Successful Blog

Great Find: Tlog Blogging Tips Series

by

Great Find: The Tlog Blogging Tips Series
Type of Article: A Growing Series of Articles on Setting Up and Running a Blog
Permalink: The Blogging Tips Series
Target Audience: Any blogger who wants to think about blogging or rethink the direction his or her blog is going.

Content: Pedro Timoteo, the Tlog owner and developer of this series is a network administrator. I’ve read through these posts and they put out in sequence the step-by-step basics of blogging. It’s well worth looking over for a thorough blog review. The organization has a programmer’s knack of parsing out knowledge in manageable chunks. They are delivered in language that is clear, accurate, and respectful of the reader. This belongs in everyone’s survival kit.

Look at this list.

What’s not to love about this? The thought that went into this series shows in the list alone.
AND there’s a whole blog beyond this.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Blog Review Checklist
What Is Content that Keeps Readers?
How To Beat Writer’s Block
Why Dave Barry and Liz Don’t Get Writer’s Block

A Blogger’s Personal Narrative Checklist

by

Successful bloggers write well. As a professional writer, I have a few tips, tricks, techniques, strategies, and of course, checklists that I use to keep me on the right path. It’s time I started sharing them.

Almost everyone uses personal narratives. They’re the stories we tell to our families and friends. They’re the incidents we relate at work about meetings we attended. A personal narrative is any story you might tell about something that really happened to you. Bloggers do that all of the time.

Use this short checklist to review your next personal narrative to add value and polish to it.

Personal Narrative Content Editor’s Checklist

  • Does the introduction make readers want to continue?
  • Are the events clear and in chronological order?
  • Does the body stay to the core of the story, using only rich and relevant details for support? Less is definitely more in most cases.
  • Do you use exact words that portray the experience in a way the reader can understand it?
  • Does the conclusion tie the story together, leaving the reader glad to have read it?

Taking a minute to review the narratives you tell will kick them up a notch. Your writing will be just that bit more entertaining. It might be the difference that makes readers bookmark your blog to come back again.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Editing for Quality and a Content Editor’s Checklist
What Is Content that Keeps Readers?
SEO–Five Traits of Relevant Content
Turning Reluctant Readers into Loyal Fans

Community Writing Opportunity

by

For all who write, here’s a change to promote yourself and your business:

Do you know the Writer’s Blog Alliance? If you’ve never been, you should check it out. All blog writers are welcome but particularly suited are those who publish writing blogs. One of the founders, Deborah Woehr, also publishes:

The Writers Buzz
A blog on promoting what you’ve written

Prosperity
Deborah’s Novel–a great read with strong plot and characters

DeborahWoehr.com
Deborah’s Personal Writing Journal–some great writer’s tips from this pro

Now Deborah is putting together an anthology to which I’ve already submitted. I think that you should know about it.
——————————————–

From Deborah : Seeking Submissions for the 2006 Writer’s Blog Anthology

Whether you’re a professional writer, a part-time freelancer, or a beginner, here is your chance to submit your best blog post for inclusion in what we hope to be the start of an annual tradition. We need submissions for the following categories:

Journalists
Columnists
Freelancing
Fiction
Non-fiction
Litblogs
Graphic Novels
Poetry

At this time, we are not offering any payment for submissions. This is a volunteer effort.

Deadline for Submission: January 31, 2006

Guidelines for Submission

1. All submissions must be in well-written English. No excessive slang, profanity, violence, etc.
2. Your blog must be at least three months old.
3. Include your real name, the name of your blog, the link to your blog, and a thumbnail image of your blog.
4. Include the post that gained the most response from your readers, adding a short paragraph that summarizes their reaction.
5. Don’t forget your byline, where you can include links to your other blogs, books, business websites, etc.
6. Please do not submit any more than two entries. There is no guarantee that both entries will be accepted. If you do submit a second entry, it must be from another blog with a completely different subject from the first (ex. a fiction blog and a column blog about politics). All double submissions with similar subjects will be rejected.
7. Submit your entries to deborah@writersblogalliance.com
________________________________________________________________

Check out the Writer’s Blog Alliance and what they have to offer, and do throw caution to the wind and give Deborah’s Anthology a chance at your best work for her anthology.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Got a Post that Belongs Here?

by

Join the Conversation
muddy teal strip A

Every voice has something to add to the conversation–an insight, an experience, a unique point of view–something our readers see the rest of us have overlooked. Successful Blog is a community where every voice is welcome, every contribution is valued, and where there’s always a “glad you said that” waiting in the comment box.–MES

Would you like to start a conversation?
gray purple strip A
Do you have a post . . .

