What I learned at the SavvyBlogging Twitter party

January 22, 2010

I found myself up late last night so I jumped into the Twitter party for #savvyblogging. By the way, please follow me (!) @amylynnandrews since I thought I would be in bed, didn’t RSVP (smacks head!) and therefore didn’t make the tweepl lists — List 1 & List 2 — definitely learned my lesson on *that* one.

Update: Thanks to Holly (@savingforeight), I am now on the list! And if you’re wondering what “The List” is, it’s all the people who participated in the #savvyblogging party. You can follow all of them at one time (yay for efficiency!) by going to List 1 & List 2. Go follow them because most will follow you back and we all like more followers, right? As you’ll see below, we can learn so much from each other.

Here’s some of what we talked about. My apologies up front for not crediting everyone with their tips — it was absolutely crazy — I’ll be updating as I go through the tweets and figure out where I heard what from.

Question 1: How have you created/encouraged readership for your blog?

Read and comment on other blogs.
Blog with passion.
Interact with others on BlogFrog.
Use Twitter and other social media.
Write high-quality content.
Support other bloggers and rejoice with them in their successes.
Be authentic.
Participate in blog carnivals & memes.
Guest post.

Question 2: How have you increased reader involvement/engagement?

Blog about your mistakes.
Ask questions of your readers.
Giveaways.
Use threaded comments. (Sidenote: Did you WordPress users know you can enable threaded comments in your Settings –> Discussion tab thus eliminating the need for a plugin?)

Question 3: What blogging etiquette/rules do you follow?

Think before posting — it’s easy to come across differently on screen than in person.
Live generously & pay things forward (not just in blogging but in life). (@amylynnandrews)
Don’t have auto-play music.
Keep photos sized small to increase page loading time.
Give credit where credit is due.
Link to others a lot.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Be nice.
Keep your badges and widgets to a minimum (easier navigation).

Question 4: What 3 mistakes should a new blogger avoid?

Looooooong posts.
No paragraph breaks.
Light text on dark backgrounds.
Have a partial feed (as opposed to full).
Post irregularly.
Spelling or grammar mistakes.
Write posts with little content and a lot of affiliate links.
Compare yourself to other bloggers.
Send spammy emails promoting your posts.
Use someone else’s content on your blog.

Question 5: How much time do you spend on blogging & related tasks?

These answers varied. Some people only spend 30-60 minutes a day, while other spend a good portion of their day on the computer. It seemed like 4 hours was a pretty common answer.

Question 6: How do you balance family and blogging?

Blog only during nap times, at night when everyone is sleeping or when kids are at school.
Turn OFF the computer at particular times of the day, especially when with family.
Set a “work hours” schedule.
Remember that the computer will always be there, but the days of your kids’ childhood won’t.
Don’t post on the weekends or take a day off once a week or month.
Anyone can be a blogger, but only you can be your husband’s wife and kids’ mom. (@crystalpaine)

Question 7: Have you set up a posting schedule? Why or why not?

It seemed like people were split on this one — some have and some haven’t. I got the impression that owners of bigger blogs were more likely to have a schedule whereas those just starting, didn’t.
Overall, having a schedule was an asset.

Question 8: What advice do you have for monetizing on a blog?

Don’t blog for money, blog your passion. Let money follow.
Explore all different types of monetization and see what works for you — banner ads, private ad space, Google AdSense, affiliates (Amazon, Clickbank, Commission Junction, etc.), Project Wonderful, coupons.com. Although, according to @crystalpaine & @carriegisaac Coupons.com IS better than CJ, LM, & Escalate
Check to see if products you already love have affiliate programs so you can make money “naturally.”
Don’t be afraid to approach companies instead of waiting for companies to come to you.
Don’t sell ad space to competing companies. (@HappyHousewife)
Get your blog established and focus on good content before monetizing.
Start monetizing when you hit somewhere around 500 pageviews a day.
Note that anyone can check your traffic on Compete or Quantcast.

Question 9: What should I charge for advertising space on my site?

$2-$4 per CPM. ($1-$3 when you start advertising)
CPM stands for Cost Per Thousand (the “M” is the Roman numeral for 1000). So, for example, if your site gets 10,000 impressions per month, then you would charge $20-$40/mo for ad space. 100,000 impressions/mo would cost $200-$400/mo.

