Organize Your Bookmarks for Blogging Ease
No matter which bookmarks you like to use (I use both del.icio,us and my plain old browser bookmarks), you can save some time blogging, if you set them up in an organized way.
The method that works for one person, may not work for others, but I can share what works for me. I have a bunch of blogs and each gets two bookmark folders - one for basics and one for posts.
Example using one of my blogs, Declutter It:
The first basic bookmark folder is entitled “Declutter It” and has only three links in it; the blog’s homepage, my blog log-in, and the stats page.
My bookmark Blog Posts folder is a main folder and Declutter It is a sub-folder. In that sub-folder I have post folders titled like…
- Declutter - Post Ideas
- Declutter - Product Ideas
- Declutter - Link love (I use this as I find stuff that’s cool, when it’s full, I do a link love post).
- Declutter - Blogs to add (it’s nice to add to your blogroll sometimes).
- Declutter - Visual motivation (an ongoing series I add to).
If I have any promotions, contests, or special features, I add and delete those folders to my post folder as necessary.
All my blogs have their bookmarks set up like this, but personalized to fit the blog. For example, Offbeat Homes has a much bigger folder, because there are tons of home styles, so each type has it’s own folder. This makes it quick for me if I want to blog about glass houses vs. prefab; I just find the glass house post folder and see what I have in there.
Maintaining the bookmarks:
If you like using bookmarks, they won’t do you much good if you don’t keep them updated. Once a week, I go through mine really quick and delete any links I’ve used (and won’t need again) so I don’t waste time clicking on used links all the time. Also, I go through my feeds maybe three times a week, and I add new content links.
Of course I also have a network bookmark folder with all my social network sites in it, and another set up for ads (for personal blogs). In my case, once I got my bookmarks in an easy to search, easy to use format, I was able to speed up posting time, because I’m not always wondering where that one cool link went.
How do you organize all the links you need for your blogging gigs?
Get To Know You Question of the Week: Why Do You Like Blogging Better Than Other Forms of Writing?
Holy - what do you think of that long title?!
If you’re here, I’m going to assume that blogging is your writing format of choice, which begs the question, why? There are all sorts of writing projects you could be doing. How come you like blogging better than other types of writing? What’s the one major selling point of blogging for you?
My answer:
There are a multitude of reasons that I like blogging best, but if I had to choose one major reason, it’d be the social interaction. When I went full-time freelance, I was working only 1/4 of my time as a blogger. Most of my time was spent on other various writing projects, and there was very little social interaction. I almost went back to a full-time day job; in fact I did go back part time for a while. I got some random job at a flower nursery, because I just plain missed people. Being alone in my office writing articles and copy, is not a dream come true for me, I get fidgety and miss chatter with co-workers.
Once I started taking on blogging gigs more, and other projects less, I knew I could keep freelancing full-time, because the social aspects of blogging are abundant. Read more about my ideas behind the social aspects of blogging.
Now you:
Why do you like blogging better than other forms of writing? If you like another form of writing better, feel free to let us know why.
Do You Need A College Degree to Blog?
When people ask what I do (in the offline world) and I say “Blog” the person often looks confused, but once in a while someone will say, “Did you go to school for that?” Sometimes other writers will ask this same question on forums. The answer is no. I sure didn’t go to college for blogging.
Yeah, it’d be cool if there was a blogging major, but so far as I know, there’s not. As noted previously, I may not have started blogging had I not gone to college, but in general, blogging, and most writing in general, is free from the whole college degree issue.
I’ve written everything; magazine articles, web copy, proposals, business brochures, company handbooks, resumes, blogs, and more, and not once has a client asked, “Hey, do you have a degree?”
What do you need to blog?:
Of course you’ll need to like writing, or you’ll be miserable, but that’s sort of a given. Besides the basics that you need at any job - i.e. stuff like ethics, people skills, and time management skills, I think it all boils down to two main qualities; experience and personality. By experience, I mean experience in your topic. If your experience comes from college, fine. But your experience also may come from life, an employment experience, or a challenge you faced at some point. Personality is not a total requirement, but you’ll be a better blogger if you have a unique outlook on your topic.
You may disagree, but why I read a blog, is almost always for one of the above reasons - the blogger is smart about their topic, or has a unique personality, or both. I rarely keep reading blogs by blogger that don’t meet both.
In my case, I think that college did help me a bit in terms of being a better blogger. For example, I write a pregnancy blog, and the fact that I went to school for nursing helps. I know all that fancy science gibberish, and can rattle off meds and procedures. In other ways college was a total waste of time; considering what I do now. My minor was in technical professional writing, plus I have a degree in math, but I don’t feel that either have helped my blogging career. Trust me, no client will ever ask you jack about math. I keep waiting…
Life, volunteer, and job experiences have landed me far more blogging gigs than my college experience probably ever will.
What about you? What’s landed you more blogging work - college or life? Or maybe you think bloggers should have some sort of writing degree - if so let me know in the comments.
