Blog Talk: All Your Blogging Questions Answered!

On my one-year Blogiversary last week, I opened the comments up for questions–any questions!–and you had lots of them. You really made me stop and think about some things. Some people wanted to know about my writing career. Others wanted to know more about blogging. Here are my answers!

Q: How much time do you spend on your blog each day? -Maya, Springtree Road

A: Too much. More than I want to admit, especially when I’m between writing projects and have more time to devote to blogging. Even when I’m not at the computer, I’m thinking about posts I want to write and fun things I want to try on the blog. I turn on the computer at 7:00 in the morning, and it’s usually on until I collapse into bed at night, around 11 or 12.

In order to force myself to take a break, I’ve started taking one day off each week, either Saturday or Sunday, when I don’t turn the computer on all day, and that’s been a big help toward maintaining some sanity.

Q: As an aspiring writer, knowing not much about the process, what advice do you have for someone like myself who is having difficulty developing a process/way to organize info and pics, and tapping into the “zone” of getting it all out? -Kathleen Ellis

A: I keep photos for each post in their own folder. Photos I haven’t used yet get put into folders with labels like “Kitchens” and “Bad MLS Pics” so I can find them later. (I use Picasa for editing.)

As for organizing my thoughts and ideas for posts, I keep a spiral-bound notebook that I take notes in. I always have a running “To Do” list for the blog that is open on my desk. And I have a file folder for articles I’ve clipped that I might want to use in a post someday.

I like to write when I’m inspired. As soon as I get an idea for what I want to do, I write as quickly as I can–either on the computer or in that notebook. If I don’t write something down immediately, I lose it. I have a lot of half-finished posts that are saved in Draft form that I will return to when I have more to add or more time to add it.

I will write posts when I have an idea for them, even if they won’t be needed for a long time. For example, I recently wrote two posts that I won’t publish until October, if you can believe that! I knew my ideas wouldn’t feel fresh if I waited until then to write them down.

Q: How do you structure your time for posting, twittering, stumbling and facebooking AND still balance everyday homemaking and mothering duties??? I feel like in this regard I’ve been given a huge swirly. My head is still spinning! -Pretty Organizer

A: The answer is that I don’t balance these things very well at all. I spend too much time at the computer and other things sometimes get neglected around here.

But it’s also important to note that my kids are both in school all day, and I work from home as a writer on the computer anyway, so it’s easier for me to do these things than it would be for someone who might have little ones at home during the day or who had to work 8 hours in an office. I could not have done all of this when my kids were younger, that’s for sure!

Q: Where else do you write? As a writer, how do you get work? How did you break into it? Are you freelance or staff? –Mom in High Heels

A: I got my B.A. in English and have been a freelance writer and editor since college. I love being able to work from my home office! It’s a great gig for a mom because I’m always here for the kids when they need me. Among other things, I write content for marketing and business textbooks, and I’m a regular contributor to Kiki magazine, a magazine for creative girls who like art and fashion.

As for how I get work, well, it tends to be word-of-mouth between editors I’ve worked with over the years. I get recommended for various projects. But I have also sent query letters for articles that have been published occasionally, too. And I have submitted short stories that were accepted, as well.

Q: I’m curious about how you promoted your blog in the beginning. –Bungalow Bliss

A: When I was starting out, I mentioned my new blog on a message board that I was active on and immediately started getting hits from it. I got a lot of encouragement from them to keep going.

I sent out an e-mail to everyone I knew who might be interested, telling them to check out my new blog…but hardly anyone did. I got responses like, “What’s a blog?” and “I don’t read blogs,” and “I’m not interested in houses, thanks.” And this was from my friends and family! I knew I’d have to branch out if I wanted to find readers. (Ha.)

I left comments on other blogs that I liked and almost immediately started making friends with other bloggers who were generous enough to add me to their blogrolls. (Note: always make comments about their blog and their posts. Don’t use comments to promote yours by saying things like, “Come see my post today!” There’s no quicker way to alienate another blogger than that. Think of yourself as a friend, not a salesperson! If you leave funny or interesting comments often enough, they will check your blog out. Don’t beg.)

I think a lot of luck is involved. Sometimes you just get “discovered” by a site that has a large readership, and one mention from them can send your stats through the stratosphere.

