Here’s some of the reasons that I have enjoyed launching TwiTip (and why I think occasionally starting a new blog is a good idea):1. To Keep Fresh – perhaps the thing that I’ve enjoyed the most about the process of starting TwiTip is that it’s given me energy. While I love ProBlogger and DPS and they do give me energy – there’s something special about new blogs. The excitement of launching, the gathering of a new readership, exploring new topics, seeing how readers respond to your posts, connecting with other blogs in a niche. Starting a new blog can give you energy and keep you fresh.
2. To Explore New Tools – I’ve found it harder and harder to keep up with the latest plugins and tools available to bloggers in the last year or so – simply because my main two blogs have gotten to a point where they are quite stable and don’t really need too many tweaks. TwiTip has allowed me to play with some new tools/plugins, techniques, features that I might not have tested otherwise. In a sense TwiTip has become a live testing ground for new techniques – some of which will probably be incorporated in my other blogs.
3. To Explore New Design – In a similar way – TwiTip has been fun for me to explore a new way of presenting content with a new theme. I’ve enjoyed the Thesis theme a lot and have played a little with some of its features. In coming weeks I hope to unveil a new design too which again will be fun to present.
4. To Experiment with New Voices – Sometimes when you have been writing a blog for a few years it is easy to fall into patterns in the way that you write. The patterns might not be bad (they could work well for your audience) but it is easy to become a little dry as a result. A new blog gives you space to explore new styles of communication.
5. Extra Income Stream – I didn’t expect it to happen quite so quickly but in December TwiTip welcomed its first ever sponsor – SitePoint. I’ll write about the process of this at some point soon – but it essentially happened as a result of building a decent daily readership and while it’s not big dollars – it certainly is a nice extra income stream. Read also Blog Strategy.