This is an area where networking for self-marketing really works. I do, however, find establishing freelancer friends and contacts on those sites to network with a difficult task.

(Possibly because everyone uses a pseudo name because they don’t want to constantly “digg” their own work?)

I only blog on Tuesday and Friday so blogging does not take up valuable job hunting and article writing time. Recently I signed up for MyBlog Log, Blog Catalog, Technorati, and Twitter so far. I will be looking into the others also.

Thanks for all the great info. and promo tips.

Have been considering getting involved in blogging for a while and after reading the helpful advice above thought it would be rude not to leave a comment – my first ever.

Thanks for the tips
Belly

Perhaps I’ll give the social bookmarks another go.

Added bonus: it’s owned by Google, which means your blog shows up higher in their rankings when someone does a Google search.

There appears to be some problem with the link to my website in my byline. If you want to learn more about me and my work, please visit my site at http://www.mariecbaca.com/. Thanks so much!

Best,
Marie

Any tips about that? Free options would be good, but I could put a little into it if there’s a good reason.

Well, eventually each post I made also made it to myself on the Google alert. You know your topic is obscure when *you* are the one making the most news on it!!

I’m with Erika on writing a few posts at a time; this *greatly* helps me as I usually have at least 3 posts ready to go up ahead of time clearing out my week for real work (I have ads on my blog so I do make some money from it as well).

Oh and also on the Google Alerts–invaluable!

@ Robin Marie, I use SiteGround as my host, and I really like them; prices seem pretty comparable no matter who you use these days–do a search on webhosting services and you’ll come up with side-by-side comparisons.

You could still dole them out over a few weeks if you had several to work with. That would give you some time to search out other topics in your mind (or online for ideas) while still having something coming on a regular basis.

I’ve been starting a problogging thing and I’m finding it more taxing to go from idea to post in a short time than if I do what I said above by separating my “brain functions.” Brainstorm several, outline several, draft several, polish and post several (or wait on the posting).

That seems to be hurting my head less, plus I can maybe throw in a few extra into the hopper for when I get busy with something else. It can buy me some time.

Also for ideas – I’ve registered several Google alerts with keywords of stuff I’m looking for. It’s kind of like wading through a murky pond at times – gotta throw plenty out. But every so often I’ll come across a great idea seed or website to bookmark. And I didn’t have to go troll – the sites and posts “came to me”.

Hope that helps.

To anyone: what do you think are the best (inexpensive) website domains to use? I have a former roommate who (is amazing and) agreed to design one for me, but I’d still need to have a website, first. What are the some of the pros and cons?

@Maria: Right now I’m keeping my website fresh with the updates you see in the “Recent News” section. It takes less time than a blog, but there’s still something new to see every week or so.

@Hazel: I think the key to keeping blogs from being a time-sucker is to apply the same rules of time management you use for your other freelance work. Make a schedule and stick to it, and when you have free time write posts that you can post-date and use later.

Now I’m not saying you can’t have a good once a week blog – but you can’t expect much in the way of good traffic in that case.

Nobody is going to want to read your diary.

Pick a theme and stick with it. If you’re writing about 18th century Italian Art, don’t include a blog about the New York Yankees. You’re just going to alienate your audience, and while you might get some random hits from Yankees fans, they won’t become long-time readers.

If you post something good and thoughtful (and on topic) once a week, you can still maintain an audience.

Most people check blogs they read regularly with RSS feeds anyways, so they’re immediately informed when you’ve posted something new.

Quality over quantity.