Tia Silverthorne Bach's Blog, page 99

How to Make Your Blog a Success: Part Two

Welcome to part two of Dana Newbrough's three part series on creating a successful blog. Dana is my baby sister and Web/Blogmaster. Part One can be found here.

Enjoy!
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What do I mean by effective?  Well, that depends on your goals.  In my opinion to truly make your blog a"SUCCESS" you must do the following…
http://wigflip.com
S :  Searches: Put your website in multiple search engines,forums, google reader, etc. People canget there without needing to type in your exact address (more on this to come).

U:  "Unknown" viewers: Get traffic from people outside your"circle" of family, friends and neighbors and out to anyone on the Web.

C:  Consistency: WRITE REGULARLY! You should post at least 2-3 times aweek. If you are not actively posting, people will not actively view your site–it's that simple!

C:  Clear Communication:  If you want people to know where to orderyour book, how to contact you, etc. then you must make that information clearand easy to find. This also goes back to"searches" and putting your RSS feed everywhere! A neat website that is easy to maneuver isthe most accessible to everyone.

E:  Enjoyable: Fun andinteresting to read and interactive! This begins with the design of your blog/website all the way to theheadlines of each post. Don't bore yourreaders! Let your voice shine and giveit a true personality!

S:  Synced in:  Hook up with Facebook, Google +, Twitter,and Follow by Email–as many ways as possible to share your posts/productsquickly and to keep luring people back to the site!

S:  Social: Allow readers tochat, comment, and be involved.

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Please check back next Monday, October 24 for Part Three: What Makes an Attractive Blog. Until then, we wish you Blog S.U.C.C.E.S.S.!
What points would you add for blog success?

Pace, Don't Race: ROW 80 Check In

Wow, Sunday already. Time for A Round of Words in 80 Days check in. ROW 80 is the writing challenge that acknowledges you have a life, and life gets in the way of writing from time to time.

My dear husband took my three girls on a Daddy-Daughter pumpkin picking, hayride evening on Saturday night. Do you know what I did? I positioned myself in front of the computer and didn't get up for four hours. I forgot to eat dinner, drink, feed the dog, anything but write. My eyes started blurring near the end. I only stopped when hubby called to say they were almost home. It was 8:00pm, dinner was cereal.

I'm a co-coach for a girls running program at our elementary school. The advice we constantly give the girls... Pace, don't Race! It's good advice for everyone, including writers. I tend to clutter my brain with to-do lists and hectic schedules and race around. I try to squeeze writing into my life in much the same way. I need to find a pace, instead of always bolting out of the gate and running out of steam.

This might be a good time to share a glimpse into my kitchen table/temporary work space:
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I'm a bit embarrassed to share this proof of my insanity, but thought you might all appreciate a peek into the abyss.

Today, I'm focusing and rocking a happy dance. My picture was chosen as a finalist in the Rock the Row picture challenge. Please stop by Jenny Hansen's Cowbell blog to vote! Many thanks to Jenny and Nicole Basaraba for their work organizing the Rock the Row Twitter party. So much fun!

My picture:

I must thank my daughters. I rummaged through their dress-up stuff and borrowed my oldest daughter's guitar for the photo.

This week's progress:

Writing
Note: I realized this should be coming first since it's my priority. It only took two weeks for this realization to set in!
Results: Outlined first seven chapters of our  Depression Cookies follow-up in detail and completed a chapter. Will email to Mom tomorrow. My goal is to write a chapter or two on my YA book while waiting for her response.
Reaction: Score! *insert jamming guitar solo here*

Depression Cookies blog
Results: Still blogging daily. Seeing increased traffic!
Reaction: More jamming guitar.

Mom in Love with Fiction blog
Results: Posted twice. Finished Valhalla review and will publish Tuesday.
Reaction: Still jamming.

Miscellaneous
Results: Finished Valhalla and almost done with my Rebeccas Reads book, Parallel Lives. Reviews coming soon. Still haven't started a book on the writing craft, but daughters and I sat down and did some journal writing together. Priceless.
Reaction: Music fading, but still rocking.

I hope my ROW 80 friends had a stellar week. Same hopes for my non-writing friends and whatever goals they may have to finish out 2011.

