April 2009 Archives - 2/2

Sharpen Your Content Skills with TweetChat

April 8, 2009 By Charles 4 Comments

flickr photo by _neona_

Don’t just tweet — tweetchat!

A tweetchat is an organized Twitter discussion over any topic. They usually occur once a week and anyone can participate. Tweetchats are one of the coolest and most productive features of Twitter.

Of all the tweetchats I know about, I highly recommend you join #editorchat. It’s the hottest tweetchat around if you’re serious about creating sensational content. #Editorchat is described as

a place for professional writers and editors who use the micro-blogging service Twitter to discuss how best to help one another.

During the chat you’ll meet a lively and progressive group of writers, editors and publishers who are passionate about their craft. The conversation centers around a series of prepared questions and lasts about an hour a half. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: #blogchat, #brandchat, #editorchat, #journchat, editor conversation, editor discussion on twitter, tweetchat, twitter conversation

Elevator Pitch via Problogger’s 31 Day Challenge

April 6, 2009 By Charles 5 Comments

Crafting my elevator pitch is today’s challenge for Darren Rowse’s Problogger “31 Day Challenge” (Day 1). An elevator pitch is a quick way to describe in clear terms exactly what you’re doing.

Here is Wordful’s:

Short pitch: Wordful helps bloggers create exceptional content.

Long pitch: Wordful helps bloggers create exceptional content by teaching them how to think and act like their blog’s Editor-in-Chief. Bloggers who are editors have much better control over the quality of their content and the connection with their audience. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business and Marketing, Miscellaneous Tagged With: blog elevator pitch, blog tagline, elevator pitch, problogger 31 day challenge day 1, wordful elevator pitch

How to Survive Your First Six Months of Blogging

April 1, 2009 By Charles 11 Comments

flickr image by wili_hybrid

I started blogging exactly six months ago on October 1st, 2008. And let me be honest: the time did not fly by! Those six months were some of the most challenging times I’ve ever endured and I’m glad it’s over. Now that I’m “out of the cave,” I feel more confident than ever about my blogging future. But enough about me…

The reason why the first six months are hard for any serious blogger is because it’s time you spend mostly with yourself as a newbie. You are essentially learning how to articulate your ideas into coherent blog posts, then realizing very few people will read them.

You also have to learn the ropes of blogging. This involves a bunch of reading, information filtering, theme and plug-in searching and staying on top of what other bloggers are saying. If you’re not careful, this stage can kill you!

The early stages of blogging are frustrating and lonely, but very important to your progress. Think of those first six months as a naturally-occurring process–like growing from a newborn to a young adult, with each month representing about three years of growth. You start from crawling and babbling to walking and talking to thinking your own ideas to finally establishing your identity in the world. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: beginner blogging tips, blog editing, blogging fundamentals, copy editing, first six months of blogging, how to blog, not an april fools joke!