Do you make time for your blog?

Twitter. Facebook. Google+. LinkedIn. Pinterest. Email. Sometimes it feels that by the time I’ve checked all my social networks, I don’t have any time left to actually visit my own blog. It’s only a matter of time before I’m caught with lipstick on my collar, so to speak. I love my blog, but sometimes I feel like I’m cheating on it.

There are only so many hours in a day, and most of us suffer from shiny ball syndrome. I should really write some new posts today. Ooo, look at all those new pins. Ooo, someone sent me a funny email. Ooo, I have new messages on Facebook. Ooo….

Our blog feels stale and boring with all the interesting things to do online. And we tell ourselves that our blog will always be there, waiting for us when we get home.

But we all know that isn’t the case, don’t we? If we don’t give our blogs enough attention, one day, we’ll come home to find that the house is empty and there’s a note on the kitchen table telling us it’s over.

Now really, a blog can’t just get up and leave like a scorned lover, but if you’re “cheating” on your blog by spending more time on social media outposts, email, etc., any success you find will be short-lived and packing a suitcase before you know it. Blogs need to be nurtured, or readers won’t remember you.

A see a lot of bloggers saying, “I only write when I have something to say.” That’s great. You don’t have to have a blogging schedule to have a great blog. But if your blog isn’t in the forefront of your mind, you haven’t given importance to it and you’re not going to suddenly think of ideas. If you haven’t had anything valuable to say on  your blog for two or three weeks, why are you maintaining your blog at all? Put your blog first and you’ll probably find that the ideas start flowing.

More importantly, all the social media outposts that you love don’t actually belong to you. What would you do if Facebook suddenly disappeared? You don’t have control over whether or not your content stays live on those sites, and you certainly don’t benefit from advertising on other monetization efforts on these networks. You blog needs to be your home base and the place most important to you online. It’s cool to connect with readers elsewhere, but you want to always encourage them to interact with you most on your blog itself.

They won’t if you aren’t there. Be aware of the different between not having time and not making time. Don’t lie to yourself. If you had time today to play Words With Friends, you had time to check your blog.

If you’re guilty of being a dirty cheater, the good news is that you can rebuild your relationship with your blog. Here are a few things you can do to recommit:

• Right now, do all that maintenance work you’ve been avoiding. Update to the new WordPress. Clean up your sidebar. Add that new plugins you’ve been hearing so much about. Redo your header. All those little tasks that have been piling up in the corner aren’t going to do themselves. If you’re really short on time – hire someone to do them for you.
• Write a post at least twice a week. I can appreciate the “only blog when I have something to say” mindset, but if you don’t have something to say about your niche at least twice a week, why are you even blogging about that topic in the first place? It’s about putting your blog to the front of your mind. When you do that, rather than just wait for ideas to strike like lightening, you’ll be amazed at just how much you actually do want to write about.
• Start your day on your blog. Before you check your email, social networks, etc., check your blog comments and stats, get some writing done, and promote a link or two. Again, it’s about putting your blog in the forefront of your mind.

And don’t be afraid to let it go if your blog really isn’t that important to you. You aren’t a quitter and you certainly aren’t a failure by admitting that you just aren’t that into your blog anymore. Move on to projects you do care about instead.

1. You email me every post you write.

I think having your RSS feed available via email is a really great idea. Lots of people prefer reading posts that way. Personally, though, I use Twitter as my feed reader (find out how here) because emails get buried too quickly for me. When I sign up for a mailing list, I do so because I want emails from the blogger that I wouldn’t get otherwise – newsletters, announcements, discounts, etc. It’s okay to have an email RSS option (I recommend it), but make sure subscribers know what they’re getting when they sign up and, if possible, have two options – one for people who want special emails and one for people who want to receive your feed via email as well.

2. I can’t quickly find your sign-up box.

For many bloggers this isn’t a problem – their subscription form is located proudly on their sidebar, near the top of the page. However, occasionally, I find myself searching for a subscription box that doesn’t seem to exist – so I give up and go along my merry way. Later, I often find out the blogger does have a mailing list, but I had to go to a certain page or whatever to find out how to subscribe. The more time a person has to spend clicking around your site, the less likely it is they’ll actually sign up.

