my first blog try -- need help

I'm the wrestling beat writing at a 35k paper. Wrestling postseason starts next week, and, needless to say, people in this area are wrestling fanatics. Anyway, with this being my second year on the beat, I decided to create a postseason wrestling blog. We have a sponsor for it, a name and logo for it, which begins Monday.

I will have special features, trivia, previews, etc. I've promoted it in the paper and told everyone about the blog. My question is: What should my expectations be? This is my first go-around with a blog and I plan to update it at least once a day. I'm also doing a live blog from the state meet.

I really want this to go well, but should I get my hopes up? I have no doubt there will be good content, but I just hope people will see it.

Thanks for the help

 

If you blog, you need to do it more than once a day. Multiple updates throughout. As for people who will see it, who knows. Wrestling is a niche sport and you'll only get a small percentage of those people to look at your blog.

The problem with doing a blog just for the post-season is that you don't have time to build an audience. It's just a few weeks of work and then you are done.

 

Reggie check your PMs

 

My hope is to have the blog throughout the season next year. This is a trial run.

 

Don't spill everything you know into every individual post. Think of each entry as a burst of fact, or news, or trivia (or even opinion if that's where you and your bosses want to go) rather than a full story (or column). People generally don't have the time or inclination to read multiple 15- to 20-inch features online, so don't waste time crafting and weaving Fine Pieces of Literature. Blogging is a game of quick-hit information and frequency.

Keep the writing bright and tight (somewhere between two and four grafs usually will suffice) and post frequently throughout the day. This isn't a major-league beat, so three or four daily posts probably would be enough to give the impression of "total coverage" ... but you know your audience best. Think of your blog as a live "reporter's notebook" -- each entry is the equivalent of an item in a notes column.

And link to things whenever you find it necessary. That way you don't have to waste time and space rehashing what's available elsewhere. This works nicely when you're referencing one of your own earlier stories. Take advantage of the dynamic nature of the medium.

Good luck. We're all counting on you.