Welcome back to class everyone.  There’s quite a lot to cover, so let’s get started.

I think it’s safe to say that once you’ve been blogging for, say, more than a week, you know how much time you can spend writing blog posts, thinking about the next topic to blog about, reading blogs, commenting on blogs, and social networking.  I also think it’s safe to say that keeping up with all your blogging commitments can be incredibly overwhelming and defeating since there comes a time where it’s impossible to keep up and have time for things like showers and meals.

Here’s how it starts.  First, you discovered blogging.  Blogging is what everyone was doing.  The next thing you knew, you got some comments and you got high from the comments.  Comments felt good, they made you feel popular, funny even.  Then two or three comments weren’t enough so you started leaving comments EVERYWHERE in hopes of getting a few return hits.  It worked!  Then you heard about this thing called “social networking” and thought you’d give that a go, too.  Before you knew it, you were obsessed with coming up with the next blog post, with getting your next comment, with finding the next must-join social network.

It’s a sick, sick addiction.  Eventually you realize that you are spinning out of control and know that you have to get a better handle on your time online.  Today let’s discuss where we should focus our blogging time and still have time for a LIFE.

1.  Content

Of all the things to devote your time to, this is THE MOST IMPORTANT.  Not only is it the most important, but developing your content is how you should spend the majority of your time in the blogosphere. If you want keep your readers coming back, you have to offer them a variety of quality posts.  This means that you have to devote some time to developing post topics, writing posts, and editing posts for publication.

If you feel like your writing could improve, and don’t we all feel that way?!, consider taking a creative writing course.  Also, look at how your favorite bloggers and authors write and figure out what you like about them.  Is it the way they phrase things?  Do you like their vocabulary level?  Maybe it’s how they inject humor into even the most mundane of subjects.

2.  Community

One of the reasons I started blogging was to reach out and connect with others who are like me.   This facet of blogging is probably one of the most frustrating, though.  As you gain readers, it can be very difficult to reciprocate comments and develop relationships with other bloggers.  There are only so many hours in a day.

With that said, building a community around your blog is how you should spent a large portion of your time.   Here are a few ways to participate in the blogging community:

Commenting on others’ blogs, replying to comments on your own blog, answering emails, replying to tweets, and promoting other’s posts via Twitter, StumbleUpon, or sharing items via your Google Reader…

All of these tasks take time, but it is time well spent and will reward you with popularity! and money! and fast cars!  Okay, a slight exaggeration, but participating in the blogging community is INVALUABLE and shows others that you aren’t just a selfish, comment hoarding jerk, who’s only looking out for number one.

3.  Social Networking and self-promotion

There are 37, 684, 561* social networking sites. (*estimate, not researched)  There is no possible way to join AND PARTICIPATE in each one.  The majority are a waste of time, as far as driving traffic to your site.  Also, the only way to actually benefit from social networking is to participate, so I recommend choosing AT LEAST ONE and participate in earnest.

If you only have time for ONE social networking site, choose Twitter. It’s a great way to network and chat with gob loads of other bloggers.  Also a great way to announce new blog posts (as long as that’s not the ONLY thing you tweet.)

If you only have time for TWO social networking sites, start using StumbleUpon on a regular basis.  StumbleUpon has the ability to drive thousands of visitors to your site per day, particularly if you’re an active participant and approach SU unselfishly.  Need to know how to use SU?  Read THIS post about the basics of SU and THIS post about how to use the toolbar.  If you still don’t understand, SU is probably not for you.

If you only have time for THREE social networking sites, choose Facebook or a not-full-of-crazies message board.   I have seen quite a lot of traffic from Facebook and from links that other’s have left about my site on different message boards so I know that these types of sites can generate traffic to your blog.

**Important note about social networking sites**  In order to protect your blog’s brand, you should consider at least signing up at these different sites so that nobody else can use your name.  I’ve signed up at nearly all 37 million sites using the name “Playgroupie” so that MY blog name is already taken.

4.  Website Maintenance

What?  I have to maintain my website?  Huh?

Actually maintaining your blog is incredibly important to ensure that 1) it looks visually appealing 2) loads quickly 3) isn’t out-of-date.

