For all you beginner bloggers (including myself for this blog)
It’s tough when you’re just starting a blog - when your blog is in its infancy - to stay motivated to keep writing posts. It might feel pretty lonely when you first start your blog - it’s like you are blogging without an audience. Once again it comes back to setting your goals and keeping your incentives in mind.

Write and they will come
Don’t stop writing - keep posting. Try to make it fresh and interesting content - content is king. If you stopped now all that time you have put in was wasted. Keep chugging away. Continue to read and follow the blogging tips of those that are already successful - they too had to start at the beginning. Some blogs grow faster than others - it depends a lot on the amount of time you put into it.

Keep promoting
Even if it doesn’t seem to be working - keep leaving quality comments on related blogs and get the word out about your content. Make this part of your routine - it can be hard to get motivated to do the promoting - add it your daily list of blogging tasks and just do it.

It takes time
Rome wasn’t built in a day - or some other catchy cliché. It takes time and effort to grow a blog - especially if you don’t have a high traffic site to promote through. It may seem like you are getting nowhere - stay with it. The first few months can be difficult - stay motivated and remember your end goals and incentives. If you want it you’ve got to put the work in.

So, don’t give up even if you feel like you are blogging without an audience - I’m there with this new blog, but I’m going to keep writing and keep promoting.

Michael Hargis

Popularity: 97% [?]

Well, I feel that I have a descent amount of content so far on this blog. So, the next step for me is to start looking for ways to promote the site and drive traffic.

The goal I set for myself last week was to post at least once-a-day Monday through Friday. I accomplished that and now have set new weekly goals. Here they are:

• Keep posting once a day Monday through Friday for this week
• Start promoting the blog to drive traffic here

Just basic goals to keep me motivated and blogging.

I shouldn’t have any problem posting each day - the thing I’m not real confident in is driving traffic. I’ve been doing some research and have found that most people list these few ways to drive traffic to your blog:

• Comment on other blogs with similar topics
• Post in forums with similar topics to your blog
• Write and post articles to article websites
• Social Media
• Create a Squidoo Lens

Traffic Driving Techniques

So, I can find blogs with similar topics as mine and post comments - the idea here is posting helpful comments or thank yous - No Spamming. Pretty much every blog that allows comments has a place where you can put in your website address. Then when your comment displays the name you posted the comment under will be link to your site. The idea is that people might read your comment and click the link to visit your site. You can use a keyword or two as your name if you want - I haven’t decided if I will yet because most comment links are ‘nofollow’ - to please Google. nofollow basically means that when Google crawls a site and sees a link with nofollow it will not count it towards that site’s (the site the link is pointing to) ranking. That’s how I see it anyway.

Forums can help drive traffic by adding your blog’s url to your profile and in your signature. In most forums they will allow you to have a link or two in your signature - which shows up at the bottom of every post you make in the forum. Once again, these links are probably nofollow - but the idea is the same as above exposure. You should try and post helpful information or intelligent questions. Don’t just go in and start posting junk to get your signature on a bunch of pages. People will notice that and will react negatively. If you post useful questions or responses you will get noticed in a positive way. Also, if you have a helpful post on your blog that might answer a question you might be able to point people in the forum to your site - it just depends on the forum rules.

Writing articles is another suggestion a lot of people make when it comes to promoting your blog, or site. The important thing to remember here is that you are not writing articles about your blog. You want to base your articles on a topic from your blog. The promotion technique here is that article submission sites let you post a link or two in a designated area at the end of the article. So, someone reads your article and they see your link at the bottom. Also, people are allowed to publish these articles on their websites but they have to keep the author information and the links intact - another chance for exposure.

Social media - digg, stumbleupon, del.iciou.us, and the all those other ones can help you attract attention to your blog. Getting your content on these sites can be difficult - you can submitted yourself if you want but I don’t know if I will do that. Still, if it has a place in your profile to put a link to your blog you might as well. Then, if you start making friends - or getting followers - they may visit your site. Plus, you are networking with other people which is always important.

Creating a Squidoo lens (page) is somewhat similar to the article method. If don’t know what Squidoo is check it out here: Squidoo. Apparently it has become a popular way to promote and the pages rank well in the search engines.

I’m going to start out with the first 3 for this week. My goal is to comment on at least 3 blogs a day and make 3 forum post a day. I’ll need to do some research and find a few blogs and forums to comment on - I’m sure that won’t be too hard. Then I’ll get started. I know this might be hard for me - I’m pretty conscious on what I post on other sites and forums. I don’t want to post worthless crap or sound stupid - which is why I am starting with only 3 a day for each. As far as articles go, I will write and submit 2 this week. I haven’t decided which sites and I’ll have to do some research to find out if I can submit to multiple article sites.

