by Deb Ng
So I’ve been trying to think of a contest for our readers at NBT. I want to give away a copy of my new E-Book, “Beyond Blogging: Using Your Blogging Skills for Bigger and Better Things,” but I didn’t want to have just another comments contest. I wanted something that can tie in with the book, but also benefitted the bloggers who visit here.
I think I found something that will do.
As the title of the book indicates, “Beyond Blogging” is about taking the skills you learned as a blogger and using them to advance your career. For instance, I took the skills I learned building up this community (and others) and played them up to get my job as community manager.
I will also be leading a discussion called “Beyond Blogging: Using Your Blogging Skills for Bigger and Better Things,” at SXSWi this year in hopes of giving bloggers a few things to think about. For instance, are you ok blogging for a low paying network or would you like to set your sites higher?
So with all that in mind, we’re also going to have the discussion here as well. Talk to us about the skills you feel you cultivated as a blogger. Perhaps you have become more of a people person, or perhaps your powers of traffic analysis rock. Tell us about your skills and where you think they’ll take you. Do you wish to continue on as you are as a blogger or are you using blogging (and those newly aquired skills) to take you in another direction?
Though we’ll be doing the random drawing thing, you’ll catch my eye more if you post a thoughtful response and continue to come back to discuss. So, one word or one sentence answers won’t get you a book. Talk to us about your passion, and let it show.
The contest will end sometime Monday morning, depending on when I have my first cup of coffee. Good luck to you all. By the way, if there are more than one awesome responses and more than one awesome discussions, I may just give out more than one e-book.
I look forward to learning about your skills…and how you plan to take them to the next level.
Deb, I think what I’ve learned is how to teach through my words – how to adapt the pitch, tone and style for different messages; how to listen to people; how to pay attention to where people are at and to notice the things that are going well for them, or that they’re struggling with.
The rapid feedback on blogs and twitter makes this a lot easier and more satisfying than in other remote settings.
I’m going to use what I’ve learned to write (and hopefully sell) books, and to teach people offline, locally, in paid workshop settings. (Still to crack how to make any money online!)
Joanna
@Joanna, that’s fantastic! I know you’ll do well. I don’t think many “non bloggers” or “non writers” realize what it takes to convey a message in a desired tone, an area in which you shine, by the way.
I have just started writing blogs in the past few months, and I love it. It is an easy way to get feedback on your writing and learn what does/doesn’t work. I have steadily increased my knowledge of SEO, Web 2.0, and various other topics that used to be over my head.
I plan to engage in NaNoWriMo this year, and my goal is to get a novel long enough to cut down to a book that I can publish. By November, I will have spent ~12 months writing online content as “practice.” By then, I will have practiced meeting deadlines, created what customers want, and (hopefully) gained some sort of audience.
(I love this site, and it’s one of my first stops every morning!)
Once upon a time, I was an English teacher; after a long stint in education administration (ugh!) I will soon be returning to the classroom. One thing I want to explore when I get there is how blogging and other “new media” can be used in writing education. Since students will be doing a lot of online writing in their lives, it makes sense to pursue an online writing component, and blogs could be a perfect tool for it.
For example, it’s a common activity to have students keep journals where they hand-write personal responses to daily or weekly writing prompts. Classroom journals are meant to be like writing calisthenics–they warm up the writing muscles, give them a regular workout. But since the only two people who read student writing journals are the student writer and the writing instructor, the quality of thought (and thus of writing) is often lacking.
What if, instead of a paper journal, each student were asked to keep a writing *blog*? Set up by the instructor, and shared with other students in the class (or even their friends), a classroom blog could be a great way to get students to think about current topics, prompt them to respond to each other’s thoughts (via comments), and get all their writing in front of an audience (even if it’s just an audience of their fellow classmates).
Anyway, that’s the sort of thing I want to do with my blogging skills. I actually tried it once, back when I was teaching before; but that was in the infancy of Blogger and Live Journal, and the result was a technical nightmare. I’m far more tech-savvy now (I run my blog via WordPress on my own host) and blogging itself has become much more user-friendly. I can’t wait to develop the idea again.
Deb,
I was terrified when I started my first blog, WritingtheCyberHighway.com, in 2007 (on Blogger). I knew I wanted to be an inspiration to other writers because all the rejection and road blocks can be so terribly discouraging. I soon fell in love with blogging – and the warm community that began to form.
I eventually moved to a self-hosted WordPress home and started another blog, HealingwithJuices.com, where I share benefits of raw juices, smoothies, and information on juice fasting.
