Ask Me: Blog tips and Gift ideas

Mar 10, 2010 Posted by mesina | 55 comments

Ask Me: Blog tips and Gift ideas

Ask Me. Get Promoted. Win Stuff. - Second edition

Can you believe it’s Wednesday already?! Me either, where is my week going?! But here we are, ready for another installment of Ask Me, where I do my very best to answer a few of your questions that you lovingly send me each week. (Because you guys are totally cool like that)

Charlotte from My Pixie Blog asked: What’s the one piece of advice you’d offer someone who’d like to pursue blogging on a professional level? What do you do to keep from getting discouraged, and how do you find inspiration for your blog posts? I really loved this question, at least since I know how awful hitting a stumbling block can be! Although I wouldn’t consider myself to be blogging on a totally pro level, it is something I myself aim for as a blogger, mostly since I want to take my writing further. However, from what I’ve learned about blogging there are some key things to keep in mind if you want to take it up a level:

Image is everything! Although you DON’T need to spend tons of money on a good template, you DO need to think about how your template reflects you. There are lots of good free templates around and some that are very affordable. Keep your sidebars clean of unnecessary clutter and your blog easy to browse. I actually wrote a guest post about this here on Lady Bloggers Society.
The most important thing is your content. Make your content the flair of your blog and think of your readers when you write. Write an article, then go do the dishes, tend to a chore or two and come back to read it before you post it out. This helps you understand more about how people will perceive your writing and allows you to see mistakes or bits that aren’t flowing properly before you post it up.
Create a Media Kit. If you are really, really serious about blogging on a Pro level, you need develop your Media Kit. This is a document, usually in PDF format that is like a resume for your blog. It contains information such as your blogs stats, traffic flow, who your readers are, where they come from, information about your blog, any press you’ve been featured in, etc. This is to give out to potential advertisers, companies that wish to sponsor you, or to companies that you might do a product review for etc. Check out this article for some more info about it and where to find a nice template.
Get a feel for a little SEO. You don’t need to learn it all, but knowing how people find you, the basics about driving traffic all help if you want your blog to grow.
Make it easy for your readers to network with you.Twitter, Facebook fan pages, RSS feeds, email subscriptions – if people love you and want more make it easy for them to keep up with you in a variety of ways.
Finally, get involved with your blogging community! Visiting your readers blogs, finding new blogs to read, being active in Blogging society’s (Like SITS, The Lady Bloggers Society, etc) are all ways of networking and meeting others. Not only is it great to have other blogging buddies to read, but helpful in getting your blog out there and noticed.

What do I do to keep from getting discouraged? I write ideas down often and never let blogging become a stress or chore. I have fun here, this is MY space, yet I write with my readers in mind and do what I can to keep my posts interesting. What makes a post interesting? Giving something for my readers to relate to. But mostly, I’m me. I don’t make out that I’m something that I’m not and keeping things honest and real is in my opinion what makes a blog. Most importantly, I don’t blog in fear. Worrying about what people might think only leads to you catering for others and not yourself. Yes think of your readers with your writing style (i.e make sure YOU come across and your writing flows) but at the end of the day worrying about what they might think of you just leads to missed opportunities.

Inspiration is everywhere! I blog about what I know, experiences, feelings, parenting, the list is endless. You can find inspiration at the grocery store, in the newspaper, on other blogs, just keep reading and keep your eyes open to things. Jot things down and begin to see the world as a journalist. Once you start looking for things to write about, you’ll find it becomes second nature after a while. Above all, keep writing no matter what it is. I think that once you get the flow of writing itself, writing about most anything starts to happen. You won’t post ALL your articles, but at least you’re not losing your mojo.

Michelle over at The Blessed Quiver asked: Seriously, I need a gift for my sister in law who is totally 100% different from me…and how do i say this respectfully, because I love her dearly, hoity toity…is that even how you spell that? And I only have $20. EEKS – I know how it feels to be buying for someone so different from you! Read: NOT EASY. So, I did what I could to come up with some gift ideas in your budget that might just spark a smile or two! I thought hard about this and since you’re not shopping in the UK, I had to do a little digging to find some things for you there. (UK people, just get yourself to notonthehighstreet.com – great unique gifts in every budget)

My first thought was Etsy, since I figured how can you possibly go wrong with something unique and different AND handmade? I found this amazing little shop called Luna Shine Shine which sells some lovely vintage and nature inspired jewelry. Vintage is SO IN at the moment and these pieces are pretty timeless. Here were my three favs from her shop:

All these items were just $18.00 each and shipping is $2.50. OK, so it takes you over budget by 50 cents! But it should please even the most hoity toity types *wink wink*

If you don’t think these would be up her alley, then what about something like this candle holder from Yankee Candle? $12.99 with $5.00 shipping cost. That leaves you with $2.01 to get yourself a nice white candle to stick inside. Just not from Yankee Candle since theirs are a bit more than $2.01. I actually bought an oil burner from Yankee Candle this past Christmas for someone, it went down a total hit. (and wasn’t expensive at all)

Lastly, what about making her a lovely photo book of her family or yours together? The prize I’m giving away this month for the Ask Me is from Blurb and you could make up a nice 7×7 square softcover photo book of some great photos. OR give her a gift certificate so she can do it herself if she’d prefer.

Hopefully that gives you a few ideas to stew on, good luck finding that perfect present!