Top 4 Power Tips for Blogging Success

By Karen Cioffi

Blogging is a competitive arena. According to VP Virtuoso, in November 2013, there were 152,000,000 blogs. And, a new blog was published every half a second.

Blogging isn’t an arena you can enter into lightly, hoping for the best. If you’re blogging to be successful in your niche, it takes work. It takes dedication. It takes a plan.

Here are 4 power tips to help you move ahead of the crowd.

1. Know your audience and what they need.

Every niche has something the audience desires, needs, or wants. It’s up to you to determine what that is and give it to them.

One strategy to find out what your audience needs is to ask them in a survey or poll. You can also monitor your blog posts to see get the most views and clicks. It’s those topics that your audience is interested in.

2. Know what your focus is.

One important aspect of this tip is to keep your website and content focused on a particular niche.

As an example, my niche is inbound marketing, which includes website optimization, content marketing, social media marketing, and email marketing. All my articles, freebies, and ebooks are highly focused on that niche.

If I posted an article on baking a cake, I’d confuse my audience and diminish my authority.

3. Take action steps to blog smart.

The first step here is to set up a blogging schedule that will work for you. In other words, a schedule that you’ll be able to keep up with. Consistency matters.

Along with your schedule, you’ll need to include all the needed elements to create an informative, engaging, and shareable article. Your posts may include:

• Text
• Images
• Video
• Podcasts
• And, so on

You don’t need to include every element within one post, but you should vary your posts. And, be sure your article is packed with quality information that has at least one ‘actionable’ tip.

Power tip: It’s about quality, not quantity.

4. Engage with your readers.

Engagement is a key marketing factor. You want to create content valuable enough that readers will want to share it. This boosts your authority.

Making this factor more important, the search engines pay attention to who’s paying attention to your content. Your content’s shareability will affect your search ranking.

While there are other power tips, these are the top four that you should include in your blogging strategy.

***

Karen Cioffi is a former accountant who is now a multi-award-winning author, ghostwriter, freelance writer, editor, and author-writer online platform marketing instructor. She founded and manages Writers on the Move (a marketing group), and presents online writing and marketing workshops and webinars.

Karen has published 12 writing and marketing eBooks, the most recent, Article Marketing: Increase Website Traffic with Properly Formatted and Search Engine Optimized Content.

In addition to this, Karen’s website, Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing, was named Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012.

Join Karen Cioffi's upcoming online class, GET TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE WITH INBOUND MARKETING: Website Optimization, Blogging Smart, Email Marketing, and Social Media Marketing. Visit our classroom page for details and enrollment.

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4 comments blogging, blogging tips, Karen Cioffi, online class, WOW class, WOW instructor, writing strategies

Blogging Smart

by Karen Cioffi

It’s a give-in that you need to blog to make connections, to gain readers, to increase visibility, to increase your authority, to increase ranking, and to become the go-to person in your niche.

Whether you’re an author, a writer, or a business, you have to blog smart.

But, how do you blog effectively and smart? What does that mean?

To blog smart, you want to "prove" to your visitors and subscribers that what you’re writing about or doing actually works, and you want to make it easily digestible.

You also need content that grabs and engages the reader. And, it must be search engine friendly. This means the post must have keywords and be valuable to your reader so the search engines will find it and decide to categorize and index it.

The benefit of search engines categorizing and indexing your content is visibility.

When a searcher (a person) puts a keyword search query into Google’s search box, Google instantly scours its database to find content that will be a ‘good fit’ for that query. If you’re blogging smart, Google will have found your content valuable enough to save and possibly use it for the results of a relevant search.

How do you blog smart?

Simple. Show them.

For example:

A recent blog post of mine on ‘"email marketing and spam" got over 3700 views in just a couple of days. This is blogging smart.

Okay, I’ll admit that sometimes it’s the luck of the draw or the "right content at the right time," but if you’re not blogging smart to start it’s unlikely you’ll get that far.

