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!

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!

Secondly, there’s a nifty little bar on the left-hand side that lists out all of the websites and the number of unread articles I have from each particular site.  This way I can easily and effortlessly choose and prioritize the order in which I want o check out my favorite bloggers.

In addition to breaking out articles by site, with the Google Feed Reader, I have the option of “starring” any and all articles that I feel may be of importance to me at a later date.  This way, when I’m searching for that one article that I really want to reference 3 months later, I don’t have to wade through piles and piles of articles.  It makes life much more efficient for me.  (Okay, well maybe not life in general, but it definitely makes blogging easier.)

Lastly, another cool option that Google Readers offers is the fact that the users can monitor trends both in their favorite bloggers and trends with themselves.  Google Reader graphs articles posted and articles read down to the exact hour.  How’s that for cool?  I like that feature because it also offers an unbiased accountability for myself.  Have I been reading too much of one blogger and not getting enough diversity in my subject matter?  Google Reader will tell me!

I also found this article and video fairly helpful, if you’re looking into Google Reader, or just simply comparing the Reader that you’re currently using…  Click here to check it out!

Since we’re talking about Feeds, and Feed Readers… do you subscribe to my feed?  If you find my articles interesting, comical, or down-right loony, then I’d be honored if you decide to sign up for The AverageGal Feed.  (Couldn’t help myself; it’s the perfect opportunity to self-promote!)

What Feed Reader do you currently use?  What do you like or dislike about it?  In all honesty, I really don’t know a whole lot about other readers, and I’d like to know a little more!  Thanks in advance for sharing!

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?

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”.

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 by Google.  You can access the tool here.  It’s really easy to use and provides a wealth of keyword research.  Simply enter a keyword or phrase and hit search; you’ll get a list of last months search volume, average search volume, and other similar keyword phrases.

I typically shy away from the most popular search phrases on the list because I feel those are the most challenging to rank highly for.  Instead I like to look for more obscure phrases that have less competition. I’m no SEO expert, but I do know that less competition is a good thing.

Another tool that I’ve been reading a lot about lately is Shoe Money Tools.  I’ve yet to sign up for the tools, however everything I’ve read has been positive.  If you haven’t taken a look at the package being offered over at ShoeMoney, it might be worth reviewing.  I have a coupon code for 80% off the first month of service, just use “averagegal”.  If you’ve used these tools I’d love to hear your feedback!  Please share with the rest of us.

I hope you find the Google tool useful.  It’s not a golden ticket to getting top page placement on the search pages, but it will give you a good start.  If you use any other good tools, or have tips, please let us know!  We’d love to hear them.

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. 

It’s truly been a ride.  I’ve really enjoyed all of the ups and downs blogging can have.  Mostly it’s been ups though; I’ve really gotten involved with social networking.  (Which is something that I never really understood before.)

I’m not that old, but the way technology and social media changes by leaps and bounds, there was no way to keep up with it all when I was working a full time job.  I felt like I was totally out of the media loop!  Needless to say, personally, I feel that I’ve grown tremendously in my technological knowledge and abilities over the last year.

Setting goals for 2009… hum.  Well to start with,  I’d like to build a larger readership on all three of my blogs.  Truthfully, I haven’t looked at the number of my RSS subscribers for a couple of months, but at last count I think AverageGal had 53.  To me, the number isn’t as important as having my voice heard and building a dedicated readership.

Secondly, I need to post more frequently at DivineSteals.  This was the first blog that I started and I’ve been very much neglecting it since FullGlassLiving and AverageGal started up.  The site that has the potential to make instant money should probably be one of my top priorities, since I am a work-at-home mom, the extra income would be nice.

Thirdly, in 2009 I would like to attend at least 1 blogging conference.  Since I am still so new to the blogging world, I feel that this would be extremely beneficial to my newly found career.  I need to be planning ahead and budgeting to attend one.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!  I’d ideally like to attend in New York or Florida, but I’m open to any and all suggestions!

