Social Media Tips for Bloggers
I was lurking around on one of my favorite forums a couple of days ago and noticed someone posted a social media question: “What’s the real purpose of sites like Twitter and Facebook? Can joining these sites really help my business?”
Here are the facts: social media isn’t going anywhere. It’s here to stay. But that’s a good thing. Really. Here’s why:
More Networking Opportunities
For me this is the best part. You get to connect with people in and out of your niche. You can learn a lot from more experienced Internet professionals, and you get to pass along helpful information to those just starting out.
Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook provide an incredible opportunity to build relationships with more people which can translate into more traffic to your blog, increased sales and other interesting opportunities.
Build Brand Recognition
Social media can literally connect you with thousands of people. But that’s only the beginning. Once you get access to all of these people, you have to do something. This is where personal branding comes in.
If you already have a blog that produces high-quality content that others care about, you’re off o a good start. Social media can further reinforce the brand identity you’re building. Use the same avatar photo on social media sites as your blog so that people instantly recognize you. Make sure all of your social media site links point back to your blog.
Get Access to Community News
Networking on social media sites can be a great way of staying on top of community news. You get the heads-up about up coming seminars, conventions, announcements and special rates on info products and much more.
Get Valuable Feedback
If you have a question and need help, social media sites can be a gold mine. Maybe you need help with a topic you’re thinking of writing for your blog, need subjects for a special report you’re developing, or just need help finding resources or info online. This is the place.
Promote Your Posts
Naturally, being able to expose thousands of readers to your blog posts is a plus, but be careful. That’s not all you should be doing on these sites. Always make the social aspect of social networking more important than self promotion.
Take time to respond to comments and answer questions. Help others promote information by sharing on Facebook and retweeting on Twitter. You’ll find that others will be much more receptive to what you have to say and the information you share if you don’t make all of your networking activity about you.
Creating a Work at Home Schedule
Building a profitable blog takes time. Developing the content, keyword research, monetization, searching for to right images, promoting and branding on social bookmarking and media sites, building relationships with other bloggers all take time. If you have another job, home school or work while raising kid it just makes things more interesting.A work schedule can help you stay productive and meet your short-term and long-term goals. Your schedule doesn’t have to be a corporate-style nine to five. Remember, the beauty of working from home is that your work day can be as flexible as you need it to be.
When I first started working from home, I was home schooling my five year old and my twins were toddlers. Childcare was not an option. I had to figure out how to put time into my business without neglecting the children.
The schedule that worked for me was getting up around 5:00 am each morning (even though I’m not a morning person) to work for a few hours before the kids woke up wanting breakfast. I spent the rest of the day educating, playing and caring for the kids. I might slip in a blog post during lunch or while everyone watched a video. I’d spend time on Twitter via my cell while the kids played outside. Once the kids were in bed, I’d work for a couple of more hours in the evening.
There are a few things to consider when planning your work schedule.
Establish Daily Rituals
Knowing that there are set things you do each day to prepare for work can help establish your working schedule. For instance, maybe you work out early in the morning, shower and enjoy a steaming cup of coffee while reading your email before getting started each day.
Use Your Calendar
Whether you use your calendar on Outlook, Google or jot notes down on a big desk calendar, having one to note important det, deadlines and events can make life easier. You can even use it to plan out your blog posts in advance so that you’re never left wondering what to say.
Forget Perfect
Someone I follow on Twitter once said that when you work from home your main priority is getting your work done and taking care of your family, which means balls get dropped all the time. That means sometimes the laundry piles up and the dishes go unwashed.
Expect the Unexpected
Kids get sick. Storms may roll in and knock out your power and Internet service. Still the show must go on. As the mom of a daughter with a chronic illness, I’m no stranger to one day working a normal work day and the next spending the day wrapping up loose ends in the ER. We do what we must to get the job done; but I must say the flexibility of being able to set your own schedule can make things much easier.
Is a Blogging Conference in Your Future?
As many of you already know, the SXSW blog conference came to a close this past weekend. Twitter was buzzing last week with excited attendee tweets that made me wish I’d made plans to go.
