My 1,000th Post!!! | 11 Things I’ve Learned Creating 1,000 Posts

Drum roll please…sound the trumpets…alright band —let’s kick it!!!

This is my 1,000th blog post!!!!!

1,000 blog posts equals a lot of content that took a long time to create. For example, even if you posted 1x a day without fail, it would take you nearly 2 3/4 years or about 33 months to publish 1,000 posts. We’re talking ORIGINAL CONTENT friends—not reposting content from other sites (which is fine, if that’s your thing).

I published my first post on The Devotional Guy™ in November 2013. I knew just enough about blogging to potentially break the internet. But, the World Wide Web didn’t implode OR explode. The blogosphere didn’t collapse. I kept creating content and life went on.

Through my digital journey, I’ve made real world connections. I’ve had in person conversations with folks on the other end of my posts —the readers and followers of The Devotional Guy™.

The audience has changed over the years. There are people who, once upon a time, read faithfully and commented regularly who I don’t hear much from anymore. I’ve seen a number of bloggers ride off into the evening sunset of the blogosphere never to be seen or heard from again.

Undoubtedly, you learn a lot over the course of publishing 1,000 posts over nearly a decade. Here is a list of 11 Things I’ve Learned Creating 1000 Posts:

1. Images matter. Like a great title, images cause people to stop, look, read, like, and comment.
2. Choose the right words for your title. Titles draw people in. “My Blogpost” isn’t clever or exciting. You need something with a bit of flair if you’re going to stand out in the forest of content populating the blogosphere.
3. Your words make an impact. Learning that my words helped someone is perhaps the most powerful—and humbling—aspect of blogging.
4. Audiences take time to grow (substance vs fluff). Keep at it. Try new things. Work on your blog like you would your garden.
5. A good blog takes commitment. Good things usually do.
6. Blogging is about community. People crave connection through community.
7. It’s okay not to be everyone’s cup of tea. Coffee is better for you anyway. You do you.
8. A lot of life happens over the course of ONE THOUSAND posts. There are loved ones who were here on Planet Earth kicking it when I published my early posts that are dancing with Jesus now.
9. Your niche morphs over time. Where you started is not where you find yourself now. Today is not where you will be tomorrow.
10. It’s important to be passionate and to have fun. Otherwise, why spend precious time doing it.
11. All good things come to end, eventually. Even this blog. (But not now).

There are things I learned that I need to be better at as well.

• Spend more time reading other blogs and engage more with the bloggers that create them.
• Share more of what I’ve learned. I’m at that age and season where I’ve collected some knowledge and picked up a smidgen of wisdom.
• Write better posts. Improve my vocabulary and be more intentional about word choice. Work harder to find the best word.
• Be more faithful in posting more consistently. Look, I don’t think posting daily is sustainable for me in the long run. But, who knows. However, posting sporadically isn’t good for the long haul either.
• Continue honing my niche. What began as blog hoping to exposit Scripture and provide an encouraging word of hope morphed over time.

The Devotional Guy™ is becoming more of a lifestyle blog focusing on stories about real life and sharing memories garnered from past experiences. My blog—-hopefully—will show people what it looks like to try and live a lifestyle of worship. Ultimately, I want you to grow more closely to God and experience God on a deeper, more intimate level, by spending time reading The Devotional Guy™.

Over the past 1,000 posts, I’ve created content for my blog on desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. I’ve published all of The Devotional Guy™ content on WordPress.

Over the years, WordPress has changed as well. Advances in platform development drive what innovation and creativity look like in our 21st-century blogosphere.

How long will it take me to get to my 2,000th post?

I don’t know. Come along and let’s see what the future brings—I’m sure it will be exciting!

In celebration of my 1,000th post, I am inviting fellow bloggers to write a GUEST POST for my blog. Interested? Please reach out to me via the COMMENTS below.

Thank you for reading throughout the years. I’m blown away by your faithfulness and unwavering support of The Devotional Guy™.

The best is yet to come!

With heartfelt love,

Rainer Bantau

aka The Devotional Guy™

#bgbg2#BibleGateway #Blogtober