BlogWritingCourse

One of the coolest aspects of blogging is the creativity it inspires. 

The shift toward Web 2.0 has made each person with computer access an active participant in this changing world.  We have things to say.  We have opinions and ideas on how things are, and how they ought to be.  And we have the ability to network with other people who share our same worldview.

This immediacy can be the perfect birthplace for incredible inspiration! 

For instance, a blogger who is passionate about local food may start a blog about his favorite farmer’s markets and tailgate markets.  Another local foodie may be blogging about the best restaurants in the region.  And yet another blogger is busy posting all the great family-owned businesses in the area.  These bloggers, who will probably quickly happen upon each others blogs, and begin networking, may soon come upon the idea of helping local farmers link up with local restaurants and markets in order to distribute the freshest foods at the most reasonable prices.  It is a win/win situation for everyone - - thanks to some forward-thinking bloggers!

Other examples of this type of positive blogging include the SochiReporter project.  Sochi, Russia is slated to host the Winter Olympics in 2014.  In preparation for this event,  a seminar was created for some of the top journalism and IT students from local universities.  The focus of the seminar was helping these young men and women, many of whom had never blogged before, to cover all different aspects of the preparation that goes into readying a city for the Olympic stage.  The students will be reporting on the changes in their city from their own unique perspectives.  It is likely to be a one-of-a-kind project with fascinating results!

Then you may have also heard the story of a missing teenager from Denver, who was reconnected with her family this past April thanks largely to the efforts of bloggers and twitterers.  Notifications of the Amber Alert connected with the teen went out far and wide across the World Wide Web to help locate the missing girl. 

These are all just examples of how blogging can draw people together for a common cause.  If you have been thinking of blogging as a solitary activity taking place in one room from one computer, and going out to the faceless abyss, it is time to reconsider!  Every person sitting behind that keyboard and screen is interwoven in a complicated and beguiling mesh of thoughts, ideas, and potential for positive change.

Wouldn’t you like to become part of something like that??

Until Next Time,

I’m not exactly a MySpace kinda gal, so the idea of using social networks to draw traffic to my blog has been something I “would get around to one day.”  But when that day never came,  I decided it was time to figure out how to come to terms with the whole social network phenomenon. 

Fortunately, MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster aren’t the only games in town, and in fact have spawned a whole new generation of social networks.  Sometimes it feels like everyone is starting their own social network.  But the upside of that is that social networks are much more specialized now.

So, if you are writing a mom blog, for instance, you can join a mom blog social network (of which there are many!).  With these smaller networks it is easier to get to know folks better, and to find other people with similar interests who might be interested in following your blog, and visa versa.  The more specific the social network, the more likely you will be to find like-minded blog readers, and you are off and running…

Granted, just belonging to a social network doesn’t guarantee that you will automatically grow your blog readership.  But there are some things you can do to encourage fellow networkers to drop by your blog.

1. Form a relationship.  Take time to get to know specific people within the network.  Find a few people you feel a connection with, and show your interest in them by messaging them, commenting on any posts they make, and visiting their blogs, if they have one.  Social network friendships often lead to reciprocal blog buddies as well.
2. Get involved in discussion boards.  Becoming a familiar presence on the boards can go a long way toward getting people interested in knowing more about you, especially if you have interesting things to add to the discussion.  And don’t forget to add your blog address to your signature so that it shows up on each board post.
3. Talk about your blog on your profile page.  This is the place of first (and sometimes last) impressions in a social network, and people aren’t going to spend more than a minute on your profile page, so make sure that your blog gets good advertising here, and that you make it easy to link to.
4. Display your RSS feed on your profile page.  Most social networking sites have built in RSS widgets that will allow you to display blurbs from your most recent blog posts on your main page, so definitely take advantage of this feature.  One of your post titles or subjects might instantly capture a visitor to your page and then you have an instant blog visitor as well. 

For more great advice on starting a blog and building traffic, why not sign up for our free blogging course?  This online course will help you go from blogging newbie to confident blogger in no time flat.  So what are you waiting for??