So, some things you should be including in your posts are:

• Screenshots to aid in comprehension and ‘prove’ what you’re saying

• Links to relevant content bringing the reader deeper into your web pages, further demonstrating your knowledge in the niche

• Links to other useful information that will further benefit the reader

• Tips on what you should and shouldn’t do and why 

• Strategies that work for you and proof

• Problems you’ve overcome and how

• Doable step-by-step guides

• Personality (a bit of personal tidbits)

• Videos

• Animation

• Audio

• Images

• Graphic quotes (people love them)

• Call-to-action (CTA)*

These are the elements you should be including in your blog posts, obviously not all at the same time, mix it up. This is blogging effectively, and smart. And, this strategy will motivate the reader to model your process. This is one of the best compliments.

And, even more important, it will motivate the visitor/reader to say YES to your CTA and SHARE your content.

Dictionary

*Call-to-action (CTA) – the CTA is any actionable step you want the reader to take. It may be to sign up to your mailing list, it may be to buy your book, or it may be some other step.

~~~~~

Karen Cioffi is a former accountant who is now a multi-award-winning author, ghostwriter, freelance writer, editor, and author-writer online platform marketing instructor. She founded and manages Writers on the Move (a marketing group), and presents online writing and marketing workshops and webinars.

Karen has published 12 writing and marketing eBooks, the most recent, Article Marketing: Increase Website Traffic with Properly Formatted and Search Engine Optimized Content.

In addition to this, Karen’s website, Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing, was named Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012.

Join Karen Cioffi's upcoming online class!  

 BUILD YOUR AUTHOR-WRITER ONLINE PLATFORM: 

Website Creation to Beyond Book/Product Sales 

starts on Monday, November 3, 2014.

 Click here for details and enrollment.

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2 comments blogging, blogging tips, Cioffi, how to get ranked on Google, marketing, online class, web content, WOW class, WOW instructor, WOW online classes

Blogging – The TOP 2 Blog Post and Article Formats

by Karen Cioffi

It’s a content marketing fact: Blogging is one of the most effective authority building, persuasive, and money-making marketing strategies.

This being the case, it means you need to regularly post content to your blog. It may be multiple times a day, once a day, three-times a week, once a week, or once a month.

No matter what, you need to post to your blog on a regular basis. While I did put ‘once a month’ in the list, to blog effectively you should be blogging more than that. Conservatively speaking, once a week is the minimum.

But, suppose you’re motivated and want to post to your blog three or more times a week. What do you write about? What blog formats can you use? How do you keep it up?

The Top 2 Blog Post and Article Formats

To make life easier, there are certain blog post formats or templates that you can use. Kind of like a fill in the blanks template. These templates will give you quick to follow guidelines and make the writing process quicker and easier. So, let’s get to it. Here are the two most popular blog post formats:

1. The How-to Blog Post

The how-to post is about providing instructions or steps to explain to the reader how to do something and people love them. The post should answer your readers’ question or provide the solution to his problem. In other words, as with all your posts, it should be informative and helpful.

The writing process is standard: address the target audience and note the problem (the introduction); give the solution (this is the body of your post), give the conclusion.

Aside from your post title, the introduction is where you will turn your readers’ attention to interest. This section will motivate the reader to read on.

2. The List-based Blog Post

The list-based format is simply providing a list of things. It may be “10 Steps to a Lighter You.” It may be “5 of the Most Important Opt-in Words There Are.” You get the idea. Choice your topic, create your title, and list the advice or tips.

This post format is another one that people love. It’s easy to read and easy to follow. And, if you scan the articles you read, like me, it’s easy to pick out the information pertinent to you.

When writing in the list-based format, strive for organization, sequencing, clarity, and use bullet points or numbered sequencing. Make sure that each step flows into the next logically. You always want to keep it simple for the reader.

Tip: Bullet points should be used when the information within each point has little text. Numbered paragraphs should be used when the points have more text. This article is an example of the need for numbered paragraphs.

Create a ‘how to’ or ‘list’ blog post and see how it makes a difference in your traffic and engagement! (Do be sure you have great content and a killer title.)

