Blogging for Quilters
More and more quilters are blogging these days. Are you? Are you doing it properly and successfully?
In many cases, I think not. As my attention is drawn on a daily basis to the blogs of other quilters, I see a lot of mistakes being made. We all have a right to learn and grow at our own pace, but here I hope to help some of you expedite that process.
Now, I’m not a professional blog designer, nor do I even speak html, but as I got a somewhat early start on blogging, I have had some experiences and picked up some pointers that I’m happy to share.
For what it’s worth, here are my thoughts on the subject of blogging as practiced by quilters:
Why blog?
To keep your present and future readers informed about what you are doing and what you are selling.
Not selling yet? Why not? Don’t be naive!
Don’t want to sell? Then switch to a social networking site like Twitter or Facebook. You can post daily updates about what you’re doing and share your photos as well. Social networking is extremely user friendly. You don’t have to mess with the structure of the network; you only have to open an account and you’re in business. If you are not offering goods or services for sale, merely wanting to share your work/life with friends, a social network is the most appropriate and time-economical place to do it.
Because blogging keeps you “out there” in the public eye. It adds dimension to your internet presence that a site cannot give. A blog is a more touchy-feeley place than a site is. Blogging makes you more approachable, more personable and more reachable than a cold website will do.
Because you have something unusual to share. The fact that you’re baking cookies today or that you have a new grandchild to celebrate is not anything unusual! Never mind how important those things are in your life, they have limited appeal to others. However, if you’re like Gwen Magee, June Underwood and Jenny Bowker who have artistic, theoretical, philosophical, even political (yes, there are politics among quilters – don’t be naive!) subjects on which to expound, then a blog is your best forum. It permits you to say what you will, and gives others the chance to respond in kind (this is optional; you can switch off comments if you prefer).
Blog or site: which is better?
Depends on what you want to do and how you wish to use your time. If you are first and foremost a quilter, get a site. Better yet, have someone else put it together for you. You don’t have time to be messing around with a computer and the internet. You would rather be quilting, but you need a place to show your wares, maybe help you sell them and to serve as an online portfolio for you. A site will do you just fine! Then, all you have to do is to get people to visit it. You can do that by establishing a name for yourself in certain other large circles, or you can use a social network to attract attention to your site. If all you want to do is to sell your quilts, do that on sites like eBay and Etsy.
However, if you want to be interacting with the people who visit your site, keeping them current on what’s happening in your creative life, sharing information about what’s happening in the quilting world in general, then a blog may well be for you! But make no mistake: time spent blogging is time not spent quilting!!
Blogs and sites are merging; this seems to be a trend of the future. Many site developers are setting up blogs on their clients’ sites, and many blogs carry static information that looks like site stuff even though you’re actually visiting a blog. My blog is one of the latter. Formerly, I had a site, then set up a separate blog and added static pages for all the stuff that had previously been on the site. As I contemplated attaching my galleries, my bio and résumé information, my patterns and tutorials, I knew those items belonged on pages, not on posts that would change from day to day. Nowadays, for those of you ambitious enough to host a WordPress.org blog on your private domain, there are templates available that will get you off on the right foot in this regard. Called “combo” themes, they give you the best of both worlds in one set-up!
Where to set up a blog
Imho (that’s “in my humble opinion” for those of you not yet accustomed to computer-speak), you can’t and probably won’t do better than WordPress. Whether you host it independently like I do, which takes a LOT of time, or whether you join WordPress.com and go from there (probably the better option and one I should have taken at the outset, but it’s too late for me now!), is entirely up to you. Investigate both and make a decision for yourself. (See – blogging is already eating into your quilting time!) WordPress is free, although they are always open to donations. Check it all out at WordPress.org and WordPress.com. One quick look at the WordPress.org Codex should be enough to convince you to visit WordPress.com – fast!!!
If you choose to go anywhere else, make sure you research that place thoroughly. I got badly burned at Blogger.com a couple of years ago when I tried to delete a blog. A spammer picked it up in seconds and started using my blog to promote their own rubbishy products. Make sure that wherever you put your blog, you can take it off just as easily as you can set it up and without unknown negative consequences. Read the fine print!
What to blog about
Important stuff! It doesn’t have to be frightfully important to you, but it needs to be very important to your readers. Announcements of upcoming events, reports of unusual happenings, articles about experiences that should be shared with others because there are important lessons to be learned: these are the fodder of blogs.
Truly, most blog readers are not interested in hearing what you had for breakfast or what the weather is like in your part of the world at the moment or whether your cat died of old age. There’s a lot of this kind of thing going around the internet and it impresses nobody! Don’t waste your important quilting time blogging about this kind of thing.