  • that takes an idea further than we’ve taken it so far?
  • with fresh, relevant content we’d enjoy learning about?
  • that explores a new angle on an old subject?
  • about a tool that belongs in the Survival Kit?
  • about an experience that might help a new blogger?
  • on a trend, a plug-in, a tool, a blog, or anything that we should all check out?
  • about something you’ve found that’s just plain blogging fun?

    • OR

  • Do you have ideas about another way that we might collaborate?
  • Do you have a question that you want us to talk about in our Sunday night discussion?

Share what you know, and we all get better. For details on how, see the Want to Be a Contributor? page.

Remember, the 1849er said, “Fergit the gold in them there hills. There’re links in them there posts.” 🙂

deep dark blue strip A

Be part of something bigger than one– Successful Blog–where blogging means Community.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Are You Up for a Posting Marathon?

by

It’s a Marathon

The blogger at It’s So Fantastic has decided to do Darren Rowse’s list of 20 Blogging Post Types one better and do a marathon, posting one of each type for 20 days running. She’s invited all comers to post with her and leave a link to their posts.

Are you fit and ready? It’s a great way to make contacts, hone new writing skills, and get some links. You can find the details and the list of types at her site link above.

Good luck. If you participate, let us know how it goes.

As Darren said, “Great idea! Wish I had thought of it.”

ME “Liz” Strauss

Want to Be a Guest Writer?

by

There’s a new Be a Guest Writer page in the sidebar. Here’s what it says.

Community and Conversation

smiley liz

Successful-Blog is community in conversation. That’s why the header says Successful and Oustanding Bloggers. Bloggers are constantly talking and trading techniques and strategies for how we keep our blogs and our businesses growing. . . . When we find one, it’s hard to keep quiet. We want to know if someone else knows more about it than we do. . . . Imagine the benefits of a community thinking and talking together–a wealth of resources right here. Not to mention the friendships made. –ME Strauss

Want to be a Guest Writer?

Have stories to swap or ideas to add to the conversation?

  • Is there something you do that works really well?
  • Have you had a success you’d like to share?
  • Have you figured out a useful trick or two?
  • Have you got a tool or tip we don’t know about?
  • Have you figured out the hard way a pitfall to avoid?
  • Have you written an article you’d like to submit?
  • Have other ideas how we might collaborate?

Here’s what you do:

Write your submission in your own words.
E-mail it Liz at lizsun2@gmail.com.
No attachments please. Thanks. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like.

Know that I write and edit for a living and that people which means, I might make minor changes in what you write. It’s the editor’s curse. We can’t help it. You can take heart that professional editors don’t change meaning without talking about it, nor do we make writers look bad in print.

Have a post already written that you think should be here?

Got a post filled with fresh, relevant content that readers here would enjoy? Something that adds to the conversation?

  • Does your post talk about something that we haven’t covered about yet?
  • Does it explore a new angle on an old subject?
  • Do you have a post about a tool or strategy that belongs in the Survival Kit?
  • Is it a post about your early blogging experiences that might help a new blogger?

Here’s what you do:

Read your post over. Dust it off to make sure it’s still current. Write a brief description and send that description and a link to Liz at lizsun2@gmail.com. Please don’t send the post text. No attachments please. Thanks. You’re welcome to ask questions first if you have any.

Again, that I write and edit for a living and that people which means, I might make minor changes in what you write. It’s the editor’s curse. We can’t help it. You can take heart that professional editors don’t change meaning without talking about it, nor do we make writers look bad in print.

I’m delighted to share the space with a well-voiced article on a topic appropriate for Successful-Blog readers. I’m ooking forward to adding your voice to the Successful-Blog list of Guest Writers.

Most articles appear on the front within days of when I first read them. When will your article be in Successful-Blog?

–ME “Liz” Strauss