Question 10: How do you keep track of revenue earned?

Excel spreadsheets.
A separate PayPal account only for blogging-related revenue.
Google Docs
Outright

{I started fading here… }

Question 11: What SEO practices do you use on a daily basis?

Use (self-hosted) WordPress.
Strong anchor text for links.
Use a good permalink structure; include keywords not just page numbers.
Keywords in *good* content. Who cares about good SEO if your content stinks. (@HappyHousewife)
Have a site map. Try Google XML Sitemaps plugin.
Use Google’s Keyword Tool to find good post titles. (@HappyHousewife)

Question 12: What is your favorite WordPress plugin? Why?

What Would Seth Godin Do?
LinkWithin
Templates – not sure of the link here. Anyone? (@mommysnacks)
@carrieactually lists a bunch of plugins she likes on her Essential Blogging Resources post
Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP)
WP125 for ad management (@AmysFinerThings)

Question 13: What is one thing you wish you knew before you started blogging?

Strive for excellence, not perfection. Perfection causes you to spin your wheels and not accomplish a whole lot.

You all are awesome — would love to follow you! Follow me at @amylynnandrews.

Comments

46 Responses to “What I learned at the SavvyBlogging Twitter party”

Alicia
January 22nd, 2010 @ 7:33 am

Thanks for putting together the summary. It was so nice to wake up this morning and see such a clean refresher!
Jenny
January 22nd, 2010 @ 7:46 am

I want to thank you for this too… I learned a lot too! And whew is right… it was fast and furious!!
.-= Jenny´s last blog ..My 1st Interview!! =-.
Crystal Paine
January 22nd, 2010 @ 8:51 am

Excellent recap, Amy!

Thank you so much for taking the time to join in the Twitter Party–and for taking such great notes, too!
.-= Crystal Paine´s last blog ..Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Homemade Pizza (er, how not to improvise when making pizza!) =-.
Megan
January 22nd, 2010 @ 9:27 am

Thanks sooooo much for sharing these!

You rock!
.-= Megan´s last blog ..4 =-.
Paula
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:00 am

Thank you very much for this information! You’ve answered a few questions I have wondered about regarding this blogging business. Appreciate it!
.-= Paula´s last blog ..Works For Me Wednesday – My Grocery Shopping List =-.
Amy
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:14 am

You are all so welcome! It was a blast!

Thanks for stoppin’ by!
Kris Cain
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:24 am

Awesome write up!Thank you so much for doing this. I had missed the beginning.
.-= Kris Cain´s last blog ..Congratulations Wendy!!! =-.
The Happy Housewife
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:24 am

Great post! Thanks so much for participating in the party last night and trying to credit people in your post today! It moved so quickly I had a hard time keeping up myself!
Toni
.-= The Happy Housewife´s last blog ..ICE App (In Case of Emergency) =-.
Amy
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:28 am

@Kris & @Toni – You’re welcome. That was wild and it was easy to miss so much!
Rachel @ Surviving The Stores
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:30 am

What an incredible summary! I had to miss the majority of the party, so I’m very grateful that you typed this up.

Thank you!!
.-= Rachel @ Surviving The Stores´s last blog ..Glade Fragrance Collection Coupon – $3/2 =-.
Holly
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:33 am

Great Recap!

Don’t worry, you can still be added to the list! I just added you:) Hope you make it to Blissdom because I’d love to meet you.
.-= Holly´s last blog ..Chick Fil-A: Be a text insider & get the deals first =-.
Budgets are the New Black
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:35 am

Great recap! Bookmarking this for easy future referral:)
.-= Budgets are the New Black´s last blog ..Update on the Garage Door! (Y’all can get off those pins and needles now.) =-.
Buffie
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:35 am

Thanks for this summary. I missed the party last night so it’s great to have this.
.-= Buffie´s last blog ..Tracking Your To Do List =-.
Sturgmom
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:36 am

Awesome job! I missed last night’s party (lesson learned!) and this post makes it MUCH easier to access the content rather than searching for #savvyblogging tweets, like I was planning on doing. Wow, thanks!!
.-= Sturgmom´s last blog ..Egg-Free baking, I will beat you yet! =-.
Carrie Isaac
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:41 am

