AverageGal If I can Make Money Blogging, Anyone Can

AverageGal.com has reached another milestone… over 500 comments left here in a little more than 3 months time!  I want to thank each and every one of my dedicated readers and commenters.  I really appreciate your support and insight, more than you could know!

How did AverageGal get so many comments in such a short period of time?

Well there are several reasons that I’d like to attribute this success to.  First of all, I have the best, most intelligent readers following me who are always leaving thought provoking, comments that add value to my blog!

Secondly, I try to follow my own advice about getting readers to comment on my blog.  You can read about this in my article: 4 Simple Steps to Entice Readers to Comment

Last, but certainly not least, you may have also noticed that a couple of weeks ago, I finally added the CommentLuv plugin on my site.  I do believe that this has also increased the number of commenters on my site, but I suppose that can’t be proven…

I’d like to throw out a special thank you to the person who left the 500th Comment: Ben from blogmastergeneral.com.  Thank you Ben!

Again – Thank you, dedicated readers; let me know what I can do to help you achieve your blogging goals!

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Yup you guessed it, time for another round of Blog Mistake Mondays.  Nothing kicks off a week better then learning what won’t make you successful in the world of blogging!  This week I thought it would be good to share a couple of thoughts and tips on building RSS readership and a common mistake I see on many great blogs.

First let me begin by saying that if you don’t know what RSS is then you can check out My Definition of RSS where I breifly explain the concept.  Building a strong foundation of readers is essential to any successful blog;  this should go without saying.  Despite how trival this point might seem, it’s amazing how many sites Read More

Twitter is all the rage.  Literally.  Every blog I visit has Twitter being promoted.  “Follow me on Twitter” buttons, Twitter feed live on their blog, posts about tips for Twitter; simply put, Twitter has inundated the blogosphere.  Rightfully so, I might add.  It’s a great way to network with others and an even more effective viral marketing tool.  Since Twitter is a hot topic, It seems only right to have a weekend wrap up completely devoted to Twitter related posts.  Below are some articles that I found helpful.

I hope that everyone enjoys reading up on Twitter and had a wonderful weekend!

Tweet on, Tweeples!

• Make your blog go viral with Twitter ReTweets – by Marko at How to Make My Blog
• How to Twitterize your WordPress Blog – by Kevin Briody at Kevin Briody dot net
• Twitter Newbie?  How I got 1000 followers in Two Weeks! – by Terri Camp of Terri Camp dot com
• Twitter be Nimble Twitter be Quick, If you don’t know Jack, Try these Twitter Tricks – guest post on TwiTip by Dan Hollings
• My15 Twitter Tips – by Colin of TechandLife dot com
• Twitter: Why it’s so Great and How to Effectively Use it – by Tibi Puiu of LostArtOfBlogging dot com
• 5 Tips to Grow Your Twitter Presence – by Darren Rowse of ProBlogger dot net
• 26 Reasons Why I Love Twitter – Plus 27 More just in Case – by Shana Albert of SocialDesire dot com

There are so many RSS Feed Readers available, that it’s hard to pick one.  How do you know which one to choose?  Well for me, I just picked one.  Didn’t research it one bit.  Looking back, maybe I just got lucky, ’cause I like the Reader that I use.

Now, a few months ago I wrote an article titled Don’t Assume; You Know the Old Saying… This article offers a great explanation to what RSS Feed is to all of you that don’t know.  (And trust me, there are still a whole lot of people out there who don’t know; you’re not alone!)

Back to the subject at hand…

I use Google Feed Reader.  I picked it solely because it was Google, so I figured that it had to be one of the best.  The Google Feed Reader works well  for me on so many levels.

First off all, it counts the number of unread articles that I have in my “in box”.  I try to keep it under 100, but sometimes that’s a challenge.  Right now I have a bit of catching up to do, as I have 222 new articles! Read More

I’ve been debating a blogging question for quite some time now and can’t seem to come to a definitive answer.  I would have to believe that many of you have asked yourself the same question and come to your own conclusions, so perhaps you can share your outlook with me and others.  Is it better to post on your blog every day or with less frequency such as once a week?

It was just yesterday in my Blog Mistakes Monday article that I described how neglecting your blog can have negative effects on your site.  Here I am a day later questioning what “neglecting your blog” really means.  Typically I update my blogs everyday with fresh content and new ideas.  I do this for a couple of reasons.  The first reason is that I simply enjoy sharing my opinion and experiences with others, and the second reason is because I feel that it keeps readers coming back to the site frequently.  Often times I wonder if this is too often of an update.  Much like the Hare sprinting to the finish.

There are many popular and successful blogs that update much less often then daily, those are the Tortoise’s.  Slow and steady to win the race.  Some update weekly and some even monthly.  The content on these sites typically are very in depth and the articles do tend to be more lengthy, but it still amazes me how they can generate tremendous buzz.  Perhaps writing less frequently gives people more of an opportunity to read articles without falling behind and also allows more time for commenting.

Even as I finishing writing this article I’m torn between the pro’s and con’s of each blogging strategy.  I guess for me the tipping point is interaction with my readers.  I enjoy writing daily because it allows me to engage with people on a more frequent basis.

How about you, do you blog like a Tortise or a Hare?

Why are weekends so short?  Each day seems to be flying past quicker then the next and here we are again at another edition of “Blog Mistake Monday’s”.  Each week I try to highlight common themes that will make you unsuccessful at blogging.  I’m always open to sharing a guest post on this topic, so feel free to contact me with your post.  This week I want to highlight blog neglect.

