Blogging 101

tumblr/mochaberry

hi bloggers! do you love your blog? well you should! loving your blog is not about being cocky or conceited. -but it is key to gaining an audience. your readers will only enjoy your blog as much as you do!

i am going to start where i left off last week with my Blogging 101 series. today will be about driving blog traffic.

keep in mind that this advice is targeted for those looking to make blogging their business, not for those that are blogging to share photos/information with family and friends.

PART 2 (driving traffic)

there are 2 things that you should do today before you even begin to think about driving traffic:

1. install the Alexa Toolbar. it only takes a few seconds! there are toolbars for Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox. (i use all 3 of these browsers and have an Alexa Toolbar installed on each one!) the Alexa Toolbar will allow you to keep track of your daily Alexa traffic rank- which will give you an idea of how your efforts are paying off. you can also use it to check out the Alexa Rank of any website. if you are like me you will become a little obsessed!

e.g. Facebook is ranked a 2, Blogspot is a 6, Anthropologie is 5,998, and today Spearmint Baby is 233,895. your Alexa Traffic Rank will most likely fluctuate daily and the lower you are the better!

2. install Google Analytics on your blog. Google Analytics is an extremely helpful tool for keeping an eye on your website traffic. (where people are coming from, how long they are on your site, what key word searches are leading people to your blog, etc.)

you need to sign up for a free Google Analytics account, accept the terms/legal agreement, and then paste the code they provide into your blog template. it is not incredibly difficult, but takes a little bit of time. once you have this set up correctly, you will be able to track data in about 24 hours. here is a good step by step to installing Google Analytics.

after completing these 2 steps you are ready to begin driving traffic…

so, you’ve been blogging for a few weeks now. you’ve come up with the perfect blog name and you’ve been posting interesting content everyday. your blog layout and design is a work in progress, but it looks presentable and clean and you are ready to have an audience…(bigger than your mom, dad, sisters, and husband!)

today i am going to discuss 3 simple things for bloggers to do to build their audience. they may or may not help you, but remember that experimentation is key. you will be able to see which things are more effective at driving traffic by checking your Google Analytics data at the end of each day!

1. Visit forums & chat rooms.

once you define your niche, you can easily become part of online communities that are relevant to your blog. most forums & chat rooms will allow you to include your blog url in your signature. people that read your posts will often click over to see what your blog is about.

when i first started Spearmint Baby, i was already an active community member on thebump.com and thenest.com forums. i added my blog url to my signature and i would get many visitors from their sites each day. the editors of The Bump quickly took notice and named Spearmint baby as the Editors’ Pick for Baby Design Blog. Spearmint Baby was only 6 months old at the time and this drove a lot of new traffic to my blog. i’m not sure that the editors of thebump.com would have known about my blog had i not been an active community member.

a few other mom/baby related forums that i visit: Circle of Moms, Social Moms, Baby Center, Just Mommies

one thing to note is that you should NOT go to forums specifically to promote your blog. community members can be VERY unforgiving to bloggers who post messages specifically about visiting their blog. in addition, go in with a little caution. forums/chat rooms can be full of drama!…which is best to just ignore.

2. sign up IMMEDIATELY for Facebook, Twitter, & LinkedIn pages for your blog/business.

the first year and a half that i spent blogging i totally neglected all of these free social media networking sites. it was a huge mistake! it is only in recent months that i have become active every day in these communities and it has made a HUGE difference in my blog traffic.

follow Facebook & Twitter pages for businesses & bloggers that you like or want to network with. make relevant comments on their Facebook pages, post replies on Twitter, or retweet their posts- these are great ways to get them to notice you!

update your Facebook page & Twitter status daily- or more if you like. soon this will become like brushing your teeth every morning!

there are many ways to use LinkedIn and i am just starting to explore them. i always invite anyone that i have done business with to become one of my LinkedIn contacts. in addition i invite any PR reps that contact me to become a LinkedIn contact. you will be so happy that you have an online bookmark of all of these contacts!

there are also lots of groups/forums on LinkedIn that you can join. one that i belong to is M2MOms.

