My Blog

A few weeks off ago I wrote a post over at my other blog on LoLnatics. Because of the subject matter I thought it would be a great idea to copy paste it to the League of Legends forums and send a link directly to my blog. While I did get quite a few angry responses as well as a lot of good feedback, what I was happy with was the amount of traffic that my blog got as you can see from the picture.

Now for those of you thinking that you really want get this kind of traffic, be forewarned... My post WTB a Team That Doesn't Cuss Teammates Out? had some subject matter that actually got me a lot of critisizm. Not to say that I didn't fight back in the forums, (yes, i got involved in a flame war) but the point is, that if you do something like this just be aware that not everyone is going to love what you say. Here are some pictures of the forum that prove my point.



While the 1st one was funny from the start, it quickly turned to someone that just really didn't get the message of my post. As for the second one well I don't know what happened with them, but they really didn't like my post. oh, and this being said... Make sure that the forums that you are posting on in order to get blog traffic don't have rules against doing things like i did. If they do what you can always do is just copy the 1st paragraph, or, you can ask a specific question, and then just say something like "It is more detail HERE, but I was just wondering..." I'm not saying saying that anyone should go out and do anything against their forum policy, be smart about.

As for other responses well fear not I did get constructive feedback. I won't show you all the people that were "I agree, you are awesome," cause that type of feedback only goes so far, and if you want to see the whole thing, you can go HERE. There was this one comment that stood out though that I think is worth sharing.


You will get a bunch of flame. And to tell you the truth all comments were made on the forum post and not my blog, but that is really ok in this situation as I was really only trying to get more people over to my blog and build a community of like minded people. Anyways, if you have questions about this, or feedback that is relevant please comment below. I am happy to answer questions you have

As a blogger we sometimes have the problem of going overboard. Not to say that keeping up on your blog is a bad thing, but there are times, when we tend to stress ourselves out, and can't take the idea of blogging anymore. I had this problem in trying to remain consistent for 4-5 months with my blog, and then ended up giving up and taking a 9 month break just to try and get my life in order. Now would I recommend this to other blogger out there? Definitely not, because if you are trying to build a fan base, about a month is all you can go with out losing most of your loyal readers. However, like most things we do need to take a break. Here are a few pointers on getting back and into the game...

-Start looking around the web and see what is going on. Social media that is changing, current things that have changed in the blogging realm etc. This also includes finding a few blogs that are about the same topic as your blog. Seeing what they are referencing is a good idea to do just because then you know what is going on in your niche.

-Coming back can be hard, but getting your 1st post is the hardest. Even if it is short, don't put it off. It might only be a paragraph but that paragraph is the starting point. As a writer it is really easy to say things like "Oh, I'll get around to it." Well if you don't start, then it will never get done, so go out and do something.

-Get reconnected. Try by just saying hey to a few of the old blogs you read. This can mean hitting up twitter, or going to your Reader if you have one. Letting know people know that you are back is good especially if they are your friends. They can hook you up with some advice, or maybe just ask you how you have been. Either way, it is still a pretty good idea.

These are just a few quick ideas to get started blogging again. I know there are probably more that I am not hitting on but here are a few to just ponder. Good luck blogging, and best of wishes at jumping back into the blogging world.

Pic Credit

this week after camp was absultly crazy. I've busy with work, friends and dancing. I did come out with two post though Writing a Good Intro and How to Make a Good Title. I do have more in store for this series...however I won't be able to post them for a while.

I came to realize that my blog has really just become more of a chore than having fun with it. For those that read my 7 Things I Learned in High School that Can be Applied to Writing/Life you know that I just graduated. Well the truth is that next year I go out into the real world and I want to have fun with life before I need to start paying bills, and worrying about "getting out there on my own."

So although it pains me to say this I will not be blogging for the rest of summer. Mabye if I was making more money off this blog it would be a different story, but I really don't have the time to spend on cranking out new posts every week when I'm starting to lose the enjoyment I once had. Thank you all for your support and I hope to be back in the fall (we shall see.) much love and God bless.

Izzy

P.S. I will be checking all my messages so feel free to comment and I will get back to you. oh, and if you do send in a guest post I will make sure it makes to the blog. thanks

After you get your Title to hook your audience is important to realize that the intro to your article is equally important. You know how teachers in school tell you that you need you should be hooked within the 1st 15 sec? Well this is so true. An intro, or more the first paragraph is what will tell readers if you know what you are talking about, and if they want to continue reading. You can’t please everyone, but here are some general pointers to a good intro.

Stick with What Your Title Implies
This sounds really stupid but there are times when you will see an article that written on a different subject than what the title conveys. I think this is really relevant when it comes to YouTube. This isn’t writing but I see a lot of videos that are titled incorrectly and while they do get views, they aren’t creditable (though they are funny.) Bottom line, if you want people to come back make sure that your intro sticks with your title.