3. Your pop up punched me in the face.

I don’t mind pop up ads if they are done correctly. Three seconds after I get to your site is not correctly. At that point, I don’t know if I want to sign up or not. Give me a little time to read or watch your content first. Then, if you must, send me that pop up asking me to subscribe.

4. You offer me stuff I don’t want.

Offering free stuff is a great way to get people to sign up for your mailing list – but done incorrectly, it can also send people packing. For example, let’s say that I’m on your cat blog reading about my cat‘s weird behaviors, and I’m enjoying the content. You sign up form says, “Enter your email address to get a free ebook about litter box training.” Am I going to sign up? Nope. My cat is already litter box trained, thank god. The way you’ve promoted the sign up form just promotes the free gift, which people may or may not want, not your actual email like. Change the wording a bit to say, “Stay connected with emails from us and get a free litter box training ebook” or “Sign up to get a free litter box training ebook and more surprises straight to your inbox” and I’m much more likely to enter my email address. That way, you’re still hooking people who want the freebie, but you’re also making it clear that there are other benefits as well.

5. Your content just isn’t that compelling.

Of course, the number one reason I won’t sign up for your mailing list is that your blog’s content isn’t that great in the first place. Remember, every post you write could be the first post someone reads on your blog. Don’t be afraid to go back and delete content that isn’t up to par. We all have bad days, and not everything you do is going to be amazing, but if you write a real stinker, consider getting rid of it so people who come to your blog for the first time get the best impression possible. And of course, always work to improve your content. Don’t get complacent and think that what you’re putting out is good enough. We can all learn to be better!

Your turn – why don’t you sign up for mailing lists? Or why do you sign up on other sites?

Bouncy balls? Lots of smiles! Bouncy readers? Not so much...

Right now, I’m compiling links about bounce rate for Brilliant Bloggers, and it stuck me that a lot of bloggers out there might not even know what bounce rate is and why they should want a lower number. So, I’ll get to all the links and tips for creating a stickier blog tomorrow…today, I thought it might be helpful if we all talk about why this matters in the first place!

What is Bounce Rate?

Bounce rate is a number hidden in your states, usually reflected as a percentage. This is the one case when a lower number is better! Basically, a bounce rate is the percentage of people who leave your site after reading only their entry page, the page that got them to your blog in the first place. They don’t click any internal links. They don’t go to the home page. They don’t click the “read more” button. They just leave.

So, you actually want a lower bounce rate. The lower the rate, the more people are sticking around and checking out other areas of your blog, maybe even subscribing to your RSS feed or mailing list.

They Like Me…They Really Like Me!

Traffic is a great way to measure your success as a blogger, but I think sometimes the numbers can be more complex than we’d like to admit. Traffic spikes from, for example, a popular post on StumbleUpon can make your monthly totals soar. However, when you look at the bounce rate from that traffic, it tends to be very high.

It’s not that you didn’t have great content, because if you didn’t, it wouldn’t have gotten popular on StumbleUpon, but it’s more important that a person likes you, not just your blog posts. When a person is interested in you, not just your content, they want to read more, and they even want to subscribe or bookmark so they can stay connected in the future.

Readers to Consumers

Your readers consume your content, but you want them to be a consumer in another sense as well – you want them to buy your stuff, whether that’s items through affiliate links or your own products or services. People who bounce away from your site quickly don’t become consumers. The next step after becoming a consumer is becoming a brand advocate, where they actually go out and tell other people to buy from you as well…and that definitely doesn’t happen when the bounce from your site quickly!

Tricky Stats

Bounce rate is just one part of understanding your stats. I think it’s important not to have blinders on when examining numbers. Even bounce rate doesn’t alone accurately reflect what is happening on your site. Stats are tricky! But don’t ignore bounce rate, especially when you see a traffic spike. Understanding whether or not people are sticking around to check out the rest of your blog can help you create better content.

How much importance do you put in bounce rate versus raw traffic numbers? Leave a comment to tell us!

Today is not a hot summer day. I’m not in the middle of a blizzard or anything, but it’s January in Northern Virginia. The nights are cold, snow is a constant threat, and we have a bag of rock salt waiting by the door just in case it’s needed.