So there you have it.  It’s not to late to set goals and/or reflect on the past year.  In fact, I feel that goals should be an ever-evolving process throughout the year.  If you can’t adjust for changes, then you’ll be dead in the water.  Learn to adapt and you too will have a successful 2009!

What are some of the goals that you’ve set for 2009?  Do you think that I should add/revise any to any of my goals?  I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts!

Customer service is common courtesy.  I just don’t understand why some people don’t get it.  Today I had a very poor experience with customer service, which reminded me of just how important the whole customer experience is to me.  I expect to be treated with the same respect that I would give to any one of my customers.  I’ve been brewing over this all day and thinking about how it relates to my career as a blogger.

Who is a blog’s customers?

An average blog experiences many different types of customers.  You’ll have the customers who are just “shopping around”.  They might visit the website once and then forget about it; or they might be first-time visitors.  These customers are still very important in the daily life of a blog.  Traffic is traffic.  You still want these customers to have a pleasant experience, but know that your site is not necessarily what they are seeking out information-wise.  Plus, you can’t determine from a visitors first visit if they will be returning or not at that point in time.  Be responsive to all customers; make it a positive experience.

Then you have the customer who comes to check out your site a couple of times a month or weekly.  They are regulars.  You come to expect them to visit; but don’t take their readership for granted.  Although they may not check out your website daily, they try to catch up when they have the opportunity.  Make sure that your site is user friendly with archives so that these users can quickly view your most recent articles to find posts of interest to them.

The daily visitors are always the stand-out customers.  Much like a high-end department store appreciates their customers with the never ending bank accounts, blogs are appreciative of the consistent traffic and value add that these daily blog followers give them.  However, it’s very important not to play favorites with your customers.  Nothing turns off a first-time or occasional visitor than feeling that their presence doesn’t matter.

What Can I do to Provide Customer Service to my Blog Customers?

Be responsive.  I know that sometimes it may seem easier said than done, but do your best.  That’s all your customers can ask of you.  But when you get a request from a customer try to put yourself in their shoes.  Ask yourself a few questions before responding.  Is it time sensitive?  Does the response require a significant investment of time and energy?  These should factors should be considered into the level of responsiveness required.

Be consistent.  Your customers expect information at intervals determined by you.  If you usually blog daily, then try to keep up this schedule or if it’s unrealistic for you, let your readers know by posting about what is going on.  If they feel informed, they won’t get turned off or feel put off as easily.

Be informative.  Give your customers more than what they ask for.  Provide them with additional resources to find out more information on topics, even if it means pointing them toward the competition.  I haven’t met anyone yet who hasn’t appreciated an informed person who has proven to be a credible source of information.

Lastly, Reciprocate.  Be conscientious of the customers and commenters to your site.  Try to visit their site often as well to add value to their site.  You appreciate their insight, so why not share the love and visit their site in turn?  It’s only fair… remember, common courtesy goes a long way!

Do you feel that customer service is common courtesy?  How do you cater to the customers of your blog? How does bad customer service make you feel?  Alternatively, how do you feel when you’ve had a great customer service experience?

*Instead of ranting and raving about the actual experience, I’ve chosen to learn about what I can do to ensure that this is never the type of customer service that I provide.  All names have been omited for the sake of the customer service provider.

I can say, from experience, that finding coherent and cohesive topics to write about in the beginning can be intimidating, overwhelming, and sometimes just downright frustrating.  Looking back to when I first started out blogging, (and that was only a few months ago, mind you) I can already see changes in the quality of my work, the tone of my postings, and the overall sense of  “self” that I’ve developed on my blog.  That being said, let’s discuss how to develop this sense of self.

When blogging, it’s important that you not only describe your story with passion, but be concise and to the point!  No one wants to read a bunch of “filler” words.  The more direct you can be without having fragmented thoughts, the more your reader will take away from the article.  I credit my high school English teacher for this tip; she used to take a red pen to many of the words within my essay to make a point that those were the “fluff” words, or the unnecessary words.  Much to my surprise, she was right.  I could write without using the word “the” “and” or” as often; good work is written concisely.