Here are some things to consider….

a.  Make sure that the clutter in your sidebars isn’t slowing the loading of your site (I KNOW your sidebars are cluttered). Slow loading time=potential readers leaving.  Is the clutter in your sidebars necessary?  Do you have the MUST HAVES in your sidebar?

b.  Does your blog need an updated look? Is your blog SO 2007?  Consider changing templates or paying someone to redesign your site.

c.  Do you need to update your “About” page? Consider using an updated picture and making sure your page is a worthwhile read.

d.  Do you need to upgrade your WordPress to the next version or update your plugins?

These all take time and need to be considered when considering managing your time online.

5.  Monetization

If making money off of your blog is a goal, then time will have to be devoted to finding sponsors for your blog.  This could include replying to PR pitches to do product reviews and place ads on your site.  It also could include seeking out companies willing to pay for ad space in your sidebar or finding an ad network that actually pays.  Once advertisers are found, it’s important to set up a schedule to review and renew the ads.

I hesitate to say exactly how much time should be devoted to each of these facets of blogging because it will vary based on your aspirations.  This will also vary depending on where you are in the life cycle of your blog.

These are NOT hard and fast rules, just very, very, very, very loose guidelines.

If you are a newer blogger (blogging 6 months or less), maybe 40% of your time should be devoted to Content, 35% to Community, 20% to Social Networking, and 5% Website Maintenance.

A more experienced blogger (6-18 months) could possibly devote 30% of time to Content, 35% to Community, 30% to Social Networking, and 5% to Website Maintenance.

Veteran bloggers (18 months and beyond), depending on whether you’ve started writing for other sites and whether you’re trying to monetize, may devote 65% of their time to Content due to increased writing commitments, 10% to Community, 15% to Social Networking, 5% to Website Maintenance, and 5% to Monetization.

How about me?  How much time to I devote to each?

In a typical week, I devote about 70% of my time to my content (lately it’s been hard to tell.  I KNOW.) and to my Managing Editor responsibilities at Blog Nosh magazine,  15% to Community and 10% to Social Networking (mostly with Twitter and StumbleUpon, though I try to leave a bread crumb trail of comments), and finally about 5% to Website Maintenance.  I wish that I had more time to devote to Community and checking out new readers’ blogs and reciprocating comments.  This is a personal struggle that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to reconcile unless I decide that cleanliness is overrated and that my children would be happy eating Cheetos out of the carpet.

The point of all this entire post is this:  For your blog to be truly successful, you simply must devote the majority of your time to your Content and to the blogging Community. Without that necessary base, all the social networking/self-promotion in the world will not yield regular readers.  This base is also necessary before efforts to monetize your blog will pay off.

What is your typical breakdown for the time you devote to these areas?  Do you think there is an area you need to improve?

Next week we’ll discuss some web-based tools that can help manage your time online.

You can read more entries from my Blog Tip Sharing Project series HERE.

I’ve read several articles lately about etiquette in the blogosphere.   Etiquette, in terms of blogging however, falls into that reoccurring category of “You can’t make everyone happy.”

I think that this is a subject that has the potential to hurt feelings, and in no way is that the purpose of this post.    I hope that the comments section today turns into a true discussion of this subject, and veers from openly hurtful jabs at others.

Let’s start with the subject of comments.

Here in the blogosphere, there is a “rule” (not sure if it’s written or unwritten) that returning comments to those who’ve visited your blog is necessary…and expected.

While I agree that people should try to reciprocate comments, it is not always feasible.  With life’s responsibilities, a person may not have time to return comments in a timely manner.  I know that I’ve lost readers because I didn’t reciprocate with leaving a comment at their site.  Does this bother me?  Sure, a little.  I don’t want someone to comment here, though, simply because they are expecting me to return the favor.  I also don’t want to allow the hours it would require to reciprocate EVERY comment to interfere with time with my children and husband.  Also, it’s typically not a reflection of YOU if someone doesn’t return the favor of commenting.  More likely it is just a busy life that prevents them from reciprocating.

One way that I make up for my lack of commenting is to promote blog posts I read via Stumbleupon, sharing it in my Google Reader widget, or Twittering about the post (as mentioned in the BTSP 7:  Building Your Community).

