Part Two: Will Your Blog Bring You Fortune and Fame?

My last blog post about blogging, Will Your Blog Bring You Fortune and Fame? (Part One), discussed my observations about successful blogging after reading Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and thinking about making changes to my own year-old blog. I said I had a few more observations to make and would continue it with Part Two, and so here is the much-anticipated list (LOL):

• Blog every day or on a regular schedule: I have heard this advice over and over again; and now, I believe it is true! You have to make things easy for your reader. The Muffin (this blog you are reading now) is never stale. Every day, there is new material by a member of the WOW! team. There are also different types of posts that will attract different readers--inspiration, writing advice, contest announcements, interviews, and book give-aways. I am now also blogging on a regular schedule with my blog, Read These Books and Use Them. I actually got a Facebook friend request yesterday from someone who reads my blog. I've been blogging on a regular schedule for one week and hosted a blog tour on Friday for an author I met through another contact on Facebook. So, regular blogging with different, interesting content is a must. I am finally learning this lesson.
• Promote yourself on social media: I know some of you are probably tired of hearing this; but in today's age, this is a must. You have to get out there and network. You have to let people know what you have to offer. There are blogs, blogs, and more blogs. Why is yours worth people's time? Why should people subscribe to yours or check back every few days to see what you have to offer? This is what you let people know on social media. This is where you rely on your real friends and your cyber friends. When I finish this blog post for WOW!, I will put a question on Twitter such as "Do you want to figure out ways to get your blog posts read? Check here for ideas." Then I will provide a link to WOW!'s blog. I also use Facebook a lot, and I am one of those annoying people who have friended everyone I have ever known--including former students who are now in their 20s (Egads!). But it works, and your friends will want to support you and leave comments on your blog and tell other people about you! I have recently seen people leave blog links on LinkedIn also. So, use social media.
• Make your content worthy of people's time: I can't say I do this every day. I try; I do. But again, it's my opinion if people think the content is as worthy and interesting as I do. If you want to increase your views, find an expert to interview that fits with your blog's theme and find something to giveaway. People will leave questions and comments for the expert for a chance to win the free prize. It works. Try it, and get people to notice your blog.

If you have any more suggestions of things that have worked for you, please, please leave your comments. We'll even take warnings and nevers such as NEVER blog about blah, blah, blah. We're here to learn from each other and figure out our new cyber world!

Happy blogging!
Margo Dill

www.margodill.com

Ants in my Kitchen, Traffic to Your Blog

For over a week now a relentless colony of ants have been invading my kitchen. I’ve always been the type who doesn’t like to kill anything. I see a spider and I scream, but will still ask my hubby to take it outside. So this has been particularly annoying! My theory is that if I find the source and get rid of it, the ants will pack up their bags and move elsewhere.

I quickly discovered they were going for the trash, so I made sure not to throw any food in there, instead faithfully taking it outside to the dumpster in back of my loft. Even on nights where my hubby brought home takeout and I was too tired to go outside, I’d put the subway wrappers or whatever in a plastic bag and stick it in the fridge. And sure enough, pretty soon the ants got the hint and left.

Then a couple days later I saw that the same troop of ants had changed their game plan and were now going for my cat’s food. How did I know it was the same troop? They were coming from the same area—and this is the weirdest thing—from fifteen feet up the wall and from behind an enormous oil-painting I have of Alice in Wonderland, from my rave (underground) days. There must be a hole or something behind that painting... but I haven’t gotten out the ladder to look.

So I moved my kitty’s dish to a different part of the loft, and so far so good! But who knows how long that will last.

Like the traffic of ants I had in my kitchen, the traffic to your blog will continue if you keep posting something tasty. (You knew I was getting to something right?) So here are a few tips to keep the steady flow of traffic coming before they move on to the next best thing:

Start with a tasty story!

As writers, we know everyone loves a story. An anecdote about ants in your kitchen may not be the most fascinating story out there, but whatever it is, make sure it relates to your blog post.

Keep it short and sweet

A couple paragraphs will do. Think of it as you would flash fiction, and listen to your inner-editor.

Pose a question

You don’t want to start off by asking a question every time, but readers like to become involved, so keep the dialogue in mind. Many of our blog posts end with a question—that’s because we really do want your opinions voiced. We love feedback!

Say something controversial

It could be an idea that you’ve been mulling over, something in the news, or something that relates to your personal life. I don’t think you should straight-out try and shock readers just to create a stir, but don’t be afraid to be yourself.

Edit before you post

Being yourself doesn’t mean that you should write like you would in an email to a friend. Remember you’re still writing for the public, so be sure to rewrite and check for grammar, and other things you may not want getting out there. One thing I noticed is even if you delete a post, it’s still live on the wires somewhere. And if you have full syndication, readers can still read that post in its entirety on some blog reader websites like bloglines or technorati.

Do what you do best—write that hook!

I don’t have to tell you what to do...you’re fabulous women writers and you already know! For instance, look at Jean’s previous post, Dare I say it? Time to Exercise!!, or that Angela person who decided to tell her story of how Owen Wilson inspired her post How Media Inspires Our Stories or Sue’s post Self-Sabotage Countdown (what a great title! It had me hooked from the start!), or Chynna's very funny post on a Not to Do List.

Now I want to know:

What hooks have inspired the most comments on your blog posts?

Or, what awesome hook in your writing have you recently used?