~~~~~

Karen Cioffi is a former accountant who is now a multi-award-winning author, ghostwriter, freelance writer, editor, and author-writer online platform marketing instructor. She founded and manages Writers on the Move (a marketing group), and presents online writing and marketing workshops and webinars.

Karen has published 12 writing and marketing eBooks, the most recent, Article Marketing: Increase Website Traffic with Properly Formatted and Search Engine Optimized Content.

In addition to this, Karen’s website, Karen Cioffi Writing and Marketing, was named Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012.

Join Karen Cioffi's upcoming online class! CREATE AND BUILD YOUR AUTHOR-WRITER ONLINE PLATFORM: Website Creation to Beyond Book/Product Sales starts on Monday, September 1, 2014. Click here for details and enrollment.

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2 comments best blog posts, blogging, blogging tips, how to, Karen Cioffi, marketing, online class, WOW instructor

Blogging Basics

It’s hard to believe now, but I first came up with the idea to start a blog in October 2007, around the same time I decided that developing a website for my business was a necessity. As my writing career has evolved and had its share of ups and downs, so has the blog, titled Renee’s Pages.

At first I focused on freelance writing topics, being a work-at-home mom and sharing clips of my articles. Over time I gained a few regular followers, and it felt great to be involved in a supportive writing community. However, when I failed to post regularly, the followers slowly waned. I blame this on the fact that I had regular paying writing and editing gigs that took up a lot of my time, and some of it is a result of never having a clear vision for my blog. I never took the time to sit down and make a blogging schedule or brainstorm a list of what I really wanted to write about. I just sort of posted when I felt like it.

About three years ago I started dabbling in writing fiction and reading interviews with authors and agents that stressed the importance of author platforms, specifically blogging. I realized I needed to revamp my website and figure out where my blog was going. I also needed to think positively and figure out what the heck my platform was going to be on the off chance that I actually sell a book one day. I sat down and thought about the topics of my two works-in-progress, a middle-grade and YA novel. One focuses on a tale of time travel to the 1980s and the other is a coming of age story set in the 1990s. I’m also a celebrity gossip junkie and rely heavily on music as part of my creative process. One day I want to completely redesign my blog when I have more time and resources, but for now I use one of the basic templates in Blogger. I kept the name, Renee’s Pages, and added a subtitle, “The Writing Life of a Pop Culture Junkie.” It seemed fitting.

I spend a lot of time watching old television shows and movies through Netflix and on cable and I finally figured out I can write about how my favorites relate to my book and article topics. Voila! There’s my platform. I’ve also tried to study blogs I admire for more ideas on how to improve the blog. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

1. You must post regularly. For now, even once a week would be great for me, but two to three times a week seems to be the standard in most of the popular, highly-trafficked blogs I visit.
2. For writing-related blogs, readers love giveaways! Network with other writers and agents and soon you’ll have more products to give away than you know what to do with.
3. Network with other writers and develop a regular schedule of author, editor and blogger interviews and guest posts.

Do you have a blog? Do you update it regularly? What tips do you have for gaining more traffic and visibility?

Renee Roberson is an award-winning freelance writer who loves to blog about books, movies, music and celebrity gossip and writing. Visit her website at www.FinishedPages.com.

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6 comments author platforms, blogging tips, driving traffic to your blog, maintaining a blog, Renee Roberson

A Writing Gift You Can Open Now

Have you ever participated in a blog hop among writers? Or maybe a blog party, where you visit all the participating bloggers? I love dropping in to blogs during these wordy events. It’s a great way to find new and sparkly writers (and blogs).

Last week, I blog-partied, visiting over thirty blogs, and somewhere around the tenth blog, I had one of those “Isn't this interesting?” moments. I realized that most of the blogs were lacking a name.