Do tell your readers about any quilt exhibitions in your area, especially if you have one or more pieces on display there. Shop your local art galleries and museums. Is there something on exhibit that you think your quilting pals should see, perhaps something highly inspiring or textile/fiber related? Talk about it. Is your guild having a guest speaker or teacher within the next few months? Tell the world about it!
More importantly, have a close (come on, I mean thorough) look at this blog. See what are the categories (Topics in the sidebar at right) about which I write. Examine my posts for the last six months. What kinds of things do I talk to my readers about?
OK, so maybe my blog isn’t one of the truly great ones! So, shop around. See what other quilt bloggers are blogging about. Don’t get caught up in the specifics, but do analyze their content in terms of subjects about which you might have something to say. Then, say it on your blog, not on theirs, but leave a comment that tells others where you have spoken.
What not to blog about
Inconsequential stuff, exactly the kind of thing you would expect to put onto a social network account. What your friend said yesterday (unless it’s earthshaking news), who’s coming for dinner (unless it’s Alex Anderson and Ricky Timms), how you struggled to make that darned quilt block (unless you can turn your experience into a tutorial), and where you plan to spend the weekend (unless you’re going to be teaching at the IQF) are not likely to be newsworthy blog posts. Are you getting the right idea now?
Important things to do
Protect your identity and privacy by never posting an email address, telephone number or residential street address on your blog, nor anything carrying any of this information that anyone else can access. I had to edit my Facebook badge in my sidebar the other day to remove my email address from it, after receiving a sudden influx of spam email. I had not even noticed that my email address was visible in the badge, but then I was not a spammer looking for email addresses! Instead of giving an email address, use a contact form. Contact forms serve as spam barriers, and you can increase the protection they give by using Captchas, those little nonsense words you have to enter before a form will be sent. Captchas prevent spammers from bulk computerized spamming by requiring the human touch.
Double-check the spelling of names of people and places. There’s no excuse for not getting these details correct, and you are bound to offend someone if you don’t! Use a spell checker and a grammar checker if necessary.
Learn everything you can about SEO, search engine optimization. A great place to begin is with Cricket Walker’s GNC Web Creations excellent and free online workshops. Make the commitment to do everything she tells you to do. Cricket is a no-nonsense teacher (woman after my own heart) who will walk you through the SEO exercises step by step. In my opinion, she’s a great teacher. You should do what Cricket and her staff tell you, even if you “don’t have time.” Get on and do it; you will never regret the experience, I promise! And consider taking her Marketing Training course as well; it’s excellent, too!
Link to anything and anyone relevant to your post topic and mentioned within your text. Links create blog traffic flow, so use them to good advantage. Have them open in the present tab or in a new tab, whichever you want them to do. I generally keep links on my blog in the same tab and links to sites outside my blog in a new tab. In this post, though, there are some things I want you to see that are on my blog without losing this page before you, so I’ve linked those references to new tabs.
Choose your post titles wisely. Each one should be an eye-catcher, full of meaning and significance. Post titles attract visitors; great post titles attract a LOT of visitors!
Learn how to take digital photos and especially how to downsize your photos so that each one does not require three minutes of download time. Nothing is worse than a blog that takes too long to load! (Please, if you have that experience with my blog, let me know immediately!)
Include photos whenever possible. It’s true: “one picture is worth a thousand words.” We are moving more and more into a visual realm of communications. Without those pictures, your readers will get bored. Isn’t it boring reading this post without pictures? If it is, take a break and have a look at my Gallery or at the Best Darned Quilts Exhibition. Then, discipline yourself. Come back here and read the rest of what I have to say. Now, see how those links work?!
Steer clear of other download time wasters. I’m about to disconnect from Google Analytics (as soon as I have time to figure out how to do that) because it wastes valuable download time on my blog and does not tell me anything more than my WordPress.com Stats plugin already tells me.
Get a grip on your template, no matter what! Nothing screams “unprofessional” more loudly than a template that is out of control. Posts and pictures and sidebar elements all out of alignment: these are the elements that can destroy the legibility of your blog and cause your readers to throw up their hands in frustration, even as they drift off to other more cogent and cohesive blogs.
Clean up outdated posts by stripping their content and replacing it with information that will redirect your visitors to a better place for them to find what it is they seek. Try visiting my early post Structured Fabrics Opens at Quilt University. Notice that I left a lovely photo there to entice my readers to look further, then apologized for the inconvenience and left a link that directs them to my Classes page where they can find current information. I figure my readers are more interested in upcoming online quilt classes than they are in ones that ran a few years ago.
Keep your blog updated. As dates for events change, so should your blog’s announcements for those dates.