Please check out these amazing ROW 80 writers:

We Can Learn a Lot from Crayons

A dear friend from my college days (and we were pregnant twice together. Our first children are one week apart and our second children are two months apart!) sent this to me. It's great. Thanks, Beth!

Enjoy!

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A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience; with a raised glass of water, and everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'half empty or half full?' She fooled them all, "How heavy is this glass of water?" she inquired with a smile.
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "And that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden—holding stress longer and better each time practiced.

So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night, pick them up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you're carrying now, put them down for a moment. Relax, pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it and the now 'supposed' stress that you've conquered!"

1. Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue!2. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them. 3. Always read stuff that makes you feel good.. 4. Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.. 5. If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague 6. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.. 7. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others. 8. Never buy a car you can't push. 9. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on. 10. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.. 11. Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.. 12. The second mouse gets the cheese.
13. When everything's coming your way,  you're in the wrong lane. 14. Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.15. You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
16. Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.
17. We could learn a lot from crayons.

[image error] Some are sharp, some are pretty and
some are dull. Some have weird
names and all are different colors,
but they all have to live in the same box. 18. A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

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Stress advice? Witty or helpful, either will make my day. Happy Saturday!

Fans Were Just a Spam Folder Away All this Time: Friday Feature

A quick recap of the personal highlights of my week:

♥ Hair creased from wearing a ponytail so many days in a row.
♥ Makeup routine consists of blush over cheeks and eyes plus eyeliner.
♥ Wardrobe made up entirely of cotton, elastic, and tennis shoes.
♥ Showers rushed, if they happened.
♥ Lunches of Ramen noodles or leftovers, dinners leftovers or pasta.
♥ Social activities involved children with occasional waves to adults picking up children.
♥ Muscles ache from sitting in a chair typing all day.
♥ Ironed twenty patches for my Daisy Troop girls.

So, can I tell you how excited I was to get this email today from a fan:

"I saw you on MySpace and thought you were cute. Can't wait to connect."
SusieQ, whoever you are, you made my day. I needed it. Haven't been called cute in way too long. Let's look past the small detail that I don't have a MySpace account, I needed the support. And thanks for forwarding to all your friends who also contact me with the exact same message.

Even the dog was needy this week. Case in point:


I get it. You are hungry. Just lay in your bed, and your mom will make sure and transfer the "dog food" to your bowl. I'd love a day of nothing but bed and food.

SusieQ, and all your friends, I honor you with our Friday Feature: Favorite Thing I Read This Week and Why. My Spam folder captured your emails and wouldn't let me use the enclosed links, but I'll always wonder what other nice things you might have said about me if we'd connected. It's comforting to know the fans were a spam folder away all this time.

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Although it's hard to trump my favorite read this week, please share yours in the comments. Or, feel free to concur with SusieQ and just tell me I'm cute. ;-)

An Ode To the Fans: Friday Feature

A quick recap of the personal highlights of my week:

♥ Hair creased from wearing a ponytail so many days in a row.
♥ Makeup routine consists of blush over cheeks and eyes plus eyeliner.
♥ Wardrobe made up entirely of cotton, elastic, and tennis shoes.
♥ Showers rushed, if they happened.
♥ Lunches of Ramen noodles or leftovers, dinners leftovers or pasta.
♥ Social activities involved children with occasional waves to adults picking up children.
♥ Muscles ache from sitting in a chair typing all day.
♥ Ironed twenty patches for my Daisy Troop girls.

So, can I tell you how excited I was to get this email today from a fan:

"I saw you on MySpace and thought you were cute. Can't wait to connect."
SusieQ, whoever you are, you made my day. I needed it. Haven't been called cute in way too long. Let's look past the small detail that I don't have a MySpace account, I needed the support. And thanks for forwarding to all your friends who also contact me with the exact same message.

Even the dog was needy this week. Case in point:


I get it. You are hungry. Just lay in your bed, and your Mom will make sure and transfer the "dog food" to your bowl. I'd love a day of nothing but bed and food.

SusieQ, and all your friends, I honor you with our Friday Feature: Favorite Thing I Read This Week and Why. My Spam folder captured your emails and wouldn't let me use the enclosed links, but I'll always wonder what other nice things you might have said about me if we'd connected.

