Wrapping Up The Year And Making Resolutions For 2008
December 23, 2007
Photography by: Bob Jagendorf.
I created this blog earlier this year with no prior knowledge, never even expecting it to get as far as it already has - and Super Blogging is still growing, and I am still learning! Things weren’t easy in the beginning, but quitters never win and winners never quit.
I also never really set any true goals for what I’d like to accomplish with this blog, but with 2008 ahead that is going to change. I think goals are very important in helping you reach for and work for what you want to do, as long as you make them realistic and define them clearly.
This year I have learned a lot, from starting this blog on a free Blogger.com domain service up until this very minute where Super Blogging is a self-hosted Wordpress site (thanks to the help of an extremely kind person) - and like I said above, I am still learning! I have accomplished dozens of things with this blog, but there are tons of other resolutions I’d like to make and live up to.
Over the next few days I am going to come up with a complete list of goals and resolutions for 2008, and I will post them on January 1. If you haven’t done this already yourself, I encourage you to. Setting goals is important, but sharing them is almost just as important - that way, if you don’t work on what you would like accomplished, people will know so. Having your goals known by others makes you strive to keep working if nothing else does.
If you’re creating a list of things you would like to accomplish for 2008, make sure they are realistic and possible, but still challenging enough. Besides just creating goals for your blog, such as having it reach certain rankings, you can also create other types of resolutions that apply - like starting to comment on other blogs more, creating your own unique Wordpress theme, getting into a regular blogging schedule, or even other blogs or projects you’d like to start.
Strive to reach the resolutions you set, and then continue working so you can surpass them! Please share your goals for 2008 or this year’s accomplishments in the comments section, or let me know the link to your own New Year Resolutions post so I can see what you’re planning for the upcoming year - and look out for mine on January 1! I wonder where we’ll all be a year from now!
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The Best of the Blogosphere: December 21, 2007
December 21, 2007
Let’s Make Money Right Now by How To Make Money Online For Beginners.
Introduction To Keyword Sniping by Court’s Internet Marketing School.
Building Niche Sites by The Writer’s Manifesto Blog.
Improving Your Blog Visitors’ First Experience by Vandelay Website Design.
How to Develop the Habit of Writing Posts in Advance by Problogger.
How to Value-Add Everything (Even the Little Stuff) by Skelliewag.
Tweaking Blog Categories For Better Navigation by Wayne Liew Dot Com.
Website Buying Tips and Insider Secrets by Blogtrepreneur.
SEO Should Be Invisible, But Not Hidden by WPThemesPlugin.
2008: The Year to Take Action by BlogStorm.
Why Reinvent The Wheel? Just Roll It The Other Way! by Blogging Fingers.
Holiday Movie Treats by BetShopBoy.
Here’s hoping that you all have a fantastic weekend and enjoy the above articles - you can definitely learn a lot from all those great bloggers. If you ever have something you’d like linked to or featured in the weekly roundups here at Super Blogging, please just bring it to my attention and I’ll check it out. Thanks, and happy Friday!
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Asking The Readers: How Often Should Bloggers Post?
December 19, 2007
Photography by Picture Perfect Pose.
Welcome to this week’s Asking The Readers. I invite and encourage everyone to share their response and opinions. Super Blogging has a great community and we want you to participate too, so after you’re done reading, please leave a comment and express your point of view as well!
So now I want to know, how often should bloggers post? Browsing around the blogosphere, I see a lot of different thoughts on this topic. Some people love quantity and having five new posts appear in their RSS reader or inbox for them to devour each day. But others prefer quality, and they’re happy with one to four posts a week or even much less than that. There are so many opinions on this topic, and none of them are either right or wrong - but I’d like to know where the majority stands.
Personally, I’m all for quality. If a blogger is putting out ten worthless posts a day, then in my opinion that’ll only drive people away instead of helping to grow that blogger’s site - I read a lot of blogs, and I just don’t have the time for that. I think anywhere from a couple posts week to once a day is a nice amount - but occasionally two or three posts in one day wouldn’t hurt, just not all the time.
Besides that, if you’re in one niche and write several posts a day, I believe that you’ll quickly burn out and the quality of your content will drop considerably, if you can even come up with any new ideas. Posting around once a day or less helps each post to get more exposure and gives you time to develop ideas for more articles.
That’s how I feel, but what’s YOUR opinion? How often do you like the blogs you read to post, and why? Please share your thoughts in the comments section and we’ll discuss it!
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10 Ways To Blog By Inspiration And Be Successful
December 16, 2007
Photography by Sleestak66.
It is essential to blog by inspiration. There are all kinds of things out there that will inspire you or give you ideas, in the online and the offline world. If you can’t take the time to be inspired, then how is your blog going to inspire someone else? Let’s take a quick look at some good sources of inspiration help me, many others, and can help you as well:
1. Subscribe to dozens of your favorite blogs using Google Reader. I like Google Reader because it is simple, organized, and helps me keep up with everything that’s going on in my niche and all that I’m interested in. Even more, when I can’t think of anything to write about I can look at some posts written by other blogs to get inspired. The keyword here is inspired - don’t copy another blogger’s ideas or content!