Also in regards to commenting, I’ve received comments from people saying things like, “oh you’ll never read this, but…”  and every time I want to reply back, “Of COURSE I read every comment!  Is there anybody who doesn’t??”  I think that there is a misconception that those who get LOTS of comments don’t really read them.  I can’t imagine that there is a person out there who doesn’t read their comments, although I’m sure there are a small handful.  Comments are what all bloggers thrive upon, to me it’s counterintuitive that someone WOULDN’T read them.

Moving along to linking.

My general opinion of linking to other’s blogs is this:  Do it often!  Be generous!  Don’t be intimated to link to bloggers you feel have more traffic or are more popular!  Link to posts you admire and relate to the subject of your post for the day.  There certainly is a fine line between linking to those you admire for the sake of generosity and linking to others as bait.

I do think that if someone has linked to you (you can see most links on Technorati or WhoLinksToMe.), it’s nice to drop by and leave a comment.  Is it necessary?  No.  If you don’t will you hurt someone’s feelings?  Possibly.  Should you lose sleep over this?  NO.

I think that the biggest faux pas in relation to linking is NOT linking to someone you are talking about.   If you are going to specifically name someone in your post, you really need to insert a link to their site.

Memes and Awards

When I first started blogging, I adored being tagged for memes and getting awards.   Once you’ve been around the blogosphere for awhile, though, most likely you have participated in every meme known to man.  Also, days when a meme is posted tend to be low traffic days for most people.  For me, I prefer not to participate in memes since it takes a lot of effort to write them and you get very little return for the time invested.

If you wish to participate in memes, though, that is perfectly fine!  It is also perfectly fine to tag others for the meme, but don’t get your feelings hurt when people don’t play along.

As for awards, it is always kind to give out awards.  The recipient of the award may or may not choose to pass along the award.  Also they may or may not the display the award.  This is again one of those situations where you shouldn’t get your feelings hurt if someone doesn’t play along.

How about a discussion of Twitter etiquette?

Maggie Mason recently wrote an article pertaining to twitter etiquette over at The Morning News.  This article has several thought-provoking points (as much as Twitter can be thought provoking..heh).  While I personally agree with several of the points, I think it’s important to realize that not everyone uses Twitter in the same way.

Following those that follow you:  Touchy subject, I know.  For me, the purpose of Twitter for me is to get to know people and follow links posted.  Therefore, I follow almost everyone who follows me.  On the same token, it’s not necessary to follow back those that follow you, however if you want to seem accessible, it IS the nice thing to do.

There are people using Twitter only to keep in touch with those they really KNOW.  Additionally,  there’s a whole other set of people who only follow those that they deem cool enough. *shrugs shoulders*  None of us should get our panties in a wad if someone doesn’t follow us back.  If you’re really bothered by someone not following you back, then simply UNfollow them.

Speaking of Unfollowing…See above about not getting our panties in a wad.  Also, remember that Twitter gets hosed up OFTEN and unfollows people for you.  I’ve discovered that Twitter has unfollowed LOTS of people for me.  Try not to let it bother you if someone unfollows you, it was quite possibly unintentional.

Promoting yourself on Twitter.  As I’ve already mentioned, people use Twitter for different reasons, one being promoting new blog posts.  For some, this is their sole purpose for using Twitter.  If this annoys you, then unfollow them.  To me, I don’t care how others choose use Twitter (unless they are EVIL Twitter SPAMMERS…GRRR.)

I’m certain that I could write an entire novel on this subject of etiquette in the blogosphere.  Hopefully I’ve made the point that 1) you can’t make everyone happy and 2) don’t get your feelings hurt over things that do (or don’t ) happen in the blogosphere.

Blogging…it’s supposed to be FUN, right?  Perspective…

Discuss amongst yourselves.

You can find all of my blog tips HERE.

Thank you all so much for sending in your blog-related questions!   There were so many questions, that in the interest of your time, I decided to make several posts out of your questions.  Several questions even spurred ideas for entire posts.  Stay tuned!

Question 1 is from S/he who asked to remain anonymous:  When we have links in our posts to other blogs, should we have them open in a new window so that our readers don’t actually leave our blogs?  I keep reading both sides of this issue and some people are annoyed when the link doesn’t open in a new window and some people are annoyed if it does.  What’s the best way?

