The owner of outdoorsblogger.com, no doubt influenced by the flashes of fame and rivers of wealth that reward blogging on the joys of walking upright on dirt — has not just created his own outdoors blog: he’s made it possible for others to create blogs and host them at his site. His name is Wade, not be confused with that other Wade who does outdoorzy.com (which, by the way, gets better all the time: members now can get 15 percent off at moosejaw.com and all the babes they can ogle while waiting for their credit card transactions to clear).

So, anyway, the new Wade asked me for tips, advice, etc., in this venture, and here’s what I’d say:

1. As Woody Allen said, the fundamental component of success is showing up. Which means, if you’re going to have a blog, keep at it.
2. Pick a topic and stick with it. If you love fishing for Wisconsin walleye, the world of Wisconsin walleye fishermen will find your site. Many of them will be much better at it than you because they spend more time fishing than blogging, but hey, you’re the one with the blog.
3. Post pictures. They can’t convey the pleasures of seeing of a Wisconsin walleye’s guts spilling out after being cut with a very sharp knife, buy they make your blog more interesting.
4. Be a realist. Most bloggers don’t do outdoors stuff, and most outdoorspeople don’t read blogs. Over time this will change (presumably for the better) but for now, don’t dwell on your reader stats. I’ve been doing this site for going on two years and my reward is a couple hundred visitors a day. If you’ve ever had a party where 200 people showed up, you realize this is actually a considerable crowd and the great thing is, you don’t have to mop up their vomit.
5. Be original, and be interesting. If you’re writing stuff people can find elsewhere there’s no point in their visiting your blog. The only person walking in your shoes (unless you’re really broke and have to share) is you — the trick is to dwell on the unique things that happen as a consequence of being you. It helps to be a good writer, or photographer, or creator of animated Japanese porn, but it’s not a requirement.

These tips’ll get you off to a good start. Main thing is: you have to be participating in the activity you’re blogging on. Doing one gives you the excuse to do the other (though if you’re really going to blog on Wisconsin walleye, you’ll need something to write about when the lakes are frozen over. Like: Ice fishing. See, it’s win-win. Next on today’s to-do list: trolling to see if there is any such thing as a Wisconsin walleye).