I’m amazed at my blogging journey thus far, and couldn’t be happier with where I am. However, I know there are even better things in my blogging future.
What skills have I acquired through blogging? After barely surviving domestic violence, I locked myself away and wouldn’t communicate with anyone. I’ve opened up so much more since I started blogging – both online and offline. My readers have supported and encouraged me tremendously. Isn’t that what I started my blogs for – to support and encourage them? I never expected to reap so much more encouragement than I’m able to give, from the very people I’m trying to inspire! Through their comments and emails, they’ve touched my heart deeply, cheered me on, lifted me up and gave me a gentle push when I have felt like giving up on writing and blogging.
I’ve learned to be a better writer, and I’ve learned that a blog is more than a place to publish your thoughts for all the world to read; it’s also a gathering place, a portfolio for potential clients or editors, and a place to learn from those who share their wisdom via comments and guest posts. I’ve even become quite the social butterfly, networking on various social media sites all across the Web. I’ve learned that when sharing my heart, healing comes in powerful abundance. Oh, and I’ve learned a little HTML as well.
As for my future? I have received requests to coach people, because they say I’m so encouraging, motivating, and inspiring. I don’t know when/if I’ll decide to offer those services but I am considering it. I’m also planning my own health-related e-books as I’ve lost over 100 pounds and have juice fasted extensively.
The most precious thing blogging has given me is the confidence and courage I never thought I’d have. I’ve gone from being a victim to being victorious in all areas of my life…
*smiles*
Michele
To be honest though,I’ve been blogging for awhile now.I’m amazed of the impact of meaningful self-exploration internally,and realism on issues in real-life that compells people to read what I’ve written.To research,debate at lunch et cetera.Initially when I started blogging,it was to be a voice against the establishment”power’s that be”government and corporate industries for their treatment of people generally.Whether employed by them or not.Once that was established this media showed regular people regardless of status that they weren’t alone in how they felt on issues of relevancy.So if being a vessel for society’s betterment to an extent is a crime,well I relish it. Because”life constantly evolves”.If presenting positivity where there’s none at time makes it worthwhile.
Blogging has given me the courage to think that maybe, just maybe, I could actually write for a living. That people care about the things I have to say, and that my views and life stories can spark discussion and maybe even inspire?!
I love having a platform, unhindered by “party lines” or corporate goals, where people can write what they feel and we can connect even on this oddly impersonal, yet very meaningful, cyber-level.
Dani brings up an excellent point I forgot to mention! I never dreamed when I first started blogging that I’d actually be able to make money doing it. That fascinates me. Earning money while doing something so rewarding is simply amazing.
I was the last person in the world that ever thought I would be setting up and maintaining blogs.I hated to write and had problems concentrating long enough to even write even a sentence.
Two years ago I found out, at a late age, that I had ADD. Finding this out was the best thing that ever happened to me. I now knew what was holding me back from being able to write. With some meds and a great Dr, that worked with me to help me now use my creativity in a positive way, I am now blogging.
I have even created my own business. My business consists of a team of freelance writers that have joined together so that we would be able to offer more services to individuals and businesses. Now I have many different blogs that I have created and maintain for individuals and businesses. I have become a full-time blogger and making money doing something I now have a passion for.
Where are my old teachers now?
Hi Deb,
I started blogging because I wanted/needed to speak! You see at midlife, something in me have changed. I’m no longer satisfied to be working for someone else. I have a passion for writing and a purpose to fill the need to create. I blog to make a connection to others like me. I blog as a way of introduction to the person I am. As I start this second phase into living life experiences, I wantt to live life on my terms, make a go of my freelance writing business and finally, finally, quit my ‘day’ job…yes, folks even in this uncertain economic times…My time has come!
Clara.
I fell into blogging when I moved to Arizona in September 2007. I was an avid fan of English and literature in high school. I took more English classes and a creative writing class at CCC in OH. Unfortunately, I went against my passion for art and creativity. I listened to other people who told me to get a practical, secure job like accounting. My accounting does come into play; I wrote 15 blogs for a financial markets website.
I absolutely love blogging. I am learning a lot about SEO, viral and affiliate marketing, social networking, HTML, and anything that has to do with running an online business. I am very fortunate to have found my client in AZ. They have taught me so much about blogging and SEO concepts. I still hunger for more and will keep learning and honing my skills, especially since I landed another client!
When I write, I write with the intention to coach and teach people. I use my experiences, hoping that they will benefit someone else, some where in this world.
