Blissdom Update #5: Top 10 Things I Learned

I’m home from Blissdom, but there is more to share!

We left off with feather boas and lip gloss.   But, if you missed and want to read how my Blissdom adventure started, start with Blissdom Update #1: Flip Flop Earrings & Busniess Card Debacles, Blissdom Update #2: Loop the Loop, Blissdom Update #3: My World Expands, and end with Blissdom Update #4: OUCH!

Well, here it is, in no particular order… the top 10 things I learned at Blissdom to summarize my wonderful trip!

1.) SEO and advertising… well that’s a post all in itself! It’s every blogger’s question.   Well, almost every blogger’s.   How do you climb to the top of Google’s search results?   And how do you make money from your blog?   Well, what I know and have learned could fill an entire blog.   But here’s a quickie…

When it comes to SEO (or Search Engine Optimization), it’s all about keywords.   Think about words your potential readers might be searching for and use them over and over again in your posts.   And, skip the cutesy titles. I love them, but search engines don’t! And, keep your HTML clean. And copying other blogger’s work, won’t help you climb in ratings. It will only get you marked as a spam site.

As for monetizing your blog… make the best of what you have!   You don’t need to be the biggest blog on the block to get some wonderful advertisers.   Include your affiliate links inside your posts. Don’t promote something you wouldn’t use yourself.   And you have the right to be picky. It’s your blog. And most importantly, blog for passion, not for money.

2.) If you build it, they will come. Nice idea, huh?   Apparently, it’s only true for baseball fields. Just because you start a blog and write, doesn’t mean you’ll have readers.   Building a readership can be hard work, but if you want to grow, you have to put the time into it.   Just telling your mom, isn’t enough, but it’s a start. The best advice I heard is “be everywhere”. Be where your readers are, so they can see and connect with you, no matter where that is – mommy blogs, forums, online communities, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc… But keep in mind, people don’t appreciate being spammed with your posts and listening to you promote yourself 100% of the time. It should be 80/20… 80% about them and only 20% about you and your content.

3.) Live life. Get inspired. Blog with Passion. Yes, if you sit by the computer 24/7, you’ll be able to write tons of posts, but what will they be about?   Get out of the house. Play with your kids.   Spend time with your friends. Your readers will appreciate you   more. It’s okay to take a break.

And as for passion? Sure, I could have started a blog about sewing, but considering the fact that my husband told me I could no longer sew in front of the kids because “they shouldn’t hear that kind of language”, it would be forced.   Your readers can tell, if you are blogging about something you love or just blogging to be blogging.   Plus, if you’re passionate about your topic, you’ll have more fun, more to say, and be so much happier.

4.) I’m a blogger. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it?   But, I’ve never felt more at home in a group of women.   They all came from different backgrounds.   Blogged about different things.   But they were all me.   They had a passion.   Loved to write.   Had something to say.   And they were saying it and connecting with others, through their blog.   Most of them were mothers.   All of them were women.   Some were nervous and new.   Others had “been there, done that” so many times they were old pros.   But, I fit in.   I can’t even begin to explain that feeling that hits you when you know you’re exactly where you’re suppose to be.

5. ) Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. No, I didn’t have to drive 5 hours to learn the golden rule. I learned it in Sunday School long ago.   But, I did have to drive 5 hours to remember that it applies to everything you do.   Even blogging. Want other bloggers to link to your site?   Link to them.   Some of the biggest bloggers admitted to not linking to bloggers who don’t consistently link to other bloggers.   I don’t! And, I do know who is linking to me.

Want comments?   Then comment on your readers sites. And don’t forget… be nice when you are commenting.   In fact, “comment unto others as you would have them comment unto you” ( – Stephanie, Adventures in Baby Wearing)!   And please, comment to say something. Not to spam other sites with your latest post, even if it is amazing! I know many bloggers delete comments that seem to be more like spam, then a contribution to the conversation. I do!

6.) There’s a legal side to everything. Oh yes, I knew it.   I can’t tell you that Blissdom cured me of migraines   forever or gush about how much I love a product that paid me to do so, when truly I can’t stand it.   And if I am being paid, I need to tell you, even if it doesn’t effect how I feel, because it might effect how you feel.

But, there’s much more to it than that.   If you make a dollar, you’re a business.   So act like it.   Be professional. File taxes. Disclose, disclose, disclose!   And, make sure if you write policies and place them on your blog, that you stick to them.   They aren’t just there for decoration! (And did I mention disclose!?)

7.) It’s all about community. As a blogger, you’re already involved in so many communities.   You have a community of readers and a community of bloggers.   Yes, blogging can be a business.   But it’s also about building bonds with others who are just like you.   Help each other.   Support each other. Respect each other. They aren’t your competitors. They are your allies.

8.) Twitter is the answer to every question you’ll ever ask. I might as well set up a default e-mail that automatically replies to any questions I get with the answer “Twitter”, because, apparently, it is the answer to everything!!!   I struggle with Twitter.   I feel like I’m in a huge room filled with millions of people and everyone is talking at once.   In a room that big, with that many people, who is going to notice me?   Who is going to talk to me?   Who is going to listen?   But, Twitter is, or so I’m told, a powerful tool. If I can ever master it.

Where do you find advertisers for your site? Twitter.   Where do you find other bloggers to partner with and support you? Twitter.   Where do you connect with your readers? Where do you get sponsorship for conferences, products for giveaways and reviews, and network?   Twitter! Twitter! Twitter! How do you get your baby to sleep through the night?   Okay… well maybe not the answer to every question, but if the baby isn’t sleeping, you can always stay up late   and network on Twitter!

But in all that “tweeting”, don’t forget about that 80/20 rule above.   It’s not all about you. Retweet, respond, comment, reply, and say thank you to others who retweet you!

9.) Be yourself. Be real. Be authentic. In everything you do. What happens when people stop being polite and start being real?   Oh wait, this isn’t the Real World. My bad.   How about be polite and be real?   The best of both worlds! Your readers can tell by your writing, if you mean what you say, love your topic, or practice what you preach.   But they don’t come to your site to hear the latest deal (seriously?!?). There are many other places for them to find that, like forums and deal sites.   Readers visit blogs to connect with others like them and connect to you.   So, let them in.   You can show a bit of yourself in everything you do, from a review to spilling your heart to your readers and everything in between.

10.) You’re inspired.   Full of new ideas. Bursting with enthusiasm. But, that doesn’t mean you’ll get anything done! You’ve heard so many inspiring speakers.   Your head is full of new information.   You’ve gathered new ideas.   You’ve set new goals.   Your to-do list is a mile long.   And then you get home and look into three sets of huge, adorable eyes and think, “What blog?”.

I knew I’d come home to a little boy who’d be upset I left.   I can’t even go to the bathroom without him letting me know he didn’t appreciate that I left his sight.   I didn’t expect to find my courageous, outgoing little girl is suddenly suffering from severe separation anxiety.   So, I look at my to do list and listen to the little voice that shakes as it whispers, “I don’t want no more boggers (a.k.a. bloggers) to take you away again” and I know where I’m needed.   In fact, I’m writing this right now, while one is sucking on my mouse and the other is asleep on my arm.   Talk about multitasking!

My 5 year old?   Well, when I went to pick her up, she asked if I could come back later, because she wasn’t quite ready to leave Grandma’s yet. Nice to be missed!

This post is part of Oh Amanda’s Top 10 Tuesday and Musings of a Housewife’s What I Learned This Week.