Proofread your posts before you publish. Even sleep on them overnight if you can resist the temptation to publish immediately. You will read what you wrote differently the day after you wrote it, and you may catch important errors and oversights.
Most important of all, blog pretty regularly. It is recommended that you post at least twice a week. That lets the search engines (and your readers) know you are a serious blogger. It’s a good discipline for you, keeps you on your toes, always looking for new topics to discuss, news to share and upcoming events to be announced. Blog by mobile phone if you can.
Dumb things to avoid at all costs
Do not blog anonymously unless you really have something to hide. I know there are attitudes circulating that you should protect your identity at all costs. If you do that, how are you going to sell anything? It’s alright to hide behind a company name if you have one, but those of us who read your blog want to know who you are. If you are that fearful of the internet, then you probably shouldn’t be there. Names and portrait photos of yourself, I believe, are safe to have on your blog.
Avoid posting about serious political issues unless you have time to burn or that is indeed the focus of your blog. Truly, most such discussions go nowhere and can eat up huge chunks of your time. At best, they may serve to clear the air. They do little, though, to add to your readers’ interest in your blog. Such matters are best discussed in quilt elists like QuiltArt or the Studio Art Quilt Associates‘ Yahoo! Group (you need to be a SAQA member to join).
Never publicly discuss your blog’s stats, not even in casual conversation with a friend. First, you may come off looking like you’re patting yourself on the back, and second, you’ll probably look like a fool because there are lots of bloggers out there whose stats are superior to yours. Your stats are your personal business. Never share them on or off your blog with anyone who does not need to know that information. Think about it: who really cares?!
Never post anything you would not want your mother, your lover or your employer to read. If it’s that personal, it’s far too personal to be said on a blog! Likewise, never use your employer’s, if you have one, resources and time for taking care of your own blogging business. I’m embarrassed even to have to say such a thing to you!
Have you picked up a commissioned job? Don’t discuss it on your blog! That’s your private, personal business. If the job has not been completed and you have not been paid in full, it is not for public discussion and you could lose the job due to your own foolish indiscretion. After the work is done, you’ve been paid and you know your client is delighted, then you might discuss it with the world, but only with your client’s permission or if the work is on display in a public place. Otherwise, it is still private. Are you getting the message about privacy?! Do not release any information until you are certain it’s a done deal and ready for publicity.
Never use your blog to say anything negative about anyone else. Elsewhere, that’s called “flaming” or “ranting.” It has no place in the blogosphere. You will come off looking like the bad guy and your target will come off looking like an innocent victim. Besides, you never know when you might need to ask that person for a favor. If you’ve done them the favor of not publicly humiliating them over some picayune issue that probably was not worth the effort, you won’t have to feel guilty asking that person to do something nice for you!
And, for goodness’ sake, never, never, never give your readers a step by step account of how you made such-and-such a quilt in any teacher’s class! Quilt students become very excited about what they learn in classes, so much so that they feel they must tell the world all about it. They have taken to their blogs with text and photos that rehashed every aspect of what they were taught. Folks, teachers have to make a living, too! Don’t undermine their wisdom, knowledge and experience by presuming to share the details of their classes with your readers – please! Instead, tell your readers what a wonderful class it was, show them the finished quilt, praise the teacher and give a url where they can find out more about that teacher’s classes. Thank you!
Well, that’s about all I have to say about the do’s and don’t's of blogging for quilters. Comments are welcome; simply click the Comments link immediately below. Please bookmark this page, too, as you ought to return to it from time to time. I have a feeling I will think of more things to add to the lists above as I give myself time to do that, and you will also want to see what my readers have added as comments.
Happy blogging!
PS: If you like this post, click the “Share This” link below and share it! That’s what blogging and social networking are all about! Thanks!
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Quilter Blogs & Store Search
January 28th, 2010 at 8:47 am
I think everything you wrote about being a blogging don’t is what I like about reading blogs. I’ve gotten to know so many new people that I wouldn’t have had I just stuck to those that I know on a social networking site.
I find Google analytics to be fascinating. It’s not about seeing the number of hits, I’m curious about what people search on to get to my page.
January 28th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
Thanks for an interesting post Dena. People/quilters blog for all kinds of reasons. I agree with you about recipes, grandkids, family pets, health problems, etc. and they certainly aren’t found on mine – BUT lots of quilters do in fact really love that stuff. I get the feeling sometimes what I am reading is almost like a letter to the family – which it isn’t, and one always needs to have that in mind. I cringe sometimes when I read personal stuff that shows the writer has little appreciation of how much more enduring digital posts and messages are than the old fashioned letters we grew up writing -with mother’s advice ringing in our ears about it being best not to put some things in writing. The movie “Julie and Julia” illustrates this so well.