NBT Weekend Link Love - June 21, 2008
Morning bloggers. I really want to go out and do cool things, so I’ll just get to the point. Well, not really. Has everyone been keeping up with the Associated Press thing? If you’re not up on what it is and what it means to you as a blogger, I recommend you take the time out to learn about it, because how you quote the news can come back to haunt you. I’ll include relevant links when I can.
Her’s what I’m reading this weekend:
- What is Your ideal Dream Blog Job? at Blog Herald
- How to Be More Productive at Blog Herald
- CelebBuzz Launches a New Celebrity Social Network at Bloggers Blog
- Bloggers to AP: You’re Dead to Me at BloggersBlog
- TechCrunch is boycotting the Associated Press
- How Tech Savvy Do you Have to Be to Achieve Blogging Success at Blogging Tips
- Make Blogger Comments Reader Friendly at Blogging Tips
- Bob Cox of the Media Bloggers Association talks about the Associated Press on BlogWorldExpo Radio.
- The Bloggers Glossary at Daily Blog Tips (Darnit! They beat me to the punch. I had this planned too!)
- How to Survive Writing and Publishing on the Web - Lorelle on WordPress
- Stories I Am Watching this Week at Plagiarism Today
- Raiders of the Lost Archives at Men with Pens
Have a great Saturday!
Deb
Batch Processing Your Blog
Last week all my child care help fell through, leaving me no childless work time. It sucked, because child care or not, I’ve still got a load of client blogs, some articles, and my own blogs to work on, only now, far less time to get it all done. On the up side, it made my brain start scrambling for solutions. On another up side, or maybe more the lucky side, Darren posted a very timely post that you may have seen; How Batch Processing Made Me 10 Times More Productive.
This was just the right post for me to read last week because it made me realize I go about blogging time a little backwards. What I normally do is estimate how much time I’ll need to spend on each project, or blog per week, then I divvy that time up. What I started considering after reading Darren’s post, is that maybe I should divvy time up first, and work blogs into the time frame I absolutely can afford, not the time frame I think I need.
Example: I have 6 blogs that need around 28 posts each per week, 1 blog that needs 5 posts a week, and 2 others that get around 7 posts a week. Previously, I’ve been thinking this way, “I NEED 50 hours a week of work time, and that includes posting, networking, all that jazz.” What happens when I think this way is I run out of time, and I’m working 50+ hours a week, which leaves me little free time.
Solution: For the last few days I’ve been timing my posts - how long it takes me to write them. I’ve also been logging my networking / other task time. (a simple hand timer works good for this). I realized that on a good day, when I’m in top notch shape, 28 posts take me around 4 - 5.5 hours to write, depending on the blog. That’s a mix of short and mid-length posts. If you do the math that works out to around 34 hours of writing time. If I tack on a good 8 hours of networking and other blog tasks, that’s still only 40-43 hours per week of total work time. I win some time if I use this system. Yay.
My new plan: Since I timed myself, I know what I can blog on a good day. I decided to allow time for blogs, not make time for them. I’m giving myself a set amount of time each week to post at each blog. I’ll just set a timer and work for the alloted time. If I get done great; if not, well that blog’s time is spent, and I better pick up the pace, right? Because clearly each blog can be managed in the set time frame. I think this move should save me time, and allow for more me time.
How do you divvy up blogging time? Do you allow a set amount of work time per blog or project?
If you haven’t seen it, you really should read the batch processing post linked above. It’s one of the best blogging posts I’ve read in a while.
5 Tips for Letting Go of Your Network Blogs
Blogs are so personal. They truly become a part of you. Many of us pour everything we are into our blogs. We give them personality and our voice. It’s not easy to let go and watch someone else take over our network blogs. I never had problems moving on from more traditional writing jobs or turning down one client in favor of a better gig. It’s different with blogs. I’m too territorial - these are MY blogs.
I find myself in a position where I have to let go and it’s not an easy decision. If you find yourself in the same situation, here are a few ways you can make the break easier to bear:
- Give advanced notice - Let your editor know a few weeks in advance. This will allow her to find someone to replace you, and it will also enable you to tidy up any unfinished blogging business. For example, you may have some product reviews to complete or a series you’d like to end.
- Find your own replacement - For my favorite network blog, I recommended my replacement. I’m hoping she gets the green light because we both see eye to eye on our vision for this blog and I know she’ll do it justice. I also know she’d let me come back and guest blog once in a while. Which brings me to tip number 3:
- Offer to guest blog once in a while - Even though it won’t be “your” blog anymore. You can still come back from time to time as a guest blogger.
- Remain a part of the community - Don’t make a clean break, remain part of the community. Visit and share comments. Don’t take over - it’s not YOUR blog anymore - but do visit and share your own thoughts.
