Fine Art of Blogging

Gayla McCord

The difference I hope to make through blogging is by branding my name as one that can be trusted -- one that is known as a friendly, honest and most of all approachable name for anyone who would like to explore earning potential online.

Living in Indiana where the auto industry was hit hard with layoffs, I felt it was my calling to help people in my general area find alternatives to uprooting their families and moving out of state. I think blogging is a great way to communicate and to create friendships. It’s providing a means for people to get news and opinions that aren’t just coming from mass media anymore.

I blog from the heart and I blog on what I feel people are searching for. I’ve always felt that if I can’t educate my readers I should at least be able to entertain them. I began working online several years ago and my online presence has just sort of naturally progressed to where it is today.

A blog can be many things – from a resource for family and friends to stay close, to a type of therapeutic effort to means to make a living. It all depends on what the persons goal is when writing. I’d say I let my topics pick me. I have a few websites and news resources that I check out, but most times I develop content from questions I see going unanswered on the web. I think blog templates should be clean and uncluttered. Too much noise makes it difficult to focus on the real message. I don’t use any other means of promotion outside of comments and social networking options like StumbleUpon.

Blogging matters because now everyone can have a voice and it’s not only the college educated or the big name publishers who say whose opinions and stories are important.

Before MomGadget, my primary focus was on patient advocacy. My personal story was published in Marie Claire and Fitness Magazine as well as my name, answers and opinions are featured in the new book by Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

Most recently, my online efforts have provided enough financial security that I was able to tell my husband it’s time he start pursuing his own dream. He was able to quit his job and start doing what he wants to do for a change.

Over the last several months I’ve averaged $3,000; however, last month I broke a personal goal of $5,000. I’ve recently set a new goal and plan to be making $10,000 per month by September.

Auntie Hattie

I am big Pashmina fan. Even the name (that comes from pashm in Persian) sound musical to me and I love that gauzy weave. Just touching soft and warm Pashmina tells you what it is! Pashmina products are all time trendy and stylish. People of class from all over the world use these products - shawl, scarf and many more.


Given my interest, one of the best places I have found to shop for Pashmina is Spencer's Pashmina. Neatly laid out and user’s friendly site has a great collection of Pashmina products. Explore and find what they are offering and how. They have something for everyone. Imagery of the products is good and it gives a feeler of how one will look wrapped in one of those shawls.

What is more, their custom dye option makes them stand out from the rest. Ask for color you want and Spencer's Pashmina will deliver exactly the same.

Some of their shawls are already on my wish list.

Zenni is my favorite high fashion eyeglasses where I can buy good quality and fashionable eyeglasses for a reasonable price starting as low as low as $8 Prescription Zenni Glasses. Explore the site and see what they are offering and how. Also see their new arrivals and have a look at Holiday Fun Eyeglasses. They are the best for any taste.

I love cars; big cars, sleek cars, new models and given chance would like to know all about them (Who doesn’t?). My passion lead me to the Car Connection. What I saw there is simply amazing. Any car lover will love those pictures because they present the emotional proposition present in all cars. I explored the site and read through some useful and in depth reviews that can be helpful for any car lover or buyers.

Have look at Chevrolet and see what you find there. It is amazing to know so much about this dream car. Given the value and satisfaction, Chevrolet has earned a great repute in automobile industry. Stand at any road and you can’t miss seeing that Chevrolets.

Experts from TheCarConnection.com have spent extensive time in the driver's seat driving and testing before writing their observations. I suggest car lover explore the Car Connection and see what they are offering. If the quality reviews and images do not move you, nothing will.

The Car Connection presents one of the biggest collection of car images. Imagery is good and gives the feeler of vehicle being shown. In addition to the images, the reviews at the Car Connection are also informative and interesting. Reviews focuses on design, interior and user experience and performance. What is more, the car reviews are posted often. If you are interested in cars. Visit the Car Connection.

Mostly the brochures are artistically laid out and presented whereas users’ manuals are like government notifications; life less, color less and totally technical. The brochure gets the bigger share of budget as compared to the manuals. This indicates that most concerns treat potential users so much better than existing users and focus accordingly?

I think this should be other way round. I am not suggesting that marketers should stop making the documents to be given away for free. What I am saying is the focus should change. Users should get much nicer manuals, the way they want to, including online. That will help the potential users to buy and existing users to learn?

Paying more attention and better budget allocation to product manuals and support will help everyone. There is no harm in trying to get new customers for anyone, particularly those who are in the market for short term but those who are here for long term must refashion their focus and invest more users’ manuals. It is the users manuals that can bring loyal users, passionate users, repeat customers and can form the bases of what is called customers relationship.

Here is the simple philosophy: Users manuals will get passionate users who will get others. The better users get at something (through learning from freely available manuals), the better the user experience. The better the user experience, the more likely they are to keep trying to use the same product. Nobody is passionate about something they are stuck with. Helping your users learn is the best way to up the odds they'll become repeat customers.

Creating fabulous users’ manuals might be a far better use of the budget than creating fabulous ads and brochures. If traditional advertising and marketing is becoming less and less effective, why not move all that talent including designers, artists, copywriters and others from before the sale to after the sale?