Over the past couple of months I’ve experienced some tremendous growth throughout the blogosphere.  My new readership has grown very rapidly and there’s been a great group of people leaving insightful comments on the sites.  I don’t say this to “brag” or sound boastful, but more so to solidify a point.  The point being,  successful blogging takes consistent commitment and dedication to your site.  I’m living proof that doing that and neglecting a site, even for only a couple of days can slow your sites buzz down very quickly.

I’ve missed a couple of days worth of posts on a few of my blogs, including this one, and the comments and traffic fell quickly.  While I don’t think that missing a couple of days is going to dramaticly impact my blogs over the long haul, it’s still a point worth noting.  Neglecting a blog is like neglecting a plant, if you go long enough without “feeding it” with fresh content it will eventually wilt and shrivle up!

I’m curious, have you ever neglected your blog to the point of wilting?

Last month one of the contests I ran on AverageGal was geared around our weekly Blog Mistake Monday’s feature.  It was pretty simple to enter the contest and there were some cool prizes up for grabs, including a site review.  One of the winners Taris Janitens of Power Maxx Blog.

If you’re looking for a blog that offers you a wide variety of interesting and fun topics from around the web then you should go and check out Taris’ site.  The unique content that’s posted on the blog always amazes me.  There’s a great mix of tips and techniques to help improve your blogging skills as well as personal opinion posts such as the one I just watched/read called “Holy Samurai Master Batman!!“.    You’ll never believe what this guy can do with a sword!  Go check out this post and fast forward to the 3:45 second mark in the YouTube video.  Pretty unreal if you ask me!

The Power Maxx Blog is a great combination of resourceful tips and fun.  Head on over and say Hi to Taris, I think you’ll enjoy reading and following his site.

I know, I’d never heard of it either; until my blogger pal, Dee Langdon from BloggerNewbie honored me with it! This is the FIRST blog award that I’ve received, and I was so excited I wanted to tell you all about it!  (And share the link love of course!)

The “Butterfly Award” is a virtual award titled ‘Coolest Blog I know’ and it’s passed from one blogger to another.

There are (as always) requirements for the recipients and presenters of this award.

The Rules

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3. Link 10 other bloggers of whom you want to give this award to.

Now it’s my turn to bestow this award on 10 of my favorite blogs! I have so many favorites, but since this is my first blog award, I should to limit it to just 10 and stick to the rules…

1. Cash2Blog Mitch is the Blogger at this site. He blogs about how to make money online, economy related topics, and helpful blogger tips.  He’s a newbie blogger, like me, but very Internet savvy; I’ve found a friend in him!  Check out his tips to optimize your blogging experience.
2. SmallBizBee Matt is the blogger behind SmallBizBee.  He’s a very business-oriented blogger, and has the entrepreneurial spirit we all wish for.  Matt writes fresh, interesting content often; check him out!
3. Blogging With Success There are a few men behind the scenes at this blog.  I love that there is more than one voice at this blog; it adds a different dynamic.  As it’s name implies, the blog gives tips and advice about blogging successfully.
4. Fix The Pig I have to throw out a shout to my very talented (not to  mention interesting) husband over at Fix The Pig.  We may not always agree on everything, but boy is he informed on EVERYTHING economy related!  Check Justin’s blog out today!
5. Steven-Sanders LOVE Steven’s site, tips and attitude toward blogging.  He’s been extremely helpful in my journey to become a blogger.  I appreciate his daily posts to fine-tune my blogging skills; he’s a very knowledgeable resource!
6. Quick Dinner Recipes The blog name says it all. Evan provides all of us busy bloggers with quick and easy recipes to save us from the misery of fast-food dining.  Thanks Evan!
7. Insight Writer The tag line here is, ” Freshly Squeezed Insight for Better Living” and this site truly delivers just that!  Jeremy writes thought provoking content often and has created quite a following of dedicated readers.
8. Kyle Reddoch Kyle has a great blog about Web Developing. He blogs about the web design, and all things related to this complex world.  I really enjoy his writing style and have come away with some great ideas from Kyle.
9. Freedom Writing Kimberly is a freelance writer and blogger.  She blogs about SEO, freelance writing, and all of her experiences in between.  Check out Kimberly if you get the opportunity!
10. DemoGeek “DemoGeek” writes great content with step-by-step instructions on web related issues.  I’ve found all of the information that he writes about to be a great help, since I’m pretty computer illiterate!

I have so many other favorite blogs as well that have already been chosen as “the coolest blog I know”, so I wanted to spread the love around.

Thank you so much Dee, for honoring me and my blog with the “Butterfly Award”.

It’s no secret that using keywords within your blog will drastically improve your search engine rank, but deciding which keywords to target can be a challenge.  I’d like to share a couple of tools and tips that I use when selecting keywords for my posts.

After recently writing a post on 5 easy Blog SEO Tips, I had some great comments and had a couple of questions that inspired this post.  The main question was how I choose keywords and with what tools.  The answer might sound simple, but it’s effective.  I use a free tool provided Read More

Okay, there’s no use in denying it anymore.  2008 is over; another year has come and gone in the blink of an eye. It really is time that I reflect on 2008 and think about what I envision 2009 to bring.  Better late than never, right?  Besides, I’m not much for the stereotypical “New Years Resolutions”.  They’re just made to be broken.  I need time after all of the craziness of the holidays to just relax and reflect on my goals and ambitions for the upcoming year.

2008 was a pretty big year for me.  I quit my nice, secure corporate job and dove head-first into the “online” community by starting 3 new blogs, AverageGal, FullGlassLiving, and DivineSteals.  Read More