What, When, Why and How of Blog Linking

One characteristic that I want to be most known for is remaining humble enough to occasionally enjoy rubbing elbows with famed bloggers, but to live daily among the meek.  It’s where I feel most comfortable.

When I look at some bloggers who have taken hold of the brass ring and seem to be living life in the fast lane of the blogosphere, one thing I like to do is take a look around their site and see just how fame has changed them.

One of the first places I look for is a links section.  I noticed the links when they were among the meek and I notice them when they can officially claim a certain amount of fame.  There’s a big difference.  Sad, but big.

What I see is a shift of loyalty from linking to the people who helped them climb to linking to the people they believe will keep them secure in the clouds.

About a year ago, I got a very good glimpse at what "famed blogging" does to a person.  Someone I had watched climb to fame and fortune from the blogging ghettos seemed to have felt so important that they couldn’t be bothered by a pleasant introduction made to an email list by a new member who was nothing more than excited to be there.

The horrible and degrading email has left a raw and lingering effect on me.  That day, when reading the spewing’s of an all important blogger, I vowed to never become one of them.

As a result, on that specific day, I developed my own linking policy.  Not one that I make public, just one that I implement as needed.

If I like a blog and want to link to it in my blogroll and the blogger links back to me - I will anchor their link with any keyword or website name they request.  However, if I find that I’m linking to someone who no longer links to me - I may consider keeping the link, but I will change the keywords to something that’s a little more beneficial to the success of my blog rather than continuing with a mutual hospitality where I’m left being the only hospitable one.

While my links may or may not be as important as some, I feel that who I link to and how I link to them says a lot about my character.  It tells a story of whether I am groveling at the breadcrumbs left behind by fame or whether I’m sharing a common interest in passion with fellow bloggers.

Forget the caviar wishes and champagne dreams - I’ll take a nice cold Coor’s Light, in the bottle and a bag of pretzels any day.

Have you ever thought what your link habits might be saying about you?

This post was written by Gayla

July 23, 2008 | Filed Under Annoying Issues, Blog Tips | 1 Comment 

Dumbing down your blog topic

I have this one blog that intermittently drives me nuts. We’ll call this blog, Blog X. Blog X is a semi how-to blog, sort of tip heavy, and it’s a topic I know well. Because it’s a topic I know well, I always want to write advanced ideas about said topic, but I can’t; the readers hate when I do this.

I can tell that my readers hate my advanced slants because when I write a more advanced post, I get no comments - at all. When I keep it simple and super basic, comments come in droves, and readers say things like, “WOW, I never knew this!” or “Awesome ideas; can’t wait to try this!!!”

In my mind, these basic posts are WAY too basic, but it would seem that readers disagree. Since I’m writing the blog for reader use and enjoyment not my own mental health, I dumb down my topics. I keep the info easy to digest, and I don’t write weird slants anymore. It’s all easy all the time. At first it was hard for me to do this. I kept sneaking in harder topics, and readers kept rejecting them. I finally realized, why waste my time? Sticking to easy topics bores me a little, but I found some positives about it too:

Now you: Have you ever had to dumb down your blog’s topic, beyond your own comfort level? Or if not; have you ever had to make a blog change that bugs you, but benefits readers and keeps them happy?

UPDATE: Due to reader comment.

Here’s a comment I got on this post:

“As someone who is, or was, a fan I’m insulted. I’m so sorry you have to “dumb” down your posts before presenting them to us idiots. I apologize if that sounds harsh but isn’t that what you’re saying? Your readers obviously aren’t so advanced and now you have to talk down to us because we’re not interested in bringing ourselves up to your level?

I liked this blog in the beginning. It offered helpful tips and stuff I could really use. I appreciate the tips on traffic and social networking. Now the posts are complaints lately. I don’t want to subscribe to a whiny blog. I hope you continue to offer tips on how to be a good blogger and stop with the whining about clients and dumb readers otherwise I don’t have much incentive to return.”

This reader was right; this post was harsh. Dumbing down is not exactly what I mean, just more a feeling, and it sounds really rude - sorry about that if you were offended. Actually, Deb left a comment on this post that noted that tips of all levels are best, to cover all reader knowledge, which is a much nicer way to put it, and also a more correct way to put it.

Adjusting your blog to suit all levels; or one particular level is a blogging issue though. Especially if your reader base knows more or less about the topic than you do. I think it is an issue that comes up. I’ve talked to plenty of bloggers who do have to adjust their content in ways they didn’t think they’d have to.

