Picking Your Bloggy Brain

First of all, HAPPY INCOME TAX DAY, everybody!  Don't you just love that feeling of gigantic sums of money being sucked right out of your world?  Oh, I just love it so much I'm thinking of celebrating by sticking a burning hot fork in my eye.

Anyway.

I've mentioned that Sophie, Melanie and I are teaching about blogging at the She Speaks conference this summer.  (Incidentally, we just recently learned that the whole conference is booked and a frightening number of people are signed up for our two sessions and now my stomach hurts.)  We're working on our presentations, and the girls and I could brainstorm for hours about what people would want to know.  Or--and I think this is a better idea entirely--you could do the work for us!

So, hypothetically speaking, if you were going to attend a conference session on blogging, and time was fairly limited, what would be the top aspects of blogging you would like to see covered?  Etiquette?  Tech stuff?  Growing traffic?  Basics?  Advanced stuff?  What kinds of questions would you ask if you could? 

I'm really interested to hear what you have to say.  Fire away.

Comments

[Heather @ Desperately Seeking Sanity]

I think traffic is a biggie, however, if people are finding your blog, but not sticking around, then what's the point in driving traffic. It's the whole chicken and the egg scenario. And I think that's a key point that people miss. Long gone are the days of the diary of a day in the life... it's got to hold the reader's attention...

I'm sure I'm making no sense.

I might also suggest looking at the stats for Blogging Basics 101 and seeing what people are searching for that lead them to your site. You may find additional answers to what people really want to know.

Wish I could be there... but it wasn't in the plans this time around... of course, it's only 3 hours away... I could always drive down and crash the party... it's a thought

[Katiebod (Roses are Red, Violets are..Violet)]

I'm thinking that growing traffic, identifying your bloggy "style" (i.e. finding a balance between being humorous, touching, informative, etc.)and possibly advertising basics. Good Luck!! :-)

[Jai]

Shannon how did you choose which "service" to work with? My blog has so many limitations, but I am sure it is because it is FREE. I want to venture out ... get some color .. some features ... spruce it up a bit ...

Thanks!

[Smockity Frocks]

I would love to know each of your top 3 (or 5 or 10) favorite things about your favorite blogs. Is it design, serious content, lighter fare, sharing of ideas? Then, the top 3 mistakes you think bloggers make that keep them from being great.

[Kristen]

Since I just started my blog in January, and I have very little time to work on it, I'm sure there are all kinds of bloggy ettiquette rules that I'm breaking that I don't even know exist. Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl! so I'd love to know about ettiquette.

It was pretty easy for me to get my blog started, and most of the people attending your conference have probably already started their blogs, too, so I would think you would go over some of the more advanced things.

I started my blog as a way to document the cute/funny/interesting/beautiful things in my life that I knew I would want to remember, but always seemed to forget to write down. But as I continue in this pursuit, I find that I love the idea that people from all over the world, from all walks of life are able to read about little pieces of my life, and would love to know how to attract more traffic, and how to know if something is a legitimate source of traffic. In other words, I don't want to sign up on a website that guarantees more traffic if it is linking my site with morally objectionable stuff, or sites/ads that don't mesh with me and my beliefs. Does that make any sense? Like I said, I'm new to this stuff!

I hope I've helped a little!

[Jan]

As a relatively new blogger, there are lots of things I wish I'd known before jumping in feet first. If I were going to group them, here they are in order of importance:

1. Tech Stuff - most importantly, how to avoid and deal with S*P*A*M, an issue that is causing me a lot of woe right now.

2. Etiquette - this is important in any endeavor, I think.

3. Advanced stuff - Trackbacks and Pingbacks come to mind immediately. I'm still figuring that stuff out.

4. Traffic - basically, how do you get it? How do you find your voice? How do you find the right group of bloggers, those people who have roughly the same concerns or interests or are in the same phase of their lives as you, and become part of that sphere? I'll deal with increased traffic once I've figured that out!

That's it for starters, really.

[Jennifer]

1. Etiquette
2. Gaining traffic
3. Ads
4. Brainstorm for content, graphics, and other things related to the blog that match your personality
5. How to find others like you to communicate with through blogs

[PENSIEVE (the ROBIN one)]

WAHOO!!! I'M ONE OF THE ONES SIGNED UP FOR Y'ALL'S SESSIONS!!

Daggum, I'd love a primer in HTML and design, but I don't think that's what we're there for.

You know what would be interesting? And something I'd be curious if others "mirror" my experience--the "life cycle" of blogging. I've noticed distinctions and definite differences in my blog evolution. a) What it was when I began; b) the discovery of comments and community; c) fatigue/malaise; d) plateau; e) renewed enthusiasm, but with a change in direction; f) determination whether you're a blogger vs. a writer.

Shannon, you know what else I just thought of? And this is one of those "dark secrets" few bloggers admit out loud. Addiction. I've been there and had to withdraw some (at the cost of community/comments/etc.). People joke about it all the time, but I think it's a serious concern, ya know? I see women--I can tell this sometimes--whose blogging precludes relationships in real life. I mean, we know more about each other sometimes than our friends and neighbors!

Didn't mean to get serious, but my thoughts went in that direction....kind of a "forewarned is fore-armed" or w/e that expression is.

(I'm a little nervous to click "post" now, but I think I should...I HOPE I should...)

