Aug. 3: Day 3 of 31DBBB

Today’s exercise for 31 Days to Build a Better Blog is:

Day #3: Promote a Blog Post

I already do this regularly, according to the instructor’s explanation of promotion. Here are ways he suggests to promote a specific post (which he prefers over promoting an entire blog):

1. Pitching Other Bloggers – I can’t do this. I might privately message another blogger to share a post with them, but I certainly wouldn’t ask them to re-post something I wrote, or to push it for me.
2. Social Messaging – I link to most my blog posts on Facebook. Occasionally I share them on Twitter.
3. Social Bookmarking – Again, this is a bit out of my comfort zone. Not that I would mind showing up on Digg, but I can’t go around telling everyone how fabulous I am. I just can’t.
4. Internal Links – This is done with the “You might also like” thing at the bottom of each post. Built-in self-promotion, I can do.
5. Newsletters – I don’t send out a newsletter. I usually share my blog URL on our Christmas letter, but that has a fairly small circulation and I can’t imagine I get a lot of traffic from that.
6. Other Blogs Comments Sections and Forums – I frequently comment on other blogs, and occasionally on forums.
7. Email Signatures – Been doing this for years.
8. Followup Posts – I link to previous posts all the time.
9. Advertise Your Post – I don’t have advertising set up on my blog. If my numbers got way up high, I’d do it, though.
10. Pitch Mainstream Media – Haven’t found an appropriate post for this yet.
11. Article Marketing – Again, not yet. Maybe someday.

I think the only thing on the list that I would feel comfortable with (that I don’t already do) is maybe being more active on other blogs and forums. Not that I think this exercise was useless; it’s good to be reminded of alternatives for promotion. If I ever decide to try to make my blog go nutso-popular, I’ve got new techniques tucked away in the back of my brain.

Aug. 2: Day 2 of 31DBBB—my weekend

I’m combining today’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog exercise with my weekend summary post. You don’t mind, right?

Using ‘lists’ has always been a popular and effective technique among bloggers wanting to write content that gets spread from one person to the next. Just look at pages like the front page of Digg, TweetMeme and Delicious and you’ll see that many of the ‘hottest’ content on the web at any given time are written in this style.

So… I’m supposed to write a list post. I already write a LOT of list posts, so I’m using the exercise as an excuse to sum up my weekend in a list format. It’s sort of like what I do on Fridays. I don’t expect this list to get spread from one person to the next, so in that way I guess I’m not writing the ideal type of list for the exercise. Am I being a bad 31 Days to Build a Better Blog participant if I say I don’t care and I’ll do it the way I want?

(Because I really don’t care and I’m going to do it the way I want.)

• We were at Darlene and Wellington’s almost every one of the past five days for one reason or another. We celebrated Vic’s birthday on Thursday, enjoyed a visit with Chris and Sonya on Saturday, and said our goodbyes on Sunday. Sally and Presley were there most days too, and we had a ball catching up with them. Happy, happy family time. I loves it.
• However, I do not like the saying goodbye part of our visits. Sonya and her family will be back for Christmas, so it won’t be long until we see them again, but I still hate our goodbyes. The kids get so sad to be apart again; it’s a bummer to watch.
• We got some new annuals for the yard and planted them yesterday. When I say “we,” of course, I mean that I arranged the plants beautifully and then Victor dug holes to plant them. He be my yard boy. There are now even more lovely bright spots in our yard. Yay!
• Jack starts swimming lessons today. He whined about it all day yesterday, but I think I was able to reason with him and hopefully he won’t be a total poop about going. I’d really like him to pass two levels this summer, and his incentive is Theo’s pool party in a couple weeks and a Great Wolf Lodge trip later this month. Fingers crossed for us all, please.
• We did a little bit of school shopping today. Jack got skinny jeans, which he’s been begging for since I don’t know when. He tried on the smallest pair at Macy’s last year and they were too big, so he was quite happy to find that now he fits into the smallest pair of skinny jeans they make for boys. When Stephen said that it’s easiest to buy girls’ skinny jeans, Jack suddenly thought his rockstar cousin was a little less cool. (Don’t worry, Steve; I think he’s gotten over it.)
• The only thing Katie can talk about is her upcoming trip to Colorado to spend a week with Appie (Auntie Kathy). Kathy asked me to send her with a mostly empty suitcase so she’ll have room for lots of new stuff. I’ll make sure it has room for a new Coach bag for me; if there’s room for a few of Katie’s things I don’t mind sharing the space. Me:   Kathy: and
• (What do you want to bet one of the 31 exercises is going to be something about NEVER USE ANIMATION ON YOUR BLOG BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL HATE YOU FOR IT?)
• After many years of trying to get an easily shared electronic calendar for the family, I finally did it! I use a Google calendar two-way sync with my Outlook calendar, I’ve given access to Victor to view and modify my Google calendar, and he made a Google calendar icon on his phone. He can make changes on that calendar and I can see them in Outlook, and vice-versa. Ta-da! Whew.
• Coming up this week: swimming lessons every day, a little bit o’ work, some PTO stuff, more school shopping, a visit from Mom and Gilly, a birthday party and a wedding. Busy-ness.