That said, I don’t want to delete this post, because one, it’s not about this blog but a client blog, which is what we cover here along with networks; but I’m sorry if it offended anyone sometimes I write while I think, instead of after.

This post was written by Jennifer

July 22, 2008 | Filed Under Blog Tips, Blogging for Others | 6 Comments 

A Few Blogging Tips from Darren Rowse

Darren Rowse

Deb’s Note: In December 2006 I interviewed Darren Rowse while auditionin for a job with About.com. I did get the job and worked as About.com’s Guide to Weblogs for a year in 2007. I’m reprinting some of my greatest hits here. I also conducted interviews with John Chow, the Go Fug Yourself ladies, NBT’s own Gayla McCord and Jeremy Wright. Expect to see those profiles here in the upcoming months. This interview was from the first time I spoke with Darren - now he’s someone I’m happy and proud to call friend. He’s just as helpful and gracious now as he was a couple of years ago.

If you’re interested in blogging professionally, you’re sure to have come across Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger Blog Tips. ProBlogger offers useful tips, an eye pleasing template and writing that won’t send you to the dictionary every five minutes. The tips are practical and you’ll always click away from your daily reading with information you can use. Who is Darren Rowse and how did he come to be a professional blogger?

Darren  began blogging professionally since 2002 on the advice of a friend. While he maintains about 20 blogs, it’s ProBlogger Blog Tips that has captured the attention of many aspiring professional bloggers. Behold the wisdom that is Darren Rowse.

Darren Rowse on The Appeal of Blogs: Probably the first thing that captured my attention with blogs wasthe ability that they gave the average person to have a voice and be  listened to on a global scale on their topic of interest.Secondly - they are so easy to set up and maintain. As someone with  very little technical ability the idea of being able to set up a  website in just a few minutes (I was using Blogger when I first  started) was very appealing.

Lastly (and there could be many more) - the conversation that I saw  happening on the first blogs that I cameacross was very attractive.  Here were people all around the world talking about my interests,
sharing ideas, giving each other feedback and building community - I  just had to be a part of it.

Darren Rowse on Mistakes Made by Aspiring Pro Bloggers:

Giving up too quickly. I see many bloggers start blogs with dollar  signs in their eyes, thinking that they’ll be earning big dollars  very quickly, only to find that it takes many months (or years) to  get a blog running to it’s potential.

Darren Rowse on How to Become a Full Time Professional Blogger:

In short.

Darren Rowse’s Advice to Those Just Starting Out as Professional Bloggers:

Start out with a topic that you enjoy. Blogs take a long time to  build up to a point where you’ll earn a good income from them and as  a result you’ll need to be able to see yourself writing on that topic
for the long term.

Darren Rowse on the Future of Blogging: I think we’ll continue to see the collision of many different mediums into one. Video, Audio, Static Images, Blogging, Social Networking,  Bookmarking etc will continue to merge and evolve.

As you can see, Darren’s advice is still valuable today. It’s a formula that has worked for him for several years.

This post was written by Deb

July 22, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging for Others, Link Love | 1 Comment 

Do You Really Blog in Your Pajamas?

I hate when people say, “Wow, you write at home! You’re so lucky to have such an easy job.”

Excuse me while I first laugh, and then implode. Yes, I am lucky. I LOVE what I do. It’s not easy though. The good thing about the statement above is that at least the person, while not very knowledgeable, is being straight forward. It’s the off-handed comments that bug me more. The whole, “You can take time off whenever”, or “Work in your pajama” comments. Those really irk me. To me, it always feels like the person is implying that I blog as a second thought, like I took blogging up so I can laze about. They might not mean it that way, but that’s how I feel.

Do bloggers really work in their pajamas? I don’t. Not ever. I simply work better and faster if I get dressed, brush my hair, and slap on some lip gloss. I feel more work-ready. If I stay in my pajamas I feel sort of lazy, and I find that I don’t blog as well.

What about you? Can clothing, or a lack there of, affect your blogging day?

This post was written by Jennifer

July 20, 2008 | Filed Under Blog Tips | 15 Comments 

Weekend Link Love - For July 20th 2008

As a network blogger or blogger for hire, what are some of the things you hope to see here at Network Blogging Tips? Are we covering the bases? Is there something you would like to see but so far haven’t? Tell us in the comments. In the meantime, here’s what I’m reading this weekend:

Have a great rest of the weekend!