- Don’t burn your bridges - I’m hoping one day I can have a network blog again. I have nothing but nice things to say about my experiences as a network blogger. I love the sense of community among the network and my editors and managers are top notch bloggers and people. Even if I didn’t want to come back one day, I’m happy to call my blogging associates “friend” and will continue to support them.
It’s tough letting go. I’m not going to gloss it over. I almost didn’t apply for a much better opportunity because I didn’t want to give up my network blogs. My decision is the best for all concerned, however and I have no regrets. It’s going to be tough to see my blogs fall into someone else’s hands, but I’m not going to be a stranger. I’m not going to be posting to these blogs, but that doesn’t mean I can’t participate.
This post was written by Deb
June 19, 2008 | Filed Under Be A Team Player, Blog Break, Blogging for Others | 4 CommentsExcuses & News
Maybe you weren’t counting, but I absolutely noticed that I went the entire last week here without posting once. I feel major guilt over stuff like this. Skipping a week of posting is not the best move for building traffic, and worse it doesn’t allow for a nice flow of communication and interactions with your readers.
So, just a quick sorry for being MIA; it’s not cool of me to miss so many days here. My slack has good excuses (trust me), but those excuses are all sort of dull unless you’re me, so why go there. Let’s look at solutions instead.
Deb and I were chatting about this blog, which so far we adore. Of course we like the topic, but we also like the readers here. It’s a nice place to be so far; pretty chill. However, last week I realized that I have some new time constraints, and as you all know, Deb landed a very cool new gig.
Because we both have new schedules to work around, but would still like to see this blog grow, we decided to bring on a third network blogger. We’re thrilled to have this blogger joining us here at Network Blogging Tips. She’s a great blogger who has some special insight into blogs and blog networks, so you’ll enjoy the addition as well.
Hopefully she’ll be introducing herself soon.
Now, as for me; ironically, while I was off not posting here, all I did was think about blogging issues, so I have some posts coming up asap. Stay tuned.
Taking Your Blog to the Next Level with Radio
I’m not going to do this too often, I promise. I won’t spam you with stuff from my day job.
I wrote a post today at BlogTalkRadio featuring 7 Reasons to Take Your Blog to the Next Level with Radio and I thought it might interest many of you. If you’re looking for new ways to promote your brand, build community and talk more about topics that interest you, radio is a good way to do it.
Anyway, it’s something to consider. What do you think of using radio for blogs? Is it something you could do? I was nervous about using video and it worked out well. I think radio will be fun too. In fact, I’ll probably be on the air soon - but more about that at another time. Many bloggers don’t want to appear on video, is radio better for the anonymity factor? I’d love to know your thoughts.
NBT Weekend Link Love June 14th & 15th, 2008
Happy Saturday, blogging friends. It’s looks to be a great weekend with no shortage of great things to read.
Congratulations to Proud Pappa, Darren Rowse. There’s a new edition to his family today. What a great Father’s Day gift.
Here are a few items of interest:
- The World’s Oldest Blogger? at Blog Herald
- Chitika and b5Media Announce Premium Ads Partnership at Blog Herald.
- JOhn McCain launches a blog at Bloggers Blog.
- Are Blogging Advice and Making Money Online Blogs Simply Rehashing the Same Stuff? at Blogging Tips
- 5 Alternatives to Social Media Marketing at Blogtrepreneur.
- Increase Readership and Build Community with Better Headlines at Business and Blogging.
- 3 Simple Secrets to Reducing Your Blogging Stress at Daily Blog Tips.
- Where Blogging Can Take You at XFeP
- Life as a Web Worker at Freelance Folder
- What do Givers Get? at Successful Blog
- When is Your Blog Focus too Narrow? at Lorelle on Word Press
- What Thomas Edison Can Teach You About Blogging at ProBlogger
- Blogging a Dead Horse at SparkPlugging
Have a great weekend, friends.
NBT Blogging Job Application Tip: Follow Directions
Here’s a quick tip for anyone looking for blogging jobs: Follow directions. Read through the entire ad and do what the employer asks. If he says to send three samples of your writing, do so. If he says not to send attachments, don’t send attachments. If he asks you for specific information, include it in your job pitch or application.
I’ve been in a position to hire many times and might receive hundreds of applications. Out of those hundreds perhaps 20 people followed directions. It’s frustrating.
My blog Freelance Writing Jobs is having an “American Idol” type contest to choose our next blogger. It’s for a paying position, two days a week, and the FWJ community will be choosing the winner. Each week another candidate will be voted off the island. I asked everyone to post their pitches, and to apply as if they found my job ad on a job board. I listed specific requirements. To me, the most important requirement was the one where I asked applicants to pitch a specific freelance writing niche to base their twice weekly blog. For instance, freelance marketing, or rates. Only a few did. This bugged me because it made me wonder if everyone read the entire ad.
This is the first time it’s happened and I know plenty of employers who complain of this. The next time you apply for a job, follow all the instructions in the ad. It could set you apart from the rest.
Your Ad Here
