My very first blog post was written in 2004 on the now defunct AOL Journals. (I know, right?) Back then I was known as the Mad Secretary, and I wrote a lot of ranty, angsty crap about how much I hated clerical work. Since then I’ve had 3 different Blogger blogs, 1 WordPress.org blog and 1 Typepad blog.
Then about a year ago I bought www.emilysuess.com and started Suess’s Pieces. And you know what, guys? I think this could be my blog’s forever home.
Anyway, doing this blogging thing for seven years has taught me a lot, and I’m going to share what I’ve learned with all you noobies out there.
Top 10 Tips for New Bloggers
Accept your blog for what it is. Free blogs are great, and fulfill a very important purpose. But there’s a chance you’ll end up with blog envy after about a week. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent on my Blogger blogs tweaking the template HTML and trying desperately to turn them into something they could never be. Man, I wish I could get those hours back now.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. You can fill your sidebars with gobs of blinking blog awards, but do you really want to be responsible for giving someone a seizure? If you feel it’s just too rude to ignore awards from other bloggers, you can acknowledge them in a single post. Then just let them gracefully fade into your archives.
Don’t compare yourself to the A-listers. If you didn’t pay a grand for your blog template, don’t compare it to any of those celebrity blogs out there. Yeah they look prettier, smarter, and more customized than yours. That’s because the owner shelled out some serious cash for template customizations and killer design.
Don’t use auto-play anything. Ever. I admit I put some auto-play songs on an old blog like five or 6 years ago. It’s not something I’m proud of.
Make sure your RSS feed works, and publish the full post. Some well-established bloggers truncate their feed to force click-throughs to their site. It’s a personal pet peeve of mine. Although some of the big guys can get away with it, as a new blogger I recommend you publish posts in their entirety for your RSS subscribers. If the content is provocative enough, they’ll still click through.
Don’t steal stuff. Don’t rip off content or photos. If you quote another blogger, do it sparingly and always include a link back to the original site or post. It’s about more than just respecting copyright law, it’s about respecting other people.
Use pictures. There are plenty of places to get images that are licensed for reuse, and you can always upload your own. Even the most well-written posts are enhanced by a simple photo or graphic.
Complete a profile or include an ‘about’ section. Blogging is a social activity, and your readers want to know about the person behind the blog. Even if you’re blogging for your business, it’s a good idea to include some personal tidbits that show readers a real, living, breathing person is working behind the scenes.
Don’t take blogging too seriously. Even professional blogs should be enjoyable to maintain. Don’t be afraid to try something new, and don’t be afraid to fail. If a post or idea flops, it flops.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Bloggers are a friendly bunch for the most part, so if you have a question about how to do something or you just want some advice? Ask for it! Send an email, post a question, or use a poll to get input from your community.
This post is part of #SummerBlogSocial 2011 hosted by Liz and Jessica and is a response to the prompt, “If a real life friend approached you and said, ‘I want to start a blog. Can you give me a list of helpful tips?’, what 10 (or more) things would you tell your friend?”
Just Another Elysian Sidetrip. Sirena West. 2003. 1st Books.
In the novel Just Another Elysian Sidetripauthor Sirena West tells the story of the talented and beautiful Tasha Felding. Tasha and her three roommates—Dawn, Elizabeth, and Miranda—ruled the campus of their liberal arts college four for years and seemed destined to live out charmed lives. But something happens before the girls graduate that changes things.
For the next two decades Tasha continues along her journey, fulfilling the roles of mother and wife. But through the years she continues to think about how she can undo the damage done two decades earlier. Just before her 20th college reunion, Tasha sets out to absolve her college roommate.
Unfortunately for this self-published author, most readers are going to find it very difficult to get past the first few pages of Sidetrip. First, the font choice is a major distraction. Written in Courier New (or something very similar), the print feels big and clumsy. It is reminiscent of the college Freshman trying to fake her way from twelve to twenty pages by using the largest, fattest font available.
The second issue I have with the book is that it contains an unacceptable amount of typos and errors—a period where a comma should be (page 6), a missing letter (page 7), ‘me’ instead of ‘mean’ (page 8), just to name a few.
As a professional editor, I may be more sensitive to these kinds of mistakes than your average bibliophile. However, readers looking for a quick and pleasurable read are hardly going to be thrilled when they find they must stumble their way through so many careless mistakes.
Leslie A. Joy, the Social Media Mercenary, is launching a great new online workshop beginning in August. The Get Your Workday Together course, designed for freelancers and small business owners, could just save you from yourself.
