The Write Spot, LLC

How bloggers get noticed by companies

Friends ask me how I get the opportunities I do, like going to the Quaker Oats Living Proof Event, attending the Sony Mom Blogger event, or getting approached by companies to review their products.

Honestly, it’s a guess. I try to write well and often on my four blogs. I also try to read blogs in my various niches, and leave comments on them. I also get to know other bloggers in my niche by going to conference like BlogHer.

It’s also about giving back. I try to reaching out to newer bloggers with advice and help other bloggers get jobs. I also make sure I’m professional when I deal with publicists and companies, no matter how small they are. After all, you never know who’s bringing your next big blogging gig, cool reviewing opportunity, or big media buy. Having a good LinkedIn profile, being on Twitter, and being known as a good writer helps, too, of course.

However, I believe companies find me because of the blog networks I belong to.

What ad network should I use to monetize my blog?

You’re interested in monetizing your blog with an blogger ad network. What kind of things should you consider when reading over their contract?

Payout: What do they pay out per thousand page views (CPM)? Is there an ad revenue share? Do they pay CPM only or CPC (cost per click) or CPA (cost per action), too?

(CPM counts the number of times the ad was viewed. CPC measures ad clicks. CPA measures activity, like signing up to purchase a product or membership.)

Remember, some networks don’t tell you what they pay initially, so you’ll have to give them a trial run to see if their numbers work for you. If that’s the case, make sure you can get out of your contract and stop using them at any time.

Ad Placement: Does their ad have to be at the top portion (“above the fold”) of your blog? Do their ad sizes fit on your blog? If not, will they create one for you? How many of their ads will you have to run – just one or two or more?

Should you join a blog network?

Recently, Northern Colorado Writers Director Kerrie Flanagan asked me about blog networks. A blog network is a group of blogs and bloggers writing under a common banner, similar to writers working for a newspaper. While most of a network’s bloggers aren’t employees (though the site’s editors may be) usually there are contractual agreements between the network and the bloggers, and editorial requirements like posting so many times per week with a minimal word count. Some of the biggest blog networks are b5media, Gawker, and Weblogs, Inc.

Soon after I talked with Kerrie, the blogosphere was abuzz with the closing of Know More Media, an online network of business information and news blogs. Co-founder Tim Stay left comments on several blogs that KMM is actually on hiatus (meaning their bloggers are not getting paid) while they fix search engine issues and regroup. Many KMM bloggers are staying put, and continue to post.

At the same time, AOL-owned Weblogs, Inc. drastically cut back on their bloggers’ compensation. AOL said that it overspent in previous months, and they would start paying their bloggers later this summer. Some Weblogs, Inc. bloggers continue to post, which garnered criticism about giving away work for free and lowering blogger pay rates.

Should you consider joining a blog network?

So are blog networks worth considering if you want to make money blogging? Probably not since many network bloggers are paid based on revenue share, a portion of advertising revenue. The average pay on the bottom end is around $2/CPM ($2 per thousand views of a blog). If you have a low traffic blog, let’s say 200 views a day – which is not bad for a beginner – that’s $12 per month. You could do better collecting aluminum cans.

If you break the numbers down, that’s $12 for 12 posts per month. Let's say that’s three posts per week. (You’re usually required to write more). If each post is 250 words, that’s .004 cents per word. If you’re lucky enough to have good to great traffic – in the 1,000 to 10,000 per day range – you may earn enough to make it worth your while. However, traffic like that takes months to years to get, and depends on the niche you’re blogging in and your blog marketing efforts.

Some of the better networks give their bloggers a monthly stipend, which is what I got when I blogged at ClubMom. However, if you leave, get fired, or the network closes you probably don’t have rights to your content. (The blog network has at least first rights to your content, but may prevent you in some other way from taking and posting your writing somewhere else. Check your contract.) If they do allow you to take your work, you may have to buy the blog from the network for several thousand dollars. I was lucky. When ClubMom canceled their blogging program, I was allowed to transfer my blog to another host for free.

Read your contract CAREFULLY

If you’re considering joining a blog network, read your contract carefully. Then do an Internet search to find out if the network has a good reputation, or a high turnover rate and disgruntled ex-bloggers. Finally, know what your time is worth and how long you’re willing to blog for (nearly) free.