Now, I probably wouldn’t say no to an ice cream cone right now. I love ice cream! But it’s not the same. During the winter, ice cream is still good, but it’s just not the same. As you stroll down the street with your favorite flavor, your fingers and lips get cold and it just doesn’t have the same refreshing effect.

Blogging can be similar. Your content might not change, but it doesn’t always taste the same.

The “if you build it, they will come” idea of blogging is a romantic one, but the quality of your content isn’t the only things that plays a part in your overall success. One of the factors that few seem to talk about is timing. You’re the ice cream maker. It’s up to you to serve your customers the best treats for the season. Some customers might still want ice cream during the winter, but you should at least offer some hot chocolate too.

Timing is about two things: research and your gut.

Timing Research

Ever wonder why so many products launch on Tuesdays or why Sunday night Facebook posts seem to get a lot more attention? It’s not a coincidence. There are certain days and times of the day that are statistically better than others.

When I was younger, I worked in a butcher shop and deli (sexy, I know). At the end of every month, we’d see a dip in sales – people didn’t buy as much because they were waiting for their social security checks or government assistance. So, my bosses would put the more expensive items on sale. The way, people could afford these items – and the tended to buy more. It was a well-timed sale.

Think about why people do things online. If your target audience is under 18, they probably aren’t going to be online at 10 AM on a Tuesday – they’re going to by online when they get home from school. If your target audience is older, they’re probably going to be online after the kids go to bed. If your target audience is technologically-minded, they probably are going to be online during the day at work (at least a little), and will be especially hungry for content on Fridays when they’re anxiously waiting for the day to end and the weekend to begin.

Do a little research with your content. Test out your theories by releasing posts at different times and on different days and recording what happens. You can even set up split tests with your email lists to see when you get a higher open rate. The numbers don’t lie – and this could help you drive higher traffic number with little extra work.

Going with Your Gut

Sometimes, you have to throw research out the window. As much as it might make sense to announce your new book on a certain day or send out an affiliate email during a certain window or time during the day, don’t let your research cloud your good sense.

My birthday is in February. And I want ice cream. Normally, ice cream isn’t as good during the winter, but there’s an exception to this rule and if my friends didn’t bring out the ice cream just because it was “too cold,” I’d be very disappointed.

Going with your gut makes sense. When something is timely, release it while emotions are high, before people have the chance to cool off and stop caring about a topic. When your blog needs a pick-me-up, post sooner rather than later. When you’ve built up some anticipation for content, give the people what they want because if they have to continue to wait, they’ll loss interest. If you have a really innovative idea, post it!

Do research and follow the rules regarding the timing of your blog posts – but don’t be afraid to break those rules.

Personally, I’m still studying the best times to release new posts and when to follow the rules versus when to go with my gut and post immediately. Do you have a certain time you like to post on your blog? Do you think it matters?

Today, Google announced that they’d now be allowing both nicknames and pseudonyms on Google+. This makes it much easier for anonymous bloggers to use the network, which will definitely be an advantage for Google as it continue to try to attract more users. But is it doing any favors for the Internet as a whole? Will this encourage the use of pseydonyms – and is that a good thing?

Critics had told me that they feel my pen name allows a certain level of dishonesty. Because I’m not writing under my real name, I’m not as accountable for what I write on my blog, and it also makes it easier for me to deceive people.

These things are true. Blogging under a pen name is powerful, and with great power comes great responsibility.

But I would argue that, online, it’s possible to deceive people whether you use your real name or not. I don’t believe that anonymous blogging makes a blogger more likely to be dishonest, but I do believe that some people find it easier to create better content if they are able to use a pen name – and that’s a good thing for our community of content creators.

Having more opinions or ideas is rarely a bad thing, but if people aren’t allowed to anonymously express those opinions or share those ideas, they’ll often remain silent. Depending on the topic, blogging can jeopardize your job or reflect poorly on your family and friends. A pen name allows your to write without the worry that you’ll be judged. This freedom can be liberating.

Some people abuse this power and use a pseudonym to be nasty to others, share confidential information, or do other unsavory things. Don’t allow these people to form your opinion of anonymous bloggers. There are bad apples in every bunch. Most of the bloggers who write under names other than their real ones simply don’t want to be defined by a single piece of content during their daily lives. The freedom of being able to use a pen name allows us to create better content on Google+ and in general.