The workshop will help you better manage your workday, getting you more organized and helping you dig out from under that overwhelming pile of work stuff.
Get your butt in gear and sign up. Enrollment for the 15-week workshop is just $125.
What’s that? You could really use a good kick in the tail, but money’s kind of tight?
Well, lucky for you, I’ve got two free spots in the workshop to give away! To enter to win all you have to do is sign up for Suess’s Pieces updates by email. Folks, it doesn’t get any easier to win than this:
Enter your email address:
Two winners from my Feedburner verified subscriber list will be selected using Random.org at noon on August 8, 2011. (Winners will be given 24 hours to respond before an alternate winner is selected.)
For more details on the workshop, read on; and don’t forget to visit Leslie’s website for the official announcement.
Get Your Workday Together Basics
Registration Deadline: August 12, 2011
Course Start Date: August 15, 2011
Course Price: $125
Course Details
The Get Your Workday Together workshop is a 15 week course.
Before the course, Leslie will be send you a detailed course overview and a pre-course worksheet.
Every Monday you’ll get new information on the topic with related links and a worksheet.
Every Thursday Leslie will answer participants’ questions via email.
Each worksheet helps you get better organized and manage your workflow your way.
Leslie will be available via email or IM/Skype to answer your questions.
Participants in the workshop get discounts on Leslie’s other services.
Connect with others in the course and get useful updates using the Twitter hashtag #getittogether.
Leslie will show you how to continue to reap the benefits of the workshop after you have completed the Get Your Workday Together workshop.
Course Topics
Module 1: Organization
Module 2: Email and Communication
Module 3: Your Tasks and Projects
Module 4: Choosing the Best Tools for You
Module 5: Organizing and Standardizing Your Processes
In the novel Seeing Red by Claudi Ricci, readers follow Ronda on her adventures of love, passion and self-discovery. Sounds hokey and unoriginal on the surface, doesn’t it? But let me just say that Ronda has issues, and they are very interesting issues. Instead of pursuing a career in dance at the age of 19, Ronda got caught up in a relationship with her college professor, got married, and raised two boys.
Now 18 years later, Ronda is newly divorced and dealing with her sons’ transition into adulthood. Life is forcing her to examine her marriage, her unfaithfulness, and her changing relationship with her children.
At the same time she must come to terms with these changes and her own infidelity, Ronda finds a renewed passion for dance and gives herself over to the study of flamenco. However, her life takes a twist when her lover, Jesus, disappears in Spain.
With a book as artfully written as Seeing Red, it only takes a few pages to become immersed in Ronda’s world. For a time you won’t even know you’re reading; you’ll just feel like you’re there.
I confess that sometimes I use mobile marketing technology just because I can. When QR codes started popping up on ads and product packaging everywhere, I would scan them whether or not I was actually interested.
I was at IHOP last week eating pancakes when I noticed a QR code on the tabletop tent card at our booth.
“Hey, my phone reads that!” I said.
I know a lot of you are like, “So what? Everyone’s phone does that now.” But you’d be wrong. My boyfriend still uses a Motorola Razr. We call it his food stamp phone.
Also, Dan glares at me every time I check in on Foursquare. “Remember when you used to pay attention to me?” he’ll ask as I announce to my Foursquare buds, Twitter fans, and Facebook friends that I’m once again having fajitas and margaritas at El Rodeo.
“Oh, you’re just jealous,” I’ll reply. “This’ll just take a second.”
Tap. Click.
“Woohoo! I got the mayorship back.”
That’s usually followed by the cutest eye roll you’ve ever seen.
He knows it’s futile to try and change me.
Anyway, I usually handle new technology the way my parents did. When I was growing up my family wasn’t know for being early adopters. In fact, my folks never got cable until all three of their children were grown and had moved out, and I only got basic cable myself for the first time when I was 20.
This one time, when I was eleven, one of my friends asked me where our VCR was. Oh the shame I felt at having to say, “We still don’t have one.”
Oh, eventually we got these things, and I spent my pre-teen and teen years in a household with a computer, a 6-disc CD changer, a VCR, and a microwave. But the point is that I was never the first of my friends to have these things.
I live my life the same way now, buying fifth generation iPods and getting touchscreen phones several years after the technology has been accessible to the middle class.
With the Indianapolis freelance writing gig, though, I’m more concerned about keeping up with business technology. So I’ve written Mobile Marketing Tips for the SoloPreneur, a guest post for Rickina Velte at 7 Cities Mobile. Whether you’re a Solopreneur who has already implemented mobile technologies or you’re still just thinking about it, come and hang out with us. We’d love to hear from you.