Now, I don’t mean the blogs didn't have clever names. In fact, writers are extremely clever and so I found many blogs with “punny” names. Like “The Write Word for the Job” (which I totally just made up. The writers’ blogs I visited were much more clever than that). What I didn't find on all these clever blogs was a name to identify the writer, a little something something to tell me who was behind all the clever words. Oh, there were occasional “About Me” tabs, but honestly, when you’re flitting from blog to blog, who has time to stop and click on the tabs?

Or maybe that’s just me. The point is, visiting a mystery blog is like…well, it’s like getting a gift with no idea who the sender is. You know how that drives you crazy? A tag with "To: You, From: Guess Who?" When you receive something nice, you want to know who to thank, right? You do not want to go zipping around here and there, trying to track down the Secret Santa.

Or maybe that’s just me. Anyway, eventually, it was more than just my personal pet peeve. Around the halfway mark, I started to feel bad for all these talented bloggers—skillful, funny, madly creative bloggers who were writing their hearts out and not getting the promotional benefits to go along with it. Because see, one of the great perks for writers who participate in a blog hop or a blog party is getting new visitors to the blog. And if those new visitors connect with the blogger, they’ll be back.

So how do you, as a blogger, make that connection? Share a few personal details; give your readers a peek at your personality. Who’s writing the blog? And throw in other information: social media sites you’re on, or your membership in organizations, or where you've been published. And put these details on the front page. Sidebars are a great tool for that kind of info, and ready-made info widgets are yours for the taking (and slapping in your sidebar).

Just a little writing tip, sort of my “To: Bloggers, From: Cathy C. Hall” holiday present. And hey, if you don’t need it, I’m fine with you re-gifting it.

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4 comments blog hops, blog party, blog sidebars, blogging tips, Cathy C. Hall, widgets

Quick Blog Post Ideas

So, you started a blog, and at first, you took a lot of time and care to write each post. But as you soon found out, blogs can take up a huge chunk of your writing time each day or every other day, depending on how often you post. It is important to blog on a regular basis and update your material, but it's also important to work on your creative material or freelance articles.

Here are a few quick blog ideas when you don't have a lot of time, but you need a blog post for the day. (One note: blog posts should usually be between 250 to 500 words, but it's okay every once in a while to have a shorter or longer post.)

• Start with a quote: If you are running out of inspiration, find a quote that fits the theme of your blog and post it. Then write a paragraph or two about what the quote means to you, and you are done! You can ask your readers to share a favorite quote of theirs or how they interpret the quote.  
• Post a photo: Photos are always fun. You can use www.flickr.com to find some photos in the Creative Commons section that people allow you to use for free, if you give them the credit they deserve. You can also use your own photos. Post one, and write about it like you did the quote. OR for a fun contest to get reader comments and interaction, have a photo caption contest. Post the photo and invite your readers to leave a caption. If your blog has a theme, try to find a photo that fits the theme or ask the readers to leave theme-related captions. 
• Ask a question: People love to share their opinions on hot topics. So, ask your readers a question, give them a little background on WHY you are asking this question, tie it to other posts on your blog, and you are done! For example, if you have a blog on elementary education, ask a question such as: "Do you believe children learn to read better if they are taught phonics?" You'll get a wide range of opinions and might even start a debate on your blog. You can't ask for a better quick post than that. 

Don't make your blog something you dread. If you are in a rut, try one of the ideas above and get yourself back on track. For tips like these and other help with your blog, consider taking my online class, Blogging 101 and More which starts Friday, April 29. To find out more information, click here or email margo@wow-womenonwriting (dot) com. Happy blogging!

post by Margo Dill (http://margodill.com/blog)
 
photo by TikTik  www.flickr.com

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10 comments bloggers, blogging, blogging tips, Margo L. Dill, WOW Classes

Friday Speak Out: "Marketing With What You’ve Got: Learning to Use Technology to Jumpstart Your Book’s Success," Guest Post by Michele Howe

Marketing With What You’ve Got:
Learning to Use Technology to Jumpstart Your Book’s Success

by Michele Howe

Becoming active on social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn can quickly render an author feeling overwhelmed, defeated, and somewhat hopeless. Why is this? Simply, it’s the age-old trap of making comparisons. One author’s speaking/writing/publishing platform compared to the next; one author’s sales numbers compared to the next, or one author’s three signed book contracts compared to the next (or more specifically, to yours). As soon as any of us begins to make comparisons, we’ve made the biggest mistake ever. Our job, our personal mission, is to write and work and market according to our best ability.