I remember when I first set-up my own blog, I knew nothing about HTML, and I was scared to death of WordPress.org. I was very lucky that our “techie” at TWE helped me through it. Now, I incorporate plug-ins and change coding like it’s no big deal. Grant it, I am far from designing my own website, but I’ll get there. If I can do it, anyone can do it.
I would love to write for magazines such as O Magazine, Time, Newsweek, USA Today, AZ Republic, The New Times, Vogue, and many others. I would also like to write a non-fiction and fiction novel (working on it). But for now I am content with blogging. Not only does it pay, but it has been therapeutic. Thank goodness for blogging!
I learned, you snooze, you lose! LOL. I work in the entertainment field and I learned very early on that 90% of the writers are covering the same story. Which means if I was first, or close to first with a story I got hits galore – which translates into nickels, nickels.
With this in mind, I learned to pay attention to the stats, primarily which stories were getting hits and which weren’t and who was linking to my blog. I routinely go through the links and contact those people to say thanks. Doing that has helped me meet some great people – people who now come to me with their tips and help me stay in front of the pack.
If you’re blogging for the joy of blogging, then stats probably don’t mean much. But if you’re blogging for money in any sense of the word, be it a paycheck or click throughs on your ads, you need stats and you need to learn how to read them. Ignoring the stats is flying blind.
Sorry for the misplaced comment. Here is the repost.
What I want to do is provide interesting content for the interested reader. A lot of times when I read a blog on a topic I am interested in, I close it out in a very short time because, though the blogger can write, he or she does not keep in mind of their actual audience.
I want to learn how to apply my ideas to a broader spectrum and influence as many readers as possible.
I just started blogging on a topic that is dear to my heart—parenting. It’s much different than the niche that I fell into professionally 10 years ago—medical publishing.
The biggest lesson that I learned from blogging is something that I read here and took to heart. It’s two words: “So what?”
So what that I like to blog on parenting issues? What am I trying to convey to my audience? Why should they read my blog? Why is this post of interest to them? What makes my message different than the thousand of other mom blogs out there?
I applied that simple phrase to my other life as a medical writer/editor and found that it invigorated my approach to that work as well! (Why should a patient with diabetes read this article on foot ulcers? What makes it different than other patient educations? How is it relevant to this patient’s life? So what?)
And something as simple as “So what?” has made me stop and consider what I really want to do with my gift for prose. It’s breathed new life into a career that I often felt that I had simply stumbled on. It’s helped me to refocus on what I want to ultimately accomplish with my writing.
And all of that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t started blogging and I hadn’t read an article here egging me on…”So what?”
@Cynthia: I know what you mean about timing in blogging. I am part of a venture to start a new community blog, and we’re late in getting everything up and running (technical glitches). It’s frustrating, because I will be a blog contributor, and everyday there are news stories and other topics that I WANT to post about, but I can’t until the site becomes active. It’s so frustrating!
I started blogging as a way to replace writing articles to a massive e-mail list I had created. I wrote reports from a particular denomination (okay, Episcopalian) tri-annual national meeting (called General Convention) and had created a large e-mail list that I used to send out daily reports (after promising AOL I wasn’t a spammer!) during the General Convention. Just before the last General Convention in 2006, I thought I might try opening a blog in addition to my e-mail reports. I thought I would post my daily reports on both a blog as well as continue to send out the e-mails. I had no idea what I was doing.
Well, did that start the ball rolling! The General Convention press office was still running operations as they always did, having press conferences for the traditional media who would then go and write stories for the next morning papers. But what happened in the newsroom at General Convention was that bloggers, which now included me, were breaking the stories right out of the newsroom as they happened – long before the “press conferences” – and those stories were getting circulated around the world before the traditional media had even penned or typed a word.
During the General Convention, however, the servers supplying my fellow bloggers in the newsroom went down from the overload of an international office signing in (the Episcopal Church belongs to an international body called the Anglican Communion). But since I was on the Google-owned Blogger (blogspot), my blog never went down and so traffic began to switch to my blog – and I never knew it until I got home and discovered a thousand comments that were awaiting moderation since I had never turned the moderation function off.
Since 2006, my blog has grown beyond what I ever expected to where I am now getting 1,000 hits a day. I have received press credentials to events that normally only credentialed the traditional press, including the international Lambeth Conference hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury last summer in England.
