Annoying or Helpful?

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“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

“Annoying or Helpful?”

Do you appreciate it when someone points out a mistake or typo in your post or blog? Do you take criticism for what it is meant to be. Do you take offense to critiques?

Do you find it annoying or helpful?

Would it matter how the error is pointed out?

Private message:

If the “friendly” reader sends you an email message or sends you a message from your contact page, do you appreciate the information.

I don’t like typos.  I don’t like to see them and I especially don’t like to make them.  They are frustrating!  They hide while you are writing the post.  They only appear when you hit publish.  The same thing happens at work as well.

Public Comment:

What do you think when someone points out your mistakes in the comment section?  I don’t think anyone likes their mistakes made public.  So in this instance I might find it a tad annoying.

However, if I had to choose between a public comment pointing out my goof or not knowing at all, I would take the hit any day and go about my business.

What about you?

So as they say -  are you secure enough in yourself to take constructive and helpful criticism?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw
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Popularity: 8% [?]

Personal, Professional or Both?

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

Should blogs be totally personal or totally professional or a mixture of both?

The Personal Blog:

If the blog is personal, does a professional post mean anything?  Does it carry any weight or offer any authority?  Does the ratio of personal posts to professional posts make a difference?

The Professional Blog:

If the blog is professional should there ever be any personal information?  Will being personal diminish the professionalism of the content?

Both:

Can a blog be both personal and professional?  Can you blog about your weekend plans and activities then discuss business as usual on Monday?  Would you or do you like blogs with this kind of format?

What do you think?

Do you see any pros or cons with either type of blog or a mixed assortment?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw<
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Popularity: 7% [?]

To Tweak or Not to Tweak

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

To tweak or not to tweak -  that is the question.  Do you tweak your blog?  Are you technically talented or technically challenged?

I like to tweak my blog almost on a continuous basis.  Those of you that have followed BloggerNewbie for any length of time can attest that I am always changing my theme.  And yes, I am working on changing to yet another them.

I set up a test blog so I can tweak the changes before going live.

I can’t decide if I believe that change keeps your blog fresh, new and interesting or that keeping the same theme helps build a brand.

What do you think?  What do you prefer?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw

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Popularity: 8% [?]

Do You Write Your Posts Each Day Or For The Week?

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

What is your blog writing plan?  Do you have a strategy? Or do you just create your masterpieces when the feeling is right?

Do you post with a regular schedule or again do you post as the feeling strikes?

I read a few articles throughout the blogosphere regarding a posting schedule.  There are as many differing opinions as there are posts.

Skelly from skelliewag.org writes about her view on posting frequency .

Daniel Stucco from DailyBloggingTips also offers this post on  posting frequency .

Is there a right or wrong answer? In Blogging, is there ever a right or wrong answer?  The answer is yes and no.

So the question is – too many or not enough ?  Well the answer is – It’s all relative!

If you have a schedule or any intention of a posting routine, how do you stay on track?

I try to post with a regular schedule.   I decided, a month or so ago for various reasons, to cut back on my posting frequency.  My plan is to write my Monday Motivation series on Monday (of course) and this Question of the week series on Friday with a pillar article – (as Yaro would say) during the week – like Wednesday.

The point of this whole post – “do you write your posts each day or for the week?  Ideally, each weekend, my course of action is to write my posts for the week.  Early in my blogging career I received some invaluable advice in a post from my favorite guru .  Darren Rowse wrote a post about batch processing .  This post is a “must read” for any blogger.  I cannot stress enough how helpful this article will be in your writing career.

One more hint to add to Darren’s post – you need discipline to follow through with your tasks.  Most self-employed people do need discipline.  You usually don’t have anyone standing over you requiring production.  When I don’t follow through with “self discipline” and keep myself organized my “plan” usually falls apart at the most inopportune time.

How do you keep yourself in order?  Do you even  have order or are you a free bird?  What’s your opinion?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”
~ George Bernard Shaw

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Popularity: 14% [?]

Paid Reviews – Yes or No?

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

Paid Reviews – Yes or No?
What do you think of a blogger writing paid reviews?

I recently signed up for PayPerPost.com and have written a few paid reviews.  PayPerPost connects advertisers with writers.   I always check out and review the product, service or website before I accept the offer.  Not all post opportunities are accepted.

