Hey Ladies, this is Amber here, continuing my series on how to start a blog — “The Ins and Outs of blogging.”

This is the fifth post in the series — you can get caught up with my blogging tips in the earlier posts: why people blog, choosing a blog platform, naming your blog and collecting blog post ideas.

If you blog it, will they come? Many of us write our hearts out for weeks and months before anyone comes by to say hi. I myself blogged for 5 years before I actually started to attract visitors that I wasn’t directly related to. In the beginning, that was fine – I was blogging for my family, so if the they were the only people who read my blog, I had accomplished what I set out to do. But eventually, I came to a place where I wanted to connect with a larger community.

Community is one of the best parts of mom blogging. I spend most of my time at home with my kids. They are fabulous little people, but they don’t exactly provide stimulating adult conversation. By going online, I can immediately connect with like-minded moms and share some of the high and low points of my day. They can cheer me on or give me a virtual shoulder to cry on. When I can’t make it out to meet with a friend in real life, my online community helps me to get through my day with my sanity intact.

Some moms get together for a 'tweet-up' at a local restaurant

A quick Google search can turn up dozens and dozens of articles on building blog traffic. Many of the suggestions are fabulous, but most are focused on drawing big numbers rather than making real connections. Don’t get me wrong – big numbers are great. But raw numbers don’t provide community. So how do you build community? Here are my tips:

1. Know who you’re trying to reach, and write for them. If you’re looking to connect with folks of a certain viewpoint, write about the sorts of things that interest them. Hopefully, they’re the same things that interest you, too.
    
2. Visit other blogs. Surf the web, and when something catches your eye, leave a comment. Let the person know that you were reading and liked what you saw. Who doesn’t like to hear that their words are appreciated?
    
3. Use social media. Twitter and Facebook are big for the mom blogging community. It’s a great way to meet new people, engage and interact.
    
4. Participate in blogging communities. Sites like BlogHer and SITS provide support and community for bloggers, and allow you to check out lots of other blogs, too.
    
5. Interact with your visitors. When someone asks you a question in your comments section, answer it. Respond to what people say, and let them know you’re glad they stopped by. Community goes both ways, after all.
    
6. Be yourself. You don’t have to air all your dirty laundry on your blog, but the best way to connect with people is to be genuine. It lets people know that you’re real, and helps them relate to you.

My kids and Susan's kids on a real-life playdate after we connected online

I certainly don’t have all the secrets to building community, so I’d love to hear from you! How have you built online connections and attracted visitors to your blog? And what does online community mean to you? Tell me all about in the comments!

Written by 5 Minutes for Mom Contributing Editor, Amber Strocel. Check out her blog at Strocel.com, and her online course on living with intention at Crafting my Life.

Hey Ladies, this is Amber here, continuing my series on how to start a blog — “The Ins and Outs of blogging.”

This is the fourth post in the series — you can get caught up with my blogging tips in the earlier posts: why people blog, choosing a blog platform and naming your blog.

By this point in your blogging journey, you’re ready to go ahead and actually blog. But what are you going to blog about today? It’s a question with which many bloggers struggle. And sometimes, even when we have great blog post ideas, we lose them. It’s happened to me many times. I’m in the shower or I’m driving, and from out of the blue the best blog post ever comes to me. “I totally have to blog about that,” I think to myself. But as I am occupied with showering / driving / what-have-you, of course I don’t write anything down.

Time passes. My children have a few crises. I buy groceries. I handle a dispute about who had the toy first. I burn my mouth on some hot tea. I try to convince a telemarketer that I’m not buying. I find a half-rotten apple under a chair in the living room. I fold some laundry. If you’re a mom, you know the drill.

Finally, finally, I sit down in my chair. Hooray! I am ready to write that blog post! It is going to be awesome! But, um … what was it supposed to be about again? Try as I might, the idea has vanished and I cannot get it back. And so I spend a lot of time staring at my computer screen and drawing a total blank. It’s no fun, let me tell you.

My daughter demonstrates the feeling of struggling to remember a blog post idea

Over my years of blogging, I have come up with a few techniques to help me collect and remember blog post ideas, so that I can avoid staring at the blank screen. Here are some of my tricks:

1. I have a post in my blog editor, which is scheduled to publish in 2032. I did this because the newest post is always at the top, and nothing’s newer than 2032. In the post I jot down blog ideas and leave links to articles and photos, so that they’re there when I need them.
2. I leave myself voicemail messages when I can’t write things down, like when I’m out for a walk with my kids. If you have a fancy phone, it might have a voice recorder or a note utility, which also work.
3. I have an informal blogging schedule. I write lighter posts with lots of photos on Mondays. On Tuesdays, I write posts about bigger issues I’m thinking about. At 5 Minutes for Mom we have Tackle it Tuesday and Wordless Wednesday. Some people run giveaways on Saturdays. A schedule creates a framework that helps you come up with ideas.
4. I write regularly. It seems counter-intuitive, but the more I write, the easier it becomes. I’m cultivating the mind of a blogger, who sees a grocery trip as a chance to collect blog material.
5. I take lots of photos in my daily life. Partly because I’m documenting my kids’ childhoods, but also because photos are a great way to create blog content and ideas. If you get some neat photos of your kids blowing bubbles, you have yourself a blog post.

