BBAW Day 5: Blogging

It's day 5 of Book Blogger Appreciation Week and there is one more topic up for discussion.  Today, BBAW has posed this topic:

The world of blogging is continually changing. Share 3 things that are essential tried and true practices for every blogger and 1-3 new trends or tools you’ve adapted recently or would like to in the future.

This topic is a little more tough for me, simply because I've never really thought about it.  I've been using Blogger since 2008, though this particular blog is young, so it's become habitual enough that I had to think about it for quite a while.  However, I think the top 3 practices that I implement are:

1. I read my posts before clicking "publish."  I don't always catch typos and/or misspellings, but it definitely helps.
2. I keep a tentative list of posts that I would like to write for the week.  It makes for a good starting off point if I have spare time with which to write.  Then, I can prepare posts days in advance.  I'm a big fan of the Sticky Notes application for my laptop for this reason.  My list goes wherever my laptop does.
3. If I am having difficulty coming up with the right words, I like to bust out the tried-and-true pen and paper.  For some reason, I tend to be much more conscious of wording structure as I am writing on paper than I am if I am typing my thoughts directly onto the screen.  Those are the days that my posts require less re-reading.

The second half of the topic is much easier for me to recognize in my blogging habits.  Some may be a little surprising in that I took so long to start using them, but here they are, nonetheless:

1. Blogger in Draft: Yes, I am just beginning to use the new interface for Blogger.  I had been using the old interface for years, I was familiar with it, and I didn't want to let go of it quite yet.  However, now that the transition is beginning in earnest, I thought it would be a good idea to learn about this new interface before I was left high and dry.
2. Google Analytics: I've only been using Analytics since May, but I am definitely a fan.  It is great that I can click a few links to find out where my blog is lagging and where my traffic is coming from.  
3. Klout: I just signed up for this service yesterday, so I am still learning the ropes.  However, the idea behind it is interesting and it does let me know some useful information.  We will just have to see how useful it really is as more times passes.

That's all for me.  I'm a set-in-her-ways blogger that tries to implement new things when they are called for.  If there's a problem, I look for ways to solve it or get around it.

I hope you all have had a great time during BBAW.  I have definitely enjoyed pondering all of these topics and getting my thoughts down in a more tangible form.  Thanks go out to all of those who have stopped by this week.  You are welcome anytime and I hope to see you around again!