Blogging is not for everyone – as you suggest, a blog needs regular attention to attract and retain readership. It’s not a competitive activity – but there is a growing feeling among quilters that they must start a blog to be seen to be professional, which imho is rubbish. Some people write badly, and rather than muck around blogging poorly or with guilt because they haven’t blogged in however long, they’d be better off sticking to a good website if they are wanting to publicise their quilt related activities.
However, I don’t think there’s any ‘proper’ way to blog, and it’s entirely up to the blogger to establish content, focus and their own style. Mine – perhaps you haven’t visited it – is more of a visual diary. And in the nearly 5 years I’ve been writing it, it has become a valuable record to me. I use it to air things that I like, dislike, things that I am thinking about, occasionally social isues but more often things I see and respond to, which are all behind what inspires my art, although the viewer might not see a particular image in a future art work, something has influenced me every time I take a pic or make a sketch and post with comment. I try to always have a pic to include as illustration to my posts, in some way or other. I occasionally post a little tutorial, such as a group of posts on ‘Anatomy of a Commission’ a couple of years back – and if I take other people’s classes never give anything but a general comment about what the workshop was about and show only what I myself did there. When I am teaching I usually take pics of what students are achieving, and as I ask their permission to photograph their work I always say ‘I am not writing a book and these will not be published even on my blog – they might only ever be used to support another submission to teach.’
So my blog is very firmly content controlled – basically it’s about me! I agree with you Dena – it’s more friendly than an actual website, giving the reader more of an idea of me as a person than just as designer and maker of mixed media art and quilts; a running sidebar, if you will, to the formal digital portfolio that a professional website is. Mine is embedded in my website, too, in line with the increasing trend you noted. People can click back and forth without having to leave either altogether.
I hope there is some more interesting discussion here on the topic of blogs by quilters.
January 29th, 2010 at 1:49 am
Hmmm. Excellent points. If one’s goal is to use a blog to network with the intention of selling work and gaining recognition you (and many other professional bloggers) are spot on. However, I think if one is blogging for myriad other reasons, well then, other “rules” apply.
The longer I’m out there, the less comfortable I am with trying to convince people to part with their hard earned money for something I’m going to make whether anyone buys it or not. I fear my life, and therefore my blog will never be “successful” in a commercial money-making sense. I’ve tried separating my blog, Flickr account and FB account by “serious artist”, “marketable crafter,” and “acquaintances,” but it never felt whole or authentic. I’m not looking for a sidebar full of sponsors either — too much pressure in a world of expectations. I haven’t checked my stats in months, because as long as I have comments and some back and forth conversation, I’m happy.
I have learned so much and gained so much from having an online journal from which to get feedback from the world around me. I move every three years. I live in conservative communities with few artists. I find it difficult to find geographically close peers. That’s where my blog comes in. I started it before Twitter, and when FB was populated by teens, not baby boomers looking for High School classmates. I’m trying FB, but it’s not speaking to me the way my blog does. I doubt that I could find the depth of peership and the wonderful, deeper, conversations on FB that I do through blogs. And for an isolated, nomad type like me, what I’ve found in blogland is priceless, even if I never do blog “correctly” according to life coaches and business promoters. Different strokes for different folks.
January 29th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Dena, I felt I had to comment. I agree partly with you on some aspects. But you know I have had a blog for some 5 years now…. I have a great following and at times I do talk about my family, I talk passionately about politics, travel and all aspects of my life as an International Quilt Tutor.
My blog isn’t there to make money. It’s to keep in touch with students.
Facebook and twitter just don’t cut it for me in quilting.
There are Mom and Pop quilt bloggers who enjoy sharing their ideas and talents…. I don’t feel they should be shoved into the facebook category…. or feel ashamed that they talk about ordinary things…..and most people know the rules about flaming etc… it’s just plain polite and good manners.
I guess we will meet in Chicago….. we may have a chance to chat more about it then….
Best wishes. Pam
January 29th, 2010 at 11:58 am
You are entitled to your view Dena and if you want to maintain a wholly professional blog then you make some good points. However, if I had followed your gusidelines my main blog Down the Well (which has been going since the early days of blogs) would be very different. It has a distinct textile art/ quiltmaking fcous and it is linked to my own website. However, I do write about the mundane things that you frown upon as well. And if my blog had been very different I would not have been blogging about my plans to travel the world. And I would not have had the readership I did who when I asked for travel tips did not just give me the names of quilt shops, they opened their homes and gave up their days in in some cases travelled hundreds of miles to meet me. When I met one such woman in Christchurch ( who was able to be there because I blogged about a hotel room I no longer wanted due to my inner princess syndrome and offered it up to the first responder) she mentioned a post I did on my supposedly textile related blog about a disasterous day I had with my sister in Ikea. She told me that she and her friends were actually ringing each other to tell their friends that they had to read it. So, sorry, but people are interested in the small details of people’s lives.