One of the biggest surprises for me is that blogging has tapped all kinds of unrealized gifts that I had into one area, including putting my geek genes to work in learning HTML Code for my template and posts, my desktop publishing background in designing the very simple blog (which I am now gearing up to upgrade), marketing skills in getting the blog out to larger audiences, my reporting skills, my communication skills in running the comment section as well as obviously writing the articles and blogs, networking with others who hold similar interests to mine – including those who hold opposite political views (which has been fun!), and many other surprises as well.
But now what? That’s where I am now. How do I take all this to the next step? I’d love to read your book and find out!
-Mary
http://babyblueonline.org
I wasn’t sure if this went through the first time, so I’m posting it again just to be sure!
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I started blogging as a way to replace writing articles to a massive e-mail list I had created. I wrote reports from a particular denomination (okay, Episcopalian) tri-annual national meeting (called General Convention) and had created a large e-mail list that I used to send out daily reports (after promising AOL I wasn’t a spammer!) during the General Convention. Just before the last General Convention in 2006, I thought I might try opening a blog in addition to my e-mail reports. I thought I would post my daily reports on both a blog as well as continue to send out the e-mails. I had no idea what I was doing.
Well, did that start the ball rolling! The General Convention press office was still running operations as they always did, having press conferences for the traditional media who would then go and write stories for the next morning papers. But what happened in the newsroom at General Convention was that bloggers, which now included me, were breaking the stories right out of the newsroom as they happened – long before the “press conferences” – and those stories were getting circulated around the world before the traditional media had even penned or typed a word.
During the General Convention, however, the servers supplying my fellow bloggers in the newsroom went down from the overload of an international office signing in (the Episcopal Church belongs to an international body called the Anglican Communion). But since I was on the Google-owned Blogger (blogspot), my blog never went down and so traffic began to switch to my blog – and I never knew it until I got home and discovered a thousand comments that were awaiting moderation since I had never turned the moderation function off.
Since 2006, my blog has grown beyond what I ever expected to where I am now getting 1,000 hits a day. I have received press credentials to events that normally only credentialed the traditional press, including the international Lambeth Conference hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury last summer in England.
One of the biggest surprises for me is that blogging has tapped all kinds of unrealized gifts that I had into one area, including putting my geek genes to work in learning HTML Code for my template and posts, my desktop publishing background in designing the very simple blog (which I am now gearing up to upgrade), marketing skills in getting the blog out to larger audiences, my reporting skills, my communication skills in running the comment section as well as obviously writing the articles and blogs, networking with others who hold similar interests to mine – including those who hold opposite political views (which has been fun!), and many other surprises as well.
But now what? That’s where I am now. How do I take all this to the next step? I’d love to read your book and find out!
-Mary
Deb:
I do a lot of freelance writing and blogging and stop off at your site every day without fail. I’ve gotten some terrific leads and enjoy being part of your community.
One of my gigs is writing for a large health insurance organization that provides services to low income people. I want to blog about it to drive more people to contact us and, hopefully, be eligible for the insurance which is free or very, very inexpensive. It’s tricky blogging about something “commercial”, even though it’s a non-profit in the true sense of the word. Any tips I can glean will be extremely helpful.
Keep up your wonderful work!
As a blogger, I’ve learned to be more aware because I’m not just writing for me now. I am writing for other people as well.
And because I’m writing for other people, I need to make sure that they won’t have a hard time reading it. I always try and make my posts as conversational as possible. There are times when I do succeed and there are times when it takes me longer than expected to achieve this.
I’ve also been more disciplined and more focused. I know what I have to write about so I should know what I have to write.
My journey with blogging has been an interesting one. It started with a joking nickname I got that evolved into “Dani: Greek Goddess of Men’s Facial Hair”. As part of ‘the joke’ I quickly whipped up a website (in 20 minutes) and my friends loved it! Who knew? From there I picked up readers and email, so I started a blog to go with the website.
Now I have subscribers and have caught the eye of multiple companies. I have a Facebook page to go with the blog and website, I have gotten freebies to review, and one company has graciously agreed to provide the prizes for my first contest (sometime in February – still working out details)!
I started a few other blogs in other topics and all get varying degrees of attention from me, depending upon how busy work keeps me. I love my labors of love (blogs) but I have to pay the bills, too!
I had no idea my silly nickname would lead me down this path, nor did I ever imagine that anyone would be interested in my sometimes silly and sometimes informative posts related to the topic of men’s facial hair. Thus far, I have only really been playing around with my blog, but because of the attention it is getting, I have been thinking that I need to take it to the next level.
This is where your book would come in very handy. I need to place more priority on my blog so I can grow it (setting that up now), and I need expert information as to HOW to grow it. Who better to teach me than the woman who took her labor of love to the heights its now reached?
