So You Wanna Be A Blogger
My first introduction to the community, and in a way Tableau, was through blogs. In 2018 when I was working for Disney a colleague showed me Tableau and it was love at first sight. I asked my manager if I could get a Tableau license and though that was fairly easy, the next steps weren’t. I was excited to get started but had no clue where to begin. So I took a report that I was already managing out of Excel and decided to recreate it. Which is still to this day my recommendation for people who are new because you’ll know when it’s right, and you’ll know when it’s not. Luckily for me what I didn’t know in Tableau I made up for in my googling abilities and was able to get a slow and creaky start but a start nonetheless. And through many a blog, and a few swear words, I made my first viz. And the rest is history.
I used to describe myself as self-taught in Tableau because I’ve never had any formal training for it. But what I should really say is I’m community-taught because without the amazing content from the community I wouldn’t have learned most of the things I know now. And in 2021 I decided to give back by starting my own blog (by the way, thanks for reading). This is a step to community involvement many make and if you’ve been thinking about taking that step too, I have some tips for you:
Pick a host that meets your needs
This is both one of the first steps you’ll take and one of the most important. It's not just about finding a space online; it's about choosing a site that aligns with your goals, budget, and technical comfort level. Cost is a key factor, as some platforms offer free basic services with options to upgrade for more features, while others might require a subscription from the start. If you’re someone who leans more to the creative side, flexibility is also going to be a big consideration, as you'll want a platform that allows you to customize your blog's appearance and functionality to match your unique style and needs. Choosing the right platform sets a strong foundation for your blogging journey, and optimizing your choice based on your own needs will reduce friction along the way and make it easier to keep up with.
Think about the aesthetic
This isn’t on here because I think the look of the blog is the most important thing (though I do think it’s important) - this is on here because it’s the hardest part to change down the road if you really leaned into it at the beginning. When I first started my blog it was orange and blue and sort of cartoon-y. I spent time before launching making sure the fonts and assets around the blog all flowed together. But I grew tired of it quickly and wanted something a little less loud. Changing all the default settings was a pain and once I got through that, I didn’t even have the energy to update the old thumbnails. I’m not suggesting that the look you pick is going to be the one you have forever, but spending a little extra time thinking about a theme that’ll last can save you down the road.
Have 3 blogs written
Learn from me, learn from me, learn from me. Don’t launch your blog until you have a few blogs already written. This isn’t to say that you need to release your site with 3 blogs published already. Rather having a few at the ready is going to reduce the pressure you’re going to feel of churning out content immediately after. You’ll put out your blog, everyone’s going to be excited for you (I’m already excited for you), and then you’ll think “oh shiitake mushrooms, I need to make more”. And it can be daunting. Having some at the ready will ease this feeling.
No one’s going to say what you have to say the way you will
Don’t focus on saying new things as much as you focus on saying different things. By that I mean, you might want to write a blog on dashboard actions but feel discouraged because there’s already so many blogs on actions out there. Who cares? You know what isn’t out there? YOUR blog on dashboard actions. You never know when the example you give or the way you describe the technique is going to be the one thing that resonates with somebody. If you’re between writing it and not writing it, just write it.
Give yourself some grace
You will get busy and you will feel terrible. How do I know that? Because I know you’re an overachiever because only an overachiever would’ve made it this far into a blog about blogs. You can’t create content all the time and forcing yourself to do so is only going to make you resent it. Take breaks. And forgive yourself for them.
Don’t look at the analytics
They should come take away my Tableau certifications for saying this and this piece of advice is going to be heavily dependent on what your goals are for your blog but I have not once checked my blog analytics and to be honest, I’m not even sure I know how. The reason for this is because I don’t want to be discouraged if there’s a noticeable disparity between how much effort I feel like I put into a blog and how “well” it did. What does that even mean anyways? I don’t put out blogs so a million people can read them, I put them out to hopefully help someone. And that’s a metric that no blog analytics will ever tell you.
These were less tips about making the best blog and more about making blogging the best for you. But in case you need a little more encouragement, here’s some words of wisdom from three folks I admire and whose blogs I frequent.
-
"I started my blog because I was already sending weekly tech tips at my job (Alteryx, SQL, Tableau, Microsoft Office Products). Initially I wanted to help people learn various technology tools. I also taught classes on Microsoft office, SQL, etc. I find that so many people are intimidated by technology. It was my goal to approach small topics with step by step guides. If you can complete this one thing, then the technology/application doesn’t seem so big. My recommendation is to start with something small, something you know, that could help. What did you wish someone shared with you when you first started? I try to empathize with new users."
-
https://www.flerlagetwins.com/
"Always have a Google Doc easily accessible. Whenever I run into a cool tip or do something cool, I throw it into a google doc. I have one for tips and one for other things. So when it comes to writing a blog post, I have the ideas already ready to go.
I keep a schedule of my blog posts in a Google Sheet. If you want the most views possible, then you don't want to just share when you're done...that could be at 9pm on a Sunday when people aren't looking at social media. Keep a calendar of your posts and share them during the week during the work day. If you have multiple blog posts, then schedule one next week and the other a few weeks out. I try to never share more than 2 blog posts a month.
Write when you want to write it. If you force it, you won't stick with it. I've learned that the majority of people prefer videos, but I don't. I prefer to write over doing videos and if I were to force myself to always do videos because the majority prefer it, then I'll never stick with it. So I continue to write blogs versus create videos. Do what works best for you."
-
"The first thing that is crucial before anything else is know your why. For example, the way you approach it will be different if you want to be a content machine, vs blogging for fun occasionally when a new idea pops into your head. Don’t get caught up on boosting your numbers, viewership comes naturally with time, just create content that is purposeful to you, something you are proud of and that represents your own journey.
Second thing is content comes in many forms, I like blogging because I can still talk in a colloquial tone, and I don’t have to edit out “ums” constantly in my written form. After a while you get a bit of a process built around it, timeframes, content, structure to blogs. A SportsVizSunday blog probably takes less than an hour. A lengthy tutorial (excluding the build) can take a good-few hours, but I happily set them aside. You can find productivity hacks that would reduce this with GPT prompts etc – but I genuinely like the process of typing my thoughts.
Last tip I would give is “find your thing” – do you want to be known for Tableau tips? Creative charts? Best design? Fun and relatable content? Whatever it is, hone in on it and really showcase your personality and skills through it. Finding a specific set of skills or subject matters create a personal brand associated to you and will help with wider recognition."
Can’t wait to see what you create!