Easier said than done, I know. After a brief period of lamenting all that I couldn’t do (or didn’t have the resources to utilize), I started looking at FaceBook/blogging/enewsletters/websites from a different angle. Once I did, it changed everything. Instead of focusing on what I lacked in comparison to bigger name authors, I decided to watch and learn.

The Essentials

• Facebook -- First, I set up my Facebook account for sharing and updating primarily work related information with family/friends/colleagues/readers and anyone interested in my writing/reviewing/books. Second, I added a “fan page” for my new book project; Burdens Do a Body Good. Here, I posted all current book information/media exposure/quotes from the book/quotes from the book’s endorsers/reviews and anything remotely related to this specific project.

• Twitter – This is a simple device to open and use. It’s important to link this marketing tool with others such as Facebook. Your “tweets” are very short, pithy updates that alert your followers of what you’re up to at the moment.

• Linked In – A good place for your business profile and to continue building and connecting with others in your field.

• Blog – I use WordPress.com, it’s free, it’s pretty straightforward to get started, and they have excellent customer care when you’re setting up a blog for the first time. This is also your “home base” to situate any/all your work related information.

Daily Habits to Incorporate

• Check your sites – Every morning, I do a brief check on my main sites (FB, Linked In, blog, journalist enews requests, and two email accounts). I quickly answer emails/requests/queries, and then move on.

• Promote all current work regularly – I keep that ongoing (and always changing) marketing list next to my computer and give it a brief read every day to make sure I’m on time/on target with any upcoming book deadlines.

• Help someone out – Almost everyday on FB, some other writer will ask for help and I offer that help when I can. Often when perusing the journalists callouts for information, I’ll frequently see something another writer can speak to better than I can and I pass that request on to them immediately.

• Keep tabs on what’s effective and what’s not – As I look down my marketing list, I can quickly identify those areas that are not working for me. When I write to a number of editors but get no response, that’s the clue I need to change my approach.

• Be willing to try new things – Refuse to say no to a new opportunity without giving it ample thought and consideration. Don’t see the obstacles, see the possibilities.

• Look ahead – Just when I think I’ve exhausted all I can do to market my work, I think some more. Here are some specific angles that get me jumpstarted when I’m fresh out of ideas. Think local. Think state. Think national. Think online. Think in print. Think in person.

* * *

Michele Howe is the author of ten books for women and has published over 1200 articles, reviews, and curriculum to more than 100 different publications. Her articles and reviews have been published in Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Christianity Today, Focus on the Family and many other publications. Michele’s newest title, Still Going It Alone, was released last year. After having undergone four shoulder surgeries, Michele saw the need for an upcoming women’s inspirational health-related book co-authored with her orthopedic surgeon, titled, Burdens Do a Body Good: Meeting Life’s Challenges with Strength (and Soul), released May 2010. Michele also writes a parenting column at http://www.bizymoms.com/experts/michele-howe/index.html.