I’ve learned a lot of great stuff from this blog and all of the contributors (paid and guests). The book would be the whipped cream on the hot fudge sundae of my writing and blogging education! It would be exactly what I need to take my blog to the next level while avoiding all the common mistakes bloggers make when trying to grow and develop their blogs.
Thanks for listening – and thanks for sharing your labor of love so freely with us.
Over the past two and a half years, my blogging skills have gone from non-existence to pretty substantial. I’ve learned HTML, some CSS, how to embed, link, and most importantly network. Blogging has also improved my writing, built up my confidence in writing, and put my in contact with many wonderful people around the world. Along the way, I have also picked up some paying blogging jobs that will cover the costs of my travel this year.
All in all, blogging has taught me the skills I need to move forward with my plans to become a full time freelance writer within the next two years.
My humble blog started as one purpose, a virtual life diary. Now I continue with this but find it amazing that others are willing to offer encouragement, praise, friendship, and advise to virtual strangers. I find it very therapeutic to read others work and would love to pursue a more serious blog with a purpose. I find it difficult to settle for a topic or niche though, and wonder how others find the time for balance of work, life, and blogging on a more massive scale that I do currently. I have enjoyed reading the insight and dreams of commenters here and am glad I came across your blog.
I started blogging about ‘Vision for a better tomorrow’ because I wanted to express and share my thoughts, which publications were not ready to accept because it didn’t fit their writer guidelines.
Later, I started a blog to provide links to my work and annouce my writing credits. Soon, I found atleast 4-5 job offers in my inbox. Most of them were low-paying and I had to reject it. However, there were offers from editors of some amazing markets. These editors found my blog while searching for specific keywords in google. Through my work blog, people also contact me asking if I could cover their story for publication or with common story ideas. For these reasons, my work blog is my best marketing tool apart from my website. Since updating blog is easy with templates, I update it often unlike my website.
Recently, I maintained a blog for Volvo Ocean Race’s Cochin stopver. The traffic was good and I bagged a couple of assignments through my blog. I initiated the blog because I was passionate about Volvo Ocean Race and more so, because they were reaching Kochi (my resident city) for the first time in Asia and secondly, because I wanted to let my editors know I could handle the topic. And it did work!
I continue to maintain my work blog and will do so, as long as I continue to write!
Resmi Jaimon
I try to be pretty public with the fact that I had a nervous breakdown a few years back and, while I’m recovering, the symptoms are really severe. Over the past few years I’ve lost virtually everything – friends, regular (decent!) income and as I dropped out of uni, any chance of a good career.
Blogging has helped change that. Its improved:
My networking skills.
I’ve never been good with people, but I’ve been amazed at what I’ve been able to accomplish online. I’ve had loads of people ask to catch up – many who are leaders in their industry. This has been really surprising as I would have paid hundreds of dollars for coaching from some of these people. Instead, I’m being sought out to have coffee.
Also, I’ve been able to accomplish so much because of the professional relationships I’ve had some some bloggers. This gave me greater leverage for my content and enabled me to learn at a faster rate.
My writing skills:
I was always a strong writer, but blogging is a different skill to essay writing. I’ve learned about headlines, formatting, brevity and a wide range of other skills.
Better business skills:
Thanks to networking and heavy research, I’ve now learned more about the business side of blogging. I’m hoping this will be transferable in my daily life.
But, quite frankly, I feel like blogging has given me my life back. Even if I fail, once I recover I can show what I did during the 3+ years I’ve been out of work.
I really started a blog in the MMO niche not to make money, but just to show I could do it.
I want my blogging to become a full time job. I plan to earn a basic income from affiliate deals, adsense and some advertising. I plan to really make the money through launching products (mostly outside of the MMO niche)
I want to use my blogs to create more professional relationships in other industries and to hopefully get some print journalism work.
I want to create a small network of Australian blogs that are aimed at improving ones lifestyle.
Sorry for the ramble!
- Jade
Ah, Jade, your comment really resonated with me. First of all, big ole kudos to you for working hard to improve your life and recover from that terrible breakdown. Sometimes life is just so overwhelming, isn’t it? I can relate to your story because I’m a survivor of domestic violence and for a time, I locked myself away and wouldn’t come out–even to go to the store!
Blogging and “meeting” so many beautiful souls along the cyber highway has truly given me strength, courage, and only stirred my passion for writing and given me the boost I needed to continue following my freelance dreams.
Best wishes to you in all your endeavors–you can do it!
*smiles*
Michele