Matt Yglesias and the secret of blogging - by Max Read

I get asked with some regularity from people that want to write more online. Usually this isn't about creating a business, but just as a hobby.

But the key lesson, the thing I would impart to any aspiring bloggers, content creators, or newsletter proprietors, is that the cornerstone of internet success is not intelligence or novelty or outrageousness or even speed, but regularity. There are all kinds of things you can do to develop and retain an audience -- break news, loudly talk about your own independence, make your Twitter avatar a photo of a cute girl -- but the single most important thing you can do is post regularly and never stop.

Regularity is the key. I might add to ignore analytics too. Force yourself to find the reward for writing and sharing intrinsically in yourself, and not from others. Like all things, external validation will only get you so far.

Write for one person. It is fine if that one person is you.