Ask (Then Answer) a Commonly Ask Question

In light of the fact that it is Monday, and that I am leaving for a week I think it is time for me to show what has happened this week. This means that is time for another weekly roundup.

Work got kinda mixed into my schedule, and I sent in an application to freelance website that I got accepted to. The site is called The Examiner, and it is going to be for the Denver location. I was going to be writing for endurance training, but half way through the application they put me on breakdancing which I really don’t mind to be honest.

Articles
This week I opened up the doors for people to write guest posts. I had a problem with my form and lost a friend’s application but I did get an excellent post from Revelations Zero about How to Write Content that Sells.

Last Tuesday I cranked out an article on How to avoid messing up your post schedule this was probably the short info post I have ever done and it needs something added to it, but it gets the point across which is good.

As for last night well, I cranked out one last article for you guys that should help you deal with Flame and Spam off your websites. It’s not always a pretty think, but if utilized it can actually help your blog rather than hurt it.

Announcements
Next Tuesday I will be starting a weeklong series if all goes as planned. Basically what you will be see is a guide on how to improve your blog just by fixing commonly messed up issues with just the post itself. For all my readers I will see you on Saturday, as for everyone that is just now visiting for the 1st time please subscribe by either RSS or Email.

You know that feeling you get when you get a message from someone telling you why your content sucks? It hurts, and can sometimes mess you up depending on the post, but the fact of the matter is that flame is actually a good thing for most posts. Don’t believe me? Well 1st lets differentiate spam from flame, and that might help us a little.

Flame is a message from someone telling you why they think that your article is bad. It is usually set up as hate mail, and can cause an argument, but unlike spam, it has some meaning behind it. Spam is usually something that says “you suck.” Short, not really a true comment, just there to aggravate you that the sender didn’t spend a lot of time on. If you are getting flame it means that someone is actually reading your content, and pointing out the flaws in your writing.

Why FLAME is good

Traffic is traffic
You may not like it, but you are getting page views. This means that someone is looking at your content and actually reading it. Personally would rather have one person say “fix this” than opposed to 100 people saying “great post, loved it.”

Someone thinks you are worth the effort
Usually when I see blogs that suck, I just leave them be, and let them fail. There a few blogs though that when I read the content that they put out I prefer to tell them “sorry, but you are dead wrong.” If someone is post all the things you need to fix then you grabbed their attention enough that they spent the time to leave a comment. Probly the best flame I’ve gotten would be on my article Three: A New Legend on the Myth of Vampires (comment #5.) It was a bit rough reading though I had already changed the story idea, but I got 7 quality reasons from Mike as to why he thought I need to change my story. This leads me to the next point.

Comments are always a good thing
Usually you will get feedback about why people agree with what you said or things that you forgot to add. If you are getting some one that is telling you something different it might be a good idea to listen and see if what they are saying is legit. If you remove it then you are just letting them win. But leaving it there, and defending yourself can show them (or future readers) that you can and will back yourself up.

When should I remove it?
There comes a time when enough is enough, just remember though that when you signed up for this gig you get everything that comes with it, and the flame is going to happen. You know the saying “if you can’t take the heat then stay out of the kitchen?” Well here is where it applies. If you keep getting feedback about how bad your writing is then you might want to either start publishing somewhere else, get someone to edit you work, or just go back and analyze yourself. Don’t give up writing, it is a difficult thing…just take a break and have someone overlook your content before you publish something that isn’t readable, or has completely wrong facts.

Besides, think about the commenter. If they spent the time to comment then why remove what they said? This is why I don't even bother commenting on Triond because people get offend if you try and give them tips on improving their writing, and then remove what you had to say.

So how does flame affect your writing? Do you remove nasty comment or reply to them? When is to much enough for you, and what do you do when it happens?

Here at LoaTW I am please to announce that I am releasing my 1st guest post which comes from Niemand over at Revelations Zero. From this blog you can expect to see "A semi-personal and creative blog which I use to express my opinions about various worldly events and society in general," as Niemand puts it. If you like the post please head over and check it out.

If you're reading this, chances are you already know a great deal about maintaining a good blog. Or just writing well in general. You know the usual stuff: keep to a schedule, spell check, practice makes (almost) perfect. Keeping this in mind, I intend on giving you some advice which is a little less mainstream. How to get more visitors to your blog, and how to write content that is more enjoyable to read. Let's get this over with, shall we?

Controversial Topics
It's an unfortunate detail about the internet that adult content sells. And it sells well. But not a great number of us are willing to dirty our hands in the adult market. So do you want to know what sells almost as well? Controversy.