I believe that Google+’s decision to allow nicknames and pseudonyms is good for the online community. What do you think?

Since I wrote a little about my blogging story and how I’ve turned it into a full time living, I’ve had countless people ask me through emails, social networks and in person how they can do what I do. Either they haven’t dove into the world of blogging yet and would like to, or they have one already and want to take it to the next level.

When you’ve never done something like starting a blog before, it can be extremely overwhelming. That’s why I’m getting back to the basics of blogging. Over the course of the next few weeks, I’ll be covering everything you’ve ever wanted to know about blogging. From choosing a domain name and keyword research to coming up with post ideas and the biggest topic everyone wants to know about – monetization.

Today’s topic is for those of you starting from ground zero.

How to Get Started Blogging for Yourself

I’m going to steal Nike’s slogan for a second here and tell you to “Just Do It”. I’ve helped quite a few people with setting up their blogs. We’ve brainstormed domain name ideas together and then I took over the technical part of purchasing the domain name, installing WordPress, setting them up with a template design they like and making sure all the necessary plug-ins are installed.

After they’re good to go, I always get this question: “Now what?” and I give the same answer every time: “Start writing.”

Before you get overwhelmed with all the technical terms such as “domain name” and “installing WordPress”, let me give you some sources where you can skip that whole process and focus on the writing aspect.

Setting up a Blog Yourself

• WordPress , Blogger or Tumblr – If you’ve never blogged before and you want to check it out, get some experience and just see what it’s like, I recommend setting up a free account on one of these blogging platforms. It’s an easy step by step process and it can get you some blogging experience under your belt.

• Ask a Friend for Help – If you have a friend who is familiar with setting up blogs, ask for their help. They can either guide you through one of the free blogging platforms or set up your own domain name and personalized template.

Hiring Someone to Set up Your Blog

• Pay for It – If you’re willing to invest a little bit of money, you can find someone on Fiverr.com who will set up a blog for you. My husband and I have used this service several times for jobs and have had a good experience. It’s only $5 to hire someone, plus around $10 for the purchase of a domain name.

Start Writing

Now that you have your blog set up, as I mentioned before, the best way to learn is by doing. No one knows about your blog right now. No one’s going to be reading it, so get in there and play around. Learn how to use all of the functions within your blogging platform, find your blogging voice and before you know it, you’ll be a blogging fool. (That’s what my friends call me.)

If you’re using a free blogging platform, you will eventually want to move your posts over to your own domain name. This shows companies (who you may work with in the future) and your readers that you are a professional and that blogging isn’t something you do just for fun, in your spare time. It shows this is a business and that’s important when it comes to making money blogging.

How to Get Started Blogging for Someone Else

Another question I get quite often is “How can I get hired to blog for someone?” I started blogging for a blog network in 2006. I had some experience with both blogging and website development, which helped me get hired. Blog networks aren’t what they used to be (stay tuned for a Where Are They Now? series covering this very topic) and it’s not easy to get hired to blog for a company. Here’s why.

You need experience. This is why it’s so important to “Just Do It” as I said above. If a company is going to hire you to blog for them, they want to see your past experience in the field. They’ll ask for writing samples, published articles and you need to have some to show them to even be considered for the job. I’ve been told before, when a blogging job has been posted, some people have received hundreds of submissions. You also have to realize you are going up against people who have years of blogging experience, degrees in journalism and a nice looking resume.

I am not trying to be a Debbie Downer here, but I’m also not going to paint a picture of a rainbow and a pot of blogging gold at the bottom of it. The business of blogging is not something you can start making a living from right away, so please don’t quit your day job.

Now, after harping on the fact that you need blogging experience to get a blogging job, I do need to cushion the statement with the fact experience isn’t always 100% needed. For example, let’s say someone needs a writer for a very specific topic such as knitting. If you’ve never written a blog post in your life, but know how to knit and can teach others to knit, you have a leg up on the competition (obviously). If you can provide a well written writing sample and show your knowledge in the topic, you have a good chance of being hired.