Read more about Michele at http://michelehowe.wordpress.com/

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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Leave a Comment blogging tips, Facebook, Friday Speak Out, Linked In, marketing, Michele Howe, social media book promotion, social networking for writers, twitter

Bringing out your influences

One of the joys I find about blogging and writing is being able to take a subject in countless different directions. As we all know, writing is more often than not a solitary endeavor. Blogging (especially when no one comments) can sometimes feel as if you exist in a solitary, well, vacuum.
It often gives me pause. As a writer, regardless of the medium, I find that I'm always putting myself "out there." For example, in an article, it might be how I structure the lede, which can give a hint of the influences of my life. Everything that has happened in my life, converging on the page...hopefully in an orderly fashion.
There are many scenes in the book "Hope in the Unseen" by Ron Suskind which illustrates this beautifully. One details how Cedric, the product of an inner city upbringing, browses the Brown University bookstore and runs across a biography of Winston Churchill. He had no idea who Churchill was. Cedric's frame of reference is completely different from mine...and from yours. As he makes his way through his first year at Brown, Cedric brings his past, present and future along with him.
Blog post or magazine article, this is me--along with all my knowledge, as well as my baggage.
And writing seems less solitary after all.

Elizabeth King Humphrey is a certified Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach and freelance writer. She also blogs at CoastalCarolinaMoms.com and TheWriteElizabeth.com, where she contemplates finding creativity in everyday places. She wrote this post alone, with the background influences of her oldest child grumbling in the background. Can you tell?

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1 comment blogging tips, writing tips

Interview with Allie Comeau, Runner-Up in 2008 Winter Flash Fiction Contest

2008 Flash Fiction Winter Contest Runner-Up, Allie Comeau, is a freelance writer living in Fort Collins, CO with her wonderful husband and two extremely energetic dogs. Allie studied Creative Writing at the University of Arizona and feels truly blessed to be able to make a living doing what she loves. Allie writes an active lifestyle blog for Sierra Trading Post and has been published in print magazines and online. She enjoys writing of all kinds – both fiction and nonfiction. Right now, she’s working on several projects and hopes to finish her first novel very soon.

If you haven't read Allie's winning short story yet, "Staring at Soles," please do so at http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/downloads/printable/20-FE1-Winter08Contest-AllieComeau.html . Read on to see where Allie gets her ideas and inspiration for her writing!

WOW!: Allie, congratulations on your story, "Staring at Soles", winning runner-up in the Flash Fiction contest. Your story is full of emotion. Was it hard to fit all that emotion into a story with limited words?

Allie: Thank you! When I wrote this story, it just poured out so quickly I didn’t really have time to think about it. It’s just an emotional subject. The moment when a woman decides to leave her husband – I can only imagine it would be one of the most emotional moments in her life. I just tried to convey that. My copywriting experience definitely came in handy here – I’ve learned to write tightly and leave out unnecessary words.

WOW!: That is very important in writing flash fiction or any kind of fiction, really--leaving out unnecessary words! You also were able to add quite a bit of back story into this flash fiction piece since it is important the reader knows that Laura has been through this before. How difficult was working in the back story?

Allie: I knew I wanted this story to be about a woman deciding to leave a man, but I wasn’t sure why she was going to leave him until I started writing it. The back story just came to me and it was easily told in her thoughts and her realization that the situation was never going to change. It had happened before, it’s happening now, and it would happen again. It just worked.

WOW!: It seems like several authors work the same way as you. They know where they are going with the story but not quite sure how they are getting there. It is AMAZING and worked well for you when an author watches the story unfold before her eyes. Was it easy for you to come up with your title? How do you usually choose titles for your work?

Allie: Actually, I used to be petrified of titles. They’re so important – if the title is bad, readers might never get to the first page. But now I look at them as opportunities to intrigue the reader. Someone told me the best way to title your work is to find a statement, image, or description that really stands out within the story and steal it. If there isn’t one, then you need to worry about more than the title.

WOW!: Great advice. Thanks for sharing that tip with us. What themes do you like to explore in your fiction? Do the themes in "Staring at Soles" exemplify what you typically write about?

Allie: Ah, that’s my problem. I like to explore everything. Lately, however, I’ve become fascinated with specific moments in time – life-changing moments when someone makes a decision that radically alters the course of his or her life. What are the motivating factors behind the decision? What was the impetus? I just think it’s so interesting.