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Although it's hard to trump my favorite read this week, please share yours in the comments. Or, feel free to concur with SusieQ and just tell me I'm cute. ;-)

We Have a Winner

Carol Wong is the winner of a digital copy of Turning Point by Melissa Foster. Thanks to Melissa for the giveaway!

With all the cool applications out there for choosing winners, I still prefer the proven "pull from a hat" method. And, yes, that is crayon (only writing instrument I could find).


Thank you to everyone who entered. Stay tuned for more exciting giveaways and book happenings here and at Mom in Love with Fiction.

Choosing Topics for a Random Blog: Guest Post

Please welcome Lisa Pollard from Insignificant at Best, a wonderful blog full of random topics and interesting takes. Lisa and I met through the Ultimate Blog Challenge and quickly became friends. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Lisa's blog became "a favorite thanks to the way she weaves together randomness with beautiful threads of humor, honesty, and wit."

Enjoy her post!

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Choosing Topics for a Random BlogI have totell you that I was thrilled and honored when Tia asked me to write a guestpost for her blog!  I've been a fan ofthe Depression Cookies blog for awhile now and just recently bought the book (which I can't wait to read!!!).  So getting to guest post for Depression Cookies is a real treat (nopun intended…lol)!

When I askedher what she'd like me to write about, one of her suggestions was "How do youchoose your topics, since you post about different things and don't, ingeneral, have a theme?".  To be honest, whenI decided to start blogging, I realized there was no way I could write a"niche" blog.  I love to talk and sharemy opinions on all kinds of things, so I knew "niche" blogging wasn't for me.  Like I say in the About Me section of my site"I'm not one to stick to a single subject, my mind doesn't work that way, soneither does my blog".

I actuallystarted blogging back in 2009, but it didn't quite take.  I could never think of anything to write andwhen I did, half the time it was some type of self-discovery crap nobody wouldwant to read. Not even me.

Needless tosay my blogging was "sporadic" at best. Looking back now, I realize it was because I was in a pretty deepdepression.  2009 was by far the worstyear of my life, and I wasn't ready to share all of my darkest thoughts withthe world.Then Aprilof this year I sat down and wrote a post called AnyoneStill Out There?!? and that was it. I was off and running and I haven't looked back since.  I honestly don't know what changed, otherthan the fact that I'm in a much better place in my life, but I'm glad itdid.  I've met a lot of really amazingpeople through blogging, like Tia, and I've found it to be insanelytherapeutic! 

Okay, wow,I've gone incredibly off course here. Back to the topic at hand.I'd like tosay I have this genius way of coming up with blog post ideas, but I don't.  I share what makes me laugh, I share thethings I love (music, products, websites, etc.), or I just plain talk aboutwhatever is on my mind that day.

However, ifyou're looking for an easy way to come up with post topics, a way that requireslittle thought on your part, do a Google search for Blog Challenges.  This was one of the very first things I did,and it worked out really well for me.  Ifound a 30 Day Blog Challenge, which allowed me to share with my readers a lotabout myself.  I gained a lot offollowers during that time and people seemed to really like it.One othertrick I have up my sleeve is a list of topics I want to write about.  I have a blog post draft where I write downall the things that come to me and seem like good post topics. Sometimes theydon't pan out, but for the most part the list hasn't failed me.  Plus, if I'm ever at a loss, I have a "go to"list of ideas.  I'm constantly on thelookout for ideas to add to this list, too. Recently, I was in the car and realizedhow annoying the electronic signs on the freeway were and it turned into aguest post for another blog.  I currentlyhave a post about my annoying co-worker waiting in the wings.  She's… interesting, to say the least.  LOL Just be aware of your surroundings andconstantly on the lookout for things you want to share with your readers.

I've alsogotten ideas from reading other people's blogs (e.g., my BadPoetry Day post I wrote thanks to Tia). Surprisingly once the blogging bug bit me, it really hasn't been aproblem.  Though I've only been activelyblogging for about 5 months now, so check back with me next year. ;)Any questions?  Please ask away in the comments below!  Any suggestions on how to come up with topicsthat you'd like to share?  Please sharein the comments below!

