Don’t start that blog until… You Recruit Your Squad

This is Part 3 in a series. Here’s Part 1 and Part 2…

Writing is ideal for an introvert-ish like me. I have enough going on in my head that I can keep myself company for ages without interacting with any other human being. Blogging, however, is more than writing. A blog is public and interactive and I think before you walk out of the house with your underwear sticking out of your pants, you should have someone there to tell you that your underwear is sticking out. Then, even if you decide you’re fine with it, someone in the world has loved you enough to point out your questionable choices and give you feedback on them.

Before we launched #staymarried, I had my Squad in place. I knew I would write and produce content, but I am not a designer and, at the time, knew nothing about Photoshop or how to set up a blog on the internet. The first member of my Squad was, naturally, my husband Tony Peterson. While I dreamed up topics to write about and subjects that I hoped would help people navigate their own marriage, he dreamed up what the site would look like and how it would function. He had logo and branding ideas ready for me to look at by the time I’d written post #7. He believed in me and in the concept for the blog and even though he charges a decent fee to his clients, I got him for the small price of being married to him and birthing his children.

The second member of the #staymarried Squad was Katie the Editor. I knew early on that if I wanted to produce something of quality and substance I would need someone to make sure my underwear wasn’t hanging out in the form of typos and grammatical errors. I didn’t know Katie well when I asked her if she would help. All I knew was that she read a lot of books and was a proclaimed member of the Grammar Police. I was nervous to make that phone call, I knew I had nothing to offer Katie in exchange for her help. I asked anyway and four years later she is still on board. I couldn’t really tell you why (maybe she will) but I hope it’s because she understands and believes in the vision we have to bring hope, stories, and resources to help people with the beautiful and daunting work of marriage.

So, at the core, there are three of us responsible for all of the work on #staymarried:

The #staymarried Blog Squad

In addition to the three of us, I have worked with a handful of talented photographers who, like Katie, believe in the work that we do and send me their incredible images to use in our posts. We always give credit, but that’s as much as I can offer. Here are a few of my favorite examples…

Original photos used with permission from Amy Walton, Jake Gravbrot, and Lindsay Hale (L-R)

We’ll talk more about images a little later.

I have also worked with a few guest bloggers, but not many. That process can be more work than it’s worth for me, so now I only accept two or three guest posts per year and they are held to a pretty strict set of guidelines like “no selling stuff” and “your story must be true and your own.” I’m more interested in helping people in their marriages than I am in promoting things to buy. Sometimes those things crossover, but not often. With your blog, you can feel free to come up with your own guidelines for guest posts. But, first, recruit your Squad.

For today’s assignment, fill in the blanks for the following questions:

1. Who will write and create content?
   _________________________
2. Who will proofread, edit, and challenge your draft?
   _________________________
3. Who will design the site and take care of tech?
   _________________________
4. Who will design post-specific images, or take photos?
   _________________________

Now, maybe you’re saying to yourself, “Michelle, you don’t know me. I am a Jack(ie) of all trades. I can write well, never make grammatical or spelling errors, I can create stellar images, write my own code, take my own photographs, and design my own logo.” If that’s the case then don’t let me hold you back. Do your thing! I think that’s exciting!

Over the years I have actually learned to do a lot of those things, too. But I am still nowhere near the designer that Tony is and I still couldn’t tell you what the rules are with quotations and punctuation while Katie knows it all by heart. So, even if you know you can do it all on your own, I still recommend you have at least one person besides yourself on your Blog Squad. You’re about to put your ideas out into the World Wide Web. Don’t you want at least one trusted friend who knows you and believes in you and tells you the truth to give it a once over before before you subject it to the entire public? The answer is yes. Yes, you do.

So, share your vision with a few people. Ask someone you trust to take a look at your work. Make sure you have someone in your corner, and not just for the technical aspects of launching a blog. You’re going to need your Squad to encourage you when you publish something that doesn’t get any traffic. You’re going to need your Squad to remind you why you started when you spiral down into a season of depression and decide to quit not only the blog but all of life. You’re going to need your Squad to speak reality over you when the natural self-evaluation turns into desperate self-loathing. You have to have someone there to tell you, “It’s not that bad. This part is quite good. Let’s see what else you can do.”

The assignment above is designed to help you dream up your ideal Squad.

These may be people you already know and work with, close friends, or even people you hire temporarily. Think of people that have the skills you need or are more experienced at something you’d like to learn. Before you can recruit them, you better go back and check your answers to those first three questions. Make sure you are clear on what you want so that you can be clear when you ask people to help you. Let them know what’s in it for them, even if it’s nothing. Thank them in every possible way at all possible times for investing in your vision, and give them credit when you launch. Having a team supporting you doesn’t diminish the work you do. In fact, working with other people opens up your bank of ideas and inspiration and can make you even better at what you want to do.

The people on my Squad are more than just the sum total of different talents. They are co-visionaries with me. I could have someone different proofread my posts and give me feedback each time, but Katie the Editor gets me and gets the vision in a way that nobody else does. When she has an insight or opinion, I can trust where she is coming from. When Tony starts talking about re-branding or re-organizing the site, I know he’s coming from a place of purpose and wants to see #staymarried continue to grow and help people. They both also contribute by writing about marriage from their own perspectives and I always feel honored when they do. Having a consistent team builds trust that makes the work more meaningful and fun.

Next, we’ll talk about the tools you need to get this blog launched.