I am deeply grateful to the team at Blogger for acknowledging my page as Blog of Note (November 1, 2010). This is a high honor in the blog world and a position I take with great respect for the Blogger team, as there are hundreds of thousands of blogs across the globe to consider. So how do you attain Blog of Note status? Outside of pure random luck, here are my thoughts. In no particular order:
Be uniquely you –
Everyone has a story. Mine just happens to be about a coming of age memoir when I was a 20-something, drug addicted stripper in Hawaii. I try not to saturate my blog with stories of stripping – but the message is always the same: you don’t need to go to extremes to find your inner beauty and self worth, and you can learn valuable lessons if you do.
Post often –
Sometimes it takes an entire day to organize your thoughts and prepare a post. Blogging takes time, period. If you want to grow your audience, you need invest the time to write, post, and comment on other blogs. Remember, this is supposed to be fun, so if you find yourself stressed out because you don’t have enough time for the blogging world, relax. Bloggers are amazing people and quite forgiving when you don’t come around often. Just remember to have realistic expectations. You will get out of it what you put in to it.
Twitter –
Do you have a Twitter account yet? If you are serious about blogging and want to gain exposure (and a possible Blog of Note spot), Tweeting is essential. Blogger has a Twitter account. Every time you post a link to your blog, Tweet it. Mention Blogger, and their team in Mountain View, CA will take note.
Example: New post on my @Blogger page: http://thatgalkiki.blogspot.com/ #blogging #amwriting
Notice I also used hash tags (words with #). Hash tags are another great way to build your blog audience. Tweeting is the best way to build a global audience who may not necessarily have the time to read through your blog page, but if they like your tweets, you will know. People will start re-tweeting you. A re-tweet is another way of saying “Hey, check this out – this is a really great article”. Imagine if your tweet was “RT”-ed just once from someone who had thousands of followers? Twitter = exposure.
Blogger Buzz – Blogger has a wonderful Blogger Buzz tab that keeps you up to date with the latest and greatest gadgets and the like. Take the time to explore this tab (and the new design templates) and don’t be afraid to try new things for your page.
Remember to keep it simple, easy to read and navigate. You never know who will be checking you out and you want to be sure your page isn’t too busy, which may turn off the viewer.
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Blogging is many things to many people. Remember why you started blogging in the first place and stay true to who you are. If you embrace the community and stick around you’ll find that, Blog of Note or not, this is a really awesome place to be.
