Archive | July, 2010
Blogging While Brown 2010 The Business of Blogging
The subtitle of the Business of Blogging panel was “Beyond Add Networks” and these guys got my juices flowing with their creative ideas on generating online income via methods other than adds and pay-per-click adds.
Donna Maria Coles Johnson of the Indie Business Blog, Nichelle Stephens of Cupcakes Take the Cake and Navarrow Wright of Global Grind shared their expertise with us and I got bunch of useful take aways.
Donna Maria gave us a couple of good tools to consider. Ever wonder where those online surveys come from? Good chance that one of them is SurveyMonkey . Not only does it create surveys though, but the site also generates charts for your survey data so you can get a statistical feel for what your responders think.
If you’re considering podcasting Donna Maria uses CinchCast as her platform. It also has a number of other useful features to help you optimize your account so check it out and install a podcast on your site.
Another of her suggestions for an extra income stream is one many of us have heard over the years. Blogging for hire. Follow and contact companies on their blog sites and offer your blogging services for their team. Donna Maria’s efforts show that initiative online can pay off just as in the physical world.
Nichelle contributed some great ideas as well. In fact she was representing two enterprises. Her own Cupcakes Take the Cake is about everything cupcakes. If you enjoy home baking or are a lover of deserts you’ll enjoy this site. She also had a table for Pepsi We Inspire which she edits. It’s a site for women to uplift and entertain each other with encouraging expressions. You ladies should definitely look into Pepsi We Inspire.
Two online resources that Nichelle recommended were new to me. Quantcast helps you to identify your audience to improve your marketing efforts. Having trouble nailing down your target demographic? Quantcast is worth looking into.
Another site helps you to compare your site to others. Compete uses a variety of analytics metrics on other web sites to see how your competition is performing. It’s a great competitive intelligence tool.
Nichelle is quite the enterprising lady and I really appreciate the tools she informed us about.
Although Navorrow is best known for the Global Grind blogsite he suggested excercising more technical expertise for profitable blogging. Specifically, create something useful for others. He told us to create technical products that are needed like apps and widgets. Considering all the Facebook games and feed apps that regularly come on the scene this shouldn’t be too difficult an idea for the programmers among us to take to heart.
Navorrow is well respected in online world and if any one knows about tools that work it’s him. His personal consultancy Maximum Leverage Solutions is proof enough of that. He knows the value of providing good tools so all you coders, get those great ideas online and in circulation right away.
I really enjoyed this panel because of the practicality of information given by the presenters. There was something for everyone and no doubt if you’re serious about your blogging and social media pursuits there’s something here for you too. If it’s been in the back of your mind today is a good day to create “top of mind awareness” for yourself and get more serious about the business of blogging.
As an Entrepreneur in Business, YOU Should Go First
This morning when I sat down to begin my workday, I had a “to-do” to check a link that I wanted to use in one of my posts for my business blog. When I typed in the domain name, I discovered that the page had been re-directed to a totally brand new site that was completely unrelated to its original intentions. This was a blog that I had developed specifically for this client. I creatively came up with the catchy domain name, I determined the posting schedule, wrote the posts to my specifications, edited and invited guest bloggers to post. I grew the blogs traffic via social networking and being “out there” promoting this blog and the wonders of it. So essentially, the re-directed page had nothing to do with what it was originally set-up for. Let me give you a bit of background explanation.
Pro Blogging
I have been professionally blogging (meaning I get paid for it) for over four years now. I’ve been writing for over 12 years. About four years ago, an online network hired me to blog about working from home, executive women professionals, etc. I was simply delighted to write because that’s what I love. I poured my heart and creative intelligence into the blog and it grew in traffic and readership and people were engaging and participating on the site a lot. It was jumping! Well, as it goes in the world of business, money changed hands and so did ownership of that online network. That meant the writers had the option of 1.) staying on board for significantly less pay or 2.) opting to leave with the keyboard they brought with them. I toiled over this for some time because I LOVED my blog, but I couldn’t support myself off the peanuts they were offering. It just wasn’t right but it was what it was. I opted out.
From what I understand, a few other writers from that time took over the helm and tried to grow the blog. And, from what I understand, the site changed owners a few more times. It was very unfortunate, but what impacted me most was that my creative works were gone. Gone. Since I was under contract, all of the pieces that I had written for the company were owned by them, therefore they could do with it as they pleased. They deleted them all. Everything that I had written from my heart and head knowledge in two years was gone. And even if I had kept the posts in a word processing file, I still could not use them – - remember, I signed a contract.