WOW!: And that theme probably supplies a lifetime of writing ideas. We'll look forward to reading more of your work, exploring the life-changing moment theme. In your bio, you stated you enjoy writing fiction and nonfiction. What other fiction pieces have you written? What types of nonfiction pieces have you written?

Allie: I enjoy writing nonfiction pieces about things I’m interested in, like health & fitness, the environment (I’m a total tree hugger), animals and travel. But writing nonfiction about things I’m unfamiliar with is fun, too. It can be extremely educational. My dream job would be to write for National Geographic – that would be it for me. As for fiction, it’s all over the map. I’m working on a little collection right now about those moments in time I mentioned above.

WOW!: What a great way to look at writing nonfiction. It does give us a chance to learn about something new or explore a topic more in depth. Have you had luck publishing or winning awards with fiction and nonfiction work?

Allie: I don’t know if there’s much luck involved in publishing – more like plain old perseverance. I sent out query after query for a year before I landed my first article. It’s tough to get assignments without clips. But it’s finally starting to happen. I have an article slated for the August issue of Delicious Living Magazine, a national health magazine that sells in Whole Foods, and I publish regularly now in a Northern Colorado magazine called Style. I’ve also been published in the local community paper and various websites online. This is my first published fiction piece, though, so I’m pretty excited about it.

WOW!: Congratulations on your perseverance and success! That is very exciting, and we are glad that WOW! could publish your first fiction piece. Your bio also states that you write a blog. Please tell us about it.

Allie: I write an active lifestyle blog for an outdoor gear retailer. I publish seven days a week and cover all the things I enjoy writing about – health & fitness tips, green tips, outdoor news, adventure travel, etc. It’s so fun that sometimes I forget it’s a job. I really enjoy it.

WOW!: What a great writing job. We will definitely need to check that out. You write full time for your career, according to your bio. What is your daily routine like? What types of writing help pay the bills?

Allie: I love the freedom that comes with freelancing. I work more than ever, but it’s on my own terms and that, to me, is well worth it. I start the day off researching and writing that day’s blog post, networking a bit online, and then I use the rest of the afternoon for other projects, assignments, querying, creative writing, and marketing my writing business. People are surprised that I can stay so focused working from home. It’s not difficult in the least because I love what I’m doing and want to be successful. As for the bills, copywriting and blogging are taking care of those for the time being.

WOW!: Thank you for sharing with us your typical writing day. Many freelancers wonder how other writers organize their day and stay focused. These tips are great! You are also working on a novel. Can you tell us a little about it?

Allie: I would like to, but the same person who taught me how to title also told me that you should never talk about an unfinished work before it’s time. If you let the cat out of the bag too early, it may never come back. Plus, I don’t really know what’s going to happen yet myself. I’ll keep you posted, though!

WOW!: Thanks for keeping us posted, and for letting us in on the advice that a mentor gave you. We can all learn so much from each other. What advice do you have for other writers who would like to enter a WOW! writing contest?

Allie: Rewrite and rewrite until you’re happy with each and every word. With only 500 words, each one has to count. Other than that, just go for it and don’t be afraid to put your writing out there. Oh, and good luck!

WOW!: Thank you, Allie, it has been fun and interesting getting to know you. If you want to read more about Allie, check out her blog at http://blog.sierratradingpost.com or her website at www.alliecomeau.com . You can also email her at alliecomeau@gmail.com .

Happy Writing to everyone!
Margo Dill
http://www.margodill.com/

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41 Blog Success Tips You Can Learn Today

Blog days. They are a great opportunity to put your voice and your thoughts out into cyberspace. Some writers are so excited to connect to their readers that they blog daily and sometimes more than once a day. For others of us who haven't yet hit our blog stride, blogging seems more like a pesky morning chore with one looming question, "What the heck am I going to write about?"

If I ever figure out the answer to that question, you'll be the first to know.