If I think about the blogs I read there are two categories. There are those who are factual and strictly related to the profession of quilt making. Then there are those who combine textiles with the personality and life of the person. The latter are actualy my favourite. I have made on line friendships from reading these blogs. As I say, I have meade real life friendships. And our Twelve by Twelve Art group (www.twelveby12.org) thrives from us not only having a challange related blog but from being able to ,maintain our cohesive community by catching up on each other’s lives via the blogs we write. I do want to know about Gerrie’s dog or Brenda’s occasional receipes, Nikki’s child reading moments etc. I get great cameraderi from knowing that someone else is struggling with a quilt block too! And, oh how I wish I could join Diane in her local Starbucks with that Stampington magazine on days when she is not doing anything more intreresting than drinking that mocha and taking a break from her family.
So there is an internal inconsidetency in your argument when you say that we should post what is interesting to readers but then superimpose the definition that interesting means unusual or commercial related.
I have to say I also have more focused on textle blogs such as the one I dedicate to City and Guilds samples and that also has its benefits. My (now retired) Quiltland Chronicle blog was a spoof newpaper set in Quiltland and did not follow any of your pointers but had a great readership and spawned a blogring.
So Dena, thank you for some good pointers and things to consider, but please remember that blogging is a medium. Just like a pencil or a pen and to tell people that there is only one way to blog properly or what their content should be is a form of attempted censorship. Not only does one person not have the right or qualifications to set these parameters, but the concept that only certain material is interetsting is a subjective one which cannot be imposed upon the whole of the blogging community. If you find certain blogs disinteresting ( and I assume mine may well be in that catergory) then don’t read them. But please do not discourage someone else from writing a post which will enrich my day and connect me to the people I now love and cherish.
Helen
PS. And I actually would be interested to know what you DID have for dinner today! I bet there are ingredients available ( or not availble) where you live that would be very different to my supermarket.
January 29th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
Hi Dena,
Thanks for sharing your insights and it was interesting to also read Kristin, Alison, and Jen’s comments as well. I’m sure there will be more feedback pro & con.
Many people enjoy reading blogs and being what I call “anomonyous lurkers” in other peoples lives, learning about different lifestyles, etc. One of the reasons television is FLOODED with Reality shows also.
Continued Success!
January 29th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Dena,
I find your take on quilters’ blogs interesting, but I disagree strongly with the overall message in your post that there are “right” and “wrong” ways for quilters to blog. One of the many wonderful things about blogging is that a blog can be whatever the blogger wants to it to be. You have many excellent suggestions for a quilter who wants to use her blog solely as a marketing tool, but I find it unfortunate that you have not directed your comments to that limited segment of bloggers, and indeed that you are so critical of bloggers whose aims may be very different from yours.
Many quilters do not blog for the sole purpose of marketing and selling work. I’m the founder and manager of the Artful Quilters Blog Ring which links over 400 blogs written by quilters who focus on art and contemporary quilting. Some bloggers use their blogs primarily as marketing tools, but most blog more broadly, about their art, their lives, their opinions. The blogs express who they are as people, not just as quilters. It’s clearly a matter of personal taste — and it seems that yours and mine are quite different in this regard — but what I love most about reading quilters’ blogs is that they introduce me to people who share my passion. They inspire me when they share their processes, their frustrations, their mistakes. I marvel at the variety of lifestyles we quilters lead. I’m reminded of a blog entry from an Australian quilt artist who wrote an entry bemoaning how kangaroos traveled past her house each day, disrupting her garden. That, to me, illustrated what I love about the broad-ranging topics of many quilters’ blogs — that woman and I share the same art form, but in other ways her life is as different from mine as I can imagine. Many, many friendships are formed through the blogging experience, and largely because we share so much of our whole lives in our blogs — and yes, that includes who is coming for lunch, what we’re cooking, how we felt while we cleaned the house, what our political views are, etc. If that’s what’s important to someone, the blog is hers for her to express that.
To me, there are significant differences between a blog and a website. I see the website is the promotional tool for specific focus on the art and the artist’s thoughts about it, her teaching, her art-related travel schedule, her biography, the techniques she wishes to share, and of course the vehicle for selling. I (and, I think, most blog readers) view blogs as something quite different and decidedly more personal. As I read your post, it seems to me that you want quilters’ blogs to be what I consider a website disguised as a blog. And, if that is how you want to use the medium, that’s great. Go to it! And your giving advice to those bloggers who want to use a blog in the same way may prove enormously helpful to them. But please, don’t tell us that if we’re not doing it your way, we are making mistakes and blogging improperly.