Here are a few places to look for paid blogging and writing positions:

• Problogger Job Board – I have personally used this site to get hired for freelance work in the past. As you can see, jobs are posted every week. People are searching for someone who will write about every subject you can imagine, from cats and gardening to marketing and using Photoshop.

• Demand Studios – This company offers writing assignments for experienced, professional writers. They pay per article, around $15 to $25, depending on the length and topic.

• About.com – In order to write for About.com, you have to go through quite the process. First, you have to apply and get accepted and then go through a two-part online orientation and evaluation program. During the program, you are going up against several others applying for the same topic. Just realize you will have to put in quite a bit of work and in the end, you can be told no.

• Freelance Writing Jobs – Our very own Deb Ng started this site and sold it to Splashpress Media. When you visit, you’ll see a variety of available blogging and writing gigs, as well as writing tips and business help.

What’s Better: Blogging for Yourself or Someone Else?

This is another question I’ve received and it all depends on one thing: you. Some people are wired to work for themselves and some people are wired to work for someone else. There’s some of us who do both! I write for BlogWorld, SocialMoms and I own several of my own blogs. One thing is for certain, I never get bored.

I hope I’ve answered some of your questions about blogging for yourself or someone else. Do you have tips for the blogging newbie? Please feel free to share them in the comments section below.

Here are five ways to know if your content is resonating well with your audience.

Conduct a Poll

I really enjoy conducting polls both on my blog and on Facebook using their polls feature. I’ve found out some interesting things about what my readers are looking for that I may not be providing for them, things that they absolutely love, or even about content they don’t really care for.

Polls are super easy and quick to put together. I suggest offering no more than five answers to your question. For example, ask the simple question “Why do you enjoy visiting…?” and put the title of your blog there. I’ve done this before and provided answers such as reviews, giveaways, personal videos or deals. Not only do I ask them to participate in the poll, but I also ask if they would leave a comment explaining why they chose the answer they did. I have had great results this way and it has helped me narrow down my content.

For WordPress, I like using the WP-Polls plug-in. On Facebook, simply click on “Ask a Question” for your personal page or “Question” for your business page.

Email Your List of Subscribers

You do have subscribers right? If you answered no to that question because you haven’t added that feature to your blog, stop what you’re doing right now and visit my post “Six Things You Can Focus On Today to Increase Your Blogging Results”. I preach creating a list…yesterday.

This is also something I have personally done. Simply ask your subscribers what they like about your blog content and what they would like to see more of. Offering up a little incentive such as a free download of one of your eBooks or an Amazon gift card usually increases the number of people that will answer. Hey, we all like free stuff, right?

Check Your Social Networks

This might be a no-brainer, but if something you wrote really spoke to your audience and they absolutely loved it, don’t you think they’ll not only share it but say something about it? Don’t just check the number of Tweets and Likes you are receiving, check to see what they’re saying about your content. I would trade five tweets where no one said a thing about my article, for one where someone tweeted it but also said, “This is a must read” or “This is exactly the answer I was looking for.” This speaks loudly to your readers and potential readers.

Use the Power of Facebook Insights

This goes hand in hand with my previous tip, but it digs a little deeper. I won’t get into the nitty gritty of Facebook Insights, because we would be here all day long. You can read the Facebook Insights Guide which they call a “Product Guide for Facebook Page Owners” and get some in-depth information.

If you’re familiar with the new Facebook Insights roll-out, then you know on the left hand sidebar under “Likes” it says “People Talking About This”. This number is a great way to measure if your content is resonating with your audience because it speaks to engagement. This lets you know in a one week period how many people liked your page, posted to your page and mentioned, liked, shared or commented on a post of yours.

Just because a page has thousands of Likes, does not mean there is a good dose of interactions with the readers (engagement).

Facebook Insights is not only a great tool to measure the health of your Facebook page, but your blog content as well.

A Healthy Dose of Comments

It makes me sad when I visit a blog where they have the comments closed. (Does that make it a real blog then? Wait, that’s another discussion.) But when I visit a blog where there is a nice conversation flowing in the comments section, it makes me want to join in.