You may see my back yard after a rain shower, but I see a blog post

I certainly don’t have all the secrets to collecting blog ideas, so I’d like to hear from you! How do you come up with blog ideas? Do you have any system to keep track of ideas that come to you? And have you had my experience of forgetting your great ideas when you finally sit down to blog? Tell me all about in the comments.

Written by 5 Minutes for Mom Contributing Editor, Amber Strocel. Check out her idea-filled blog at Strocel.com.

Hey Ladies, this is Amber here, continuing my series of posts on the ins and outs of blogging.

This is the third post in the series — if you want to get caught up check out the earlier posts about why people blog and choosing a blog platform.

Once you’ve decided why you’re going to blog, and whether you’re going to use Blogger, WordPress.com, WordPress.org or another platform, you’re ready to get down to business and actually start blogging. But before you do, you have to consider the all-important question of what the heck to call your blog anyway.

There are a few schools of thought on choosing a blog name, but here are some things to consider:

• What is your blog about? If you plan to write about parenting, using the word ‘mom’ in your blog name is great. If you plan to write about landscaping, and you just happen to have kids, you may want to leave it out.
• Keep it simple. The shorter your blog name, and the easier it is to spell and remember, the easier it will be for people to find you. Especially when you consider that people from all over the world, some with very different backgrounds, may be visiting your blog.
• Check for availability. This is a biggie. If you love the idea of calling your blog dooce.com, I have bad news for you. And even though dooce.co.uk is technically available, I wouldn’t recommend snapping it up. A quick search on GoDaddy.com (or your webhost) will let you know if your blog name is available, and a quick Google search will let you know if someone else is already using that name, or something very similar.
• Will the name hold up? If you name your blog “My Pregnant Musings” during your first pregnancy, the name may feel a little worn by the time your last child enters kindergarten. While you can change your blog name, you can expect that some people will have a hard time finding you, and your following may take a hit.
• Think about SEO. Most people land on new web pages either through links from another site, or through search engines. Your blog’s name won’t affect your referral rate, but it may affect your search-engine friendliness. For instance, the name ProBlogger helps people who are interested in professional blogging find Darren Rowse through Google.

Before I wrap things up, I have a confession to make. My own blog is called Strocel.com, which violates every rule of naming your blog. It’s not easy to remember, it’s meaningless and most people pronounce it incorrectly – even people I’ve known in person for years (FYI – It’s my last name, and it’s pronounced STRAW-suhl). I can say from experience that having a less-than-perfect blog name is not the end of the world. All the same, if I could go back in time to May, 2003 when I chose it, I would choose differently. So learn from my mistake, and take some time to come up with the right name for your blog.

How did you come up with the name for your blog? Has it held up over time, or would you do it differently next time? What do you think is the most important thing to consider when naming a blog? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Written by 5 Minutes for Mom Contributing Editor, Amber Strocel. Check out her poorly-named blog at Strocel.com.

Hey Ladies, this is Amber here…

One of the things that I love about the 5 Minutes for Mom community is that so many of us are mom bloggers ourselves. We are online for a lot of reasons – to connect with other moms, to learn things, to make money, to enter giveaways (who doesn’t love giveaways?), to practice writing, or to communicate information we care about. No two of us are the same, yet we have a lot in common.

I’m writing a series of posts on the ins and outs of blogging. It will cover some of the personal and practical considerations that we face as mom bloggers, as well as some technical tips to help you get a blog set up and running well. This is the second post in the is series – if you want to get caught up check out the first one about why people blog.

Once you’ve decided that you want to blog, the next logical question is how to go about it.

There are two main types of blogging platforms – hosted and standalone (Note: standalone is sometimes also referred to as self-hosted or non-hosted). Examples of hosted platforms are Blogger, TypePad, WordPress.com and Tumblr. On hosted platforms you sign up for a blog, and they have all the computers and know-how to handle the technical details for you. Examples of standalone platforms are WordPress.org and Moveable Type. When you run a standalone blog, you pay a hosting company for computer space to ‘host’ your blog, and then install and set up your own the blogging software via their user interface.

It’s only fair that I declare my bias – I am a fan of WordPress.org. My own blog, Strocel.com, uses it, and so does 5 Minutes for Mom. At this point, it’s the only platform I would choose for myself. But there are other fabulous bloggers who swear by other platforms, so my opinion should not be taken as gospel.

