ChurchCommunicationsPro

10/17/2006

5 Blogging Questions with Tim Ellsworth

As part of the "Blogging 101 for Pastors" series [click here to see all the posts], I've been asking several proflic blogging pastors to answer five basic questions about blogging.

Tim Ellsworth, who happens to have one of the most classic-looking sports-themed blogs I've seen, is our next 5 Blogging Questions responder. I met Tim at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting a year ago or so. I've long admired his work in Baptist life. He currently serves as at a Christian university and writes a sports column for Baptist Press.

1. Why (or how) did you start blogging?

Actually, my mom played a prominent role. About a year and a half ago she showed me an article she had read in Reader's Digest about the new phenomenon of blogging. The article focused specifically on Instapundit but it also mentioned some other bloggers and the emergence of the blogosphere.

"You ought to do this," she said. "You'd be good at it."

I had tried my hand at blogging previously, using a Blogger account, but I didn't give it a wholehearted effort and closed the blog down after only a few months. But now with my mother's encouragement, I was determined to try again. And this time I was going to do it right.

Since I had been writing a weekly column for more than four years, I figured a blog would be an appropriate expansion of that. It would give me a place to organize my thoughts and develop some ideas that might become future columns. It would give me a place to interact with readers. And, it would give me a place to dialogue and debate, which I love to do.

2. What subject do you post most about?

The tagline on my blog is pretty descriptive: "Sports, Christianity, culture, parenting." Sports is by far my largest subject, mainly because the column that I write for Baptist Press is a sports column. But I throw in enough other stuff, hopefully, to keep it interesting for people who aren't diehard sports fans. Mainly, I post about whatever it is that interests me.

3. What are your favorite blog tools?

First would have to be RSS feeds and Bloglines.com to keep up with news sources and other blogs. This is a wonderful tool that has revolutionized my news and blog consumption. No longer do I have to visit dozens of sites to see if they've been updated. Using Bloglines, I can read all the new content in one place.

I use Wordpress as my blogging software, and it's outstanding. I didn't know hardly anything about HTML and all the technical stuff when I started, and still don't know a lot, so it was important for me to find something that was easy to use. Wordpress is. It also has all kinds of plug-ins available that allow me to add the functionality I want.

For hosting, I use GoDaddy.com, and their service has been excellent as well.

4. How often do you post?

Typically three-five times a day. Less on the weekends. I tried to post more frequently in the early going to help build up the readership -- so people would return often because they knew they'd find something new. My frequency has been a little lower lately.

5. What one piece of advice would you give for prospective blogging pastors?

I'd say if you want your blog to be an interactive community, be sure to respond to readers who are kind enough to leave comments. I can't count the number of times I've left a comment on someone's blog, and they never respond. That only discourages people from commenting the next time.

When I started, I made it a point to respond to as many comments as I could, and I think that strategy has paid off. Somehow, my blog has developed into this interesting little community that often gets dozens of comments a day. It takes a little time to keep up with all of them, but it's definitely worth it.


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posted by Cory Miller at 4:16:00 PM  

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