This tip may seem obvious to most of you, but I think all of us – whether we are brand new to this crazy world of blogging or if we’ve been doing it for ten years – need to take a step back and analyze the interaction. Are we interacting with our readers? Are they finding our content valuable enough to take a few minutes to leave a comment?

You can also get fantastic post ideas from comments your readers have left. Look for questions they asked or statements saying they wish you would write more of a certain type of article. If they are practically begging for more, then by all means, give them more!

How can you tell if your content is resonating well with your audience? Share some of your tips in the comment section below. Also feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you would like to see more of here on the BlogWorld blog. Are we resonating with you?

I have people ask me just about every week, “How can I do what you do?” My first answer for them is to get ready to work their butt off. If that statement doesn’t scare them off, then I know they’re ready to hear the rest of what I have to say – the nuts and bolts of what goes into becoming a successful blogger.

(Side note: Not all successful blogging stories are identical. What I am about to share with you has worked for me, but it’s not in any way the only road to success.)

I won’t get into choosing a topic for your blog, setting up your blog, or choosing a design. Let’s just assume you already have those pieces in place and are ready to hit the ground running with your topic.

1. Email, Email, Email

For several of the topics I write about, my contacts are the bread and butter of my business. They help me build my content with the emails they send with topic ideas, the products they want me to review or the person they would like me to interview. I have one incredibly large and amazing list of contacts, both PR firms and direct with business owners. How did I build this list? I pounded the keyboard.

The first thing I recommend you do as a new blogger is set up Google alerts with keywords related to your topic. I also suggest you search Google news for press releases related to your topic. Both of these will help keep you on top of the news, as well as build up your contact list. At the bottom of every press release is (usually) a name, email and/or phone number of the main contact person.

For months, I emailed people every single day introducing myself, telling them a little about my blog and letting them know I would love to work with them and be added to their press list. It took only a few months to build a solid list of people. My inbox was flooded with post ideas, product review submissions and interview requests. I still email companies and PR firms, but very rarely. I’m now at the stage of turning people away, and you can be there as well if you follow this approach.

2. Post Quality Content Every Day

I definitely will have some people disagree with me on this one and that’s okay. Like I said, this is what worked for me in the beginning. I truly believe that staying committed to having fresh content available every day was a key piece that got me where I am today.

If you don’t have the time to devote to your blog every day, then set aside one chunk of time a week where you write 5 to 7 articles to drip throughout the course of your week. The scheduled post feature is your friend. Use it!

Your readership and numbers will grow because they’ll keep coming back for more every day and your business contacts will grow because they’ll know you’re the type of blogger they want to work with.

3. Build Your Email List Yesterday

When I have a new blogger ask me, “When should I start building my email list?”, I always say “Yesterday”. Meaning, you need to be collecting those emails from your readers on day one. I wish I could say I followed this piece of advice, but I didn’t. I honestly thought people would prefer to receive information about my site from little blurbs on Facebook or Twitter. That is not the case!

Did you know you have readers who are not on either of those sites? (Gasp!) And, did you know there are people who are on Facebook and/or Twitter but they don’t check it every day? (Gasp again!) But guess what? They do check email every day and you’ll reach a lot more people through email, instead of hoping they see it on your Facebook page. So go build that email list…yesterday!

4. Don’t Be a Blog Hermit

One definition of a hermit is “any person living in seclusion; recluse”. In order to have a successful blog, you need to step away from your own blog for a minute and go make friends. Don’t be a hermit! Find blogs within your topic and start commenting on them. And I’m not talking about leaving a “Nice post!” comment or some lengthy one which makes you sound extremely intelligent. Just join the conversation like you would at a get together with your friends. Socialize. Interact. Reach out.

I know there are many bloggers who will agree with the fact that you’ll make friends within the blogging community who will become your friends for life. You’ll start bunking together at events, helping each other’s blogs succeed and maybe even go into business together. If you stay in your own little blogging bubble, you’ll regret it in the end. I promise.

5. Treat Your Blog as a Business

Yes, I know. You’re thinking, “Thank you for the obvious cliché advice, Julie Bonner”. But me telling you to treat your blog as a business is THE most important piece of advice I could give you. You hear successful bloggers say, “If you treat this as a hobby, it will pay you as a hobby. If you treat this as a business, it will pay you as a business” for a reason. The reason is it’s true. I don’t care if you’re a mom blogger, a dad blogger or someone blogging about under water basket weaving – this is a piece of advice for everyone.