Still, writing for a network like b5media, 9rules or SparkPlugging is very prestigious. As now-out-of-work KMM editor Easton Ellsworths of Business Blog Wire says, joining a network to build exposure or boost your resume is one of the best reasons to do it.

However, there is a way to gain exposure for your writing without giving away too much of your content for free. It’s called guest blogging and I’ll write about soon.

This originally appeared in the August issue of the Northern Colorado Writers newsletter.

The tools I use for Blog Promotion

For those of you attending What We Do: DIY Content Syndication and Promotion, here are the details on what tools I use to promote my blogs.

Social Bookmarking

There are numerous sites out there and new ones being added every day. Here are the ones I’ve found most success with, though that can change from week to week and with different types of posts:

• StumbleUpon – Great for a quick burst of traffic.
• Digg – Crowded but it works, especially for backlinks. (See Wendy Piersall’s post at Problogger, The Ultimate Guide to Getting Lots of Link Love for more info on why you want backlinks and how to get them.)
• Mixx – A new contender and getting popular.
• Reddit – Not a lot of features, but that’s its strength. May be giving Digg a run for its money according to Chris Garret (Why Reddit is Better than Digg).
• Propeller – Another popular site for bookmarking.

Niche Social Bookmarking

• Kirtsy – Best for posts and blogs with a women or mom focus. Once they get their Google ranking fixed (due to their recent name change) Kirsty will be good source for backlinks, too.
• HealthRanker – Good for promoting health, diet, fitness and exercise posts. No page rank yet, but I’m hoping that will change soon. Getting more popular, too.
• Care2 – A very popular “green” social networking site with passionate members, and a great place to bookmark your green, eco-friendly content.
• FoodBuzz – If you’re a foodie, you must set up a profile here. Not only is is good for networking, but you can automatically promote your posts via RSS feed.

Using Social Networks to Promote Yourself: LinkedIn for Writers

This originally appeared in the July 2008 issue of “The Write Stuff” newsletter of the Northern Colorado Writers. Starting this month, I’ll write a regular column about social media for the group.

If you’ve attended one of my [blogging] workshops [for writers], then you know I recommend blogging as a way to promote yourself. A blog can become your book’s marketing platform or an online freelance writing portfolio with links to clips and writing samples.

What if you don’t have time to blog? Or maybe setting up a simple website with your contact info and portfolio gives you a techie anxiety attack? Well, you can slowly get started in the social media realm by joining an online social network like LinkedIn.

Social Networking for Professionals

More than 20 million professionals from around the world have created LinkedIn pages. And unlike MySpace and Facebook – two other popular social networking sites – the networking is professional not personal. This means no embarrassing pictures of you partying like it’s 1999. Though don’t be surprised if an old paramour or a high school buddy finds you through the site.

Besides being an online resume, there are more benefits to joining LinkedIn’s free service. If you are a magazine or non-fiction writer, LinkedIn can be used to find experts for interviews. If you’re a commercial writer, potential clients can find you and see who you’ve worked with in the past.

Many employers use and trust LinkedIn to find high-quality candidates. So while you may not be looking for a writing job, you may be looking for an editor, agent or publisher. Do a search on authors, publishers and agents in your niche. You may be able to connect with them via LinkedIn.

How to save money at your next conference

Along with all these women and a few men, I’ll be in San Francisco next week at BlogHer 08. I also have a few conferences to attend this fall - Blogworld Expo in Vegas in September, possibly BlogHer Boston in October, and probably the Thin Air Summit in November here in Colorado.

But bloggers aren’t the only people heading off to conference. Next week, a friend is going to her company’s conference in Texas, while her daughter attends a student leadership conference in San Diego. My friends who have direct marketing businesses go to conference either in the spring or summer. And there are always writer’s conferences, social media expos, and writing retreats to attend year round.

Even if you only go to one business conference a year, it can be expensive – more so when you’re a freelancer and there’s no one who will pick up the tab. So how do you save money at conferences?

