Four Lessons and a Challenge for a Coder Struggling to Write

23 Sep 2024 #writing

Last week, Syed, one of my email subscribers, shared his struggles with writing online.

Here’s an edited version of Syed’s email:

I wanted to start writing about my debugging journey of the things I had been stuck with long time and then solving it finally… But I couldn’t continue as I thought my website wasn’t the best with SEO and no one may read it on my website. Then I shifted to Twitter and later, due to fewer engagements, I couldn’t continue there either. Well no I think maybe writing for some well-known forums might be the way.

For Syed and you that want to start writing as a software developer:

Don’t Create, Document

Start by sharing what you do and what you learn. That’s a good start.

Writing online is like keeping a public time capsule. If you don’t know what to add to your time capsule, follow the 20-minute rule: if something takes you more than 20 minutes to figure out, write about it.

Write about your learning and the problems you’re solving at work. Probably, the next time you’re googling something, you will find your own writing. That’s magical.

If You Want to Start Writing, Don’t Start Your Own Blog

And don’t code your own blogging engine either.

When we want to start writing, we fall back to doing what we know best — coding — and start by coding a blogging engine. That’s where writing and blogging die.

The best place to start is on “social blogs.” Platforms for long-form content with readers and a distribution mechanism. This way, you don’t have to “chase” readers with SEO tricks and you’ll have faster feedback.

If you don’t know where to start, go with dev.to or Medium. I can’t recommend dev.to enough. It’s a beginner-friendly and welcoming platform for coders.

Once you start on a social blog, keep your blog as your main hub or a portfolio of your favorite posts. That’s what I do.

We All Started With Zero Readers and Followers

At the beginning, writing can feel lonely.

I wrote my first online piece in 2018 and nobody read it. Maybe only one or two of my coworkers. I saw my blog analytics going from ~10 views per month to eventually ~1000s in a matter of years. Yes, you read that right. Years.

Focus on writing your first 10 posts and keep trying and improving.

Here’s when the Show Your Work attitude keeps us writing in the long run. And like any other infinite game, you only lose if you stop playing.

Write for yourself and for sure others people will find it useful too.

SEO Is Another Skill to Master

If you go with a social blog, the platform does the SEO part for you. You don’t have to worry about it.

Search engines keep changing their rules with algorithm updates. These days, it seems Google favors Reddit posts instead of personal blogs.

You’ll be in a dead end if you try to chase every SEO update. Write for humans because search engines like it when you do that.

Instead of trying SEO tricks, go with these rules:

1. Write to answer a query people might search for in a search engine.
2. Make your posts easy to read for humans: Don’t use big chunks of text and use subheaders.
3. Link back to other posts using keywords: Don’t use “click here” or “see more.”

You see? Another skill to master. Go with a social blog.

Parting Thought and Challenge

I owe my career growth to a couple of skills: apart from coding, learning English and writing online.

After blogging for more than five years, writing online has opened doors here and there. I made my first money on the internet thanks to my blog, for example.

Even if you don’t make any money writing, it will give you clear thinking.

And if you’ve made it this far, here’s my challenge: create an account on dev.to and write your first 4 posts there and see where they take you. If you accept the challenge, contact me and share your first post.

Write as if no one is reading and then keep writing because you don’t know who’s reading.