Hope Writes

Blogger For Rent!

Posted by Hope

I am renting myself out as a guest blogger for the next few weeks. With the holidays coming up in the U.S. I know that everyone is busy. I’m here as an advocate for your blog—DON’T NEGLECT YOUR BLOG!
Seriously, if you’d like me to be a guest blogger, just leave me a comment here, with a link to your blog. I’ll email you and square away the who-what-when-where details ASAP.

I’ll take the first 10 people who respond. Ready….Set….GO!

Popularity: 32% [?]

Do You Leave Comments On Blogs?

Posted by Hope

If you use blogs for networking purposes, you probably leave quite a few comments in a week’s time, right? Have you given much thought to your comments, or do you just leave them on a whim after reading a nice post?

Darren, at ProBlogger.net, wrote a terrific post, offering great tips on how to get your comments noticed on a popular blog. I must admit that I am guilty of leaving hasty comments without thinking my process through good enough. I read something I like and leave a quick comment.

You might think that just by dropping a few random comments on several blogs will get your business (or name) noticed. You’re right about that, but you could become recognized as the serial blog commenter who has no etiquette, morals, or brains.

Darren’s post really woke me up to the realization that I need to be more thorough when commenting on other blogs. His suggestions cover everything from commenting etiquette to formatting. This one is truly a must-read: 11 Tips for Getting Your Comments Noticed on a Popular Blog

Popularity: 65% [?]

ASK HOPE: Blogging For Cash

Posted by Hope

Earlier this month, I blogged about how extreme advertising on a blog can erode and detract from you actual blog content.

Pattie posted in response and asked the question as quoted above. I thought her question brought about a valid point, so I wanted to clarify my earlier position, just in case you misunderstood what I meant.

In this earlier post, I was not bashing anyone who blogs for an income. Far from it. The main point I was trying to make was that there’s a difference between blogging for money and blogging for fun, then suddenly splashing advertising all over the place.

For example, let’s say I have three blogs bookmarked, all related to puppy training issues (I don’t even have a dog, this is just an example). The first blog (Blog A) is a personal blog of someone who got a new puppy for her family and loves animals so much that she decided to start a blog to write about her experience as she trains her puppy. Blog A contains no advertising, mostly likely because the owner hasn’t discovered Google Adsense, or the like. The second blog (Blog B) is also a personal blog that is very much like Blog A, except that it contains minimal advertising, and the blogger posts more in-depth information as well as product reviews. The third blog (Blog C) is what could be referred to as a “professional” blogger. He also writes terrific posts about training puppies, product reviews, and is a puppy training expert (has some type of formal training, maybe is a Veterinarian).

I visit all three blogs for very different reasons. Blog A gives me a personal, been-there-done-that viewpoint of the topic I’m interested in: puppy training. Blog B also gives me this same type of personal experience, but takes it a step further by giving me even more researched information about puppy training. Blog C provides educated, scholarly information about puppy training–all the “why” and “what” info I need–from an “expert” viewpoint.

If I’ve visited all three blogs for several months, I automatically expect that I’ll never see advertising on Blog A; see some ads on Blog B; and expect ads on Blog C. One day I visit Blog A and find that not only does she have some Adsense in the sidebar, but she has three or four huge block ads stacked one on top of the other at the top of every post in her blog. Can you see how this is an automatic turn-off?

Like I said, I have absolutely nothing against monetizing your blog. (Look around here…! ) It’s just a shocking thing when you’ve visited a blog for a long time and enjoyed it, then suddenly there’s more ads than there is content. And that was the point I was trying to make earlier.

It’s not about having or not having advertising on your blog. It’s about working it into the big picture and figuring out how to make it fit in so that it’s not so obtrusive that you start losing your visitors.

Take PPP, for example. While this is another way to make money blogging, I’ve seen bloggers use it in a way that is so tactful I would have never known the blog entry was for PPP, if I hadn’t seen the disclaimer. Now that’s a way of making your advertising fit into your blog!

If you are a blogger, and are earning an income from your blogging, what do you think? Do you try to make everything fit? Or do you blog and not worry so much about how the advertising is seen and accepted (or not) by your visitors? I’m interested in hearing more perspectives on this topic.

Technorati Tags: blogging, blogging for cash, blogging for money, make money blogging, PPP, make money with your blog, professional blog

Popularity: 36% [?]

Why You Should Hire A Ghostwriter To Blog For You

Posted by Hope

If your business does not already have a blog, why not? Blogs are so prevalent today that it’s hard not to find a blog on just about any topic you’re interested in. If you don’t like to write, or don’t have time to keep up with a business blog yourself, why not hire a ghostwriter to write your blog for you?