While I continue trying to work that out, I'm always on the lookout for tips to help make blogging easier and more effective--which is good for you because I love sharing when I find good information and inspiration. Today, the tips come from Susan Gilbert, AME's Search Engine Marketing Expert and the Web 2.0 company owner of http://www.JoomlaJump.com, who provides Social Networking websites and services.

Susan offers up some great ideas to boost your blogging success...

41 Blog Success Tips You Can Learn Today
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1. Read - The more you read the better writer you will be. Being a blog reader helps you understand the mind of the blog reader. What they want, how they like information to be presented, what turns you off. Read good blogs and note your thoughts.

2. Take one step - Chunk it down. Don't be overwhelmed, take one step at a time and keep going.

3. Be interesting - Readers want to find fresh, valuable, entertaining, remarkable information. Make an effort to deliver more than just facts. Make it about them, not you.

4. Get your point across - Style, grammar, spelling all count for nothing if your audience doesn't get your meaning. Make sure you are understood.

5. Deliver the goods - Being valuable is more important than following any rules.

6. Be consistent - You are only as good as your last post.

7. Prioritize quality over quantity - Fewer kick-ass articles are better than many so-so posts.

8. Develop expertise - You might not be an expert now but you can be. Dive into your subject and become the go-to person.

9. Hold on to passion - Keep the fires burning, don't let your subject turn into a chore.

10. Communicate fascination - If you love your subject then let your readers know, share your enthusiasm, make it contagious.

11. Write better - All of us can improve our writing but it takes effort and motivation.

12. Grow your experience - Do new things, broaden your horizons, stretch yourself.

13. Share your experience - When you learn something new, tell your readers about it.

14. Explore and experiment - Keep trying new things, never stagnate.

15. Be unique - If you are the same as everyone else, why would anyone visit your blog?

16. Look good - Appearances count, both in terms of your blog design and your posts. Make your content zing!

17. Make a great first impression - Do new visitors know what your blog is about in under 10 seconds? Can they navigate easily? Where is your best content?

18. Build momentum - Keep pushing every day, do not be content, it takes less effort to keep going than to stop and start over.

19. Optimize - Keep tweaking, continuously improve.

20. Write with focus - Don't squander your readers' attention, give them what they came for.

21. Build your reputation - Know what you stand for and deliver it consistently.

22. Go for keywords - Find out what your readers are looking for and write about it.

23. Write compelling headlines - Get attention, promise a benefit, provoke interest.

24. Offer full feeds - Attention is more important than page views.

25. Interview - Supplement your knowledge by interviewing experts.

26. Break news - Be first to a story, let everyone know and see the links flood in.

27. Run contests - Contests are fun and build awareness.

28. Research, survey and poll - Research results are newsworthy and differentiate.

29. Toot your horn - Celebrate successes, send out press releases.

30. Monitor your stats - Stats tell you the health of your blog. Where is traffic coming from? Can you do more of what works? Is your blog growing or sliding? There are many free services.

31. Comment and answer comments - Nurture your audience, make them know they are valued. Comment on other blogs.

32. Link generously - If you want links then you have to first give them.

33. Join forums - Break out of your bubble, meet people where they are.

34. Give stuff away - You get what you give. Free downloads get rewarded with links and traffic.

35. Make friends - One of the pleasures of blogging and also a route to success.

36. Guest blog - Write brilliant content for other bloggers and see your brand grow.

37. Ask questions - Curiosity is a virtue.

38. Twitter - Constantly communicate and get to know people. Anything too short for a blog post can be delivered in 140 characters.

39. Stumble - Train yourself to discover, recognize and share brilliant content. What you can identify you can imagine, what you can imagine you can create.

40. Rebel - Break the rules, go against the flow, zig when others tell you to zag, do your own thing your own way.

41. Enjoy - Keep doing what you do until it stops being fun. When it is no longer fun, bring the fun back and your energy will be infectious.


Reprinted from "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter," a free ezine offering book promotion and publicity tips and techniques. http://www.amarketingexpert.com

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