I don’t want to read blogs that are as one dimensional as the sort you describe. For the blogger whose only goal is to market herself, maybe following your rules will get her exactly the results she wants, and that’s a good thing. But to suggest that other quilters who blog are doing something “wrong” or “dumb” or “making mistakes” attaches a negative perspective on a communication device whose strength is that it allows individuality and creativity. For many of us artists and quilters, having a space to share the whole of our creative lives is a delight and has brought us opportunities and connections more valuable than selling a quilt. In my view, it’s not for anyone else to tell us that we’re doing it wrong. Why should those of us who enjoy sharing our lives, and not just the quilting parts, be relegated to the one-sentence/140 character world of Twitter and Facebook?
Like art itself, blogging provides a realm for unlimited creativity and personal expression. How you choose to use your blog, and how you choose the blogs you follow, is up to you. If you don’t like blogs that discuss personal lives, then don’t read them. It’s that simple. It’s not anyone’s place, it seems to me, to impose “rules” on how quilters should be blogging. The quilt world has its share of “quilt police”; we don’t need “Blog Police,” too.
January 29th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Like Kristin, whom I am fortunate to know and be friends with IRL, generally move every three years. I have found that the blogging has been like my virtual guild. While the guild I belong to here is filled with wonderful ladies, I find I can “talk” to my blog audience far more easily than I can IRL sometimes – also more frequently since the guild only meets once a month. It has also been a guild for me when I had none in the area where I lived.
I feel a blog should be more personal than “to make money” and I generally will not continue reading one if it exists solely to make money. I like the more personable blogs, the ones that feel like a conversation is welcome.
Though in its present form, my blog has only been around a few months, I have been blogging for almost three years. I blog for myself. No one else. It is my journal of my life. Quilting is not the only aspect of my life, just like at quilting bees, you don’t talk about just quilting. Yes, it is the primary focus of why you are there, but you talk about health, kids, problems, family, etc.
January 30th, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Hi Dena,
I started my blog just a few weeks ago. After the first post introducing
myself I received a comment telling me that when I had something
controversial or thoughtful to say that commenter would visit my site
again.
What a wonderful lesson that was for me. Since then I have had thought
provoking posts and have received a lot of positive comments. Discussion
has been started on some of my lists.
Thank you for your informative suggestions. I invite you to visit my blog.
Brenda
January 30th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Here is a Social Media guru that I follow – Chris Brogan and he has great
tips about blogging, FB, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. In reading your post about
blogging, I agree with some of the points that you make, however I really
believe blogging should not have so many limitations. Where is the fun in
that? I have been using Google Blogger for 5 years and have never had any
problems with my blogs. It is what you make it, just like life. I do market myself and my work on my blog. I do make comments on other people’s blogs. I have sold from my blog. But I don’t take myself too seriously. I love making art quilts and have fun while doing it. I want to have fun on my blog, and heck – I have 5 blogs all on Google Blogger.
January 30th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
I’m very busy these days and don’t normally respond to emails on the
SAQA list. However, I felt like I needed to when I saw all the negative
feedback you were getting about this. For the record, I thought it was
an excellent article! (The only change I would make is to add “1000
words” with some photos.)
I’m sure some hobby quilters blog for very different reasons, and
therefore some of your assumptions don’t actually apply. But most of
them are still excellent guidelines for any blog! And for those who are
trying to look professional, your comments are right on.
Maybe it needs a new title, suggesting blogging as a professional or
some such.
At any rate, it was a very thorough and well thought out post. Good for
you!
January 31st, 2010 at 5:27 am
I have only been quilting for 6 years. I have only been blogging for 1.5 years. I quilt because I love to: I do not sell my quilts, I give them away. I love reading personal quilting blogs. I learn, I laugh, I cry with the people I am getting to know. And, I do quit reading the blogs that are mostly commercial. I can find things for sale on web sites, at stores, and at quilt festivals. But I read blogs for enjoyment, not for commercial reasons. Maybe I not only write my blog for the wrong reasons but also read for the wrong reasons. But I don’t think so.
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:36 am
Gari, thanks for posting your comments on my article. I think you should read blogs for whatever reason you choose, but isn’t it nicer to read one that uses good grammar and spelling, is attractive and functional, rather than one that displays poor writing skills and doesn’t work in the manner it is supposed to? It’s the latter to which my article offers assistance.
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:40 am
Thanks, Ellen, for your support.