It might not seem like it, but I don’t actually spend all of my time writing for Suess’s Pieces. Here are some other pieces I’ve written recently:
Profile of a Small Business Grant Writer
On the Small Business Bonfire, I discuss what traits small business owners need to become effective grant writers and get their grant applications noticed. If you’re thinking about grants as a way to expand your small business or solo-preneurship, check it out.
How to Land Your First Freelance Client
Leora Wenger graciously hosted my guest post on getting started as a freelance writer. There are many ways to break into the business; this is how it happened for me. If you’re thinking about starting a freelance career, you might find this post helpful.
Know Your Conflict Management Style
Another post for the Small Business Bonfire, this article will get you thinking about how you handle conflict—in the workplace or anywhere—and what you can do to handle difficult situations more effectively.
If you truly enjoy your job, it’s probably because you have a sense of humor. Today’s post is dedicated to every employee who ever needed a laugh to get through the day, but especially to those who know what it’s like to do time at the cube farm and need to decorate your cubicle for your mental health.
Without further ado, here are the top 6 reasons you need to decorate your cube, like, pronto.
If you don’t decorate your cubicle, one of your prank-pulling co-workers will.
Remember that one time Kate left for a doctor’s appointment, and when she came back someone had pinned photos of a shirtless Mark Paul Gosselaar to her cube walls?
Although personal decorations aren’t 100% effective at preventing such tragedies, their removal adds a level of difficulty, forcing the prankster to re-evaluate whether the stunt is actually worth it.
Decorate, and your boss will automatically assume you’re in it for the long haul.
Simply install a Dilbert calendar, a photo of your cat, and a few paperweights, and then delight in your boss’s false sense of security as he tells his boss, “This one is going to stay. She really likes it here, I can tell.” And, who knows, with your boss a little more relaxed, you might actually want to stay.
You can get sick, come to work, and still feel like you’re resting at home.
So you’re still hourly and you don’t get paid sick leave? No biggie, just buy one of those pretty boxes of Kleenex like you have on your nightstand.
For over-the-top comfort, plug a vaporizer into your power strip and hang up one of those classy, adhesive 3M hooks for that moment your fever breaks and you no longer need the Snuggie.
Your co-workers will have an easier time making assumptions about your personal life.
Married? Single? Gay? Straight? Children? Pets? Christian? Branch Davidian? One framed photo can answer all of these questions and more, giving that guy in accounting the green light to make the off-color joke he’s been holding onto since you started.
Other items that make stereotyping a breeze include Glee screensavers, crosses of any kind, Tribbles, and four or more iPhone accessories located within the same two-foot radius.
You won’t mistake your cubicle for Brad’s cubicle.
At least not again, because—oh em gee—all of these things do look the same. It’s not your fault the only thing differentiating your cubicle from Brad’s is an extra layer of keyboard plaque. You’re new here. What’s Brad’s excuse?
To easily find your place in the maze, go for that one item no one else has—maybe a Doom mouse pad, a snow globe from Door County, Wisconsin, or an autographed photo of Jim Neighbors.
Now tell me what’s in your cube. (Or show me by attaching a photo to your comment).
I am not being compensated for writing this post. However, I do have something to gain from the Bonfire’s growth.
Several months ago, Alyssa Gregory put out a call for contributors for a new site she was starting, Small Business Bonfire.
I contacted her and a short while later was offered a spot as a contributor for the site’s blog and monthly newsletter. My first small business article for the site—a piece on direct mail marketing—was published back in March.
I also joined the site (you can join for free, you know) for a couple of reasons. First, it’s good business practice for freelance writers to be involved in their clients’ networks and communities. This participation may take different forms depending on the client, but I try to always remember that helping clients is good for my business too.
Second, the Bonfire network is in and of itself valuable to me as a small business owner. I’ve gained something by being a part of the community, and I believe all good things should be shared.
One of the cool new things I learned about while at the Bonfire is the Hello Bar. It is awesome for drawing attention to important messages on my blog. Maybe you noticed that orange bar up there urging you to subscribe to my blog’s feed when you came to Suess’s Pieces today? That’s the free version, and I have a few Hello Bar invites left if you’d like to try it out on your own site. Just leave me a comment.
If you’re self-employed or hope to be, I think you’d really like life around the Bonfire. I’ll even let you pick my brain without charging you my consulting fee.