Leaving my biases aside, here are some reasons you might choose a hosted platform:

• Cost – Many hosted platforms are free, or very affordable.
• Ease of use – You don’t need to know a lot of technical details to set up a hosted blog.
• Stability – When you’re using Blogger, for example, you have Google’s servers standing behind you.

Here are the reasons that I think you would choose a standalone platform:

• Flexibility – You have much more freedom to create the look and feel that you want in a standalone blog, especially if you are comfortable editing blog formatting code.
• Advertising – Some hosted platforms, like WordPress.com, don’t allow advertising.
• Professionalism – Many people believe that ‘serious’ bloggers use a standalone platform.
• Plugins – WordPress.org has a huge install base, including lots of programmers. These programmers create free plugins, that allow you do all sorts of things, from blocking spam to monitoring blog statistics to displaying a commenter’s last post from their own blog.

It is possible to switch from one blog platform to another. I know several bloggers who have moved from Blogger to WordPress.org, for instance. However, it’s not a small thing to do. So taking some time up front to consider how you want to blog, both now and in the future, is worthwhile.

Navigating the maze of hosting options and blog platforms can be intimidating. But take heart – the platform that you choose matters a whole lot less than what you blog about. It’s your words, your thoughts and your offers that your readers come back for, not your webhost.

Do you blog? What platform do you use? And what do you love about it? Let me know in the comments!

Written by 5 Minutes for Mom Contributing Editor, Amber Strocel. Check out her blog, Strocel.com.

Hey Ladies, this is Amber here…

One of the things that I love about the 5 Minutes for Mom community is that so many of us are mom bloggers ourselves. We are online for a lot of reasons – to connect with other moms, to learn things, to make money, to enter giveaways (who doesn’t love giveaways?), to practice writing, or to communicate information we care about. No two of us are the same, yet we have a lot in common.

I’ve decided to write a series of posts on the ins and outs of blogging. It will cover some of the personal and practical considerations that we face as mom bloggers, as well as some technical tips to help you get a blog set up and running well. If there is something you would like to talk about, please leave a suggestion in the comment section and I’ll check it out.

But first things first. Before I get too deep into the hows of blogging, I thought I’d address perhaps the biggest question of all: why blog?

As I said earlier, no two of us will have the same answer. And likely, over time your reasons will evolve. Blogs, like children, have a way of growing and changing before our very eyes. I started blogging at Strocel.com in May 2003, before I even had children. Back then, I was blogging about my home renovation, mostly for people I already knew. Today I blog about parenting and building a life as a mother, mostly for people I have never met. Seven years will change a blog.

No matter your reasons for blogging, it’s a good idea to flesh them out a little from time to time. Because your reasons for being online may affect the way that you blog. It’s always good to know what your goals are, if you want to stand a chance of fulfilling them. Right?

If goals are good things, then let’s start making some. Here are a few reasons that I can think of to blog:

• To share photos and stories about your family with friends or relatives who live far away.
• To find friends and build an online support network.
• To promote your business, or share information with customers and clients.
• To promote a cause that you believe in.
• To build an audience for your writing, speaking, photography, art, etc.
• Just for fun.

My list is by no means complete, so I need your help to build it up a little. Why do you blog? Or do you? I’d love to hear!

Written by 5 Minutes for Mom Contributing Editor, Amber Strocel. Check out her blog, Strocel.com.

Perhaps the hottest topic in the blogosphere the last couple years — bloggers and compensation.

Experienced bloggers are powerful influencers, rich with talents and social media knowledge. We are extremely valuable to companies, helping them share their message, build relationships and trust with consumers, and navigate the waters of New Media.

Many of us work full time in the social media space and, as professional bloggers, need to be compensated for our time.

But then the questions loom: When, how, and for what should a blogger be compensated?

ROI

It all comes down to ROI — Return On Investment.

Companies should not be the only ones evaluating ROI. Everything we do as bloggers should be based on our Return On Investment.

Are we investing our time, assets and blog content wisely? Are our decisions adding to the value of our blog/brand/business? Does the investment require compensation to warrant our time, influence, or blog real estate?

But therein lays the reason for the confusion.

ROI can be relative — even subjective.

What is valuable to one blogger may not have the same value to another.

Different Goals

Everyone’s goals are not the same.

Some bloggers are hobbyists, enjoying the blogosphere as a part time passion. They are not trying to provide for their families through their time online.

Others of us are working hard online, not only because we love the art and community of social media, but because we are choosing to invest our time as a means to earn a living. It is our passion, but it is also our job.

We are business owners, making decisions that contribute to our product and our bottom line.

Some blogs benefit from giveaways, coupons, and product reviews. Their readers come for that content.