- Deb

This post was written by Deb

July 20, 2008 | Filed Under Link Love | Leave a Comment 

What makes you a good blogger?

Yesterday I posted Blogging through your mid-life crisis - a post in which I noted that thinking positive is one way to get out of a slump/mid-life crisis.

In appreciation of that, this week’s get to know you question is: What are three things that make you a good (or great) blogger?

I think that many people tend to focus on negatives. When it comes to other bloggers we like, we notice the positives right away, but when it comes to our own blogging style or blogs, it seems at times, that we focus on our negatives more often than the positives. So today, let’s focus on the positives. Of course, I’ll go first…

1. I never run out of ideas: Seriously. I’ve got something like 8+ blogs, and I never run out of ideas for posts; not even on my tricky topic blogs. My mind is always spinning, always full of slants; and for that I am pretty thankful.

2. I’m approachable: I blog like I talk, I’m social, I’m casual, and I’m usually pretty nice (unless you make me mad). Being approachable is a good blogger trait, I think, because you draw more comments, make lots of blogger pals, and find new gigs easily.

3. I don’t fib: I don’t post that I like something if I don’t, I won’t post that I did something if I didn’t, and I don’t try to embellish issues. I want my readers to trust me and my opinions. I sometimes run across blogs that seemed unreal or somehow phony, or I’ll read something that the blogger later contradicts and it drives me crazy. I’m of the mind-set that this is me blogging, take it or leave it. Yeah, I won’t smack talk about people by name, but that’s less of a lie, and more of a take the high-road issue. I just don’t think it’s necessary to lie or exaggerate in order to blog well, so I don’t.

Now you; it’s time to think positive. What are three things that make you a good blogger?

This post was written by Jennifer

July 19, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging for Others | 2 Comments 

Use Social Networking to Bring Traffic to Your Network Blog

Many busy network bloggers avoid some of the social networking communities because they feel all the time spent socializing and networking takes away from other things. It’s why I didn’t get involved with FaceBook and MySpace and why I was reluctant to try Twitter.

I use these networks more now to help promote radio segments for BlogTalkRadio than I did as a blogger. I have to tell you, they work. Yes they take up more time, but not much. I’m noticing great traffic through Twitter, our BTR Yahoo Group and yes, even MySpace and FaceBook. For me, I spend at least an hour a day at social networks - but that’s what I’m paid to do. As a blogger you don’t need to spend near as much time, though it’s in your best interest to stop by at least once or twice a week.

Here are a few ways you can promote your blog using social networks:

These are just three simple things that together take minutes at a time. The more social networking sites you take part in, the better your chances of driving more traffic to your blog. My only issue is that I’m afraid of being too spammy which is why I try to balance out the promotion with fun and conversation.

Try adding social networking to your blogging schedule, all you need is an extra 15 to 30 minutes a week - if that. Make sure you have plenty of friends to follow and vice versa. Then come back and tell me if you noticed a difference in traffic. I’ll bet the answer is yes.

This post was written by Deb

July 19, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging for Others | Leave a Comment 

Blogging through your mid-life crisis

Some might say I’m too young to have a mid-life crisis. In fact I was told that earlier today by a pal. Still, doesn’t it seem like lame stuff happens in waves?

I’ve been blogging poorly for two weeks now; something that I don’t normally do. At least, not since I started blogging years ago. If a bunch of life issues come crashing in on you, and you’re a blogger, it’s hard, at least for me, not to transfer that negative energy to my blogs. You can’t really do that. It’s not cool for your readers.

I used to have a job out in the real world; you know, the kind of job where you actually go into an office, see co-workers, hang out with clients, and so on. Now it’s just my computer and I, hanging in my home office. If I get down, there’s no one to distract me. It’s easier to dwell on what’s happening in my life.

That said I’ve been considering my options over the last two weeks. What can you do when life seems to be interfering with your blogging gigs?

What you can do:

Take a break: You can sort of take a break, or at least blog less. I tend to over blog at all my gigs (except one). By over blog, I mean, my client wants four posts a week, but I’ll do triple that to increase traffic. The last two weeks, I’ve been blogging the minimum. This is an ok short term solution.

Take a total break: I know a couple of bloggers who have had something icky happen and they ask their clients for some time of. I don’t consider this an option for me, but if you have a super big problem, it’s probably better to take the time off and regroup.