Type A Founder Kelby Carr conducted a session at BlogWorld LA 2011 where she talked about this very subject. The session was titled “Parent Bloggers Mean Business”. She gave some very valuable tips and advice on being taken seriously as a blogger. In order to be successful in the blogosphere, it’s important to be respected by both your blogging peers as well as companies. Kelby said to have confidence, don’t obsess over your competition, and behave like a professional. I couldn’t agree more.

6. Hold on Tight. It’s Going to be a Fun and Bumpy Ride

Last but not least, realize blogging is a journey just like anything else in life. You’ll have your days someone leaves a really rude comment on your blog, or makes fun of your video, or insults you in some way. It will happen, especially the more successful you get. Shake it off, call it what it is – someone being terribly stupid, jealous and immature – and realize tomorrow is a new day. (This is where those great blogging friends you’ve made can help save the day with an encouraging word.)

Keep creating good content, keep reaching out to the blogging community and keep being professional. I can tell you first hand – blogging is one heck of a fun ride. So hold on.

The BlogWorld community is growing by leaps and bounds. Every day, more people “like” us on Facebook, “follow” us on Twitter and “circle” us on Google+.  Still, our work isn’t done. We enjoy a big, vibrant and lively community of folks interacting and sharing ideas.

Sometimes when we invite folks to join us on one of our social channels, we’re asked why or what’s in it for our community.  It’s one thing to say “join us on Facebook,” but that’s not much enticement. So to cover the “why” part,  I’m going to share the top reasons to join our Facebook community.

10. Brag your blog day

Community isn’t us, it’s you. The collective you. We want to know everything about you, who you are, what you do and what you’re about. At the beginning of each month we feature “Brag Your Blog” day when our entire community is allowed to legally spam our Facebook wall.  Let’s face it, there are  a lot of people producing a lot of content  and none of us can possibly know about it all. But on “Brag Your Blog Day,” we can help our community to promote their content to over 6,000 friends.  Hopefully by participating you can gain  some new community members of your own.

9. Picture Day

We love sharing images from the BlogWorld Flickr account and other channels and picture day is our day of doing so. When we post our images, we tag community members who are in the photos whenever possible. We also invite our Facebook community to share their own images from our events. The perks are in the tags and the shares, a great way to see and be seen.

8. Participating is encouraged and rewarded

Facebook isn’t about us. It’s about you. Our goal is to have pages and pages of questions and comments from the members of our community. Still, we have an active community and enjoy lively conversation every day. We even reward our best comments by calling out our community member of the week, month and year. We won’t lie. One of the reasons for building our online community is to help promote our own stuff and we won’t pretend otherwise. However, we really want to hear from you more. Our community pages are places for you to interact and enjoy each others’ company. The more the merrier.

7. Ask questions

Do you have questions about BlogWorld, content creation, or new media? Our Facebook page is a great place to ask those questions. As the person who is leading your community, I’m monitoring all our social networks every day and if I’m not there, another member of the team is on standby. So please feel encouraged to ask questions about our events, content creation and the latest tools and techniques. If we don’t have the answer, someone in our community is sure to help.

6. You never know who will stop by

The BlogWorld Facebook community features a variety of personality types and you never know who is going to stop by on any given day. Some people are quick with a quip and others master the art of intelligent discussion. Plus, many of the influencers and big names in the New Media space stop by on a regular basis. We have an open door policy and you never know who will stop by.

5. Keep the conversation flowing long after BlogWorld is over

All those important connections and conversations don’t have to end because BlogWorld is over.  Keep the good vibe going long after our live events end.  Continue to hang out with our speakers, attendees, and team, as well as those who hope to attend a future BlogWorld event. Just because we’re not at a convention center doesn’t mean we have to stop enjoying each others’ company.

4. Make connections

Members of the BlogWorld community include content creators, business people, influencers and folks from all walks of life.  The connections you make by joining our Facebook page are just as important as the connections one makes in person while attending BlogWorld.  There’s no need to be shy, either. Everyone is participating for the same reason – to make connections, build relationships, and have a conversation about the things that matter most.