I had a discussion in the comments section several weeks ago with Mrs. Who about making links open in a new window.  At first I thought, YES!!!  Links SHOULD open in a new window.  I did a little more research and have since changed my mind, though there are LOTS of differing opinions.  I think it is up to the reader to decide if a link should open in a new window.  If you push “ctrl” and left click with your mouse or you can right click and select “open in a new window” and voila!  A new window opens!  Problem solved.  Or not because some people will disagree…I guess we can’t make everyone happy.

Question 2 is from Andrea:  Is it preferrable (from a reader’s standpoint) that a person post every day, every week day, or less?  I used to post every day, thinking it would help keep people interested.  But as I find more blogs I like, I get overwhelmed by the number of unread items in my reader.  Since a lot of people don’t seem to read on the weekend, are they more likely to just read the most recent post on Monday, or just mark all as read or what?

I don’t want to “waste” my posts by posting 7 days a week and having people just skip them because there are too many.  What do you think?

I think that less is more.   With that said, I personally have some sick compulsion to post most days.  I’m going to try and go down to 4 times a week.  You make an excellent point about “wasting” posts.  I think when we have too much in our feedreaders, we can’t read it all and often miss great content.

The thing is, though, you need to post often enough to keep people coming back.   I have NO EVIDENCE backing up my hypothesis, but I’d say any less than once a week is too little and everyday or more than once a day is TOO MUCH.

(Hello pot?  This is Kettle.)

Question 3, Andrea also:  (slightly paraphrased)  I’ve read that our blog should have a focus and if we have further interests, we should have a separate blog for that.  Do you think mixing things up on one blog is OK, or am I losing readers by not having a focus?  Should I try to assign each day of the week to one focus?  Do you think readers really care about all that?

This falls into the category of “You can’t make everyone happy.”  I do agree that your blog should have a “focus,” but if your blog is about YOU and YOUR LIFE, I think you can talk about all of your interests.  However, if you’re really trying to attract and maintain visitors, you probably want to stick to a select core of related interests.

For me, these “blog tips” posts don’t really fit into my regular content of personal injuries, parenthood, and marriage.  That’s why I purposely only publish these posts on Saturdays and make it very clear in the title what the subject of the post is. That way, those who aren’t interested can move right along without wasting time here!

Question 4 is from Brianne:  Share your ideas on the pros and cons of “renaming” kids inside your blog?  Is it really necessary for a small blogger with a dozen readers versus, say, people who can quit their day jobs due to their blogging career?

For me, I chose early on when I had 2 readers (and at my husband’s insistence) to use pseudonyms.  Now that I’ve been blogging for awhile, I’m glad that I chose to use pseudonyms.   Since I write personal stories about my kids and husband, I’d hate for someone to be able to Google their names and have something I’ve written about them come up.  This could happen whether you have 2 readers or 20,000.  Again, though, it’s a personal decision.

Questions 5 and 6 are related…First up, Stefani:  I’d love a short tutorial on how to reroute my blog from the blogger site to my own domain name, dropping the blogspot from my url address. I have a portfolio site through GoDaddy. Can I just buy another url on GoDaddy and host my blog there? How?

I didn’t know the answer to this question, so I asked my pals HRH and VDog for help.  Here’s what they told me:

“Through your dashboard in Blogger, go to Settings, then Publishing. It will say you are publishing on a free blogspot address.  It asks if you would like to switch to a custom domain.  Click on that – also called advanced settings.

You will now have the option to buy your domain name through Blogger via Go Daddy or one other company, they choose for you.

It’s $10/yr, but it includes all the privacy options for your Who Is registry.  Your domain can be automatically renewed each year.

It sets you up with Google Apps, but DO NOT ENABLE WEB PAGES.  Basically, you are just automatically redirecting the server to your new address.

Google Apps will give you your own email @yourdotcom.  Once your purchase goes through, you can hit the button where you started in Settings—>Publishing that says “Switch to Custom Domain” (or publish on) and it should take you right to your new blog address.  Sometimes it can take a few days for the DNS servers to catch up and reflect the change.”

This video walks you through the whole thing: http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=76543&ctx=sibling

Voila!

Carma asks:  I was curious about the various hosting options and what you recommend.  I notice you, as well as others,  have had your own site designed and that it is powered by WordPress.  Is this so that it is possible to display ads?  How does that all work?

