Hunting Blog

Since I dove down the rabbit hole that is my hunting blog and creating content in general, a constant question that lands itself in my inbox is how one goes about starting to do these things.  The simple answer to this is to take a page out of Nike’s book and “JUST DO IT.”  However, there can be quite a few moving pieces in that question.  For instance, what kind of content do you want to create?  Do you want to help people out and be a resource for folks?  Are you looking to tell your own story and inspire others?  Is your cup of tea video or writing?  These, along with others, are all questions that need to be answered before diving down the rabbit hole I mentioned earlier.

Hunting Blog

So, in order to address anyone that has been thinking about this, I am going to go through some things and tell you how I went about starting my blog.  This is going to be geared towards hunting blogs, but the overall process is the same regardless of the topic.

Why?

The first question that needs to be answered is “why?”  Why do you want to start your own hunting blog?  Are you looking to get into the industry and get sponsored?  Maybe, you want to be the next Cameron Hanes or Michael Waddell?  If you have said “yes” to either of these questions, I think you should rethink this whole thing.  When I started writing, I did so in order to not only help and inspire others around me, but to use this as a platform to think stuff out on my end.  Sort of a self prescribed therapy session, if you would.  The idea of having a digital journal that I could look back on was appealing.  With any hope, by telling my story, I could inspire others to, not only make their dreams a reality, but to enjoy hunting for what it is……HARD.  Be genuine in your “why.”

How

Picking a Name

I’m not going to sit here and tell you what name you need to pick for your blog, but I will give you some insight on some things surrounding it.  Try to think of something genuine and thought out.  The name Dialed In Hunter has a few different meanings for me.  “Dialed In” is not only a popular phrase within the hunting community, it is also one of my favorite songs from an old band I was in.  A band that had broken up shortly before I started the blog.  So for me, it was a way of blending one love with another.  You don’t have to get that deep with it, but think it through.  Try to come up with something that folks will remember after they see it.

Website

This is super daunting on the surface.  At least it was for me.  This is where you need to just pull the trigger and jump in.  The site you are on right at this moment was built via YouTube.  I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and spent literally hours and hours building this site step by step while watching “how to” videos.  If you are looking to build your own website, there are a few different platforms that are great.  The two that come to mind are WordPress and Squarespace.  I myself use WordPress, but my wife used Squarespace for quite awhile and it worked great.  In the end, she ended up switching her site over to WordPress as well, just because you have more customization options with it.  Maybe, your thing is video though?  YouTube is a fantastic place to upload your content via video and interact with the masses.  So, whatever avenue you choose, just jump into it.  In the beginning, it will be messy, but that is what time is for and with it, you will grow.

Content

Plastic content will shatter, concrete content will not

When it comes to running a blog and generating traffic to your site, content is king.  That is a common saying in the content world, but one that is absolutely true.  An article I read quite awhile ago by a friend of mine has always stuck with me and that is this.  Everything out there has been covered and been talked about.  It hasn’t been talked about by you though.  Ever since I read that, the thought of coming up with things to write about didn’t bother me.  Nobody is going to say something like you are or look at something in the way you would.  Even with a super common topic like Bowhunting Elk.  This has been written about so many times, it isn’t even fathomable.  However, we all have different view points and that is what will make your article unique.Bowhunting

The next thing that comes to mind with content is to be genuine.  There is that word again.  Are you starting to see a pattern?  I am a firm believer that if you are genuine in your approach and delivery of your art, people will notice.  Infuse yourself into your articles or videos.  Give folks a piece of you and your mind.  Talk about things the way that you would genuinely talk about them, not how you read it in some magazine or other site.  Plastic content will shatter, concrete content will not.  If that means putting out less blog posts, then so be it.

How Often Should I Post?

How often you post is going to reflect how much you have to talk about.  There are no rules in this department.  If you can put out good content everyday, then by all means, do it.  If you can only post every other week, that is totally fine.  I think a good goal to strive for though is once a week.  Take one day a week to write or video your thoughts and hit that PUBLISH button.  Get it out there for the world to see.  I like to abide by quality over quantity when it comes to putting up posts.  Don’t just keep hitting that publish button for the sake of hitting that publish button.  If you are doing this, you probably aren’t having any fun at what you’re doing.  In that case, what are you doing?

Are Photos Important?Josh from Dialed In Hunter at the Archery Range getting ready for bowhunting season.

In my opinion, photos are incredibly important.  You might be a great writer, but looking at a bunch of words on a screen is pretty bland after awhile.  Break up the monotony with some high quality photographs.  We live in a very visual age, so build on that.  Having posts that are not only informative, funny, or motivational is great.  Adding in visually appealing photos along with them though is going to make your content that much more enjoyable for people.  I was never much of a photographer before I started writing and have quickly realized that the two go together like peas and carrots.

Don’t Leave People Hanging

If you show that you don’t care about what your followers are saying, then why should they care what you are posting about?

Once you put your content out there for the world, don’t stop there.  Whether it is directly on your site or through social media, you will start to get people wanting to engage with you and your content.  I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to engage them back.  This is a two way street.  If you are going to put things out there for people to either gain from or for them to ponder about, you can’t expect them to not try to converse.  If you don’t respond to them, how long do you think they will keep coming back to your site?  Probably not that long at all.  Once you gain momentum, keep it going and don’t leave people hanging.  Respond to their emails and comments as often as you can.  This is going to add that much more value to your site.  It will become a place where they can not only take in your content, but interact with you directly.  If you show that you don’t care about what your followers are saying, then why should they care what you are posting about?

Have Fun

Josh of Dialed In Hunter laughing during a break at the archery range while practicing bowhunting.Last but not least, remember to have fun with this.  If you aren’t having fun, then you probably won’t be doing this for long at all, so why do it?  I have had a blast writing and interacting with all of you and look forward to continuing up this path.  Starting my own blog involved a lot of head scratching in the beginning, but I don’t regret that head scratching one bit.  Hopefully, with what I have laid out here, you will have a better idea of how to get started on your own.  If you already have a blog or end up starting one after this, I would love to see it.  Each one of our journeys as hunters is different, and each one has a story to tell.  So, tell it.