Great list! The list of WP plugins is from @carrieactually, though, not @carriegisaac. Someday I’ll have a list of plugins!
.-= Carrie Isaac´s last blog ..Fill up your coupon organizer with these coupons! =-.
Holly Hamann
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:49 am

Hi Amy,

Thank you so much for putting all these tips in one place. This was clearly a lot of work to pull these together and it was a huge help for me as I didn’t get to participate in the entire Twitter party. Plus, I was not at home and participated from my iPhone, which was an even bigger challenge. Thank you so much! Looking forward to meeting you at BlissDom.

Holly (BlogFrog)
Elizabeth
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:51 am

Thanks for this post! And I am so impressed with how much you captured. It was a crazy fast party and no way would I have been able to take notes.
.-= Elizabeth´s last blog ..Hat #1 for Red Andrews Dinner =-.
Amy
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:54 am

@Holly, thanks.
Amy
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:55 am

@Carrie Isaac, oops! Thank you! Edited.
Angela (@AngEngland)
January 22nd, 2010 @ 12:00 pm

Thank you so much for this! I was recovering from a long day of errand running (see today’s blog post!) and couldn’t catch all of the chat. I appreciate you putting this together!

Angela <
.-= Angela (@AngEngland)´s last blog ..Grocery Grump or Glory? Ten Habits Last Day – Wrapping it Up! =-.
Chelsea
January 22nd, 2010 @ 12:41 pm

Thank you so much for compiling this list with great content and links. I’m excited to review the advice from so many experienced bloggers.
Laura @ Frugal Follies
January 22nd, 2010 @ 3:21 pm

Thanks again! There was so much great information going on that I was getting dizzy from reading it all! It really helps to have it all distilled like this.
.-= Laura @ Frugal Follies´s last blog ..FREE Ivory soap at CVS next week! 1/24/10 – 1/30/10 =-.
Carrie
January 22nd, 2010 @ 3:50 pm

great wrap up. i’m definitely bookmarking this for future reference.
.-= Carrie´s last blog ..The Ultimate “Bang for Swagbucks” Chart =-.
Becky
January 22nd, 2010 @ 4:18 pm

I started my blog almost 2 months ago. I haven’t yet jumped into the world of Twitter. If I had not had plans to be out for the evening, this Twitter Party may have been my reason for learning about Twitter. I have to say though that I’m a little apprehensive since my blog, Facebook and the computer in general gets so much of my time. Thanks so much for posting this re-cap! I’m sure that I’ll refer back to it often.
.-= Becky´s last blog ..Pepsi Deal at CVS & Walgreens =-.
Bri
January 22nd, 2010 @ 5:12 pm

Saw Holly’s tweet and came to visit. Excellent summary. I hope to attend the next event ~ I’m so glad you summarized. Much appreciated and I will be following you via Twitter.
.-= Bri´s last blog ..Superstition Ain’t The Way =-.
Brittney
January 22nd, 2010 @ 5:28 pm

This is awesome! Thanks, Amy!
Cynthia L.
January 22nd, 2010 @ 9:48 pm

Thanks for the great recap – I faded around 10p.m.!! I will read and use these tips!
Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom
January 22nd, 2010 @ 10:40 pm

FAB post girl…an amazing recap!!!

Erin
Allison
January 22nd, 2010 @ 11:14 pm

Thank you for this list! I was only able to follow along on the party a little, so I knew I missed a lot. This is perfect!
.-= Allison´s last blog ..Huh, I never would have guessed (SAHM Series) =-.
LoveFeast Table
January 23rd, 2010 @ 2:01 am

Thanks for relaying all the info!! I’m feeling like my learning curve is as high as Mount Everest!!
.-= LoveFeast Table´s last blog ..Mosaic Fancy Friday =-.
Tami
January 23rd, 2010 @ 9:10 am

Thanks so much for putting this altogether in an easy-to-read format.
.-= Tami´s last blog ..Another Test Post: Slimming Down My Post Footer =-.
Jessica (Cupcake Mommie)
January 23rd, 2010 @ 10:08 am

