Right now, I feel like a kid that just got out of time-out. I had some time to reflect on what I have done, but I am left still feeling ashamed of myself.
I started Tax Docket in order to create a platform to reach out to other practicing and aspiring tax professionals, while furthering my interest in taxes and the law. While I was able to keep this going for a few months, I did what many “bloggers” stop doing — blogging. I let other things get in the way and repeated to myself the infamous line I often tell myself when I don’t want to do something — “I’ll do it tomorrow.”
Running a blog, let alone a tax blog, requires a commitment to keeping up with current events including what others are saying about whatever it is you blog about, staying in touch with your audience, and continuing to communicate content consistently and reliably. I may have been steeped (oftentimes buried) in the world of tax during my time in the Graduate Tax Program at NYU and now as a first-year tax associate, however, it meant nothing to my blog, because I put off sharing the information for another day. Here are a few lessons I want to share with you about my experience that I intend on incorporating into my blogging routine moving forward with Tax Docket:
Take it slow. One of my regrets is blogging to often. In the early days of Tax Docket, I tried to update the blog 4-5 times-a-day. For a full-time student and now full-time associate, that is an unreasonable posting goal. Also, posting a few times a week, rather than a few times a day, would have allowed me to post more thoughtful articles. From now on, I will leave it to my long-lost pals over at Going Concern to provide you with your more than once-a-day tax fix.
Provide a point-of-view. As I scroll back through my past blog posts, I realize a lot of what I did was post “up-to-the-minute” tax news, instead of focusing on providing the news, in addition to some analysis. As an attorney, there is always that “legal advice” line you have to worry about crossing, but I think there are still ways of providing thoughtful posts without stepping over to the “unethical” side of the profession.
Keep going. If you are like me, blogging is a part-time gig (and as of late, not a gig at all). Like everything else that is not your full-time job, you have to find time to put blogging in your already busy schedule. One thing my wife does, is write multiple posts in one sitting. This is a great time management technique that ensures that your blog stays fresh with new posts.