Whereas on other blogs, hearing about products weakens the blog and frustrates readers who do not come for that content.

For each of us, the key is to understand what benefits our blogs and our readers. We have nothing if we don’t have a good product.

Therefore taking our goals into consideration is key in evaluating our ROI.

Different Value

Every blog and blogger has different value/worth.

A blog with 50,000 page views has less influence and reach then a blog with 500,000 page views. A blogger with 5,000 Twitter followers has less influence and reach than a blogger with 50,000 followers.

Not only is compensation going to vary for different bloggers, but decisions will vary.

A very well established blog does not need the traffic boost of a giveaway or the keyword searches of celebrity or product focused content the same as the newer or smaller site might.

And again, because of the different nature of blogging content and goals, hosting a giveaway may “cost” or “benefit” one blogger more than another.

So WHEN Should a Blogger Charge for their Services?

After evaluating the ROI for a post, project, campaign, etc., and determining whether we require compensation, when is it appropriate to charge for services?

In general, a blogger should receive compensation when we are working to promote and build a company: lending our likeness or brand, representing as a spokesperson, writing for their website, building their community, consulting, etc. And most often, that compensation should be financial, not merely exchange for exposure, traffic, or products.

But, of course there are exceptions and negotiations will vary depending on bloggers.

Reviews = Earned Media

Most of us agree that a typical “review” should not be paid. A “review” is an objective, un-biased report on a product that a blogger determine adds value to our readers and our blog.

Therefore, for example, I will review an iPhone app for toddlers because I decided that information added value to my readers and my blog.

I will not review an item if the cost of writing and publishing that review does not add value to my readers or blog or fall in line with my goals — or if I simply don’t have enough time!

We rarely run “reviews” because our audience prefers giveaways, along with our personal opinions on the product. (More on giveaways below.)

May I emphasize here that there is nothing wrong with a blogger enjoying the chance to receive a product, test it out, report it on their blog, and disclose that they received the product sample. They are not doing anything wrong. That decision worked with their own ROI.

In the same way, blogger outreach programs which offer products to bloggers can be a good thing for many bloggers. Receiving a certain product that interested them and posting about it may be fun and worth it for them and their readers.

BUT at a certain level of traffic and workload, most established bloggers with blogs that are not specifically based on product reviews will not do product reviews.

Note: Bloggers rarely return product samples. We are independent writers, with no shipping departments! We cannot afford the time and cost of shipping products. However, we DO disclose on review posts that we received product samples.

Sponsored Content

Sponsored content can include sponsored posts, sponsored videos, sponsored series, sponsored pages, etc.

Sponsored content is not a bad thing!

There are two critical factors to GOOD sponsored content.

First, it needs to be authentic, honest and in your own voice. It should add value to your site and benefit your reader.

Second, it must be clearly disclosed to the reader, (and the earlier on in the material the better,) that it is indeed sponsored.

Most bloggers, (at least everyone I know and respect!) would never allow anything to be published on our sites that was dishonest or misleading to our readers. Our integrity and the relationship we have with our readers cannot be bought!

Giveaways and Contests

As it has been well documented, giveaways and contests require work from a blogger! They are time consuming and take us away from producing content for our sites.

But they also can add value to a blog, IF giveaways or contests are what our audience wants.

At 5 Minutes for Mom, we ask for a giveaway administration fee to help cover the costs of running our giveaways. We have paid staff and appreciate it when companies recognize that we are conducting a service for them and help cover the associated costs.

However, we also sometimes waive that fee if we determine that the ROI is enough to justify the time and costs for running that giveaway. How much will our readers enjoy the giveaway? Will it bring in significant traffic? Will it add value to our site? Do we have the time or staff to write and run the review? After considering questions like these, we will determine whether or not to run that giveaway.

When we run our giveaways, we, (this included our writers,) always write them from a personal perspective, with our mom blogging voice. All of our content must be in line with our blogging goals.

Content, Consulting, and Community Building

When we are “working” for a company, explicitly benefiting their business and not ours, we must be compensated.

If the ROI does not fall in our favor, we must be compensated accordingly or pass on the “opportunity.”

For example, writing content for a company’s site should be paid work! I write for Cascadian Farm and they pay me well for the content I provide for them.

Sometimes bloggers are approached to write for company sites (brand new sites at that!) and to help build that community in exchange for “exposure and traffic.” This is ironic since the reason they are coming to bloggers is usually that they do not yet have an established site! That link from a new site most often does not add up to the value of a blogger taking time away from their own blog (and family!) to create content and build community for a company’s site.

For more on bloggers writing for free, read Melanie‘s discerning post Why Do Bloggers Continue to Work for Free? and Kelby Carr‘s post Mom Bloggers Deserve to Get Paid.