Are paid reviews acceptable if the reader is aware the post is a paid review?  Are they sometimes helpful or just annoying?

All of the posts that I wrote for paid reviews are categorized under “Reviews”.  Is that enough disclosure?

Are paid reviews different from affiliate marketing?  Do you think a paid review of a product or service is dishonest simply because the writer is getting paid?  Do you think that makes the writer unethical?

What do you really think about paid reviews?  Do you like them, tolerate them, find them useful, would you write a review yourself.

What do you think?  I value your opinion.

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”
~ George Bernard Shaw

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Popularity: 14% [?]

Visits or Comments?

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

Visits or Comments?  Which number are you trying to increase?  Why?  What is more important to you.  Are they both important for different reasons?

Visits:

Do you strive to increase  the number of visitors to your site every day?  Some bloggers are really into the whole numbers part of blogging.  Always checking their stats, comparing their charts.  They need to see the visitor numbers steadily increase.  Are you trying to get as many people to your site as possible?  If that is your goal, then I have 5 tips to increase blog traffic.

There are two kinds of traffic.   Bounce rate traffic and Quality traffic.

You can get a large number of visits with bounce rate traffic by using “hot topic” words in your title or article to get traffic to your site.  If the title does not reflect the post content of your site content, your visitors will bounce from your blog as fast as they came.

The quality traffic is brought to your site through recommendations, links, and search engines.  The search engine traffic is determined by keywords.  It is important that you use relevant keywords.  Quality traffic can turn visitors into loyal readers.  If people like what they see, they will come back.

Comments:

Some blogs have 50,000 visits a day and get 50-60 comments on each post.  Yet some blogs get 100 – 200 visits per day and get 5-10 comments on each post.  Some days this blogging just doesn’t make sense!

Commenting from your visitors gives you feedback.  When you know you have visitors to your site yet you don’t get any comments, most bloggers get concerned.  They become anxious about their writing.  Don’t take it personally.  Sometimes the post doesn’t ask for comments.

Is it your goal to increase your comments?  I also have 6 tips on how to write killer blog comments. The interaction between the reader and the blogger and even between the readers themselves is what makes a blog a blog.

There is no right or wrong answer for this series.  Simply polls and opinions.  So if you had to choose, what do you prefer?  More visits or more comments?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw

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Popularity: 21% [?]

Too Many or Not Enough?

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

Too Many or Not Enough?

Too many posts or not enough posts?  What is considered too many posts or not enough posts?

As with anything that is of your own personal opinion - It’s all relative!

Well since this is my blog I guess I can throw out my opinions.  And since this is your blog, please throw out your opinions in the comment section.

Too many posts?

What determines too many posts?  Posting every day, twice a day, three times a day.  If your blog is the only blog I read then maybe that isn’t too much.  But . . . most bloggers have more than one blog in their reader.

What if you have 100 blogs? (Who has 100 blogs?)  Plenty of people have a large number of blogs.

• I have “A” list blogs – 22 of them

• I have “peer” blogs -40 of them

• I have “not sure yet” blogs – 15 of them

• I have “writing” blogs – 21 of them

So. . . I guess that would be me who has 100 blogs.  I don’t think I am alone.  In fact, if the truth be known, I am on the low side of the number of blogs most bloggers subscribe to.

SO, having said all of that – how many posts are too many?  Well, let’s do some math.  If everyone of my blogs write even once a day, that is 100 posts a day I would have to read.  Is that even possible?

Not enough posts?

What is not enough?  Is there such a thing as not enough?  What if all of my blogs wrote once a week?  That would be 100 posts a week divided by 7 days would be approximately 15 posts a day.  Is that enough?  If the blogger doesn’t post enough will you lose interest?

Well I guess that would depend on if each post is a Long post or Short post.

No two blogs are alike so not all of them will have the same posting routine.  Therefore, the numbers will vary and my reader will have more than 15 new posts a day!

What do you prefer?

Let’s throw this out for a group opinion.  It will be interesting to get an idea of what the majority of people like.  Not only interesting, but helpful.

It has been my own writing experience that I can put more thought and creativity in a post if  I post less frequently.

I prefer less.  Less is more.

