Blogging Gal

If you’ve never been personally attacked in your comments, well - you just haven’t been blogging long enough. It all comes down to one universal truth. You can’t please all the people all the time.

Everyone responds differently to negative comments. Some people delete them. Some respond with attacks of their own. And still others take the high road, choosing to defend themselves in a respectful manner. I admire those bloggers with the ability to handle such unpleasant situations with that kind of tact.

Most of us are are familiar with Darren Rowse of ProBlogger. My good friend John Motson wrote a review of ProBlogger for BlogsWeLuv a while back. A reader left the following comment.

“Boo Boo Boo. Problogger is full of crap to line his pocketbook. He blogs about grass and makes you want to invest years blogging in hopes you will have a popular blog like his. Very hurtful to the normal blogger who has no clue that it will never happen. He is laughing all the way to the bank. Boo Boo Just like John Chow the con man.”

Darren actually took the time to leave a reply - a reply that earned him my utmost respect.

“Sorry you feel that way about ProBlogger. Yes I do blog to earn a living (something that I see from your blog you don’t seem to be against as it’s got it’s fair share of advertising and affiliate programs) but I also attempt to help those that I write for by providing information on what I do and what others are doing to make money from blogging.

I never promise anyone that they’ll get rich or become popular - in fact I’ve written many posts about how hard this is (examples).

Yes some bloggers out there talk about blogging as a get rich quick thing and hype it up - but I’ve gone out of my way to attempt to give a realistic understanding of what can be achieved and just how much work it takes.

In the end you can think what you like about me and my blog - but I’d encourage you to take a second look and to drop me an email if you think I need to be challenged on anything (always happy to take a look at constructive critique).”

I’ll admit that I haven’t been as professional as Darren in my responses to personal attacks. In most cases, I’ve completely ignored the offending remarks. But I’d like to change that. I’d like to present a more humane approach in the future. And I hope that you will choose to do the same. I think we can all learn a thing or two about integrity from Darren Rowse.

A well designed About page is an integral part of connecting with your readers. I’ve gone back to some of the best About pages I’ve seen and compiled a list of their commonalities. If your About page does not include most or all of these components, you should consider making a few revisions to create a more welcoming and rewarding experience for your readers.

1. Author bio and photo - Your content can be the best in the world, but without some personal information and a face to tie it all to, it is difficult to develop a community feel for your blog. If you have privacy or safety concerns, consider using an alias. A caricature could be used in place of a photo.
2. Blog details - Provide information such as the mission of the blog, its history, significant achievements, and statistics.
3. Popular posts - Link your readers to the most visited posts on your blog, as well as to those you consider to be your best work.
4. Link to RSS feed - You probably have a link to the feed on your homepage, but adding one to the About page will increase your changes of securing subscribers.
5. Information and links to the author’s other blogs - Take the opportunity to promote your other blogs. Readers who enjoy your writing style will be inclined to visit your other sites.
6. Links to social networking profiles - Allow readers to easily connect to you through social networking sites such as StumbleUpon, MyBlogLog, BlogCatalog, Pownce, and Twitter.
7. Further reading - Link to reviews of your blog, interviews you’ve given, or any other relevant information outside your site.
8. Contact information - This could include a contact form or link to a Contact page, personal email addresses, or instant messenger IDs.

Here are a few examples of excellent About pages. Check them out for a little inspiration.

• Knoxify
• Techie Buzz
• Bush Mackel
• Rather Be Shopping Blog
• Slickmania!

Using the tips above, I’ve revised my own About page. This is what the page looked like before.

The new version is now active.

I wish you the best of luck in creating your new About page!

Every now and then I run across an undiscovered gem in the blogosphere - an absolutely fantastic blog with no regular readers. Most of us would blog even if we had no readers, but let’s face it. Our readers provide an extra incentive. Their comments give us support and encouragement to keep doing what we do best.

Does your blog suffer from lack of readership? Do you post great content that no one actually sees? Building a community is easier than you might think. Here are a few tips for finding your readers.

1. Register with blog directories. Sites such as Technorati, MyBlogLog, and BlogCatalog are a fantastic source of traffic.
2. Promote your blog on the social networking sites. If you have Facebook and MySpace accounts, let them work for you. Add your blog link to your profiles.
3. Comment on the blogs you read. If you don’t comment, no one will know you exist, which could explain why you have no readers.
4. Host a contest. Submitting your contest details to various contest blogs will send a stream of new traffic your way. Check my Recommended Sites page for a list of some great contest blogs.
5. Set up a signature containing your blog URL for all outgoing emails.
6. Do some offline networking. I carry cards to pass on those I discuss my blog with. The cards contain my name, blog details, and contact information. I recommend VistaPrint, as they often offer business cards for only the cost of shipping.