:)

[canadacole]

I replied to Melanie's post with some basic questions, but on reflection, I think anyone paying the bucks for a blogging conference is interested in increasing traffic/regular readers. So I second (third) the idea that ideas for increasing traffic and being a better blogger would be great. What makes people come and what makes them come back?

[Melanie]

Etiquette. :>) I have enjoyed your podcasts over at Basics 101.

[Tyler]

I second Pensieve's thoughts. I think the issue of addiction is a significant one.

Another struggle that I have is the the difficulty balancing my desire to increase traffic and win some regular readers with my desire to reach other women for Christ through my blog. I want to be real and funny and engaging, but also Christ-like and inspiring. Tough concepts to juggle out.

[Cheryl]

I so wish I could attend the conference. I think you should encourage the ladies that they need to be real with their blogs. Sometimes I will come across a blog and I feel like the writer is just trying to be the next Beth Moore. If something has happened in your life and you let God teach you through that event, then please share it but I don't have time nor enjoy reading a 3 point sermon with no personal application!

I hope that doesn't sound too preachy!
I'm going to copy this comment and leave it on Bigs and Boos blogs as well!
I will be praying for y'all!

[travis Spencer]

1. Why you blog. (Your personal story of blogging)
2. You don't have to be a tech geek to blog.
3. What not to blog (A few safety issues)
4. ideas, ideas, ideas.. (make it practical at the end)

just some thoughts...

-travis

[Activities Coordinator]

I know nothing. I don't know enough to ask questions. Heck, I didn't know enough to know there was a conference going on.

Are you sure you're askin' the right person?

[Texas in Africa]

I would never attend a conference on blogging, so I've got nothing for you. But a brief comment on your first paragraph: my attitude about taxes has changed a lot as a result of living in a country (the DR Congo) that doesn't have the capacity to collect taxes. Turns out, when you can't have taxes, the roads don't get paved, electricity and water don't come on when you flip a switch or turn a faucet, the police don't come when there's an emergency, the hospital isn't safe, and no one pays the army, so they end up looting villages for food. It's a pretty miserable way to live. There's a reason God told us to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's...."

[Desert Diva 2005]

I'd love to see a resource guide for site design and site designers... how to design outside the box of the basic blog sites (blogger, for instance), with budget ballpark ideas... customizing your site within the constraints of the site you have...

How to get pictures to do what YOU want them to do (in blogger)... hmmmm... seems I have a theme here ;-).

Not a lot of tech stuff, but rather good/easy/friendly resources to help us get our blogs looking/feeling like we'd like them to be.

Bloggy Style/Voice and your blog goal... are you doing what you set out to do in your blog?

I like the top 10 idea:
Your top 10 blogs
Ten things you'd improve in blogs (10 least favorite blogs with suggestions for improvement)
Bloggers who have turned blogging into a living...

You'll be great!

[Marcy]

How to focus! I mean I could post about 20 things a day...and I work hard to narrow down to 'my voice'.....I am basically trying to second guess my reader. But just because I am interested in EVERYTHING- I am trying to find focus....but I think some discussion about this would be great for newbies. "Do I tell them about my wierd mailman?", "should I post about the wedding I attended?"....what do they want to see when they click my page???? Best of luck on this speaking engagement. Starnge to be speaking to ACTUAL people instead of typing it in huh? (I would open with a joke about that!)

[Llama Momma]

Because of the nature of this conference, maybe address what role marketing should play in your blog? If you're a speaker and / or writer, how much time should you devote to marketing your own books and events?

[Andrea]

I am just about to start my very first blog and have LOTS of questions....
security (to post pictures of family or not)
gaining traffic
making money with your blog
confidence that people actually want to read what I say (that may be something that I have to work on myself...)

I really wish that I was able to attend your conference, I am sure that you all will do a wonderful job!

[Llama Momma]

And, please, tell them all to turn the music on their blogs OFF! I hate it when I'm blogsurfing and stumble on one with music. Ack! HELLO? Sleeping baby across the hall!!

[Jane]

How do you balance your time so that you can visit blogs, write blogs and live enough so that you have stuff to write about? LOL, but really, it's a huge time sucker and I would love to hear your tips. You have posted about this in the past (fast typing etc...) but I would like to hear a panel discuss this too.

[Queen B]

I would love to know how you organize your time for blogging.

Do you plan your posts? What do you do when NOTHING comes to your mind? Do you keep an emergency stash?

You will do such a great job at the conference!!!

[Linds]

I think it would be really informative to have information not just on how to get traffic to your blog but on tips to keep them coming back and keep them interested. Obviousely not every blog suits everyone but how to stand out in this crowded bloggy world.

[Anne Glamore]

When I taught one of these, I had trouble tailoring it for newbies vs those who needed more in-depth info, so that might be something to consider.

Also, people asked so many questions I covered about .5 of what I had intended.

[Michelle]

I will be one of the faces in the audience of one of the sessions. Don't be scared! You've faced lions 50 feet away in Africa. You can do it! :) You, Sophie and Melanie were asked to present because your blogs (and each of you) are loved and successful. Plus, you're all hysterical. I know your presentations will be informative and fun!

I posted at Big Mama's, but from reading your comments, I will add that my biggest questions relate to finding your voice and the best ways to attract and keep readers.