For example, after only 3 months, Hooked on Houses was given a glowing review by the Guardian newspaper in London as a “blog to watch.” I was stunned. And grateful.  And blown away by the amount of traffic I started getting as a result. (I love my U.K. readers!)

Also: I joined every blog carnival I could. And I still do! This is a great way for new readers to find you. (I now host Hooked on Fridays blog carnivals each week–my way of passing some of my traffic along to you. Join us if you haven’t already!)

I think it helps to be on Twitter (I’m @hookedonhouses if you want to follow me!). If you are a blogger who isn’t on Twitter yet, you’re really missing out. This is sort of where all the bloggers hang out and talk about stuff. You can learn a lot from them. And we help each other whenever possible, giving advice and “retweeting” each other’s links. (Big thanks to Darla at Sassy Homemaker for insisting that I join last year. You were right, Darla!)

It’s good to have a separate Facebook page for your blog readers, too. (Here’s mine.) And you can then add your blog to Facebook and people can put a thumbnail of your front page on their profiles to show that they follow it. (You can add mine to yours by clicking here.)

But, bottom line is, you have to have great content that keeps people coming back, makes them want to link to you and tell their friends, inspires them to Stumble you, etc, etc.

There’s so much to say on this topic, actually, that I might write an entire post on the topic someday!

(I’d love to work in a home office this bright and sunny! Source: Pottery Barn. Retro study at top of post, BHG.)

Q: What program or site do you use to find out your statistics? I’m looking for one so that way I can track what people are reading, how many people are reading but not subscribed, etc. –Amber Filkins {ae filkins} I’m also curious about what kind of programs you use for blog statistics. I’ve also been wondering how you know so instantly that someone links to a post of yours? What kind of program is that? –Maya, Completely-Coastal

I get this question A LOT. The answer is simple: WordPress–the platform I blog with–comes with detailed statistics built in. It tells me everything I need to know, including who is linking to me. The other way I know who’s linking to me is by checking my page on Technorati.

Q: My question is how the heck does Technorati work? And… what is it useful for? –Amy, Living Locurto

A: Technorati basically ranks all of our blogs to let us know where we stand in the blogosphere. The lower your rank (closer to #1) and the higher your authority, the better. It takes into account how many other blogs are linking to you and how many people have added you to their “Technorati Favorites.” (Here’s my page on Technorati.)

However. Technorati breaks down a lot. So it’s not always accurate. For example, it doesn’t always update my blog in a timely fashion and might be a week behind (it should always list your most recent posts). That can get really frustrating.

But you can see who is linking to you and get an idea for where you stand compared to other blogs similar to yours, so I think it’s worthwhile to register your blog there.

Q: What are the advantages of changing platforms like you did several months ago? I believe you were on WordPress and now you’re .net. Does this allow you more flexibility? Do you have to write more code now that you’re on .net? –KayVonne

A: I changed to a self-hosted blog because WordPress.com does not allow you to have things like ads, Mister Linky code, polls, Amazon Associates widgets, or anything like that on your site. I found it limiting. As you know, I like to post polls a lot, and I wanted to host blog carnivals with Mister Linky. I also made the decision to start accepting private ads in the fall. So I had to switch.

I don’t have to write any code, really–just have to know some basic things when adding photos and buttons in the sidebar, but I learned it once and made a copy for myself to refer to in future. WordPress blogs are very simple to use.

The difference is that I now own my own domain and have to make any updates or changes to the blog myself (WordPress used to upgrade everything for me automatically). I also have to pay an annual fee for my domain, whereas it used to be free, but I think it’s worth it. The ads pay for my expenses.

Q: How the heck do you find all the celebrity postings?? I am always amazed at how you got your hands on them. –Reagan

A: I surf the Web. A lot. I have a long list of websites that I frequent. But you’d also be amazed at the number of e-mails I get these days from readers who practically write my posts for me by sending me links, photos, and other information. People are always sending me great stuff to use! That’s one of the reasons why I always say I have the best readers in the blogosphere.

I hope my answers help those of you who are blogging or thinking of blogging! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them in the comments. If I get enough of them, I’ll do another Q&A post in the future.

Tagged as: blog carnival, blogging, Stumble Upon, Technorati, Twitter