Traveling for leisure and or pleasure is a result of growing economic activities and resulting prosperity, better quality lifestyle, increasing awareness and above all wish to “be there and do that”. Everyone wants to travel to Asia Pacific - the region that is always on the wish list of most travelers from around the world (myself included).

What makes Asia Pacific region attractive for traveler? Landscape beauty, serene environment, history, people and culture. On top of all that, if one has luxurious accommodation and modern amenities at affordable rates, it makes best setting for vacations and or a romantic retreat. Thanks to Accor - a major global group and the European leader in hotels, as well as the global leader in services to corporate clients and public institutions – that they are offering 3-day Super Sale.

Explore Accor Hotels 3-Day Super Sale Asia Pacific and choose from one million hotel rooms at amazing rate across Asia Pacific (in courtiers from Thailand to Korea, China, Japan, HK, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, Taiwan, India to Bali) at very affordable rates (starting as low as US$30 per night). Travelers can take advantage of savings when they book on-line between 27 - 30 October 2009. You can advance book your travel and vacations now for stays between December 09 to April 10. What is more, the Accor 3-day Super Sale coincides with record-low air fares across the Asia Pacific region, allowing travelers to enjoy some of the world's most exciting cities at bargain rates.

Have a look at Accor 3-day Super Sale and see what they are offering and how. Better still plan your next Asia Pacific vacation with Accor and have an enriching experience.

Laura Spencer

What is blog to me? I can tell you how I’ve progressed and what I’ve discovered along the way.

Blogging was a grand experiment for me. First, I wanted to see if anyone would read my blog. Secondly, I wanted to see if it would help my freelance writing business. Now, I am wondering if I can make money from it. Finally, I want to see if it can make a difference, however small.

Initially I thought, and perhaps others might think, that blogging is mainly about writing. What I’ve discovered is that, while it helps to have good writing skills, there is so much more to blogging. Successful bloggers must be: lifelong learners, social individuals, relevant, readers, and disciplined. (Of course, everyone has their own definition of success and yours may be different.) I’ll address each area individually.

Lifelong learning is an important blogging skill, not only to start a blog, but also to keep it going. There are so many areas to learn about. First, I needed to learn the best platform for my blog. There are a lot of questions a new blogger faces. Would I use a free platform like Blogger, or will I go with my own domain name and a hosting company? (I use my own domain name with BlueHost.) When that decision was made, I needed to learn how to manage my content, comments, and blogroll. I needed to learn how to download files to my site. I needed to learn how to use widgets. In fact, with a blog, the learning never stops. I probably learn at least one new thing every day.

Successful bloggers are social individuals. Unlike the diaries and journals that I was familiar with as a child, blogs are public. I decided very early on that I was not going to blog in a vacuum. I enabled my comments (with a spam filter turned on, of course) and I make an effort to interact with my readers. I answer their comments. I visit their blogs. I correspond through e-mail with several of my readers on a regular basis. I know people today that I wouldn’t know if I didn’t blog, and my life is richer for it. I also use some of the networking tools that the Internet provides. (It seems like there is a new tool out there every day.) Currently I am on: Blogg-buzz, MyBlogLog, SpicyPage, StumbleUpon, and Technorati.com. Last, but not least, I joined a blog network, GackInk, where I can mentor and be mentored.

Successful blogs must be relevant. When someone reads my blog they need to find something to hold their interest or they won’t return. Finding something relevant can be a stretching process for the blogger. I know that the questions “how would somebody use this information?” and “would anybody find this interesting?” stretch me. I’ve found that, if I have a question about something, usually others have the same question. That question is an opportunity for me to research the question and blog about it. I also find relevant topics for posts on forums, other blogs, and in everyday life.

I’m a big believer in the value of reading. I believe that the best writers were readers first. Reading definitely prepares me to blog. I read just about everything I can get my hands on: the newspaper, books, magazines, advertisements, other blogs, and the list goes on. Reading helps me recognize the difference between good writing and bad writing. Reading broadens my horizons and introduces me to new ideas and concepts. Reading also entertains me and gives me a reason to laugh. In short, reading has made me a writer and writing has made me a blogger.

Finally, bloggers have to be disciplined. One factor that many blog experts recommend for blogging success is consistency. It’s important to post new material on your blog on a regular basis. You’ve probably been frustrated, as I have, by finding an enjoyable blog, only to discover that there are no new entries. I try to have between three and five new posts on my blog each week. Most of them time I really enjoy blogging. It’s fun. It stimulates my creativity. I can post things that help others. I get to “meet” new people. However, to be totally honest, there are those days that I just don’t feel like posting. Maybe I’m sick. Maybe I’m buried with work. Maybe there are other issues bothering me. It helps to have a backlog of posts for those times. But sometimes, it just takes discipline to get that new post out there.

So, with WritingThoughts, my grand experiment goes on. I continue learning, making friends, finding what’s relevant, reading whatever I can, and discovering how to be disciplined in my approach to blogging.