As a general rule, the more controversial the topic you're writing about, the more visitors you're going to get. It's not necessarily a pretty thing, you are going to get people mad. But the more people you get yelling obscenities at you the better off you are. A case in point is one particularly successful blog called Violent Acres. The author of said blog didn't care what people thought of her opinions and got rewarded for it. Perhaps her most rewarding endeavor was declaring war on “mommybloggers”. Not only did she receive praise and gather readers like she was some kind of prophet for her posts alone, but the same bloggers she wrote about then proceeded to write about her. You should all know how important backlinks are to a blog, and her enemies practically gave her free traffic!

People like controversy; it gives them something to argue about. Even the people who don't agree with you will read your blog, if only to pick apart your carefully constructed arguments. But traffic is traffic after all.

Get a Job or go to College
No, I'm not calling you a bum. Hell, even I don't have a job. But the fact is that by getting involved with the outside world you're going to learn a lot more than you could ever hope to learn from reading other blogs.

This has two bonuses, the whole “getting out there” bit. First bonus: If you run a personal blog, one not dedicated to any particular niche, you're going to get an enormous amount of stories to tell and topics to write about. From the things that you hate about your job, to that stuck up professor in your college. More ideas mean less chance of that evil scourge of the blogging world, writer's block.

The second bonus is rather simple. This second bonus works for all blogs, personal or otherwise. You'll learn. If you write a niche related blog you can absorb information from reading the news, working at your job, going to your lectures. If you write a personal blog, your writing will improve ever so slightly. You'll learn to express yourself in a more comfortable manner. Real world skills can transfer to cyberspace skills! Unfortunately it doesn't always work in the opposite direction. If it did I'd be some kind of super soldier at this point.

And my final point, which I cannot stress enough and is the one I stick rigidly to:

Write about something that INTERESTS you!
I'm targeting niche blogs mainly here. Knowing a lot about something does not mean you should write about it. I know a lot about Warhammer, and a lot about the Roman Empire. But I don't write about them. Why? Because I don't enjoy writing about them.
You might think that this doesn't matter. If you know a lot about something, and there's a market for it out there, you can make money from it, right? Wrong. If you don't have a passion for what you're writing about, it shows. Your posts will be of a lesser quality, you won't be as strict about sticking to your posting schedule and your readers will leave for someone who enjoys what they're doing.

It's probably not a huge problem, but I've seen it happen often enough that I feel it deserves a worthy mention. Do what you love, love what you do.

Interested in posting here? Well go ahead and fill out an app on Guest Post Page.

Pic taken from carolivia.org

Ever have it where a weekend is unexpected, or you are forced to work on a day that wouldn’t normally? This can usually end up messing up your writing schedule, and can ultimately screw up your whole week if you aren’t careful. What do you do to prevent this? The answer lies in setting up a backup plan.

For Starters
Now it might not seem practical, but if you have a weekend coming up it might be best to plan your Monday/Tuesday on Friday afternoon or evening. What this will do is give you some relaxation time in case you have a really busy day planned for the day you want to post.

Wait! But this was unplanned. It just happened out of the blue.
It happens, it’s part of life, and there isn’t much that you can do in this situation. The best thing to remember is that you shouldn’t rush a post. If it doesn’t look too good, then take a breather, and finish it the next morning, or whenever you have the time. You always want to have quality posts, and sometimes blogs forget that because they “need” to get the latest info out there. Don’t get me wrong, posts can be short, they just need to have quality.

So what do you do when you can’t blog on the days you want to? Do you think setting up a backup is a good idea, or is it better to just wing it? And how do you go about a backup writing plan?

Advice is something that I love to give. However, there are times that even I go at a blank and don't really know what to say. Because of this, and the fact that my blog is really funded by it's readers I would like to extend an invite to anyone that is willing to submit a guest post.

What is a guest post?
Basically what a guest post allows you to do is to talk on my blog. You submit a post to my blog and if I like and think it is good, post it for all my readers to see.

Ok, Izzy I get the concept. What is in it for me?
Aside for helping me out you will get a small introduction to your web page, along with a link back to your site. (Don't worry, I will give you full credit.) I'm getting about 100-150 views a day and have over 50 readers counting those that follow me on blogger.

Alright, so what do you need from me?
For starters just put your info in the box below and tell me you are interested in doing a guest post. I will later ask you for some other info about your web page if you're accepted (i.e. What your blog talks about, your site name, and a few other personals to add into your post here.)

This is for everyone, so no matter what your niche is you may be featured guest. Just make sure that you stick to this niche when writing a post (helping improve blog writing.) So if you are interested submit your credentials, and I'll see you on the post side.

-Izzy.

June 4th Edit: If you want a guide of what NOT to do I just ran into one over at Problogger. Please read How NOT to Get a Guest Post Published on a Blog [in 11 Easy Steps]

Your Name :
Your Email :
Subject :
Message :
Image (case-sensitive):