3. Promote your brand

Though we discourage spamming, we still offer many ways to build a personal or professional brand. In addition to Brag Your Blog and Picture days, we offer opportunities to share Twitter Handles, Google+ circles, Pinterest boards, blog posts and so much more.  We know our community has so much to offer and we invite you all to share on a regular basis.

2. BlogWorld news and updates

There has to be something in it for us too, right?  Our social networking channels are a terrific opportunity for us to share  news and updates about BlogWorld events.  If there’s a call for speakers, a special date to announce or something interesting happening for us, we’ll make the announcements here. We’ll also take the time to answer any questions you may have and gather feedback to help keep us on the right track.

1. Learn something

The BlogWorld blog is an important resource for content creation tips and news, and we carry the feed on Facebook. We also share informative posts from other content creators.  Also, we invite our community to share tips and ideas on our Facebook page.  We know conversation is important and we want to keep you informed of what’s going on with, but it’s important for us all to learn and share what we learn – and that’s the best reason to stop by the BlogWorld Facebook page.

We shared reasons why you should join our Facebook page, now share reasons why we should join yours! Tell us about you, what you do, and what your Facebook page or group is all about.  Invite members of our community into your community and let us all know what rewards membership will bring.

Needless to say, we weren’t successful and we ended up losing money. But I had been bitten by the online bug and knew this was where I belonged.

Start with a Topic You Know and Love

Fast forward a few months, when we decided to create another website. It was on a topic I could sink my teeth into, write hundreds of articles off the top of my head and just enjoy. My husband did the keyword research and I wrote the articles. We started making money within a few months and I knew we had something legitimate on our hands.

After working on the site for about 8 months and increasing the income to just under $1,000 a month on average, we decided to sell. I was bored. I felt like I really had nothing left to give to the site and I was ready to move on to something else. We listed the site on a popular online website marketplace and within a few days sold the site for a high four-figure sum.

Show Me the Money

This site had around 25 pages of content, so let’s do the math here: sold for $7,500, which was making $900 a month and we created around 3 pages per month. The first three months we made just about nothing. Then it went from $200, to $400 to $600 and stayed at $900 up until we sold. Let’s figure we made around $11,000 total from both the sale and the combined monthly income. That means we were paid around $440 per page we wrote. Not bad. The buyer was purchasing a website which was ranking really well for highly searched keywords in the search engines, plus a steady income we had built. It was a win-win.

I think this site sold for what it did for several reasons:

• I was writing about something I was passionate about and had first-hand knowledge of and experience with
• We did the research up front to make sure we had a reasonable shot at making the site quite profitable if we did the work required
• We wrote the content with our readers in mind first of all, but using words that the search engines would like and would reward us for

And Then Blogging Entered My Life…

After building websites, I discovered the world of blogging. I have not looked back since. Not only have I built and run several successful blogs, but I have also sold several. Some I built with the intention of selling, while others I decided to sell after simply losing the desire to continue pouring myself into it. Chalk it up to a short attention span.

Let’s play with the numbers for a minute, shall we?

I sold one blog for $4,000 after building it for 6 months. How did I come up with the idea for the blog? I focused on both keyword research and knowledge about the topic. Do you see a pattern here?

The blog was making just over $500 a month and I was working on it for about an hour a day. It’s not an extreme amount of money by any means, but $500 a month can make or break the bank for some people.

The Moral of the Story

What’s the moral of the story here? There are several actually.

Each post you write has value. Whether you are writing the posts on your blog for your readers, for the search engines, or to appeal to a potential future buyer, each post you write has value. So treat it that way.

It is possible to make a decent income with your blogging efforts. I have people ask me all the time “Can I really make money from this?” Yes. But, it takes knowledge about your topic, passion and a willingness to consistently do the work required.

You don’t have to be an A-lister to make money. I am by no means an A-list blogger. Most people in the online world don’t even know I exist. I kind of like it that way. But I can tell you this; I make a full-time income from my blogs and am thankful every day for this opportunity that I have been given.

Do you have any secrets to your blogging success? Have you bought or sold a blog? Share a little of your blogging story in the comment section below.