Many thanks for doing this! I’ve got it bookmarked for future reference! What a great resource!
Saph @ Frugal Wife Blog
January 23rd, 2010 @ 7:10 pm

Wow, amazing recap! How were you able to take notes? It went by so fast.
Thanks so much for the notes, though – I missed the party.
.-= Saph @ Frugal Wife Blog´s last blog ..Ooma – No More Monthly Phone Fees =-.
Mandi @ It's come to this
January 23rd, 2010 @ 8:13 pm

Such a great summary!!! Thanks for all the effort … it’s getting bookmarked right now:)
.-= Mandi @ It’s come to this´s last blog ..Blissfully blissdom links … part 3 =-.
Pam
January 23rd, 2010 @ 8:17 pm

Oh, thank syou so much for the notes. I was so overwhelmed with the speed that it was hard to keep track!
Ashley@ Just Another Mom of 2
January 24th, 2010 @ 9:54 am

Thanks so much for the information summary! It was hard to keep up, but there was tons of great information. Looking forward to the next savvyblogging party!
.-= Ashley@ Just Another Mom of 2´s last blog ..Scuba TV =-.
Kathy@SimpleSavingsMom
January 24th, 2010 @ 4:04 pm

Amy, Thanks so much for the recap! It was my first Twitter party and things were flying so fast I could not keep up with it all! It is nice to have this comprehensive list to refer back to. I am a new blogger, and I am learning so much from you all! Thanks again!
Jackie @freeismylife
January 25th, 2010 @ 1:26 pm

Thanks for putting this together.
.-= Jackie @freeismylife´s last blog ..Sample Sale @ Michign Design Center 1/29 1/30 – What a DEAL! =-.
Org Junkie
January 25th, 2010 @ 3:28 pm

Thank you on the threaded comments for WP. I did not know that and have so wanted that option. Who knew it was right there under my nose the whole time. So great!!
Alli 'n Son » Blog Archive » The Top Ten Things To Do With a Free Weekend
January 26th, 2010 @ 8:04 am

[...] Up on the #savvyblogging Twitter party (thanks to with Purpose for her recap) I learned a lot. Mostly I’m doing a pretty decent job so far, but I needed [...]
marybeth at www.babygoodbuys.com
January 27th, 2010 @ 9:19 am

Thanks so much for the summary! I wasn’t able to participate, and my search for the hashtag led to SO much information I was overwhelmed! I appreciate this to get a general overview of what I missed. There are some excellent tips here!
.-= marybeth at http://www.babygoodbuys.com´s last blog ..Target: Save $5.50 on Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers! =-.
lynn @ MavenofSavin
January 29th, 2010 @ 5:35 pm

Great summary! Thanks for posting! By the way, do you have any idea how to get a sense of your impressions (cpm??)
.-= lynn @ MavenofSavin´s last blog ..Pet coupons! =-.
Amy
January 31st, 2010 @ 6:05 am

I assume you are interested in knowing how much to charge a potential advertiser, right? In that case, use something like Google Analytics or StatCounter to determine the number of pageviews your site receives. CPM stands for “Cost Per One Thousand” (with “M” being the Roman numeral for 1000). The average CPM seems to be somewhere between $2-$4. So, to determine what you would charge for advertising on your site, take the number of pageviews and divide by 1000. Multiply that number by, say, $3 and there you have your ad rate.

For example, let’s say your site receives 50,000 pageviews per month. Divide that number by 1000 to get 50, times $3. Your ad rate would then be $150 per month. Make sense?
lynn
January 31st, 2010 @ 8:56 am

Thanks Amy!! I just was not sure whether “impressions” were page views! I already use google analytics so Thanks!!
.-= lynn´s last blog ..Simple Sunday | Home Management Notebook =-.
How to Improve Your Blog
February 2nd, 2010 @ 10:19 pm

[...] What I learned at the Savvy Blogging Twitter Party is a fabulous compilation of answers to 13 popular blogging questions. [...]
Lori @ Couponomic Stimulus Package
February 3rd, 2010 @ 8:42 am

Thanks so much for putting this together! Twitter overwhelms me right now and I just couldn’t figure out how to find most of this info that was flying past me at the party!!!
.-= Lori @ Couponomic Stimulus Package´s last blog ..Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom =-.

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