NOW, if The Pioneer Woman offered me a chance to write on her site I would jump to my computer and start typing! The exposure and credibility of writing for The Pioneer Woman screams ROI!

Guest posting and contributing on group blogs, fellow blogger’s sites, etc. is an important way to establish your name, get experience, and drive traffic to your site. But developing regular content and building community for a company’s site should usually be paid work.

Brand Ambassadorships, Spokesperson Work, Conference Sponsorships, Integrated Campaigns, Contests, Promotions, and More!

There are endless options of how companies can partner with bloggers to spread their message with unique and effective campaigns.

Having bloggers represent brands, similar to athletes and celebrities representing brands, is one of the best ways companies can build their presence online and bloggers can earn a living.

At 5 Minutes for Mom, we prefer to work with companies on customized, integrated campaigns that include all different kinds of promotion. We partner with companies in which we believe and align ourselves and 5 Minutes for Mom with their brand.

These partnerships are ideal for bloggers. They are based on cost per influence, not just cost per impression. A blogger’s value is generally found in more than just the page impressions on our blogs.

Customized partnerships can take all a blogger can offer into account — their talents, creativity, content, experience, social media footprint and reach, and more — and give a company a comprehensive, authentic platform. Aligning brand and blogger, not cost per impression campaigns, is the future of blogger compensation.

Advertising and Media Buys

Whether you are using Ad Banners with Pay Per Click (PPC) through a provider such as Google AdWords, Cost Per Impression (CPM) through an ad network such as BlogHer, selling your ad space directly yourself, or using your ad space to promote your customized campaigns, sponsorships, ambassadorships, etc., your advertising real estate on your blog is one of your most valuable assets.

While banner ads are not usually the most effective way to influence your readers, they are still incredibly significant. Bloggers know this from firsthand experience. We regularly and successfully use “badges” to spread our brand, our events, our conferences, etc.

At 5 Minutes for Mom, we choose to not be a part of an ad network so that we can personally determine how to use our advertising space, reserving our most prominent ad spots for companies for whom we are working as spokespeople or to promote our sponsored campaigns, etc.

How Much Should a Blogger Charge?

Since blogs and bloggers have different goals and value, ROI will vary accordingly. As well, there are other factors such as supply and demand that come into effect. Therefore, since fees that bloggers charge depend on multiple factors, rates will fluctuate.

Determining what the market will hold and what is a fair amount for your services is an ongoing effort that will continue to evolve as your experience, influence and numbers grow.

Publishing how much one blogger is paid is not appropriate and can actually hurt the business of blogging.

Each blogger has to evaluate their values and goals individually, and often that fluctuates on a project by project basis.

Jennifer James, one of the wisest voices in the mom blogging space, just published an insightful post, Money Talk: Should Mom Bloggers Discuss What They Earn?.

Remember, some campaigns benefit a blog and some are costing a blog, so compensation may reflect that value.

I do have some private and confidential conversations with fellow bloggers about ballpark compensation figures, but we don’t discuss actual figures for specific campaigns. In fact, sometimes disclosing those figures would be breeching a contract.

The keys to blogger compensation are for companies to respect professional bloggers’ work and value, and for bloggers to understand our goals, know our value, and recognize when it is fair and appropriate to be paid for our work. Then, let the negotiations begin!

P.S. For more fantastic information about blogging as a business and how to earn an income online, read Esther Crawford and Jennifer James’ free e-book, From Blog to Business.

Written by Janice Croze, Mom Blogger and co-founder of 5 Minutes for Mom.
Tweet with us @5MinutesForMom

I think the tech guys at Liquid Web may think I’m a little crazy.

Why?

Well because at the end of almost every phone call, I tell them how much I love them.

I think most of my conversations have ended with me gushing and saying something like…

“Thank you again soooooo much for all your help. You guys are amazing and I absolutely love you. I went through hosting hell before I found you and I really appreciate all you do!”

Generally the tech guy on the other end of the line is rather surprised as I suppose not many customers take the time to confess their love.

But I do, because I’ve had the alternative. I know what it’s like to be with other hosting companies… and I know that I’ve found something good.

We switched to Liquid Web in March 2008 after our previous hosting company basically held our site hostage during the traffic spike and subsequent crash of the Ultimate Blog Party 2008.

(All we needed was a server reboot and they refused to do it all night long. Crazy I know… basically I think the tech guy I was talking to was ticked off that I asked to deal with someone else after he’d been condescending and rude to me. Since it was a small company, I had no way to escalate the issue properly. It was the last straw in a long and painful hosting experience.)

As tough as it is to hold my tongue, I won’t mention the name of that company. They’re pretty small and likely you’ll never bump into them anyway.

Before that hosting nightmare, we followed a recommendation on WordPress.org and hosted 5 Minutes for Mom at a huge, well known hosting company.