If there are any of the above tips that you’re not utilizing, give them a try. I’m sure you’ll see great results.

For the past several weeks, I’ve been plagued with spam on Yahoo! Messenger. At random intervals, I receive messages containing a blowfish graphic accompanied by a man’s voice - “Hey sexy!” This has gotten to be quite annoying, as I leave my messenger running in invisible mode nearly all the time. Thousands of other users are experiencing the same problem.

These instant messages are sent by bots, and if you respond to them, you put yourself at risk for malicious viruses and spyware. There are two ways to deal with the problem.

First, you can report the messages as spam. Yahoo makes it simple by displaying a link at the top of the instant message. Just click to report as spam, and the user will be added to your Ignore List. The only problem is that you’ll continue to receive the same messages from other user names.

If you’re looking for a more permanent solution, go to your Messenger menu and select “Messenger - Preferences - Ignore List.” Choose the option to “ignore anyone who is not on your Messenger list.” You’ll never again be bothered by the bots.

Having co-founded a blog review site, I have a lot of experience when it comes to writing reviews. It is a time consuming process, but very enjoyable. I hope that you will consider my 10 tips for writing an outstanding review when you’re ready to pen your next review.

1. Keep a notepad handy. Use it to record the information I’ve listed below. Don’t start typing until the notepad is overflowing with material for your review.
2. Get to know the author. Reading the About page and the initial post to the blog will often supply you with biographical information as well as the author’s purpose and goals for the blog.
3. Collect data. Gather information such as age of the blog, frequency of posts, number of RSS subscribers, Technorati rank, Alexa traffic rank, and any noteworthy accomplishments.
4. Familiarize yourself with the layout and design of the blog. Take note of the features you like as well as those you don’t.
5. Read through the archives. You should dedicate a significant amount of time to the archives. You can’t write a great review without actually reading the blog. Skimming will not suffice.
6. Highlight your favorite posts. When you find posts that you particularly enjoy, share them with your readers.
7. Find suitable graphics. The use of logos, photos, or screenshots will make your article more interesting and compelling.
8. Offer suggestions. Most bloggers appreciate honest feedback, so be sure to offer a few suggestions for improvement.
9. Put forth your best effort. Keep in mind that your article is a reflection of you. Quality content will keep your readers coming back.
10. Proofread. I cannot stress enough how important proofreading is. Before you publish, read the article twice. Use a spellchecker if necessary.

I spend an average of 4-5 hours per review, and you should be prepared to as well. A well-written review should entice your readers to visit the subject blog. The subject blog will often link back to your post. It’s a win-win situation.

Despite its simplicity and ease of use, there are a number of bloggers who haven’t yet embraced RSS. If you continue to visit your favorite blogs through bookmarks and blogrolls, it is time to consider making the move to Really Simple Syndication.

RSS is used to publish frequently updated web content such as blog entries. RSS documents, or feeds, can be read through aggregators (readers) such as Google Reader or Bloglines. These readers keep your favorite blogs neatly organized and even indicate which of them has new content for you to read. You can view new posts right in the reader without ever actually visiting the blogs. And if you feel compelled to comment, clicking the post title magically transports you to the blog.

It’s simple - really simple, in fact. Just choose your reader and look for the RSS icons on your favorite blogs. With a simple click, you can subscribe to the feed in your reader, or even through email. Don’t see an icon? No problem. You can find the feed by entering the URL directly into your reader.

I’ve tried several different readers, but my favorite is Google Reader. It is powerful, yet easy to use. It allows you to create folders to more easily organize your blogs. You can star items for future reference, and even share interesting articles with friends. Keeping up with my favorite blogs now takes a fraction of the time it took when I was manually visiting each blog.

To begin using Google Reader, just sign in to your Google account. If you don’t have one, create one and you’ll be well on your way. Upon signing in, you’ll see a link for Google Reader. If you have something against Google, you can register for Bloglines or any other reader.

When it comes to your own blog, make sure that the feed is easy to find. I’ve visited a number of blogs that have no RSS icons to be found. If you would like new readers to return, an icon should be prominently displayed on the page, preferably near the top. If you’re interested in seeing subscriber stats for your feed, I suggest burning a feed through Feedburner. Though the icon I have included in this post is the universally accepted icon for RSS, there are many others to choose from.

RSS will save you time, help keep you organized, and ensure that you never miss another post on your favorite blogs. Give it a try. Let it make your life easier.