3. be an active member in your blogging community!

remember the advice i gave you last week?:
pick 4 or 5 blogs that you really enjoy and read them EVERY.SINGLE.DAY! study what they are doing, how they relate to their audience, their formatting/design style, etc. you may want to take notes of similar things that you would like to do on your blog.

have you been reading your favorite blogs every single day? if so, you need to take it one step further…

whenever you enjoy or relate to a blog post, post a friendly comment… “oooh, i love those shoes,” or “my 17 month old won’t let me brush her teeth either!” at the end of your comment sign your name and include your blog URL. most bloggers enjoy reading comments and have no problem if you include your blog URL. if fact, most bloggers actually want to know who you are and will in turn visit your blog. other commenters may also notice your blog URL and visit too.  this is a super easy thing to do so no excuses!

ok, that is all for today. next week i will be writing more about driving blog traffic. until then you should keep busy working on these things! xo, shari

p.s. feel free to add your own advice. i would love to hear about things that worked for you when you were just starting out as a blogger.

For Your Wee Ones: Into the Woods

Clockwise from top left: saw whet owl archival print, owl mask, flight series A signed parchment print, mabel the hedgehog plushie, log no. 36 original watercolor, squirrel lamp, branch pillow with mushrooms and moss

Petite Maloles Shoes

the latest trend for little feet is – Petite Maloles! these are simply the most gorgeous shoes around. i recently purchased a pair for my daughter but instead of letting her wear them, i keep them in the box tucked deep inside the closet. then when i need something beautiful to look at and caress, i take them out. i put them in my hands and feel the soft supple leather. take in the meticulous attention to detail. when i’ve had my fill, i put them back into the box deep inside the closet. a little neurotic maybe? yes! but i know some of you will understand . the good news – the brand also makes a women’s line for all of you shoe lovers out there.

www.diaperstylememoirs.blogspot.com

show us your BABY BUMP!

I absolutely love reading your blog! I get a lot of good ideas that are helping me to plan my nursery – My husband and I are not finding out what we are having and we have created a blog of old wives tales’ that I do each week to try and guess! I’ll be posting some pics of the nursery when we get it completed, if you have any ideas for gender neutral owls, I’d love to see them! Thanks so much, I hope you enjoy this blog as much as we do! (Also, If you’re still looking for a guest blogger, I would love to help out!)
Take care, and happy blogging!

Shari
Scottandsharischeider.blogspot.com

thanks, Shari! it is so rare to meet someone with my name! so exciting to be expecting a “surprise baby! my husband and i always say that if we have a 3rd, we will keep it a surprise. i can only imagine the excitement in the delivery room when they say…”"it’s a BOY/GIRL!” xo, shari

are you PREGNANT?

p.s. i have received sooo many adorable pregnancy photos….and will be featuring one of you every Wednesday & Thursday so check back!!

Button Monogram

Display your child’s initial with a button monogram. This is great for all of you sewers/crafters who have lots of extra buttons laying around!

Supplies needed:
- Printer
- Scissors
- Cardstock
- Pen or Pencil
- Adhesive
- Paper Piercer
- Buttons and Brads (a complete list of the Elements Jen used is at the bottom of this post)
- Frame without glass or shadowbox

Click here for step-by-step directions to the entire project.

Vintage Nursery

theselby.com

photo of the day

I wanted to share with you a photo of my six-month old son, Fin. He was born just over 7 weeks early, but he is growing like a champ. We are so proud of how much he has progressed.
Abbie
aglimpseofthegirlnextdoor.blogspot.com

yay for a big, strong, healthy boy! he is so cute in those helicopter pajamas. please share where they are from XO, shari

do you have a photo you would like featured for “Photo of the Day?”
please email it to spearmintbaby@gmail.com (subject: Photo of the Day)

chatty twin boys

this video is soooo hilarious! for those that have twins, you will probably understand better than the rest of us. check it out & ENJOY a good laugh.

learn more about these cuties @ twinmamarama.com