This next phase of my blog should be interesting. It’s something I’m not all that comfortable with but I need to do it in order to grow my blog - got to stay motivated.

Michael Hargis

Popularity: 100% [?]

A Blogging Tip: What do you do when inspiration strikes?

It’s not always as simple as sitting down at your computer or with a pen and paper and writing your idea out. What if you are driving, at the beach, outside, lying in bed, or in the shower? What do you do? Do you just hope that you will remember the idea, or do you have some sort of method to record your ideas?

Usually, I use my trusty Samsung Blackjack. It is almost always nearby - I’ve had ideas hit me while lying in bed, so I reach over and grab my Blackjack open the notes program and start typing out the idea. A lot of times I’ll just quickly type the idea and a few main points and then flesh it out later. I also use pen and scratch paper sometimes.  One day in between classes I just started jotting down a bunch of ideas for another blog I was working on. I didn’t have my Blackjack at the time, but this method is much easier when there a lot of different ideas to be written. Now a days, if it is just one main idea I will most likely type it in my Blackjack. If it becomes a whole brainstorming session for a site then pen and paper is better.

What if neither of these are available? If I have some type of writing utensil and anything I can write on, including my hand, then I’m set. Other than that I guess it’s just up to good old memory for me. I suppose you could tell someone you were with and then you double your chance at remembering the idea… but make sure they won’t steal it – haha.

- Michael Hargis

Popularity: 55% [?]

A Blogging Tip: Are you trying too hard to come up with good post ideas?

Don’t force it - you just have to relax and the ideas will come. You might think you can just go find a nice quiet place or your favorite reading spot, but that is not always going to work. You’ll get there and all you’ll be thinking about is how you really need to come up with a great idea for a post. Sure this place might work most of the time, but there are some days when you just need to switch it up a bit. Try something different. Forget about the peace and quiet and go to the hustle and bustle. Go to a restaurant, a store, or just a walk down the street. Sit and observe people or find a friend (or stranger) and start up a conversation. Get your mind off writing - or whatever the task is. Fresh air, being around people, or just getting outside can really stimulate the mind and help get the good ideas flowing. Just remember, don’t force it - you will just end up going crazy and writing a bad post (or whatever your project is).

Note: these tips can be used for anything not just blogging and writing…

- Michael Hargis

Popularity: 68% [?]

A Blogging Tip: Having trouble writing those posts? Here is a quick idea…

It seems like every time I sit down and stare at that big blank computer screen I loose all motivation to actually write something. Then procrastination takes over. I start browsing the Internet and tell myself ‘it’s for inspiration.’ I navigate to some of my favorite blogs and start reading their stuff when I should be writing my own. Then I would start to think about how much I really need to write something and how I really want my blog to be successful, but I lack motivation.

I have found a great way around this (for me anyway). I get away from the computer. No, not just to take a break, but to grab my Samsung Blackjack. Yep, that’s right my Blackjack. I open up the notes program and just start typing away - I wrote this post on my Blackjack. Sure typing is a little slower - I’m getting pretty good at it - but for me there just aren’t any distractions when I’m on my Blackjack.

I suggest you get some kind of PDA/Smartphone device with a full QWERTY keyboard - makes it a ton easier to write long posts. My Blackjack only cost me $39.99 (refurb) and then the phone bill stuff which I need a phone anyway, so that doesn’t really count. This may not work for everyone, especially if you are always texting or talking on the phone. Though, if that is the case, you might try using a device that is not also your phone. Give it a try…

- Michael Hargis

Popularity: 75% [?]

A blogging tip: Motivation and writing multiple posts when you are in the mood to write…

If you really enjoy writing then this might not be a problem for you. If you are like me and are a descent writer but some days (or many days - I have plenty of weeks like this) you just really do not want to write about anything, then I have a simple idea that might help you out.

On those rare days that you are really pumped about writing a new post/article, instead of just writing one, write three or four, or even five if you are feeling crazy. Actually just writing two would be great. Then you have at least one backup you can use at anytime. You don’t want to make this a backup quality posts. You want to write something you plan on using. Get the article into the mix when you feel appropriate, but don’t just sit on that same article forever. You’ll forget about it or lose confidence in it. It should be thought of as writing an article or two ahead. Write something that you want to post in the near future, but keep writing new posts and cycle them in when you are ready. Writing ahead will help you on those days when you are sick, sick of writing, or just need to take the day off - it’s all about balance.

- Michael Hargis

Popularity: 70% [?]