Here are some tips:

Use frequent flier miles – I use a Frontier Airlines credit card for everything so I can earn miles. My husband and I are frequent fliers on United, so when I shop at Safeway, I earn miles. (If I use my Frontier card there, I earn at both programs.) The key to using frequent flier miles is to book months in advance, and to be flexible with your times and dates. Frontier is especially tricky as they only have one or two frequent flier seats per flight.

Book your conference early - When you register early, you get a discount. It could be a savings of $100 or more, so make sure you know when the early bird reservation deadline is.

Book hotel and car reservations early, too – Hotels sell out quickly. And car rates go up and down. If you need a car, check back frequently with a travel website like Orbitz to find out if you’re getting the best price. If you book early enough, you probably are, but it’s always good to check once in awhile. Same with hotels. You may find that a cheaper hotel reservation opens up. Usually, you can cancel car and hotel reservations or change them without penalty as long as you do it early enough. Check their rules first.

Sparkplug U helps you make money from home

If you’re a fan of Wendy Wendy Piersall, founder of the popular Sparkplugging *:) Blog Network (formerly eMoms at Home) check out her latest project, SparkplugU. She launched SparkplugU in response to the need in the Sparkplugging community for solid, practical, trusted advice in a more structured format on how to start and run a business from home.

Wendy’s dream has been to offer affordable training for anyone who wants to learn how to be their own boss and control their own career. This is great for not only for freelancers like me, but for stay at home caregivers who are looking to make some money on the side.

Wendy doesn’t promise instant riches. Instead, she delivers quality lessons in an understandable format taught by expert faculty members. Bottom line: the classes at SparkplugU will help you make money from home and start or market your business.

Each class provides:

• A Course Outline - What you can expect to learn by the end of the class.
• Prerequisites - What you need to know before you take a particular class
• Course Materials - Some classes will include course materials in the registration cost. But there are no surprise additional expenses. If there are additional books required, you will know exactly what you need up front.
• Refund Policy - You can cancel after the first session of any live class they offer. Self-paced downloadable classes are non-refundable.

I was so impressed that I signed up for the “Diversify Your Income Workshop” with Wendy Piersall and Marla Tabaka. It’s for bloggers and solo business owners who are looking for income diversification.

So what are you waiting for? Browse their current classes now and get started on building your dream career today!

Is taking an online blogging course worth it?

My Journey So Far with Yaro Starak Blog Mastermind Mentoring Program

It was back to school for me when I signed up for Blog Mastermind a little over three months ago. At first it was kind of slow, but Yaro quickly ramped it up due to the feedback he was getting. I kept up pretty well with the lessons, listened to all the audio files, and viewed all the video blog case studies. The information was terrific and I slowly started adding new features to my blogs.

Con: his course has a WordPress bias. My own blogs are with TypePad, though I blog at WordPress blogs on the b5media and 451Press networks.

In August, due to my busy schedule and no more summer school for Nathan, I wasn't able to keep up and fell several weeks behind.

Con: At times I'm spread very thin over several blogs that I have contractual obligations to write for several blogs I write for like A Readable Feast. It's hard to keep up with any online course, especially Blog Mastermind since Yaro has you adding not only "pillar content" but about me pages, sponsorship/advertising pages, pages about RSS feeds, business timelines, etc. So much to do - and you want to do it all! - and so little time.

In September, the kids went back to school and I was able to catch up with the audio and video downloads. Still there's so much I haven't even started, like my business timeline. While I'm adding things like "Become a Sponsor" and "Sign up for my RSS feed" pages at several of my blogs, I've decided to mostly concentrate my efforts mostly at This Mama Cooks! On a Diet (TMC:OAD) and occasionally at A Mama's Rant (AMR) and A Readable Feast (ARF). Even though AMR and ARF get low traffic (around 200 page views per day), the ranking on AMR is a 5 and my affiliate earnings through ARF are on the same level as TMC:OAD.

Pro: Lots of great information and things to do makes me realize that Blog Mastermind is worth every penny. I thought I knew a lot about blogging, but there's tons out there I don't.

Con: I wish I had time to hang out in the Blog Mastermind forums more and get to know some of the other bloggers taking the course. From what little time I've spent in the forums, my fellow Blog Mastermind bloggers have lots of usable information, too.