I’ve never attended any of the many blog conventions that take place annually, but I have heard the experience is indescribable and unforgettable. If you blog for a living, you may want to add attending one of these events to your goal list. You’ll be completely in your element.
You know how your spouse’s eyes glaze over whenever you talk about blogging? Well, from my understanding, everyone attending these events is just as gung-ho about blogging as you are; and it’s all anyone wants to talk about. You’re completely in your element! Can you imagine?
These conventions are just like any other industry business convention. They provides bloggers with a rare networking opportunity. Some of the biggest benefits of attending conventions are:
- Getting to meet and spend time face-to-face with bloggers you communicate with every day.
- Gain invaluable education and information you get attending various classes and sessions.
- Access to great exhibits and swag.
- A unique off-line networking opportunity.
- A chance to connect with and build relationships and partnerships with others in the blogging community.
What’s great is that these conferences can be tax deductable as a business expense as well. Will you be attending any blog conferences this year?
Get Your Own Blog During Blog Week!
Been waiting for just the right time to get set up with your own blog? This is it: Blog Week!
Mom’s Talk Biz and Mom Webs Hosting have teamed up to bring you an incredible bundle offer. It includes:
- A domain name of your choice.
- Three months of hosting.
- Wordpress blog installation.
- Theme installation.
- Header Graphic Customization.
- Promotional Button Graphic.
- Wordpress Orientation Training.
If you bought all of this separately you’d spend nearly $150. During blog week you’ll only pay $79 
There’s a delicious upgrade deal to!
- Add a blog to an existing HTML site.
- Leave Blogger for hosted Wordpress at last.
- Start a new affiliate site venture.
- Create a blog to share your kid’s pictures and projects with friends and family
Go for it!
Revisiting the SEO for Your Blog Series
I really hope that my four part series, SEO for Your Blog, provided some helpful tips you’ll be able to use in your own SEO campaign for your blog. The great thing about blogs is as long as you keep posting content regularly the search engines will index your post because the search engine spiders are always on the look out for fresh content.
You may remember that in Part 1 I discussed long tail keywords and how choosing phrases that are relevant to your blog’s overall theme can make it easier for online visitors to find you whenever they type a commonly searched for phrase in the search engine.
In Part 2, I talked about whether or not keyword density is important. We know that having targeted, long tail keywords helps visitors locate your blog much easier, but I explained why you want to stay away from Black Hat methods like keyword stuffing.
In Part 3, I spend some time explaining how important its is to search engines that you produce high quality content; and Part 4 covered tips for building natural back links that point the search engines toward your blog.
Despite what some people say, SEO is still as important as ever. It’s a good idea to educate yourself on the changing terms and conditions of the search engines so that you don’t waste your effort on techniques that no longer work.
Know that the effort you put into SEO for your blog can make it easier for customers to find you online for years to come.
photo credit: Anonymous Account
Sharing Some Saturday Link Love
After being slammed with heavy rain and storms for the past three days, me and the family are rushing around trying to finish our weekend cleaning routine so that we can get out and enjoy some much needed fun and sunshine.
As usual, there were lots of great articles posting around the blogosphere this week. I’m sharing a few of my favorites I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I did. Happy Saturday!:~)
- Grace…Heap it on Yourself
- Affiliates Beware: Will Your State Kill Your Business with the Amazon Tax
- Easy Guide to Stretch Content
- Are Blogging Jobs Over?
My Twitter #Follow Friday Favs
Today’s Follow Friday on Twitter and I thought I’d post some of my favorite “Tweeps” (a.k.a. Peeps) in today’s post. For those who may not be familiar with Twitter, Follow Friday is the day to let everyone know which Twitter users you think others should be following for various reasons.
I didn’t really spend as much time on Twitter this week due to a very hectic schedule, but when I did pop in these folks caught my attention:
@debng: I recommend Deb Ng for Follow Friday because she works so hard to provide bloggers and freelance writers with decent paying gigs. She does all of the hard work of searching out these opportunities so that you don’t have to. Her Freelance Writing blog is a portal filled with valuable advice about writing tips, running your blog as a business and more.
@debng often punctuates her daily Freelance Job tweets with hilarious observations and general commentary.