While that company might be a fine solution for many sites, it did not meet our needs. As our traffic grew and we required more from a server, they basically told us we should go somewhere else because they did not offer the type of virtual private server that we needed.

(It was actually more stressful than that and included them constantly locking our account and showing “Account Suspended” pages at our url when our traffic jumped up.)

And before that, we had launched 5 Minutes for Mom with some small hosting company that a friend had recommended. The server was terribly slow though and we soon realized that we needed a better hosting company.

So after that looooong road, when we finally found Liquid Web, we were desperate for a better hosting company. We didn’t believe it could actually happen. That a company could anticipate our needs and help us keep our site online and performing as well as possible… and be polite and respectful the entire time.

It’s not like our site never goes down… 5 Minutes for Mom often gets sudden traffic spikes such as during our Ultimate Blog Party or when a site like Huggies links to us from their Facebook page. And sometimes those traffic spikes crash our site. But, the tech support team at Liquid Web is phenomenal at monitoring and fixing such issues.

For example, the other day our site went down because of the surge of traffic for our Huggies giveaways, and before I could even notice and contact them, Liquid Web had already seen the site was down and restarted the server.

When I called them to discuss the issue and figure out how to improve performance further, they analyzed our statistics and we decided together that our site has outgrown our current dedicated server and we decided to upgrade our server to more powerful hardware.

Liquid Web handles backups, upgrades and trouble shooting without extra cost and I know I can trust them throughout it all. Every time I call whether it is 3 pm or 3 am, I never have to wait longer than two minutes and I always have a helpful tech guy or girl on the line who stays with me until we’ve solved the problem.

I honestly can’t even begin to explain how grateful I am that a hosting company as dedicated to outstanding customer service exists and that I found them. Perhaps you need to have lived through the horror we endured to appreciate the good on the other side.

But in case you don’t want to take the hard road, and you want to get started with the right web host, you can take our word for it. We host 5 Minutes for Mom on a dedicated server with Liquid Web and we love them.

By they way, the links here to Liquid Web do contain our affiliate link, but as you can imagine, our love for Liquid Web is much deeper than any affiliate code. We’ve sung their praises many times over the past two years, and we truly want you all to know how highly we recommend them.

Thanks Liquid Web, we love you!

 
Written by Susan, co-founder of 5 Minutes for Mom.
Tweet with us @5MinutesForMom

Blog giveaways are EVERYWHERE these days.

Just check out Prizey.net and you’ll get a small taste of all of the outstanding contests taking place around the blogosphere. You can enter to win laptops and lipstick, cameras and cupcakes, shoes and strollers, toys and tools.

In most cases, the rules are pretty simple – submit a relevant comment and your e-mail address will be added to the pot of potential winners.

I enter blog giveaways often – at least a few times a week (minimum). I have 3 reasons for doing so (winning prizes is only a small factor).

Here they are – from my most important reason to least important reason:

1. Your entry will support a blogger.

Hosting a giveaway is a lot of work.

Bloggers have to:
• Make contact with companies (or respond to inquiries).
• Write something clever, entertaining, and informative.
• Take photographs or gather corresponding images.
• Create a contest entry system and write the rules.
• Select a winner.
• Contact the winner.
• Ship the prize or provide the company with a winner’s mailing address.

Entering a blog giveaway is kind of like patting a blogger on the back or giving a friendly hug and saying, “You know what? I appreciate you. I’m so glad you’re part of the blogosphere.”

If you like a blogger and you think she is a pretty outstanding, brilliant, beautiful person – then enter her giveaways. Think of your entry as a little “vote” for her success.

2. You can influence companies.

In almost every case, when you see a blogger hosting a giveaway, there’s a good chance that there is a brand or PR agency behind the contest. AND you better bet your bottom dollar that the company is reading the comments on the post – gathering insights, having discussions, and making decisions based on what YOU say.

The power that you have as a contest entrant is actually quite substantial. So, if you have something to say, say it. The Powers-That-Be *will* be reading.

3. You might win something.

Oh, right. You like to actually win prizes. Well, I have good news for you. Blog giveaways are THE way to go if you want to win because most contests end up with under a thousand entries. In many cases, contests will only have 20 or 50 or 100 entries…so your chances are pretty incredible.

As a matter of fact, I just won a giveaway today! I won a gift basket from Lansinoh in honor of their 25th Anniversary and it should arrive soon.

Now, it’s your turn! Get out there and win something FABULOUS.

DO YOU ENTER BLOG GIVEAWAYS? HAVE YOU EVER WON?

Stephanie Sheaffer is the founder of Metropolitan Mama, a blog for moms and moms-to-be. She is also the author of a new ebook, entitled “Bloggertunity: A Mom’s Guide to Blogging.”

