Anastasia Goodstein, a San Francisco writer, blogs at Ypulse — Y as in youth, meaning teenagers. She came to blogging from the “other side” — from journalism rather than subject-matter expertise — and blogging is one way she makes a living. She has written a book called Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online.
What did you slowly learn about blogging from doing it?
I learned when you are running a professional blog that has to be updated every day (or five days a week), you just can’t be brilliant every day. You have days where you have no clue what to blog about or when you’re just not inspired, but still you have to post. I also learned that posts I think might be amazing may get no response while other posts that I didn’t think were that great generate lots of comments. I have found ways to produce content that don’t rely on me having to write full blown posts all the time. I do a lot of Q&As (like this), repost some of the more interesting comments and have easy features like Ypulse Quote (where I find a relevant and interesting quote) or From The Ypulse WTF files (a short post about something that just makes you scratch your head).
I think blogging is a great way to work your writing muscles and develop/strengthen your writing voice — it takes focus and discipline and it’s public so you get feedback on what you do. I love blogs where you find great info and get to know the blogger — For example, USA Today’s Pop Candy, written by Whitney Matheson is one of my favorites.
What do non-bloggers fail to realize about blogging?
I think non-bloggers don’t realize how much work it is (see number one) — to build a decent readership, you have to update your blog pretty regularly. They may not realize that blogging can be financially lucrative — there are many writers now being hired as professional bloggers, individual bloggers like myself who have build media brands from their blogs and consultants and agencies who have used their blogs to generate lots of business.
You write: “Since May 2004 Ypulse has been updated five days a week . . . [in] September 2006 . . I decided to try to make Ypulse my full-time gig.” Was it a hard decision? What was behind it, besides the obvious advantages of working for oneself?
The decision to leave Current TV was agonizing — I love the mission of the network and very much enjoyed the people I worked with. I left partly to be able to promote my book, Totally Wired, which came out in March of 2007, and because Ypulse was becoming more than just a side project. The scariest part of leaving a job is leaving the security of a regular paycheck and benefits. I also wasn’t sure where I wanted to focus. I was going to try consulting, maybe launch a paid subscription product — I wasn’t sure. It has been a year since I left my job, and it was the best decision I’ve made. I now have a business partner helping me grow, a successful conference business and am still promoting my book on the road, which I never could have done working full time.