Tag Archives: Fortune Cookie

Blogging

You Look Pretty

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You Look Pretty

You Look Pretty

Today’s FortunateBluFrog fortune is all about how things look. I remember Sunstreaker as the most vain of the autobots so I popped him into the photo. Just like yesterday I used Mirage. I didn’t explain that Mirage was the one who could disappear and thus be more careful and reserved. Nope, today is about being pretty.

What Does This Mean for Bloggers?

Our blog is a reflection of who we are. So, is your blog accurately reflecting you. Is it put together and looking nice? Or, is it a disaster and a mess. Are there flashing lights and garish buttons all over the place. Are you still using the free standard templates from blogger? Take a moment to spruce up the place.

But it is Not All About Looks

You could have the most amazing looking blog on the planet but if every piece of information you write is an ad then who is going to read it? You know what I do 1st with every magazine I get, I shake out all those inserts and recycle them. I have no use for things getting in my way of flipping through magazines and reading the content. I even rip out those heavy stock ads for book clubs and other junk.

But My Ads Help Generate My Income

I know they do and ads on my blog help me earn a little money as well. But do your ads get int he way of your content. Are they ads for things that you’d never buy? Are you selling people on the idea of something that you don’t beleive in? I have nothing against ads they just need to be part of the site rather than an afterthought. Notice that I didn’t say that I ripped out ads that were on the regular pages of a magazine, it is just those afterthoughts that make me crazy. Don’t let your content be lost because of an afterthought.

Blogging

Watch Your Relations With Other People Carefully, Be Reserved

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Watch Your Relations With Other People Carefully, Be Reserved

Watch Your Relations With Other People Carefully, Be Reserved

I’m going to take liberties in today’s FortunateBluFrog post and change relations to relationships, I’m sure that is what the fortune means. Because I’m pretty sure I’m not out having “relations” with other people.

How Does This Relate to Blogging?

This one is pretty funny because it pretty much is the opposite of what you should do to be a successful blogger. Or at least that is what many people would lead you to beleive. Maybe if you were a bit more reserved online in your relationships with other people then you might be a little more successful.

That’s Crazy Talk

It seems that to be a success you have to continually shout from the rafters about your product. In blogging that means your blog. So if you aren’t constantly promoting your blog on Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Stumble and the 20,000 other platforms then your blog will not become noticed.

With Everyone Shouting, Who is Listening?

And this is the problem with getting noticed in the blogging arena. You don’t get noticed because there is always someone who has a louder voice. In my own life I’m a pretty quiet guy, my friends and my family are all (for the most part) talkers. I’m a listener. I rarely speak unless I have something to contribute. I take the Silent Bob approach. I watch everything boil it down to the essentials and let you know what I think. Usually it is something funny or profound, mostly it is just something to contribute.

Are You Making a Contribution That Matters?

Are you actually making a contribution or are you just adding to the general noise. Sometimes Twitter makes me think of the seagull scene in Finding Nemo. Each bird just screaming Mine, Mine, Mine. That’s what I see much of the time on twitter. I think overall the hyping of blogs on twitter is going to run its course like everything else. If you are not making an actual contribution to the conversation you are going to end up out of the conversation by default. I guess you might want to take this fortune to heart and be a tad more reserved online. Work on your posts and craft them well find a few people to read them who will tell other people to read them. If your content is sound and worth it then it doesn’t matter how loud other people scream “Mine” people will seek out “Yours”.