What do you prefer?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw

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Popularity: 20% [?]

EntreCard – Yes, No or Maybe?

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

EntreCard – Yes, No or Maybe?

I am not sure yet.  I have been a member probably long enough that I should know but I just haven’t made up my mind yet.  There are so many different social networks that I haven’t really had enough time to give EntreCard a fair evaluation.

So what is EntreCard?  EntreCard is an advertising network.  The more popular your blog, the more it costs to advertise on your blog.  You earn EntreCard credits every time you go to a blog that participates in the EntreCard network and you “drop” your card.  Hopefully, you drop your card, then you click on the ad to go to the next blog that participates in EntreCard.

Some people say that EntreCard inflates your visitor numbers.  That most EntreCard members just run around “dropping” cards to increase their credits to advertise on other blogs.  These visitors just go to your blog to drop their card then they in turn, get advertising credits.  They aren’t interested in your blog and don’t have any intention on staying or looking around.

While others say that EntreCard gets the visitor to your blog and it is up to the blogger to keep them there or get them back.  I guess there is a point in this philosophy.

From what I have seen (again, without spending enough time to fairly evaluate) EntreCard does encourage mass visits.  If most bloggers are like me, and I believe they are, they do not have excess time to spare for browsing on blogs out of our niche.?  Some bloggers will click from one ad to another to get a few EC credits.  Some blogs just aren’t in your interest range so no matter how great they are, they are not going to stay very long on a blog that is out of their interest range.

Check out  EntreCard and visit BloggerNewbie and let me know what you think.

EntreCard- yes, no or maybe?

What do you think?  What has been your experience?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw

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Popularity: 17% [?]

Do You Believe In Santa Claus?

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

Do you believe in Santa Claus?  Well today is supposedly the day.  The day Santa Claus brings you all the joy of the season.

I believe in Santa Claus.

Not the Santa Claus most people believe in.   Not the Santa Claus that comes down your chimney with toys and presents on that one day.

The Santa Claus that is the whole spirit of the season.  That’s the Santa Claus I believe in.

The Santa Claus that makes you want to do something really wonderful and unique for that special someone.  Santa Claus is not a person.  Not an old man in a red suit.

I believe in Santa Claus.  I love Santa Claus.  I miss Santa Claus.  I try to bring him around as much as possible.  It gets harder and harder every year.

The stores pile all the junk up to the ceiling.  They add extra rows.  They start BEFORE Halloween.  What are they thinking?  Ugggh, the commercialism.  Ruins everything.

Santa Claus is not for one day.  Santa Claus is a feeling.  He is excitement and joy and blessings and giving.  Santa Claus is love and sharing with friends and family.  That is the joy of the season.

You have heard the saying ‘ “it is better to give than to receive?”  (Have you ever noticed that all these “sayings” have so much truth?)  Think about it.  How do you feel when you receive?  How do you feel when you give?  So much better.

I love Santa Claus.

Do you believe in Santa Claus?

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw

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Popularity: 19% [?]

Pop ups?

“Question of the Week? Vote in our Poll!”

Pop ups?  What do you think?  Obtrusive and annoying or helpful and interesting?

We all have our opinion.  Mine?  I totally find them annoying.

At the same time, some of the big boys use them?  What is that all about?  I admire the big boys.  I follow them.  I watch their every move.  At the risk of actually BEING them, I try to implement some of their techniques on my own blog.  But, pop ups? I just can’t.  They are soo irritating!

But.  If the big boys are doing it, then it must work?  I don’t know.  Even if it does work, do I want to use pop ups on my blog?  I just can’t.  Just because it works doesn’t make it right or good.  Nope, don’t like them.

I run and operate my blog like my brick and mortar business.  I run it as if I am a customer.  So if I don’t like it I don’t use it.  Might be right, might be wrong.  In any event, that is the way I work.

So what do you think?  Pop ups?  Sure, why not?  or Absolutely not!

Toodles – Blog Happy!

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“No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious…”

~ George Bernard Shaw

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I can’t get my poll plugin to work (upgrade? compatible? don’t know yet).
Make sure you leave your vote in the comment section!

UPDATE, I figured it out.  Actually I found a way around the insert feature, entered manually…

Popularity: 27% [?]

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