Think positive: Easier said than done, I know, but you can try. Everyone has lame stuff that happens, but everyone also has good stuff that occurs as well. Make a list of good things going on, in spite of the bad - slap it up on the wall. Stare at it.

Get out: I spend a lot of time in my home office. Yeah I leave, but not as much as I should. As a blogger, it always seems like you could be posting somewhere. Forget about that extra post you could do, and head out to lunch with a pal; go to the park, go inline skating, do something that doesn’t involve your laptop.

Exercise: The one good thing about my mini mid-life crisis is that I’ve pumped up my exercise routine. Seriously, I’ve been exercising two hours a day - no joke. My brain wouldn’t concentrate on blogging these last two weeks, and since I’m not just going to sit around, I’ve been working out more. It’s helped a lot. Being active will make you feel better and really reduce stress.

Prioritize: Paid gigs first. Personal gigs second. Your personal blogs might suffer some, but they don’t put food on the table. If you only feel like you can work a little, drop the least important stuff first. Another option is to drop the most stressful gig you have. If something has to give, it may as well be a gig you’re not as fond of.

Wait it out: Every crisis has an end point. Really. Do all the above and sit tight. Things will get better. I was feeling pretty down two weeks ago, but it’s all sort of swirling away at this point. If you can’t get it together after a few weeks, if life issues are really affecting your work, you should perhaps speak with a counselor. Don’t wait it out forever or lose work over life; you’ll only feel more down.

Have you ever felt like a bad blogger due to life issues? What do you do to work through it?

This post was written by Jennifer

July 18, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging for Others | 3 Comments 

There’s a Little Blogger Inside All of Us

While I may not be the worlds biggest blogging cheerleader, I know I’m one of the biggest in Indiana. 

A few years ago, I attempted a local effort to teach people to blog.  With the auto industry jobs leaving my surrounding tri-county area, I felt a calling to help the newly unemployed learn how to make a living via the Internet.

What I found was a wall of resistance.  So many people have a strong fear of writing because they’re afraid of putting a comma in the wrong place or using the wrong variation of there, their or they’re - Isn’t that sad?

It’s my personal belief that everyone has a story that someone else wants to hear or read.

A person can take whatever lacks in their writing ability and create a character entirely around it.

If E.E. Cummings can become one of the worlds most recognized and celebrated poets without the use of periods and entirely in lower case, anyone can take writing faux pas and churn out success.

The secret is the passion.

In all my years working online, I have found it easy to overlook writing errors when the passion for the topic shines.

It’s that fear of writing that brings me to my personal challenge to all of you.  Did you know there’s a rather large list of blogs that accept guest posts?  Many of those blogs are a page rank 5 or higher which can in turn be a tremendous benefit to your own online efforts.

Are you brave enough to submit a guest post to one or more of those listed?  If not, what exactly is stopping you?

This post was written by Gayla

July 16, 2008 | Filed Under Blog Tips, Blogging Challenge, Guest Blogger | 4 Comments 

Relinquishing Your Network Blogs: It’s Not Easy

When I stepped down from network blogging to take on my full time gig, it was a very difficult decision. My blogs were so personal and I put my heart and soul into them. I knew someone else would take them over and I thought I would be prepared for watching them grow with someone else at the helm.

It’s not as easy as I thought.

In the case of my network blogs I do know the bloggers and I even know they’d let me guest blog on occasion. Still, it’s not easy watching someone else take over your favorite blog. I think my replacements are doing a wonderful job but I often think about how i would do things compared to how someone else is doing it

I’m going through something similar at the blog I own Freelance Writing Jobs. FWJ is the number one online community for freelance writers.  I started it over three years ago and now it receives thousands of visitors every day. The advertising revenue is enough that I hired someone to run the joint in my absence. Plus I will be hiring someone else  for a twice weekly blogging gig  and even have a third blogger trading his work for the free advertising.

My traffic is through the roof.

It’s not easy for me to watch though. Even though I contribute, there’s someone else moderating and interacting with the community. There’s someone else’s name being equated with FWJ. I’m not a control freak, but it does feel like watching someone else raise my kids.

Someone once asked me what happens to network blogs when you step down. The answer is that someone else takes something that was so personal to you, and makes it their own. It’s not an easy thing to see.

This post was written by Deb

July 16, 2008 | Filed Under Blog Break | 2 Comments 

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