2. Read other blogs that aren’t in your niche. Yes, it is important to stay on topic. If you have a blog about cooking, don’t stray from your area and write about technology the next day - it’ll show your readers that you aren’t a good source for information. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t be inspired by reading about other things! Reading an article that relates to your blog in no way could still give you a good idea, so it’s important to branch out a little bit.
3. Check out the front page of Digg.com or do some browsing via StumbleUpon. Not only is it nice to take a break and see what’s popular in the online world, but doing so can also fill your brain with plenty of topics in which you can write about, keeping your content fresh for your readers.
4. Ask your readers a question. If you really can’t think of something to write, then create a post asking a question, talking about the a question a little, providing your own answer and opinions, and possibly including a poll. This doesn’t require much work but still can prove to be a very successful post, and it’ll definitely get the commenting community going - and besides, you’ll surely be inspired by all the eye-opening comments your readers leave!
5. Hold a group writing project on a certain topic. Starting up a group writing project and then inviting all your visitors to submit their content and articles is a great idea. Not only does it make your readers feel included and gives them something in return, but you get to read tons of quality articles which might actually give you some ideas for posts of your own. Besides that, you’ll be creating a great resource that everyone can appreciate.
6. Look back on some previous posts you’ve written. I’m not telling you to rewrite them, obviously, but instead look back at some of your posts from the past month for inspiration. Either form an idea for a completely new article, or continue one of the previous articles by explaining it in more detail or one of the other things you had mentioned in that post. Darren Rowse wrote a great article on this topic.
7. Inspire yourself by jotting down goals and plans. If you don’t have goals set for yourself or your blog, then now is the time to make some. Grab a notebook and start writing down some things you’d like to have accomplished with your blog. Then write some posts you’d like to publish at some point. Even if you have writer’s block, this technique is fantastic - even if you’re writing notes or a list and not an article, you’re still getting yourself in the zone and preparing to write, which can bring on plenty of inspiration and ideas you might have had bottled up and didn’t even know it!
8. Ask your friends if they’ve got ideas. If you need some inspiration, the online world isn’t the only thing that can help you. Turn to your friends and family, explain your situation or some ideas you have that aren’t fully developed, and have them help you think up a great idea for you to implement or write up. This idea could, of course, work for online blogging friends as well.
9. Examine billboards, artwork, and music. Walking outside or driving down the street like you do everyday doesn’t have to be a boring task. Take some time to look around you, and if you see anything interesting such as a billboard or poster that catches your eye, make sure you have a notebook or paper handy so you can write down whatever inspired you. And visual things don’t have to be all - next time there’s music playing, listen closely to the words and message that is being conveyed.
10. Listen to the people around you. If you hear someone say something interesting, whether it’s a friend, enemy, or a stranger, jot it down when you get the chance. If a person says something funny or random that makes you laugh, write down what they said. If you hear someone say something about a serious topic or issue, write it down. Anything that you think you could use later, don’t hesitate to write it in your notebook - there are no downsides to this, and looking back on these lines later can help you think of an idea or for an article or quote something someone said in one.
Obviously the above tips will apply for some more than others, but I can assure you that at least a few from that list will continuously work for you. The key point here is to be inspired and write excellent, quality content. Writer’s block can often times lead to publishing things such as sponsored posts, traffic statistics, and more. While those things are okay - and even encouraged to include in your blog at times - they won’t help you maintain high quality articles. Quick ideas can keep you having a new post each day, but inspiration will give you quality - and we all know that quality beats quantity.
There are thousands of ways out there to get inspired and come up with new ideas and theories, and all you have to do is look around you - everything you need is right in front of you. Please share with us what inspires you!
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The Best of the Blogosphere: December 14, 2007
December 14, 2007
Happy Friday again! This week has been a good one here at Super Blogging, so I thought I’d pass around plenty of link love - enjoy these great articles and have a nice weekend!
How to Keep Momentum Going By Building on Previous Posts by Problogger.
An Equation for Explosive Blogging Growth: Content + Networking + Social Media by Vandelay Website Design.
Building an Online Empire: 16 Types of Websites You Can Create for Profit by Dosh Dosh.
How To Trash Your Blog’s Brand In 5 Easy Steps by Courtney Tuttle.
Are Your Automated Plugins Doing More Harm Than Good? by Blogging Tips.
Minor Blog Tweakings to Get Returning Visitors by Wayne Liew Dot Com.
Make Your Blog Sticky And Start To Impress Others With These 10 Tips by Dott-Com.
5 Things to Make Sure Before Ordering a Review by TechnoMoney.
Wordpress Themes: A Twelve-Step Program for Easy Installation by Blogging Experiment.
The Basics of Wordpress: Download and Install by eXtra For Every Publisher.
Make More Money with More Pages by Blogging Fingers.
Defining My Next Affiliate Website Topic by FabNet Revenue.
10 Tips For Designing Photoblogs by Pro Blog Design.
There Really Is No Such Thing As Bad Press by John Chow Dot Com.
Generate Multiple Passwords Without Having To Remember Them by Brown Baron.
CSS Text Wrapper by MeAndMyDrum.
If you ever want one of your articles included in my Friday roundups, then just contact me and send me the link to it. I can never make any guarantees, but I love to pass around the love when I can!
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