Since I’ve started blogging, I have come across many good resources for developing writing skills.  For example, my friend George, over at Tumblemoose Productions has great tips everyday on perfecting the art of writing.  One of my favorite posts by George is Write like You’re Dying. It explains the importance of writing with passion, making every word count.  Writing with passion is something that is extremely important in finding your sense of self.  If you’re interested in becoming a better writer and honing your skills, I’d definitely suggest following his blog!

So what about finding your voice?  It’s writing, not speech, right?  Well, voice is a figurative term for the way in which you express your thoughts and feelings in your writing.  As I mentioned earlier, a new writer (or blogger as the case may be) most likely does not have a well developed voice.  However, as time goes on and the writer gets more experience, a “voice” will emerge, making the writers work more consistent and cohesive.

Additionally, I believe that you can only write and find your voice if you truly love and are invested in the topic you are writing about. Anyone can call themselves as a writer, but actually writing full time takes a serious amount of commitment time-wise, financially and even emotionally.

Lastly, it’s very important to read, read, read!  The more you read, the more informed you are, the more well-rounded your vocabulary becomes, and again the better your writing becomes!  Now you don’t have to read novels.  Read the headline stories of a national newspaper, read your favorite magazine while on the subway to work, read the wall street journal; I don’t care what you read, just make sure that you spend time daily READING.

How do you know when you’ve finally developed your “voice”  does your blog have a sense of “self”?  Well, that’s a tough question.  Ideally, you keep learning and growing, and your blog does as well.  However, if you’ve been writing for years and years, the growth you may experience may be marginal in comparison to those just starting out writing.  It’s my belief that the minute you start growing and learning, no matter how small, becomes the point in time that you will be ready to move on to bigger and better things; thus starting the chain of learning all over again.

How have you developed your writing skills over time?  What’s the biggest tip you can give us for becoming a better writer?  If you’re a blogger, do you also consider yourself a writer?

If you’d like to hear some more great tips on discovering your writers voice, check out this great article, also writen by George at Tumblemoose Productions!

There were three prizes up for grabs during the contest all of which are pretty cool, but two of them I’ve never used. The first choice is an Ipod Nano;  I currently have a Nano however it’s pretty old and doesn’t have nearly the capabilities that are available with the newer versions.  The second option is a Flip Mino HD;  I have absolutely zero experience with this gadget.  I’ve heard some great things but never actually used one or seen one.  The last choice is an Amazon Kindle;  again I’ve heard and read good reviews about these but never had a chance to see one in action.  The bottom line is that I need your help in choosing!

If you had a choice of the three prizes which would you choose?  Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks again to Market Leverage and Unique Blog Designs for sponsoring the contest.

In December I ran a contest for becoming an active commentator on the blog.  The contest was a big success thanks to all of the great comments that were left by all of the participants!  In order to qualify for the contest all you had to do was take an active role in the blog by leaving comments and make your way into the Top Commentators list in the menu on the right side of the blog.  Each individual on the top 10 list was given 1 entry per comment left during December.  5 names were drawn at random and given prizes for 1st-5th place.  You can read more about the contest here.   Without further delay, the winners and prizes are below!

This Months Winners:

1st Place:  Dee Langdon
2nd Place: Mr. I
3rd-5th Place:  TumbleMoose, Ben Pei, Taris J

This Months Prizes:

1st Prize: $50 Cold Hard Cash, 1 mo. 125×125 Sponsorship on AverageGal, 1 mo. “Feature Site” Text Link
2nd Prize: 1 month 125×125 Sponsorship Ad on AverageGal
3rd-5th Prize: 1 month “Feature Site” Text Link on AverageGal

One of my favorite aspects of blogging is interacting and socializing with fellow bloggers.  One of the best ways to chat with others is via the comment section of your blog.  Thanks to this contest we had a record number of comments on the site!  If you’re looking to boost your comments I suggest you take a look at an article I wrote a couple weeks ago, 4 Simple Steps to Entice Readers to Comment.  Looks like I should add, run a contest!

Thanks again to everyone that participated in Decembers contest.  Be sure to check the blog often as I plan to roll out a new contest for January very soon!