We have to write better blogs.

Yes, I’m saying that both about myself as the TAG blogger, and as a teaching artist. This is what I walked away from after our great monthly TAG Meet-up last week – this inspiring point to write blogs that Teaching Artists want to read!
Many of us are deep in our practice, and our blog reading is less about our work, but more of  Facebook links to entertaining articles or political quips. Why? Because it’s more interesting? Because it’s more engaging? Because it’s less clinical? Perhaps all of the above, but our work as Teaching Artists is interesting, engaging, and artistic – so perhaps we should start writing and sharing stories that people want to read when in line at Starbucks or on the Muni.
In gearing up for our seminar, I searched for teaching artist and artist blogs. Couldn’t find many – seems like many artists are not exposing the challenges and interesting turns of the work they do, or their successful business practices through the blog platform. Perhaps artists are used to creating something that is deep and meaningful – emotionally, intellectually – and time-consuming to develop, both in the art and the engagement. Blogging seems to be short, full of links, laughter and short bits – so maybe we haven’t taken to it as a place for our place of engagement and deep learning?
Well let’s do it. Come on, TA’s this is a challenge to all of you. Write a blog, and we’ll share it here. Use the Chicago Artists Resource as inspiration – they’ve got it right.

Here are 10 things you can do to write a better blog – that teaching artists want to read:

1. Be interesting: What would you want to read in the middle of the day? Start with your moment of vulnerability – and invite conversation. We as the teaching artists felt this was the core of what we would be interested in from each others blogs.
2. Be willing to put yourself in it: The biggest challenge is to be the authentic version of yourself in writing. Start there – people want to know the artist and the practice and ideas you have. Each of us is an interesting character both in front of the classroom, in our own art practice, and perhaps even at the grocery store. Possibly…
3. Figure out your audience (and then stop thinking about them): Perhaps your audience is fans of theater who haven’t seen behind the curtains to know what else you do as a performer. You could write with this ticket-paying audience in mind, and be sure to share fun behind-the-scenes reveals. OR, perhaps you want to write for the people in your visual arts workshop, about the process of creation. Think of what they were excited about in your class. But then forget the audience, and just be yourself.
4. Consistency: Write a blog on your site at least once a week. Share it widely. You’ll start with your personal friends, but the audience will grow if you do it consistently.
5. Focus: What are the themes you want to write about? It’s okay to share multiple sides of who you are, and it’s also a good plan to have a focal point for what you are sharing over the longterm.
6. Facilitate opportunities for discovery: Coined by Michael Johnson, this is the suggestion that you, as a writer, are helping people discover new things. How do you do this? Link and Tag. Get it.
7. Keep the posts short and light-hearted, use lots of images and links: yes. let’s.
8. Link yourself elsewhere, share and hashtag: Find writers you want to align with. Re-tweet, share #hashtags, link to their sites, comment on their blogs, and send an introductory email that you have featured them in your blog. Then ask if they might link back when the time is right.
9. Connect ideas to current events in your blog, and pop-up higher in searches: If I could start again I would wish I had written this Pinterest page that sits on page one in Quinoa toddler recipes.
10. Collaborate and Connect with each other! Let’s collectively use the art of blogging to get people to pay attention to the amazing things that we all do as teaching artists – and actually share each others blogs. Can I get a share on your page?

 

 
p.s. if you are starting from zero here’s a nice blogging 101 website.