Have a great one!

Aug. 1: Day 1 of 31DBBB

Today is Day #1 of a new exercise I’m trying. Nope, I’m not going to get ripped and muskully, I’m hoping to improve my blog. I ran across this 31 Days to Build a Better Blog thing and it sounded interesting, so I decided August was a good time to do it, what with having 31 days and all. Smart, no?

If you’re a blogger and interested in trying the exercise too, click the link above. You can buy the e-workbook or just do the tasks as posted on the ProBlogger’s site. I signed up for the exercise emails and get assignments every day that way. There are forums for each day’s task as well.

Day #1: Write an Elevator Pitch for Your Blog

Well, this sucks, because I’m already stuck. An elevator pitch? Doesn’t the name of my blog say what my blog is about? Here’s how the instructor defines “elevator pitch” (which actually comes from Wikipedia):

An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds or 100-150 words).

My content of my blog is varied, but I’d say that it’s mostly silliness. It is best described as Stuff Jen Says, and that’s why I chose that name oh-so-many years ago. My tagline, “Today I shall be witty, charming and elegant. Or maybe I’ll say ‘um’ a lot and trip over things” is also a perfect description of the idiocy with which I lead my life. Suddenly I’m feeling like my blog really is a waste of bandwidth. Ack.

The instructor also says this:

If you’re fuzzy on what your blog is about it’s unlikely [that] anyone else will have much of an idea either.

Heh heh. Um. I’m not fuzzy on what my blog is about, but I’m fuzzy on how to describe it. I’m tempted to skip this task. But then the instructor says:

In fact almost every task that we’ll be doing in this next 31 days should flow from this task.

Curses!

He suggests these starting points for for developing an elevator pitch:

1. Solve a Problem or Need
2. Define Your Audience
3. Be Clear
4. Keep it Short
5. Stand Out
6. Be Intriguing
7. Be Energetic but not Hyped
8. Consider Using a Question
9. Be Ready to Expand Upon Your Pitch

Here’s my stab at applying these points to the content of Stuff Jen Says:

1. I certainly don’t solve a problem with my blog. I think I might actually lean toward creating some. Pretty sure I don’t meet any needs, either, unless people want to feel better about their own blogs.
2. My audience? Family and friends. Also, according to Google Analytics, very disappointed people looking for pictures of Zac Efron pantsless.
3. I can be clear…
4. …and keep it short, sure. I choose not to. I am wordier than wordy can word.
5. Do I stand out? Nope.
6. Am I intriguing? I can try to be. I didn’t mention my sister’s age in her birthday post yesterday; that makes me all mysterious and stuff, right? Makes you want to know more? Like how old she is? She won’t let me tell you. Sorry.
7. Energetic? Rarely. Hyped? Often, but not in a good way.
8. Why would I consider using a question?
   
   (Ha ha ha. See what I did there? I know, I’m hilarious.)
9. I can expand on my elevator pitch, but I don’t know if it will help create more interest. It could definitely create more confusion or a desire to get off on the next floor as quickly as possible.

Ah, yes. That was worthwhile.

Is there a way that personal blogs can be excluded from the need for an elevator pitch? Is this 31-day exercise going to make me feel even worse about myself than I already do? Ugh. This might not be the exercise for me. Too soon to give up, though, so here’s my attempt at an elevator pitch about Stuff Jen Says:

Stuff Jen Says is exactly that. It’s about a girl who is clumsy and airheaded, who doesn’t always say the right thing but (usually) has good intentions in her heart. She shares stories about her much-treasured family and friends. She loves to laugh. She has an evil streak. She likes food. Coffee runs through her veins. She hates monkeys. She occasionally swears, most often at cancer. Stuff Jen Says is ultimately about a girl who loves her life and hopes she has many years of it yet to enjoy.