A business blog can:

• Draw in new customers/clients. It’s the old adage of attracting flies with honey. What better way to attract new business, than by giving interseted parties more information and persuading them to buy from you?
• Create new interest in old clients. Even while some clients may have been with you for years, if you don’t bring something new to the table, you face the risk of them growing uninterested and “cold.” A business blog can keep their interest peaked.
• Offer more options to your regular customers. Let’s say you have an established client base, but these customers have no idea about other services or products you have available. Your business blog can open your clients’ eyes to different aspects of your business that they didn’t know about before, and therefore, generate even more business.
• Generate a group of faithful followers. You might be wondering how this will help your business. When you have a faithful group of satisfied followers, you have built-in word-of-mouth advertising, which can go a lot farther than paid advertising. In fact, many companies have discovered that word-of-mouth goes so much farther and are now investing into this kind of advertisment options. You can do this with your business blog.
• Announce new products, services, contests, etc. Your business blog is a great avenue to share the news of new product launch dates, special services you offer to long-term clients, or fun contests and great prizes. It’s a great tool to use to create a “buzz.”

If you’d like to hire a ghostwriter to write your business blog for you, there are many options available. You can do a quick search for “hire a ghostwriter” or “write my blog for me” on Google and you’ll probably turn up quite a many ghostwriters to query. Or, if you’d like to save a lot of time and money, why not hire me to write your blog for you?

Technorati Tags: hire a ghostwriter, why you should hire a ghostwriter to blog for you, ghostwriter to blog for you, business blogging, why you should have a business blog

Popularity: 22% [?]

Business Blog Tip: Do Ads On Your Blog Erode Your Content?

Posted by Hope

The frequency with which I visit blogs is based on specific things:

1) Blogs I enjoy reading.
2) Blogs I read for personal/business development.
3) Friends’ blogs.

There are some blogs that I have bookmarked, but may only visit once a month or two. These are usually the ones that don’t update frequently, yet when they are updated have some great thoughts on them. So I’ll visit every now and again, and catch up on a month’s or two worth of posts.

Then there are blogs that I am compelled to read on a daily-to-weekly basis. These are my favorites, or blogs that I enjoy reading and glean helpful or useful information from for personal and business development. I read these more often because they are more “informational” for me, rather than recreational reading.

I don’t read blogs nearly as much as I used to. At one time, I could sit for 3-4 hours and read blogs. What a time killer! Of course, I wasn’t a work at home mom then, either. Even though I still enjoy reading them, blogs have evolved to a whole new level, just in the last 4-6 years. So I am extra careful about where I spend my time. Which brings me to the reason for this blog entry…

I’m noticing a growing trend on a few blogs that used to be personal faves. While the blog posts are rich with great information, it’s almost as if the blogs are being taken over with advertisements. This is beginning to irritate me. When I have to scroll through a few ads before I can even read a blog post, something’s wrong.

Maybe it’s just me, and if it is, then so be it. It just feels like some of my favorite blogs are being taken over by weeds, so to speak. This saddens me because I’m not enjoying my visits nearly as much as I once did.

So where do we draw the line? Do we allow advertisements to take over the bulk of our blogs, in hopes of making a few extra bucks every month? Do we sacrifice faithful and loyal readers for the hope of earning some sort of income from all the ads? Are over-advertised blogs to be expected now?

What’s your opinion?

Technorati Tags: blogs, business blog, business blog tip, blog ads, advertising on blogs

Popularity: 19% [?]

Link Love: Tips for Writers & Bloggers

Posted by Hope

I have a short work day today and have tons of things to do otherwise, so I thought I’d do a quick linky love post today. Here’s the roundup for today:

1. Mark Bernstein wrote a terrific post called 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web. No writer or blogger should go without reading this sage advice, which is why I chose this post as my #1 fave this week.
2. There is no blogger like the Pro Blogger. Get ready for this robust page on Battling Bloggers Block. If you’re a blogger and you struggle keeping up with your blog, read this! Bookmark it even.
3. Michael Stelzner, of Copyblogger, hit the nail on the head a few days ago with his post Time Is Not On Your Side: Time Management Tips For Writers.
4. Is your blog becoming a dumping ground for all sorts of junk? Here are 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog
5. Gina Trapani wrote this awesome at Lifehacker that lists some great resources for Firefox plugins. Check out Geek to Live: Turn Firefox into a web writer.

Have a great day!

Technorati Tags: blog links, fave blogs, great articles, blogging tips, blog help

Popularity: 14% [?]