I am working with some wonderful bloggers in a building a better blog in 2012. I am very excited to take part in this group and build my blog and make it better for you- my readers.
The first day (which was yesterday and I of course am behind, what’s new right?) was from Chapter 1 of the ProBlogger’s Guide to your First Week of Blogging e-book.
CEO of Me Inc. did a fabulous break down of Chapter 1 and I will be using her blog post as a reference point for this post. So… here we go with Day 1 of Building a Better Blog in 2012.
The key points from Chapter 1 revolve around setting a solid foundation (oh boy!). I need to develop a main topic or niche. Now, if you are a long time reader, you may see that there is some randomness to my blog. I do a little bit of everything because well, I am random! BUT, after careful thought, I think my main topic/niche is family. When it comes down to it, my blog is about me and my family. I do reviews and giveaways (which are fun), but even then, my reviews are around things that are good for me and my family (and well, giveaways are just plain ol’ fun!). So, for 2012, I am a family blogger (which really should have been a ‘duh’ for me since the blog title really is The Go To Mommy who is me!)
Next CEO of Me Inc. listed the 5 Foundational Steps to get started:
1. Set up an Ideas Folder- essentially a folder of ideas for post topics
Mine is not really a folder, per se. I have a pink journal I got for Christmas a couple of years ago that has been deemed my “blog journal”. I use it to keep notes, ideas, etc. I carry it with me at all times because you never know when an idea will strike.
2. Brainstorm Ideas Around your Topic- coming up with ideas and topics to put in the Ideas Folder. CEO of Me Inc. goes on to state that “After you have some basic ?’s your blog should answer written down, list out at least 5 things that you believe your audience must know about your blog’s topic. Take 1 of those things and create a “mind map” for it. Basically you are going to brainstorm additional ideas that branch off of & relate to that main idea. You should have at least 10 ideas for posts now for your Post Ideas folder.”
3. Choose a Posting Rhythm- schedule a time to write the posts. Literally, write out a schedule with a time for you to blog.
4. Plan your first week of Content- using said schedule mentioned above, pick out the topics you will write during the times you allotted for your blogging.
5. Write Your Launch Post- An introduction to your blog, why you created your blog, identify the topics of your blog, how the topics will help the reader and/or the purpose the topics will serve.
Now… I am off to complete steps 2-5 so I can move forward to Day 2 in an attempt to stay on track (maybe that should be a goal of 2012!)