Stephanie resides with her handsome, heroic husband and her two gorgeous little girls in Amazing Arizona.

For some of us, writing comes easily. For others, it’s math. Or sports. Or organization. Everyone has something that just seems to click with them one way or another. For me, it is grammar and writing.

We’ve all heard that Content is King if you want your blog to be successful. The real question is how do you achieve that? Writing well doesn’t have to be a mystery, it just takes practice. This month I want to touch on some basic writing steps: Prewriting, Revision, Editing, Evaluation, and Publishing.

Prewrite

Before you start writing, think about the topics you’re most familiar with or most passionate about. Brainstorm new ideas (remember, the art of brainstorming means there are no bad ideas–you can cull through them later). Once you have a list of relevant (to you) topics, you can consult your list any time you’re suffering from writer’s block.

Now it’s time to plan your post–in other words, how you’re going to write about that topic. Will you tell a story? Do you need to back up your opinions with facts? Will you use humor? Outlines are extremely useful when planning how you are going to write about a topic.

Outline done? Get those words out! Start filling in the gaps left by the outline and write your little heart out.

Revise

As you get your words out of your head and into your blog post, consider what is missing. Look at what you’ve written and see where you can add description or clarification.


I tend to write declarative thoughts and facts and I rarely take the time to explain them. For this reason, I constantly need to re-read my posts and discover what questions readers may have. I usually need to add background information or resources to clarify or support my point.

You can do the same by writing your post then stepping away, even if only for 15 minutes. Coming back to a project usually provides a new perspective. If necessary, re-work the organization or flow of your post.

Edit

Editing isn’t just about re-writing. It’s about reviewing and correcting your work. I find that in the throes of writing The Next Great Blogging Post, I often write homonyms (site/sight/cite, here/hear). Spell-check isn’t going to catch that I can’t here the dog barking; I’m going to have to catch it on my own.

Taking a break from your writing before attempting to edit is always a good idea. If you don’t have time, though, try reading the post from bottom to top. I sometimes read my writing backwards (not literally, I just read the words in reverse order). For example,

Here is a sample sentence.

If I were going to edit it, I would read it as

.sentence sample a is Here

I’m more likely to catch a mistake that way.

In addition to re-reading your article and correcting grammar or spelling mistakes, there are a few things you can look for specifically to tighten your writing.

• Clear the dead wood. Look for words that aren’t necessary. For instance, many times the word that can be deleted without changing the meaning of your sentence.
• Consider whether your writing is meeting your targeted audience’s needs. Are you writing for the lowest common denominator or have you chosen to write to a more experienced reader? Re-write as necessary to keep it consistent and interesting for your audience.
• Make sure you have topic sentences for each paragraph. A topic sentence gives your readers an introduction to what the paragraph is about. Can your readers scan your article just by reading your topic sentences?
• Re-read your conclusion. Have you brought your ideas to an end cleanly? If you are asking your readers to complete a task (e.g., sign up for a newsletter, leave a comment, etc.), have you clearly asked them to do that task and told them how?

Evaluate

Step away from your writing again. Reflect on and evaluate what you have written. Can it be shortened and still have the same effect on your readers? Is the humor invasive or subtle and was that your intent?

I find that I’m always writing in my head or thinking about what I’ve written. Then, when I see the writing again, I can make changes as necessary or love it as is.

Publish

You’ve done it. You’ve written, you’ve revised, you’ve edited, you’ve evaluated. You are ready to share your writing with others. Hit that Publish button and start over.

Conclusion

It’s important to point out that, when reading these “rules” for the first time, it can be daunting. The time commitment implied is off-putting. Remember, though, that writing takes practice and these “rules” are the best kind: bendable. The more you write, the more you’ll realize that many of these steps can be completed at the same time–you’ll often be evaluating (or thinking about) something you’ve written and revising it in your head. When you log-in to make your changes, you may find an editing issue. The more you write, the easier it is to find your groove.

And really, who doesn’t like a good groove?

You can find even more articles about writing at BloggingBasics101.com.

I just returned from BlogHer 2008 in San Franciso. I appeared on a panel with four other women called FAQs for Beginning Bloggers. Our panel was flat-out amazing. We met fantastic bloggers and answered many beginner questions. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to answer everyone’s questions. I hope to talk to the BlogHer Three (Lisa, Jory, and Elisa) to discuss having this panel again next year and including a Birds of a Feather Room so we can continue our discussions.

Below you will find my notes from my portion of the panel. After each of the presenters (me, Michele Mitchell of Scribbit, Nelly Yusopova of Webgrrls International, and Shazia Mistry of Adventures in Motherhood) gave a short overview of some basic FAQs, we broke into smaller groups discuss platform-specific questions (i.e., TypePad, Blogger, and WordPress).