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:42 am
Jamie, thanks for the tip re Chris Brogan. I see our discussion is timely in light of this: http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=Ffeh3&m=1ZFJl5ijVmPjGf&b=o1mS.k8vEocSt578fIOQ7w. It seems your Chris is teaming up with my Darren Rowse. Question: how in the world do you have time for 5 blogs?!
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:47 am
Brenda, thanks for commenting. I have looked at your blog, and I invite you to email me privately for a bit of more specifically directed advice, which I am happy to share with you for free! Use the contact form in the sidebar at right to drop me a note, and I’ll get back to you quickly. You’re off to a good beginning with your blog, and I wish you all the best of luck with it.
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:09 am
Well, my post certainly got some interesting dialog going!
I don't mind at all that some of you disagree with my position; that's bound to happen. I don't expect all, what, 27 million (?) quilters to agree with everything I say.
However, I think the term "blog police" is rather over the top.
I shared thoughts, not rules. If anyone felt any particular idea did not fit their situation, they could easily ignore it without calling me names.
The ideas I shared in my article were all derived from hard-learned lessons I have experienced.
If you can benefit from any of them, fine. If not, then why let that bother you? Why should you care? I have not attacked any of you personally, nor would I ever do such a thing.
Surely the definitions of words like "properly" and "successfully" have to do with your criteria. Is your blog meeting your goals and purposes? If it is, and if you're happy with it, then surely you must be blogging properly and successfully. But if you're not entirely happy with your blog, you might well benefit from some of the ideas in my post.
Surely, if you're all allowed to blog as you please, so then am I?!
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:18 am
Kristin, thanks for commenting. I think each of us has to seek and find our individual comfort zones when it comes to revealing personal information about our lives. There are events that happen where I live that I am happy to share, for example, my stories about the python in the loo, and visits to my ex-pet hippo Cleo at Haller Park outside Mombasa. However, there's a line for me when it comes to discussing things that are too personal, too intimate for public broadcast, like the details of the recent deaths of two of our lovely Dalmatians due to bites from a puff adder. I don't need to tell everyone that story, and no one else needs to hear it, either. I try to keep most posts on my blog positive and upbeat, and I expect you do, too.
I also believe, however, that we must protect ourselves just a little. Unless you're blogging on a closed, private blog, anything you write or say enters the public domain. I don't believe in being paranoid about it, but a little discretion is appropriate; don't you agree?
Success is measured in terms other than only money, and when I speak of selling, well, there are many ways of presenting ourselves, aren't there?
I'm glad you're enjoying your blogging and I wish you every success with it, however YOU define and measure that quality.
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:53 am
I'm sorry you feel that way, but then we are all writing and reading blogs for different reasons. I should think that in future, social networking has the potential to replace blogs completely, but of course, these things take time and there's no way to predict.
I believe what you're talking about, Jen, is stats in general, no matter who presents them to you. I totally agree that statistical information is important and very relevant. My point was that I did not feel I needed two sources for my stats, so I was about to delete one of them. Otherwise, I would waste twice the time studying both sets; see what I mean?
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:55 am
Thank you, Jean, and to you! I'm sure there's plenty of room out there for all of us!
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:02 am
Helen, thanks so much for your thoughtful comments. Did you spend any time looking at other posts on my blog? Not only will you find the "hard" stuff, announcements, reminders, the usual links, etc., but you will also find stories there about my life in Kenya. I'm very much aware of how people like to tune in on the details of the lives of others; but I do also draw a line between what I believe is appropriate and what may be pushing the envelope a bit too far into really personal information. If I believe most people would be interested, I'll write about it, but I also do not wish to bore my readers.
And talking about my dinner last night would be very boring for you! Roast pork, roast potatoes, boiled carrots, spinach and baked butternut squash. Now, if I'd had dinner at a "nyama choma" joint, and could report back to you about githeri and goat, I would happily share!
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:04 am
Thanks, Pam, for commenting. I know you're a very busy lady, and I appreciate your taking the time to do so. Our blogs serve the same purpose. I'll check yours out, because I'm sure I can learn some things from you, too!
See you in Chicago!
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:13 am
Kristin, I have some small understanding of the sense of disconnectedness you may experience due to changing homesteads so often. Here in Kenya, we have many people whose spouses change jobs that often or even more frequently, fully expecting the non-working spouse to shut down on one life and pick up on another in a new location. I don't think I could handle that at all, but I live in a similarly disconnected way by virtue of living in relative wilderness. My work on the Web has been a real life-saver.
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:15 am
Great points you make here, Alison; so nice to "see" you again after some time. I'm sure my readers will learn something from what you say here, and I appreciate the remarks as well. Thanks!
