I like Neils bio. A real example of perseverance paying off, even without formal education at the early stages...

http://www.quicksprout.com/about/

Wow, $5000 for a blog design. I have the wrong clients.

Also he points to BoingBoing as having a substandard design, but really it has one of the best blog designs out there. Whoever designed it has an excellent understanding of typography and spacing.

Right, he says, "If you look at some of the most popular blogs on the web, such as Boing Boing, there isn’t anything special when it comes to their design."

It's important not to mistake simplicity for "nothing special". FYI, the latest iteration was designed by a very fairly well-known and influential designer, Jemma Hostetler.

Presumably, though, they keep coming back to you for more work, rather than feeling ripped off:-)

This sounds more like, "How to become Jeff Atwood."

I've just started a blog in the last couple of weeks (www.creativitykilledtherecession.com) and I found this post rather helpful and timely. At a time when lazy media (and wishful thinking) has fabricated the idea that online business is quick and easy, Neil's story is evidence that perseverance and hard work still separate the true contenders from the pretenders.

> If you are in a position where you don’t need money, that’s great. If you aren’t, you better figure out a way to make money off of your blog.

I don't know what to say about this. There are very few professional bloggers. There are many bloggers who use their blog to indirectly generate revenue (business leads, networking).

I think he would include that indirect revenue as "a way to make money off of your blog."

Hmmm.. he missed "always put a number at the beginning of post titles when trying to get links from news sites".

My first thought as well.

If you're going to spend money on your blog's design eventually, you should do it sooner rather than later.

Not necessarily. I think it's better to start blogging first and see if you actually enjoy doing it. If you're not having fun with it and you don't find it beneficial, you'll probably stop and have saved yourself some money.

I agree. People will read good content on a poorly designed blog. And if they like your content but hate your design, they--in my sad experience--make it very clear that they'd like you to improve your design. A great design for a blog is kind of like great office space for a startup, it's nice to have but is a misuse of resources if done prematurely.

Yeah, and after they make it clear to you that they hate your design, you should spend the money then, not wait another year. That's what I'm sayin' I learned here.

Some of this applies to StartUps in general. And he's got a lot of experience to share.