We have also compiled a Blogging Resources Document (pdf) for you to download.

In addition, you can find Nelly’s notes at WebGrrrls and Michele’s notes at Scribbit.

How do I find basic html resources to help me remember how to do things like strike-thrus etc.?

When I research information for Blogging Basics 101, I start with a Google search of key words. I also go to each of the three main platforms (Blogger, TypePad, and WordPress) and search their help files with those same key words. More often than not, I find what I’m looking for.

The following five sites are excellent resources for all bloggers to refresh your memory on how to do things like strike-throughs or add a button to your sidebar.

• Blogging Basics 101: This site starts from the beginning and walks you through everything from choosing your blog host and choosing a blog name to figuring out how to do a strike-through and customize your sidebars.
• Blogger Buster: Blogger users should have this one in their bookmarks. Everything you want to know and then some about how to manage and customize your Blogger blog.
• Edublogger: This site is specifically written for people who design, develop, and use educational blogs. However, the information spans niches and is valuable to all bloggers. The author uses many screen captures to make instructions especially easy to follow.
• BlogWell: This site offers everything from theory and design articles to HTML and CSS instruction for WordPress. It is targeted to small businesses and non-profits.
• Lorelle on WordPress: As the name suggests, this blog focuses on WordPress.org and WordPress.com blogs and how to take them to the next level. Lorelle provides tips, advice, and techniques for WordPress bloggers.

What are and how do I create permalinks?

A permalink is the link to an individual blog post. These are important because if you ever need to link to an exact blog entry (e.g., for a carnival or an archived post), you use the permalink as your link. It’s poor blog etiquette not to use the permalink.

If you don’t use the permalink, you’ll just be linking to your main blog page. The problem with that is that, as you post new blog entries, the newest entry appears at the top of your main blog page and the other entries are pushed down on the page. The entry your readers are looking for may be down at the bottom of the page or already in the archives; your reader has no idea where to find the entry! If they click over to your site expecting to see a post specific to a carnival and they see a different post, they may not take the time to find the "real" post they’re looking for.

You can find the permalink link under any blog entry. However, not all blog hosts/designs handle permalinks the same way.

• Typepad: There’s a link that actually says Permalink under the entry.
• Blogger: The link varies. It’s usually the time stamp of the post or the title.
• WordPress: Has a link at the bottom of the post named Permalink and/or the title of the post.

What kind of basic sections should I have in my blog?

I take this to mean What should I place in my sidebar? Your sidebar is your list of things you want to keep handy for your readers and for yourself. Your sidebar is offering your readers something in addition to the day’s post. However, too many links in the sidebar can clutter your design and overwhelm your audience. Keep things clean and orderly.

• Recent Posts/Most popular posts/Archives: You don’t need all three. Just choose one of these.
• Categories or Search: I find that search works well for my blogs, because I have a long list of categories. The search takes up less space and is an easy-to-install widget from Widgetbox.
• About Me/E-mail/Contact information: This is your opportunity to explain your blog. E-mail or other contact information should be readily available so your readers (or PR and marketing people) can contact you.
• RSS subscription button: Blogging Basics 101 has an entire section on RSS and installation and you can review Nelly’s notes at WebGrrrls as well.
• Blogroll (if you choose to do one)

Hosted vs. Non-Hosted?

Hosted: A blog that resides on the host’s server (e.g., Blogger or TypePad or WordPress.com).

Non-hosted: A blog that resides on the user’s (yours) server. You pay a third-party to host your blog (e.g., Moveable Type or WordPress.org).

Hosted Pros: Easy to get started because you don’t have to worry about server issues.

Hosted Cons:

• Blogger blogs can appear to be less professional
• Platform limitations (e.g., archiving can be less than
  user-friendly; TypePad can have issues with comment spam and trackback
  spam; difficult SEO)
• Less control over HTML and CSS
• WordPress.com does not allow advertising.

Non-Hosted Pros:

• Control over permalinks (articles aren’t randomly named) which can help with SEO
• Control over how archives are managed
• Control over CSS/HTML

Non-Hosted Cons:

• WordPress.org only supports one blog per installation; however, Moveable Type supports multiple blogs per installation.
• Moveable Type isn’t as malleable as WordPress.org.

How do I make a custom header?

• Using GIMP (free to download) to make custom blog banner (via Simply A Musing Blog)
• How to use PhotoShop or PhotoShop Elements to design a custom blog header (via DesignMom)

To those of you who joined us, thank you! It was a pleasure meeting
you. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have additional questions. For those of you who were unable to attend our panel or BlogHer ’08, please follow the links to our Blogging Resources Document and panel notes. I’d love to hear from you if you have questions!

I am cross-posting this at Blogging Basics 101 and BlogHer.com.