Riding the Muse Wave: ROW 80 Check In

It's the mid-week A Round of Words in 80 Days check in and I'm cruising along. I know there are worse problems to have, but I'm overwhelmed by too many ideas. Sometimes, I struggle to come up with blog post and story ideas. Not this week... ideas are coming at me left and right.

Again, not complaining. I feel like I'm on a vacation, floating on my surfboard on a gorgeous day, and staring down multiple perfect waves. Which one to take? I don't want to deliberate too long or I might miss the perfect one. But is there such a thing as a perfect one?

Now you've seen the inner workings of my overstimulated brain. Oops. I should remain more mysterious.

At the end of the day, I appreciate the blessing of choices and overflowing ideas.

Progress this week:

Depression Cookies Blog
Results: Blogging daily.
Reaction: Yeah!

Mom in Love with Fiction
Results: One post so far this week, but working on a review and another post.
Reaction: Chugging right along.

Writing
Results: I wrote 2,000 words since Sunday.
Reaction: Should be fist-pumping right now, and I would be, except... not one of these words was on the Depression Cookies follow-up or my YA novel. A new idea hit me and I ran with it, afraid to lose a single word. I honor the muse, but need her to focus!

Miscellaneous
Results: Journal writing needs some focus, especially with my girls. Hectic schedules don't help. Haven't started either writing book, but will soon.
Reaction: It'll happen!

Hope everyone is burning up the goals this week.

Are you ever faced with too many ideas? What do you do?

Showing The Love, Blog-Style

I love featuring guest posts on our blog. And, no, it's not just to save myself from dipping into the idea well too often. It's to showcase something different, a little treat for our readers. Now don't get me wrong, it does help spark ideas and preserve my well. And, no, I'm not above calling Mom or one of my sisters to join the party here!

[image error] Guest posts are also a way to grow my blogosphere. What better way to find new blog friends than to see a guest post on a blog I already value? It's like the song my daughter sings every Girl Scout meeting, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."

Today, Lisa Pollard of Insignificant at Best is featuring my post, Be Careful What You Wish For. I found Lisa's blog through the Ultimate Blog Challenge. It quickly became a favorite thanks to the way she weaves together randomness with beautiful threads of humor, honesty, and wit. Please stop by and say hello.

A sneak peek from today's guest post:

My life had many goodbyes, but just as many hellos. I'm notafraid to put myself out there and meet people, to try on another hat.
Funny, that's exactly how I feel about welcoming guests to our blog. I've met so many new people since Depression Cookies was published a year ago. What a journey it has been. I am thankful for all the bloggers, readers, writers, and others who have touched my life.

Please stop by tomorrow to read Lisa's post discussing how she picks blog topics. You don't want to miss it!

Have Internet friendships been rewarding or even surprised you?

When You Are Young: Tub-Full Tuesday

Mom stops by to share for our Tub-Full Tuesday feature. Enjoy!

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When you are young, younever think you resemble anyone but your divine self. You cringe when Aunt Marydeclares to the whole family reunion you are the spitting image of Beulah MayGreer. From discussions around the table, you know this is not a compliment, atall. You've garnered from these tell-alls the woman had a hawk nose, beadyeyes, a low narrow forehead, drab hair, and a slight harelip. The more youhear, the more you feel akin to the Hunchback, but as a youngster, you'd muchrather be Morticia. Recently, the idea offavoring family has become precious. As you get older, the sweetness of thoseimperfections marries you into a unit of generations of people, all differentand all unique. I have noted in the last two years, I am favoring my mothermore and my dad's family less. I actually see her when I look into the mirror. I'm honored, although the resemblance is as my mother aged, not in her formerbeauty. The mirror may be insidious at times, but I am thankful to see my heritagespread deep and wide on my being. Here's the poem I wrote about this.

Mirror of Fate

Early mornings I stare closely
            at lines             wrinkles             frown cracks            brown spots            broken veins
Itrefuses to lie even
            in dim light -            casting            eerie            shadows            along the            alar of            my nose
Ipull and stretch

            loose skin            flappy folds            crows feet            pleated lips            paunchy jaws            into an            Oriental             bliss
 Itcontinues to mock
            laughing            out loud            until I            release            the tension            and sag            back             into Mama'saging face
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I hoped this filled your tub today.

What is your favorite part of aging? Least favorite?