@JHaynesWriter: She blogs about organization, productivity and time management, and if you’ve never followed my own Twitter stream, I often tweet about my never-ending fight against desk clutter. @JHaynesWriter kindly offered some very useful tips to guide me towards becoming more organized. She even invited me to contact her off Twitter if I needed more help developing office systems that will keep me organized. She genuinely likes helping the hopelessly messy.
@ChristinaGayle: I first started following @ChristinaGayle because I did some freelance writing work for her; but I continue to follow her because she’s a great example of a successful WAHM running her own business, she shares valuable information, always speaks her mind and shares my obsession for “LOST.”
@karenswim: I just started following @karenswim yesterday after noticing someone retweeted a very important tweet that she was sending out warning affiliate marketers about certain states attempting to institute an Affiliate Nexus Tax. This tax could potentially shut down online businesses that depend on affiliate sales to operate. This is an important issue that many of us will want to follow closely, and I appreciate her willingness to spread the word and educate everyone.
Who are some of your Follow Friday favs?
Who’s Reading Your Blog?
According to Jakob Nielsen, author of Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed, people who surf the web don’t read. They scan information instead.
Writing for the web is much different from writing print articles and newsletters. The speed of the Internet coupled with pages and pages of information at your fingertips means readers want instant gratification so they spend more time scanning content online than they do reading it word for word.
Writing scannable blog posts is much easier on the eyes and allows your readers to quickly digest the information you provide. Here are a few tips for writing scannable blog posts:
Use a Friendly, Conversational Tone
Pretend you’re writing to a good friend so that the tone of your posts is easy and conversational. Write the way you naturally speak. For instance use contractions (e.g. isn’t instead of is not) and common colloquialisms instead of writing in a formal tone.
Remember the Inverted Pyramid Writing Style
The inverted pyramid style of writing simply means that you start your post presenting your key points and conclusion first; and then you provide background information and other details.
The first line or two of your blog post could determine whether or not a reader decides to stick around for more so grab their attention right away.
Keep paragraphs short
Forget what your high school grammar teacher taught you about paragraphs consisting of four or more sentences. Keeping paragraphs shorter with white space between to break up the copy is much easier to scan. One tip that might help is putting only one idea at a time in a paragraph.
Use Bullets
Bullet lists are a great way to summarize important points. They really stand out.
Use interesting headlines
Headlines are important because they serve two purposes: They entice your reader to keep reading and they let the reader know what the next paragraph is about.
Your reader can scan your post and get the gist of what you’re saying by scanning the headlines. Many times they’ll go back to read more in depth the get to the meat and potatoes of your topic.
Your content is what draws readers to your blog so it’s important to make sure it’s easy to “read.”
Brainstorming Ideas for Your Blog
Even if you’re blogging everyday about a topic that’s near and dear to your heart, chances are eventually you’ll run into trouble coming up with new ideas. It’s not unusual to hit a brick wall. It’s one reason so many bloggers wind up abandoning perfectly good blogs – they think they’ve run out of things to say.
If you’re delivering good content to your readers and building a community of loyal followers, you don’t want to all of a sudden stop supplying them with good information. Fortunately, this is an easy problem to solve. There are ways to get unstuck and get those great ideas flowing freely again.
Plan Ahead
Create your own editorial calendar by making a list of topics in advance. You can plan a week, month or even a year in advance if you’re feeling ambitious. This will ensure that you’re never left with nothing to say.
Revisit Older Posts
If you’ve been blogging for a while, you’ve probably noticed that some posts draw more discussion than others. When you feel blocked, read over your more popular posts again – and don’t forget to read the comments too. Sometimes reader comments will spark a completely new idea you may have never thought to blog about.
Tackle a Topic from a New Angle
You can revisit an older topic and explore it from another angle. For example, let’s say you have an attachment parenting blog and six months ago you wrote a post listing the benefits of breastfeeding. You could revisit the topic and writing about overcoming breastfeeding challenges, breastfeeding multiples, how to treat and cure thrush while breastfeeding, etc.
Look Out for Ideas While Networking
Forums and social media sites like Twitter can be great places to find new ideas for your blog. Pay attention to what others are saying – especially if you notice topics discussed in your niche. It can lead to lots of topic ideas.
