular newsletters or updates to your subscribers with links to your latest blog posts, exclusive content, or special offers. I have done very poorly on this. Today only 3% of my audience is subscribed to my emails as well.
5. Guest blogging: Write guest posts for other popular blogs in your niche. This exposes your content to a wider audience and helps you establish yourself as an authority. Include a link back to your blog in the author bio or within the content to drive traffic back to your site.
6. Network with other bloggers: Attend conferences, join blogging communities or forums, and connect with fellow bloggers. Building relationships with other bloggers can lead to collaboration opportunities, guest posting invitations, and valuable advice. I have not done any of this.
7. Find a Mentor: If you have 500 subscribers then seek mentorship from someone who is 10x of your subscription base. Mentors can really help and add value to your blogging journey. I have personally asked 5 bloggers but none of them have obliged so far. I will keep trying. If you are a prolific blogger and have the time to mentor, then happy to learn from you.
8. Monetize: Monetization is a great boost to your blogging journey. When you see quantifiable value getting generated and resulting in financial value, you are twice as much motivated to write better. Therefore with this blog I set up my patreon account. I am expecting not more than 1% subscribers to donate. Let’s see how it goes.
9. Persevere: Many bloggers and writers start with a lot of dreams but give up mid-way for not seeing adequate results. As I said, be prepared for slow and tumultuous growth. You will reach your dreams but don’t give up. Continue to persevere despite failure.
10. Continuously learn and adapt: Stay up to date with industry trends, content marketing strategies, and new platforms or tools. Learn from both successes and failures and write your own blog on 30 things you would do differently when you reach your milestone numbers.

May you have a lot of fans for what you write.

Writing a blog is a creative process, and it requires patience and perseverance. So, allow your personality and unique voice to shine through your writing. With time and practice, you’ll refine your writing skills and create compelling content that resonates with your audience.

If you’ve found value in my content and would like to support its continuation, then leave a clap or follow my content. I also invite you to consider making a contribution at Patreon.

All the money I receive will be donated to charities such as CRY India — Most Trusted Top NGO For Children That Works On Child Rights and Spreading awareness about cancer | Indian Cancer Society.

You can follow me on youtube or medium for regular updates on my own journeys of product management, blogging, business management, and leadership.