*Started July 19th, I’m participating in a 31-day project using the ebook 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. I’m doing it with a group of gals over at SITS which I’ll share more about in tomorrow’s Work At Home Wednesday post!
Below you’ll see the tasks, key concepts, discussion questions and my answers for Days 1-7:
Day 1 – Write an Elevator Pitch
Key Concepts:
- Doing so helps to focus your blog.
- Good to have different lengths of pitches.
- Try to solve a problem or need.
- Define your audience and keep it clear, short, and intriguing.
- In creating the pitch, brainstorm keywords related to your blog.
Tagline: Making Business Personal Through Relational Artistry
What is your short elevator pitch?
I help stay at home moms and entrepreneurs go deeper in relationships & personal growth.
Did completing this task change your blog, or change the way you think about your blog?
Not too much, I’ve always been interested in the art of building relationships. A while ago, I put a lot of thought into the tagline. It took a long time to finalize. As I began building readership, I was doing what I love most – building relationships. However I was losing focus on creating content that was focused on my blog’s pitch. What this task helped me do was to remember what’s my original focus for this blog: to study relationships and how to improve them. I’m grateful for the reminder!
Day 2 – Write a List Post
Key Concepts:
- Lists are popular for bloggers who want the message to go viral.
- There are a variety of ways of incorporating lists into your blog.
- Lists break down the complicated.
- Lists are easy to read.
Question 1: Have you considered list posts as a way to create meaningful content in the past?
Not on my own. I’m not naturally a list person, so I did hear about this from ProBlogger and gave it a try.
Question 2: What do you like about reading and writing list posts?
They are easier to read sometimes. The points are laid out clearly. It helps me to focus on what I really want to cover when I’m writing a list post.
Here’s my example:
Being Yourself – 8 Ways To Let The Real You Shine Through
Day 3 – Promote a Blog Post
Key Concepts: Promoting individual blog posts tends to be far more effective than the main URL. Along with increasing readership by linking posts to social networking sites, you can promote select links in social bookmarking sites like Digg and StumbleUpon, create internal links within your own website and pitch your best posts to other bloggers to link to.
1) Where do you promote blog posts other than on Twitter or Facebook?
I’m new to blogging, so I mostly use Facebook and Twitter to promote blog posts. I also spend time getting to know other bloggers, commenting on their posts, and I have a fellow mom blogger promote my Work At Home Wednesday button on her blog.
2) What sites/forums have worked best in driving traffic to your site?
Mom Bloggers Club, SITS, and leaving comments on others’ sites.
Day 4 – Analyze a Top Blog in Your Niche
Key Concepts for Today: Studying successful blogs in your niche will show you what’s working well for them as well as topics they might be ignoring which you could satisfy. Look closer and see how they implement advertisements or promotions and what their readers are asking about. It’s important to note you don’t want to copy another blogger. Be unique, but allow them to inspire you!
Questions:
1) Which of the areas discussed in today’s task are you most interested in studying about your niche and why? (These areas are Content, Reader Engagement, Design, Monetization, Traffic and SEO)
Content and Reader Engagement. Why? While I love to express myself, it’s not just about me. It’s about the reader and what they get from reading my post. I want so much to give of myself – the experiences, pain, victories – in ways that readers resonate with me and benefit from my sharing for their own lives!
2) What’s one thing you could do to improve your blog after studying the top blogs in your niche?
Subscribe to the 2 top blogs in my niche that I found, and study what they do. To combat information overload syndrome, one immediate thing I can implement to improve my blog is to picture my reader and think about what she needs.
Day 5 – Email a Blog Reader
Key Concepts:
- Paying personal attention to readers significantly increases the chances they will return to your blog or spread news of your blog through their network.
- Make emails personal and relevant to a comment left on your blog, and don’t forget to include a link back to your blog.
- This task is simple, but can create loyal and long-term readers in only a few minutes a day.
- To take it a step further, comment on the person’s blog or reply to their comment in the comments section on your blog.
Questions:
1) How do you reply to comments on your blog? Do you utilize your comments section, send personal emails, or use another method?
I use a commenting system called Disqus. I love it! It lets me directly reply to a comment, which makes for more personal interaction. Sometimes I send a personal email when I have a question for the blog author. Next on my list is to send a personal email to those with whom I’ve built a connection.
2) How have you benefitted from making personal connections with your readers?
I’ve gained a circle of blogging friends that I love to be in touch with! One gal I personally emailed, she has an incredible blog for the short time she’s blogged – she helped me get my giveaway a lot of traffic for a new blog. Stephanie, I’m grateful for you! When someone comments on my blog, I do my best to stop by their blog to leave a comment. I also do my best to reply directly to their comment on my own blog – Disqus makes it easy because they nest my reply to each commenter.
Day 6 – 27 Must-Read Tips & Tutorials for Bloggers
Key Concepts:
I’m not going to even try to summarize the key concepts from the 27 articles. So, I’ve decided to provide the websites and Twitter usernames of the successful bloggers who wrote the articles so you can read more of their work:
Seth Godin: Website: SethGodin, Twitter: @thisissethsblog
Rand Fishkin: Website: SEOMoz, Twitter: @seomoz
Skellie: Website: Skelliewag, Twitter: @skellie
Chris Garrett: Website: ChrisG, Twitter: @chrisgarrett
Yaro Starak: Website: Entrepreneurs Journey, Twitter: @yarostarak
Jeremy Schoemaker: ShoeMoney, Twitter: @shoemoney
Maki: DoshDosh, Twitter ID: @doshdosh
Liz Strauss: SuccessfulBlog, Twitter ID: @lizstrauss
Daniel Scocco: DailyBlogTips, Twitter ID: @danielscocco
Chris Brogan: ChrisBrogan, Twitter ID: @chrisbrogan
Question 1: Which of these posts and authors resonated with you the most?
So many amazing topics I just want to sit down and consume all of them! Can you tell I love to learn 
I did manage to sit down and read 3 very informative articles.
Of the three, I resonated the most with one author / post: Maki from Dosh Dosh who wrote Rethinking Blog Comments: Much More Than Just A Quick Way To Get Web Traffic
The other two are also filled with nuggets of blogging wisdom and experience: Skellie from Skelliewag who wrote How to Start or Start Over Building Your Personal Brand
And Rand Fishkin from SEOmoz who wrote Blogging in an Oversaturated Market is Usually a Poor Decision
Quesiton 2: List one nugget of bloggy wisdom you learned that you want to share with the group.
Here’s what I learned from reading the above article about Rethinking Blog Comments. Every blog comment you make is a long-term representation of your personal brand. After reading this article, I reflected on the nature of the comments I leave on others’ blogs. Do we think of the comments as a way to gain more visibility and traffic to our own blogs? There’s nothing wrong with that mindset, but if that’s the only reason we leave comments then we need to rethink our blog commenting activities. Here’s a refreshing perspective…View blog comments as a networking tool. I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Maki from Dosh Dosh!
Day 7 – Write a Link Post
Today’s topic is about the importance of linking as a way to grow your blog.
Question 1: What benefits have you experienced by sharing links on your blog?
I experience enjoyment by linking to another blogger’s post that either expands on what I’ve shared or inspired me to write mine. That’s because I know my reader will receive value from this blogger’s writing. We also mutually benefit from the relationship we’re building with each other.
Question 2: How often do you provide links to other blogs or resources?
I regularly link to another blog once a week, as I believe in the value of what this blog shares every Thursday that aligns with my blog’s direction & focus.
Be sure to share a link post if you have one!
Here’s my latest link post: On Finding Your True Voice
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