Beyond Sunday Worship

Worship Podcast

10 Blogs I Visit Every Day for Killer Content

I’ve wanted to write this post for a while because I think you need to be reading these blogs. Literally, everyday I’ll visit these sites and learn something. Whether it’s a spiritual insight, a productivity idea, business help, humor, or just plain brilliance, these blogs never fail to deliver.

Contrary to what you may think, I don’t just read worship books and listen to worship music all day. I enjoy gleaning inspiration from a lot of different sources, and even read some things that I occasionally disagree with. I think it helps to strengthen what I believe and causes me to speak more clearly on a subject.

For a few of my favorite worship blogs, check out this post.

With that being said, enjoy:

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How To Blog Successfully (for more than a week)

I’ve seen it so many times.

Someone has a passion to start a blog. They get set up on a free account. They post some killer content.

After a week, they lose steam. Weeks, maybe months, go by without a post.

The first week or month of a blog is the honeymoon phase. You have tremendous vision for it only to run out of ideas after a week of sprinting.

Or, you start posting randomness that nobody cares about.

Has this been your story?

Blogger, are you hitting your target?

Maybe it’s not your desire to become a professional blogger or to blog with consistency. That is fine and wonderful if you just like to journal your thoughts and have a few readers.

But if it’s your desire to have a widely read blog, there’s a few things you should do.

With this post I hope to infuse some new life into your blog. Or maybe you’re thinking of starting a blog. This post will get you started with realistic expectations and set you up for long term success.

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How to Get the Most Out of Reading Blogs

Do you read blogs? Obviously you do because you are are reading this right now. I do a lot of reading but when it comes to reading blogs, I prefer the ones that are brief, practical, and teach me new things. I simply don’t want to read a book when I sit down to read blogs. I like to read fast, archive what is helpful, and apply what is practical.

That’s why I write a lot of list posts (they can be scanned quickly) and how to’s (practical). Here’s how I would recommend you read blogs:

SCHEDULE YOUR BLOG READING

While the internet has revolutionized our lives in numerous ways, if we don’t plan how we use it we won’t get anything done. I make it a point to not read blogs throughout the day. It keeps me from doing the work I’m supposed to do. So schedule it. It depends on the day, but I’ll either scan blogs early in the morning or late afternoon. Don’t allow the internet to keep you from contributing rather than consuming.

USE A BLOG READER

I personally use Google Reader. But there are scores of others. Rather than visiting individual sites or even clicking links from Twitter, subscribe to your favorite blogs. Then you can set a dedicated time where you read. This has helped me be more productive and focus. Twitter becomes more of a scan and less of a link jumping exercise.

CREATE FOLDERS WITHIN YOUR BLOG READER

It has been incredibly helpful to group my blogs in folders. My current folders are Blogging, Business, Christian, Finance, Leadership, Productivity, Technology, Worship, and Young Adult Ministry. I have all my blogs listed in their proper folder. This helps me read blogs based on the mood I’m in. I can select precisely what I want to read.

SAVE POSTS YOU WANT TO READ LATER

Like I said, I prefer to read blogs fast. But sometimes there’s a power packed post with content I can’t resist. Use something like Instapaper or Evernote to save posts for later and revisit them when you have a day off (I prefer Instapaper for its simplicity here).

APPLY SOMETHING YOU’VE LEARNED

The power of blogs are in their practicality. When I come across a post that is incredibly helpful, I’ll save it in Instapaper, revisit it later, and add an action step to my task list. Otherwise ideas get lost. Life gets too busy. When you read something you’d like to do, write it down and make it happen.

COMMENT ON POSTS

Another perk of reading blogs is how it engages you in a community. Bloggers love it when you comment on their blogs. They want to interact with you. They want to learn from you. They may even want to highlight what you are doing. It will also help grow your blog, if you have one. This could take a really long time, so be careful here. Find the best blogs and comment. Add value.

I hope this blog has been a source of encouragement to you. As I’m setting some goals for 2011, I’d like to continue blogging and writing content that is of interest and benefit to you. In my blogging I seek to be engaging and helpful.

So, will you help me?

What issues are you facing that you’d like me to address?

What are some more things I should write about?

Thanks for the feedback.