Ben Holliday

Some principles for blogging

I’ve been thinking about my own approach to blogging, and making this sharable. These are some good principles to start with.

Work fast and finish things

Blog posts that take months to finish rarely work. Try not to over analyse. Proof reading 2 or 3 times is a good cut-off.

Strong opinions, loosely held are fine

Most importantly, be prepared to have an opinion.

Be clear and concise

Write in short sentences and get to the point. The reason I like Twitter is it taught me how to make a clear point in 140 characters.

Set the right tone

Always be positive and optimistic, even when you’re responding to something you disagree with. Believe that change is always possible.

Work on your own

Blogging together with other people rarely works (in my experience). The world needs your personal viewpoint.
Working with a good editor will help improve your writing, but don’t expect them to write for you.

Make things a call to action

Try to bring other people into a wider conversation. This is the importance of working in the open.

This is my blog where I’ve been writing for 18 years. You can follow all of my posts by subscribing to this RSS feed. You can also find me on Bluesky, less frequently now on X (formally Twitter), and on LinkedIn.