The Real First
My point here is to encourage those of you who are in business to put yourself FIRST! I don’t mean neglect your clients, but if you’re going to be successful and become a brand name, your work deserves your full heart and creative juices. As for clients, ALWAYS deliver 110% to them, no matter what. Always give them the ultimate best and be the person they think of when they have work or need products. But as for your heart’s desire, your “baby” if you will, give your deep, undivided attention to that. The rewards far outweigh anything you can imagine. Although the reaping of those rewards may be slower, they will come nonetheless.
Now, I still write for clients – many clients as a matter of fact. I give them a thousand percent and I get repeat business. But as for my heart’s goals, I’ve turned my full attention to giving my blogs what they deserve: me. My essence, my core. All of those things are too precious to give away, and they’re even harder to retrieve once they’re lost. If you’re going to be in business and be successful, prioritize what you’re aiming for and focus on that. Entrepreneur’s have dreams of having their own brand, products, image, books, etc, but they can never achieve those things if they don’t focus on making them happen.
So do it. Starting today.
Blogging While Brown 2010 Where I Learned How to Make My Blog Suck Less
The funnest and funniest presentation by far this year was given by blogger extraordinaire Scott Hanselman. I don’t know if Scott is a Toastmaster but he definitely knows how to use humor effectively.
These are a few key points from his presentation “32 Ways to Make Your Blog Suck Less” that stood out to me:
- People read blogs around 9:00 AM Eastern time on Mondays. Nobody reads them on Saturdays.
- Nothing will lower your readership more quickly than writing about politics if that’s not your main topic. That also goes for anything else significantly off topic from what you usually write.
- Integrate search into your blog site (Google or Bing for example).
- Don’t just reply to an e-mail for help back to that one person. Write a post on the subject and e-mail the link to them instead.
Fortunately Scott distributed the presentation and you can take a look for yourself to pick up a few tips to apply to your site.
Another great part was getting to know Scott on a personal level. Myself and a handful of other bloggers hung out with him the night before his presentation and he had us cracking up the entire time. He is one of those folks who is the same guy on stage and off. Nothing inaccessible about him.
If you ever get to hear Scott in person you should definitely do so. In the mean time get to work on making your blog suck less.
America Is In Need of A Chivalry Infusion
I’m sure I’ve written on this subject before but a real world and Facebook friend’s comment on her wall today has me thinking about the state of American manliness once again. I fear the current condition is directly related to slovenly attitudes about dress styles etc. but I’ve already worn that subject out (saggers with matching underwear that they consider a style) and I’ll keep this discussion elevated to plane of higher principle.
My curiosity on the issue led me to search for what other bloggers have written on the matter and I found a couple of pretty good ones. Darryl James has some really good thoughts in this March 2nd post on the Black Men In America blog covering the original definition of chivalry in Middle Ages Europe to modern day perceptions that are varied within American culture.
And this video from YourTango, Smart Talk About Love, five guys take a few minutes to talk about the impact of boys lack of exposure to chivalrous training and girls lack of exposure to chivalrous behavior as the culprits. They figure those are some of the reasons that, not only is chivalry being practiced less by young men, but is also why many women don’t expect it and sometimes react to it in surprised or suspicious fashion.
These posts are representative of how the concept has evolved over time due to changing societal norms. Some of the bad habits have become so entrenched that they are affecting relationships in an unnecessarily negative way. Men and women are confused on both ends because the practice is exhibited too infrequently as a normal and expected behavior. Well if you haven’t figured it out yet I think a serious change is due. One that will not only improve the state of gender relationships but common decency and neighborliness as well.
So fellas I charge you with a series of tasks for the second half of 2010. Starting today, offer a lady your seat where ever you are when none are available. Bus, train, church, office, doesn’t matter. Depending on the part of the country where you live – specifically anywhere outside the southeast – really shock people and start using mam and sir in your responses to people more senior in age than you. Nothing will set you apart from the average guy more quickly. Open doors for the ladies and girls. Here’s another big one. Watch your mouth around women and girls. Set a better example of manliness by not cursing if front of them in your normal conversation. Teach your sons all of these things by intention and by habit.
Don’t worry about the occasional negative reaction. If a particular lady can’t appreciate the gesture just continue in the positive.
Ladies, I’m not going to leave you out. A few changes for your task list include accepting chivalrous behavior and teaching your daughters to accept it as well. Find ways to expose your sons to men who are good examples, be they friends, neighbors, family or organizational leaders of any number of youth programs. You as women can talk about these principles but only we men can demonstrate and groom the behavior. And watch your tongues in public as well. Many of you don’t sound any different than guys. It only encourages the attraction of that kind of guy. Just sayin’.
I’m convinced that lax cultural mores aren’t beyond repair. Any situation can be turned around but like most significant things, they start on a small scale with individuals like us. So let’s start to make that change today, jump start a collective surge and watch the impact it makes in due time.