Results So Far

My daily traffic This Mama Cooks! On a Diet has doubled. I'm getting around 1000-1200 page views a day according to TypePad. My RSS readership went down to almost zero initially since I changed TMC:OAD from a food blog to a food and diet blog around the same time I signed up for Blog Mastermind. But then it increased...and doubled. I nearly have 50 RSS readers, which may not be much to some of you, but it's the most I've ever had on any of my blogs. (And Yaro says it's o.k. to celebrate even getting 10 new readers.)

I've also networked with several very nice weight loss/dieting/fat bloggers. Not only has reading their blogs been inspirational and motivational in my own weight loss journey, but they're nice. They visit and leave comments. I've even been asked to write on one of their blogs - Incredible Shrinking Ladies.

My affiliate earnings have increased dramatically as well. I'm earning in one month what I did in one quarter. It's not hundreds, but it's still very nice to have.

Also, now that I'm getting more traffic I've been approached by more PR firms and publishers to promote their products. It's also been easier to get books I want to review, like Harvey Walden's No Excuses! Fitness Workout. I contacted the publisher and the book was sent to me in a couple of days. Cool!

What every blogger should know about copyright protection for photos and content

Recently, I had discussion with a member of the food blogging community about using someone else's recipes or photos on your blog. I thought it was o.k. to "borrow" as long as I gave credit and a link back to their blog or website. I was told "borrowing even with attribution" wasn't cool. Yet others had told me the opposite. So I was anxious to hear what the experts would say about this at BlogHer07 conference.

After attending The Art of Foodblogging and live blogging at the Professional Blogging: Art and Commerce session, I was still confused. So I asked Denise Howell of Lawgarithms, Between Lawyers, and Bag and Baggage, and Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes for some clarification.

When is it o.k. to use someone else's stuff (assuming that you give full credit and a link)?

Elise's response:

From my understanding, you just need to promptly take down a photo from a website if the copyright owner complains to you.

My point is that the creator of the photo is the holder of the photo's copyright.  Photos are protected by US copyright law, unlike recipes. So, if you find someone else using your photo, and you don't want them to, you can request that they remove the photo and they must comply with that request.

If you have a website and are using someone else's photo without getting their permission first, generally it will not be a problem if you are giving them credit for the photo, and linking to their website. Usually in these circumstances the photo owner will not ask you to take it down. But if they do, then you must comply.

5 ways to make your emails even better

The Denver Post ran an article, How to build better e-mail, based on David Shipley and Will Schwable's book, Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home.

Denver Post staff writer Suzanne S. Brown brings up some terrific points, which I'd like to add upon:

1. Make the subject line powerful
I agree with Brown that you should be as specific as possible. Also, don't use brackets or any other phrase like "Nice to meet you" that may be flagged as spam by your email provider.

2. Use a signature block with your full name, title, organization, address, phone number, fax and Web page
Yes to name, title and organization as well as phone, website and email address. But full address and fax number is optional. If you work out of your home, you may not want to give them your address until you know them better or it's time to get paid.

Also, it's not necessary to have the block each time you reply in an individual email conversation (your email program may do it automatically however.). Instead just do it the first time - people will get the idea who you are and how to contact you.

3. Use a sign off
Even though it feels odd doing it in an email, using Best regards, Sincerely, Regards, Best, keeps the email professional but friendly.

4. Watch your language - email is forever
Never write an email when you're angry or upset. If you can't wait to cool down, write the email in a Word document. Then save it and walk away for a few hours.

Think of it this way. In the future, would you be embarrassed that you sent out that email? Does it put YOU in a good light or does it make you look weak or like a jerk? Would you want your worse enemy to read and forward it to your boss, colleagues, family or friends?

5. Edit and proofread two or three times
If it's an especially important email, write and save it as a draft without putting an email address on the TO: line. Save and come back to it later. You may do better printing it out, writing corrections, and then going back and editing. Or have a trusted colleague go over it. Don't forget to run a spell check, too and check to make sure you spelled the person's name correctly.

Just because it's quick, easy and immediate doesn't mean that email should be taken lightly. Any communications you send out whether it's a letter, a pamphlet or a blog post should reflect you at your best. That means good spelling, grammar and professionalism as well as compelling ideas and valuable information.