My webhost is BlueHost and I’ve been generally happy with them.  I think their control panel is user friendly, they have 24 hour customer support, and easy install and upgrade of WordPress.  I’ve heard others say they use Liquidweb and have been happy with their service.

I chose WordPress over other blogging platforms like Blogger and Typepad because I really liked WordPress’s plug-in options.  Also, I’d previously used Blogger as my platform and hated not being able to reply to comments.  All the blogging platforms have their pros and cons.

As far as ads, you can display ads on hosted WordPress blogs, Blogger, and Typepad blogs.  You cannot run ads on wordpress.com blogs.

Well! *claps hands*  I think that is enough for today.  Next week, more of your questions!  And yes, if you’d like to submit a question you still can.  PLEASE EMAIL me the questions, don’t leave them in the comments section, as I’m likely to lose them (unless, of course,  it’s a question about today’s post…).

Until next week.  Dismissed!

Welcome back to class after last week’s vacation.  I hope that those of you who attended BlogHer are recovered and those of you who didn’t are recovered.  I’m NOT recovered, so forgive me if my voice sounds squeeky, or at least squeekier than normal.

The focus of today’s post is your brand.  How your blog looks and how you market it is your brand.  Think about brands you see everyday.  You can see the “golden arches” and immediately recognize McDonald’s or the red target and know Target (duh.)  Your blog should have something similar that makes it easily recognizable.

Consider the following areas when developing and marketing your brand.

1.  The name of your blog

Most likely if you’re reading this, your blog already has a name.   If not, then try to come up with something unique and memorable.  Google the name to be sure nobody else has the same or too similar blog name.

Also, since it’s very easy and FREE to set up a blog through Blogger and WordPress.com, I’d recommend setting up a blog with your blog name with those sites so that no one else can.  I have blogs set up at playgroupsarenoplaceforchildren.blogspot.com, playgroups…forchildren.wordpress.com, AND I own this url.  In Blogger and WordPress, there is a way to make it so that it’s not found easily by search engines so that people are not accidentally redirected to those dummy sites.

2.  A visual association to your blog

My visual branding is the buckethead picture.  It’s the picture I use for most everything I do related to my blog.  It’s my twitter picture, my favicon, my avatar for StumbleUpon and MyBlogLog…it’s MY BRAND.  People recognize the buckethead pic and immediately know it’s me.  Those who don’t know the picture will see it and think, “hmm!  That’s a funny picture, I’m going to click to find out who that brilliant genius is!”

In all actuality, I have no idea exactly what people really say when they see the picture, but I do get compliments on the picture choice.  I purposely chose it because it was unique, funny, and easily recognizable.

3.  Your personal nickname when blogging

I use the name “playgroupie” because 1) it’s easily derived from my blog name and 2) it’s unique.  With a very common name like Jennifer, I like to use “playgroupie” as my email address, twitter name, etc…

Also whenever I leave comments, I say “Jennifer, Playgroups are no place for children” to distinguish me from the 2,000,000 other mommybloggers named Jennifer.  I recommend that if your name is Jennifer, Heather, Deb, Amanda, or something equally as common, you choose a nickname derived from your blog name and/or use your name followed by your blog name.

For example:  Deb, Mom of 3 Girls, or Heather, Queen of Shake-Shake, or Burgh Baby

4.  Use your blog name or blog nickname as your email address, and put your blog url in your email signature

I mentioned this in number three, but it bears repeating.  Everyday I get emails from people whose addresses I don’t recognize and without their blog url in the signature, I’m so confused as to who I’m replying to! 

Also, if you’re not using Gmail, *HEAVY SIGH*, you really must get with the program.  Gmail is far superior to crappy Yahoo and Hotmail email accounts.  With Gmail, you even have the ability to chat with your contacts (which is a great way to be accessible to your adoring fans! )

So that’s it!  Unique blog name, associated nickname, unique visual representation of your blog, and a Gmail account and you’re on your way to becoming a millionaire blogger!

I wish.

Please leave your thoughts about branding in the comments section.  Next week we’ll discuss RSS feeds and learn why partial feeds ARE EVIL.

To read more of my blog tips, go HERE.