There is an age-old saying out there that I am sure you have heard before, it goes something like this. Those Who Do Not Learn From Mistakes of the Past, Are Doomed to Repeat Them.

If you think about it, there is a lot of wisdom in that saying and I must admit that I myself have sometimes found myself treading on familiar ground when it comes to making mistakes.

I am an avid student of history and I love reading about societies and people of the past but one of my favorite subjects to study is myself. You can learn a lot if you are willing to honestly analyze your own actions.

I am entering my 3rd month of writing on this blog and I think it’s time to step back for a minute and analyze what has worked and what hasn’t. Twist a few screws, adjust the loose nut behind the screen, change the oil and head on down the road into month #3.

It would be easy to continue doing as I have always done, but I am confident I can improve on my results and make an even better blog in 2008.

Things I Would Do Different:

• Theme – If I had it to do all over again I would have a custom theme designed for me from day 1. I am happy with the theme that I have currently, however it is a bit of a clunker in some areas. The Stylesheet is a mess and I would like a snazzier comments section, a better sidebar etc. I found myself spending FAR, FAR too much time tweaking my theme to get the look right when I could have been writing content or developing relationships with fellow bloggers. If I had it to do over again, I would do this on day 1.

• Writing – If I knew how much I would enjoy blogging then I would have taken the time to polish up my writing skills on a private blog or even an online class. In my professional career I have been fortunate to only need technical type writing skills. Blogging requires writing in a creative type style and was a challenge at first. I still struggle with it and tend to use run-on sentences and poor punctuation.

• Social Media – If I were starting a blog tomorrow, I would take the time to fully understand the nuances of all of the various Social Media outlets. All of them might be a daunting task but at the very least the big ones…Digg, StumbleUpon, Blogging Zoom and Delicious. The traffic that you can build quickly with these outlets is incredible, especially if you know how to work it.

• Domain – If I were starting over again I would give serious thought to purchasing an aged domain. If you can buy a domain that has already made it through the sandbox and has a number of backlinks already then you will find it much easier to rank well in the SERPS.

• SEO – I understood the basics of SEO and if I had to to do over again I would simply purchase Aaron Wall’s SEO Book right out of the gate. It eliminates all of the garbage advice you get when it comes to SEO and let’s you discover what really works.

• FeedReaders – Being new to the world of blogging, FeedReaders were a mystery to me. I used to simply bookmark the feeds of the blogs that I liked and I would strum through them one by one. A Feedreader is a godsend. If you don’t use one, take the time to figure it out. It’s awesome. I use Bloglines…cause it’s simple….simple enough for a dumbbutt like me.

• Start Sooner – If I had it to do over again….I would have not waited. I considered starting a blog for a couple of years, but always found a better use for my time. It appears to me that the first few that were in and STUCK to it, have become quite successful. There appears to be hordes of Make Money Bloggers joining the ranks as of late, all thinking they can rehash the same BS you read on JC everyday and make money. The only thing that cheers me up is that most of these sites aren’t that good, the writers aren’t that committed and you can tell they won’t be here in a few months. If you’re thinking about a blog of your own….jump in, the water is just fine.

Things I Would Do Exactly The Same

People tend to fixate on mistakes of the past and seem to always wish they could go back in time knowing what they know now. I am no different and in some ways I would want to do so many things differently, but then when I get a chance to think about it, I know this wouldn’t do me any long term good. I have learned the most in my life from my mistakes, so I guess in reality I wouldn’t change a thing.  The mistakes I made taught me a ton about blogging so it’s probably for the best.

Any successful person will tell you that in order to be truly successful you have to be moving forward all the time, charging the hill. Trying things that others aren’t willing to try and you have to be willing to accept failure and accept that you will make mistakes.

I am not going to get all Tony Robbins on you but I guess simply this….don’t be afraid to screw up. You’ll be a better person because of them as long as you are smart enough to learn the lessons that your mistakes provide you. Anyone who tries to tell you they don’t make mistakes is either a liar or someone who has accomplished nothing in their life.

So rather than fixating on what I would do differently….I guess I am more interested in what I am GOING to do differently, based on the mistakes I have made in the past.

Future Thoughts:

• Contests – People love contests and they are a great way to create buzz around your blog. If you are trying to attract readers, subscribers and interest…hold a contest that interests your readers.

• Network – I am opening up my blog to guest posting and I have a guest posting gig on a very well known blog that may show up in the next few days. I will update you when I can talk about it. I am looking forward to it though.

• Writing – If you look at my Most Popular Posts Widget under my header, you can see that the posts that are the most popular are not the typical crap you read on a Make Money blog. They tend to be geared towards noobs and they are written in a different format than normal. The Art of Blogging – Lessons from Sun Tzu is a good example of what I mean. It isn’t as interesting as reading yet another Entrecard post but it’s my 2nd best post ever as far as number of viewers anyways.

• Stats - I am going to continue focusing on my stats. Specifically my RSS figures. I am only 2 months old and I have slightly over 100 RSS readers. Not bad, but not the best. I expect my Project DIY Niche Site to be a BIG BIG hit with readers. I am going out on a limb here to say that I want to double my RSS subscribers by the end of February and I want 500 RSS readers at the conclusion of my DIY Niche Site contest. Stay Tuned.

In conclusion, I know I have contradicted myself a bit here with this post, but I reserve the right to do that from time to time. I would love to be able to go back in time and do a few things over, but on the other hand I know that it is impossible. Instead of regretting the past, we need to learn from it and tailor our future action around the knowledge gained from our mistakes. By learning from our past, we will be sure that we do not repeat it.

If you had it to do all over again, what would YOU do differently?