Just Ask Your Readers
Your readers can be your greatest source of inspiration. Invite them to send in ideas for future posts. If a reader contacts you privately with a question you feel might benefit others, create a post based on the question (taking care to protect your reader’s anonymity, of course!). Make sure that your contact information is easy to access.
photo credit: opensourceway
Popping in to Say “Hi”
Hi, I’m Kimberly and I’m the new intern blogger here at Profitable Mommy Blogging. I’m really excited to be a part of the Moms Talk Network, and look forward to sharing helpful blogging and Internet marketing tips as well as interesting news tidbits that will benefit your business.
A little background about me: I’m married with four children ranging in age from nine to three. I’m a blogger and web entrepreneur working from home and love every crazy minute of it.
It’s so amazing how far the business of blogging has come. You can find blogs covering just about every topic under the sun giving readers vital information and sparking community discussions. As a business model, a blog can do everything from help you connect with and understand your customers and sell products/services to raising awareness about important issues.
If there is a topic you’d like to see covered, don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m always keeping an eye out for new ideas.
photo credit: Claudio Matsuoka
The Relevant Conference: For Christian Bloggers
I just learned about this up and coming conference from a fellow blogger. It’s The Relevant Conference.
They have a Mission Statement which includes this:
Relevant is a one-of-a-kind conference that seeks to engage women by teaching blogging techniques and social media skill while also urging and encouraging women to live fully integrated lives with their faith and family.
If you’re a Christian blogger who craves an in person event, this could be a good fit for you. Be prepared to sock some cash away though – as with most events, the conference ticket and hotel will set you back quite a few precious dollars.
If you can’t go but would love to sponsor someone else, check out this blogger’s pitch for sponsorship.
Mom’s Talk Network Blogging Internship Application Open
Session Four of the Mom’s Talk Network Blogging Internship is starting up in March. If you have ten hours a week for ten weeks available to serve as a blog intern you can earn access to an amazing internet marketing education.
A Fast Growing Group: Plus Size Bloggers
Have you noticed that one of the fastest growing niches in the blogosphere is that of Plus Size Bloggers?
Plus Size Bloggers = People blogging about their efforts to lose weight and get in shape.
There’s a brand new website getting ready to celebrate their launch on Twitter next week that intends to celebrate and reward these bloggers on a regular basis.
If you blog about your weight loss efforts, you can submit your blog – thus volunteering to be tracked on their website. If you are faithful to report your weight loss efforts on a weekly basis all through their quarterly tracking schedule, you are entered to win a Wii Fit Plus and other awesome prizes.
In addition to recognizing the efforts of Plus Size Bloggers, the site also intends to feature and appreciate other blogs that serve their needs.
Visit the site and submit your Plus Size Blog!
Do You Need a Blog Designed?
I recently had the opportunity to work with Lara Valez of Designed by Lara and had a great experience that I want to share with you.
My friend Angel wanted to start a new blog. Usually, I would want to design a blog for a friend – but I knew that she would be interested in a particular style of graphics that I’m not especially gifted for. I immediately thought of Lara and invited Angel to check out her work.
It was a match at first sight and we quickly secured a spot on Lara’s design schedule.
Lara has a very polished and professional approach. There was a detailed questionnaire for Angel to complete and we were able to communicate everything we wanted in the new design.
Right on schedule, Lara created the new blog design and presented it to us for review. We were super impressed and couldn’t wait to put the design on Angel’s blog! (See it at plussizeskills.com!)
If you are in need of a classy new blog design, I heartily recommend Lara.
I Drove Through The Mountains To Learn This…
Hey everyone! I’m writing this from the NAMS 3 workshop in Atlanta, Georgia right now. Let me just say that NAMS has far exceeded my expectations! I’m blown away by the speakers, the information and just all the networking going on here! It’s AMAZING. Seriously you need to consider attending the next workshop in August this summer! I WILL be coming back that’s for sure…but probably will fly and NOT drive through the mountains again (let’s just say I had a major meltdown because I was so scared while we were going through the mountains!). Read more
