Sunshine and Sippy Cups

“The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. Clarke

I’ve partnered with a group of bloggers to follow the advice from the super duper amazing guys at Problogger, to follow the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog book together – And I am SUPER excited to take on this challenge! I started my blogging journey in late February of 2011, and what a fun {and sleepless!} year it’s been so far! Now that I feel like I’ve got my feet planted pretty firmly here on my little patch of the web, I’m ready to take things up a notch. I think that the 31 days of ideas, tasks, projects, and posts is going to be pretty darn cool. To prepare for the 31 Day Challenge, we’re first doing Problogger’s Guide to Your First Week of Blogging {Click here to learn more} – and while it’s written for your first week of blogging, this is an incredibly helpful book for any blogger! If you’ve missed the beginning of the series – catch up here.

Chapter 5 – Putting Yourself Out There

To get the full notes on this chapter of the book, read Misty’s post on CEO of Me, Inc – and I’ll share my ideas on this chapter with you here. For this chapter, it’s all about getting out there into the web. Getting to know other writers and bloggers in your niche, learn what your readers are interested in, and interacting more with others. Because really, that’s what blogging is all about.

“Link to your enemies. Link to your competitors. Link to everyone. Instead of being sticky, be linky.” –Robert Scoble

Blogging is about community – the community you build with your readers, the community you belong to in your blogging niche, and even the community of other bloggers of different types. So get to know them – I love a quote Misty mentioned, “Leaders are Readers and Earners are Learners.” Perfect.

Task 1: Sharing Your Story

Get your “My Story” post that you worked on earlier in the week posted and shared. I used that task as motivation to update my About Me page, since that had been neglected for much too long. You can use this task to set up a new About page, update your own, or just write a story sharing a little info about the face behind the blog – it’s up to you. Then, share it! Share it with your fans on social media, and ask for feedback. Ask a blogging buddy or two to take a look and offer suggestions. {Here’s my About Me – Let me know what you think in the comments!}

Task 2: Start your Pillar Content Post

By now you have a folder of great blog ideas, including plans for a series of posts on an “Evergreen” topic, that will still be relevant at this time next year. Misty has amazing tips on creating a successful blogging series. Earlier this week, I set up an editorial calendar, with themes for each month of the year – I’ll use these to help me stay organized, and plan content. I’ll be putting together a new series each month, which I’m excited about.

Task 3: Using Blog Comments to Help Create Content

This is a such a great idea! Read through the comments that people leave on your blog. Is there a question that you could answer with a post? What types of content get the most attention and interaction? And – read the comments on other blogs in your genre. Not to copy anyone, just to see what types of posts get a lot of attention for others. Your blog is unique, because YOU are unique. Never try to be someone else, or compare yourself to them. But – it can really helpful to see what is working for others, and use it to create cool new ideas to use on your site.

Task 4: Ask the audience

{This reminds me of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, lol} Choose a topic that you cover on your blog. Now ask a few questions about that topic to ask your readers, and followers on social media. Make sure that this is an open-ended question, something that requires more than a yes or no answer. Example: I recently asked my Facebook fans, “What’s the best and worst parenting advice you received as a new mom?” – It was very interesting to hear their answers, and some of those gave me ideas to write about in an upcoming series. I’m also going to start an “answer the readers” type weekly post, which will be kind of the opposite of this, but fun. I’ll ask them to come up with THEIR questions about a topic, and I’LL answer them each week on my site. Your readers are your customers – get to know them. If they’re anything like mine, they’re awesome :)

What do you think so far?

We’re almost done with this Guide to Your First Week of Blogging ebook, and I have learned so much! I love that this book centered on setting up systems, getting organized, and building a solid foundation for your blog – new or experienced, every blogger should revisit these ideas from time to time, and make sure they’re moving in the direction they want to go. We’ll soon be starting our full adventure – Problogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog ebook – and you can join us! To join, just buy the ebook – {Click here to view more details} – and then link up your homepage below! After you join, send me an email, and I can invite you to our group on Facebook.  Rock Your Blog in 2012!! #RockYourBlog2012