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Of course you should blog as you please, Dena. That was, in fact, the point of my comment. I've been fascinated by the discussion your post has generated, and you have caused people to stop and think about what they do or do not want to read, how they do or do not want to present themselves through their blogs, or whether they want to blog at all. Thank you for generating such a lively discussion, and I appreciate your taking the time to reply to my comment. .
I should add that seeing your post on the SAQA list was what led me to your blog entry, which caused me to go and look at your quilts. Your work is lovely and I was glad to encounter it.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:49 am
Thank you, Diane! I'm still relatively new to blogging, but I really believed some of my experiences could help others. If I've shaken up the community a little bit, so be it! I would hope to see more good suggestions coming from other bloggers about how to blog nicely ("nicely" rather than "properly").
February 5th, 2010 at 5:04 am
Hi Dena
Well, you certainly did stir things up a bit! I read through the comments on Terry's blog and your blog more thoroughly, and see that we're all blogging for different reasons. I think I read your response to Diane correctly and see that you view all this back and forth as a good thing – but I know that I would be uncomfortable with having drawn this type of attention.
The more I blog, the more I think about my "voice", and I'm happy that I have one! Even though you preface your advice with some qualifiers, your tone definitely sets the mood that you're telling people the best way to do something, which IMHO got some peoples feathers ruffled! (Again, this may have been what you were going for! If so, then you were 110% successful!)
I guess what I'd like to add to this discussion is that some of your advice as to what blogging software to use is a bit off the mark. One of your main points is that we should be using our blogs to market our products, and this is forbidden on WordPress.com blogs. I LOVE WP, I started my blog as a .com, and when I wanted to take it up to the next level (both design wise and to add the ability to market from my site) I moved to a self hosted WP site. Your emphasis on WP.com may steer someone the wrong way – it would have been nice to point them to an article like this so they get all the real info:
http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
Also, although WP stats are great, there IS a whole other level of info you can get from Google analytics, if you want take advantage of it!
Anyway, just a couple of thoughts from Southern CA!
February 5th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Hi, Candy, and thanks for coming back with comments of your own.
In point of fact, I suspect it was my choice of words and perhaps tone of voice, as you point out, that precipitated all this discussion, and I appreciate you pointing this out in a tactful manner. I know I can be a bit abrasive, especially when I'm quick to say anything. In this case, I did not intend to speak abrasively, only directly to the points I wanted to make.
They say all publicity is good publicity. If I wanted more visitors and comments, this post certainly did accomplish that! In fact, my intention was only to be helpful. If some folks find my ideas not helpful, they are free to ignore them. If they stuck around and had a good look, perhaps they would find something of interest in my tutorials, even my gallery.
I'm surprised to hear that WordPress.com does not permit selling of goods and services. Certainly that is not the case for WP.org and self-hosted blogs, as there are plenty of plugins that serve as shopping carts and make the entire purchasing process must easier.
I checked the WordPress.com Terms of Service at ” target=”_blank”>http://en.wordpress.com/tos/ and the page to which you referred us, and I can find no language on either page that precludes marketing and sales, apart from trying to sell WordPress itself! If you have a more definitive link, I'm sure my readers would like to know. Perhaps it is the inability of bloggers on WP.com to add plugins that would dissuade many users from setting up shopping carts; they would have to manage html and more higher tech processes to do it.
As for Google Analytics, I find the whole thing more hassle than it's worth. I already know from what countries my readers come, and there are two sets of stats available to me from my domain host. I prefer to keep it simple and not be overly involved with Google; again, my personal opinion!
Thanks again, Candy; been nice chatting with you!
February 11th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
This blog entry was quite illuminating. The big DON'T's on your list are exactly why I read so few blogs on a regular basis. I simply do not have the interest in or the time to waste reading about someone's new carpet or grandchild. If that is what I find on a blog, I won't return to that blog. I would rather be working on my next quilting project.
I would not normally post a comment to a blog, but after reading some of the coments showing up here, I wanted to say that I appreciate all the thought and effort put into this blog on a continuing basis. It is well written and informative. I am glad you set your standards so high because I happily return to this blog regularly. I think that many other bloggers could learn a great deal from what you wrote in this entry. Well done Dena!
February 12th, 2010 at 5:35 am
Thank you!!
March 1st, 2010 at 2:50 pm
compare google analytics with smarterstats and you will find that the latter shows a HUGE percentage of hits that google misses. if you take the truble to have stats, then make sure you are getting accurate information….. just saying…
March 1st, 2010 at 2:53 pm
If the blog is about quilting, hints, tips, etc. I cannot see where family, grandkids, etc. have a place. If it is a family blog, that is where those things should be. Some folks have slow and expensive internet connections and to wade through personal stuff can be expensive and time consuming. Don't kill the messenger! just think of the situation that others may be in before long posts.