Fairy Blog Mother - Latest Comments

Re: My blogging design dilemma

Jon Stow — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 07:32:48 -0000

I wouldn't worry, Alice. Some people like to pay for their tax returns to be done cheaply by someone who doesn't consider what issues there are. A lot of people prepare their own and some are competent to do so, depending on the complexity, though if they use software it probably doesn't ask the right questions.

Others are prepared to pay for a very good service and ongoing support from my business. In the end everyone gets what they pay for, which is not usually much if they choose "free"..

My point is that there is always room for those who have the proper skills to help those that don't have those skills or don't have the time, or both.

Re: How to create a WordPress account

Ajaykr86 — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 04:18:06 -0000

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Re: Can blogging be a guilty pleasure?

Alice Elliott — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:26:57 -0000

Sorry I got my facts wrong Hannah, but it was my interpretation of what I thought was the case. Typical of me to get the wrong end of the stick...

I know how important it is to time manage yourself around work and family, and certainly my family suffer because of my blogging and my passion for it.

The answer is to practice getting all your posts done within 15 minutes - proving they don't have to be half a thesis to be worth reading!

Re: Can blogging be a guilty pleasure?

Hannah Jones — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:15:27 -0000

Thank you Alice you inspired me to write my first blog in ages http://bluekitecoach.com/to....

I am delighted that I helped inspire you to write this blog too :D

However you are wrong about blogging taking over my business and detracting from work with my clients. However you are right that it was a time management issue.
What blogging was doing was taking away evenings and weekends as I like to have a clear interrupted space to collect my thoughts and get the wording 'just so'. So rather than my clients losing out it was my husband and children who were impacted.
Realigning my work/life balance by putting 'experience life together (as a family)' at the heart of my scheduling forced me to put the less important stuff on my 'stop doing' list. This list included responding to e-mails the second they arrive and proactive use of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and, dare I say it, blogging.
Last night has renewed my enthusiasm for blogging as a tool for getting 'me' and my ideas out there and even got me to post a blog tonight in under 15 minutes (probably a first for me).

Thanks again
Hannah

Re: How to take away the comment boxes from your blog’s pages

Alice Elliott — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 14:25:52 -0000

Thank you Alice, I don’t know why they don’t either. WordPress have their own agenda when it comes to blog design, and there are plenty of anomalies ready to confuse us!

Re: How to take away the comment boxes from your blog’s pages

Alice Elliott — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 14:25:23 -0000

You’re welcome Michael, only too happy to be of help!

Re: How to take away the comment boxes from your blog’s pages

Alice — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 07:44:54 -0000

Thank-you so much! I don't understand why they don't put this option into the main Page editor...

Re: How to take away the comment boxes from your blog’s pages

Michael fitzGerald — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 06:39:45 -0000

I've been looking everywhere for a way to do this. Thank you very much!

Re: Does your website have clickability?

psychologist perth — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 08:02:04 -0000

I do think content and how you deliver the story will work and make people read them and stay on your site.

Re: How to succeed in business with a British blog

Alice Elliott — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:58:56 -0000

Joey, you use Blogger as your blogging platform, so I went in and had a little look. 'Tags' in WordPress are like 'Labels' in Blogger, and it is these that should be gleaned from your copy and should reflect the kind of keywords your audience would be typing into Google or other search engines. The more they match people's searches, the more likely your post will be shown. Good luck!

Re: How to succeed in business with a British blog

Joey — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:25:21 -0000

Thanks for the reply. Really sorry for sounding like a complete noob here but you wrote "My suggestion is to keep on posting as regularly as possible, and don't forget to use the tags (keywords taken from your posts) that will register with the search engines and therefore get you some more traffic."

I don't understand how use these tags... could you please expand on this?

Re: How to succeed in business with a British blog

Alice Elliott — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 04:37:46 -0000

Joey, your blog is still relatively new - and it does take time to get a blog established and therefore get followers, sometimes up to 6 months!

My suggestion is to keep on posting as regularly as possible, and don't forget to use the tags (keywords taken from your posts) that will register with the search engines and therefore get you some more traffic.

Also if you can feed your blog onto social networking and sharing sites, that will increase your exposure to a likely audience.

Keep up the good work!

Re: How to succeed in business with a British blog

Joey — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 03:54:38 -0000

Hi Alice,
nice blog. I recently started blogging to try raise awareness of green issues and to promote the natural and organic products I sell but i am finding this very difficult indeed. Its seems nobody reads my blog despite me linking the post to facebook & twitter. I don't even have a single follower lol I am sure I am doing something horribly wrong though it could be that I am not giving it enough time. What I would be interested in is knowing how to target my blog to a UK audience since my business is uk based. my blog is - http://ikoworld.blogspot.com/ any tips you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Joey

Re: The difference between static and interactive websites

Alice Elliott — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 05:37:43 -0000

Thanks Carolyne, maybe on this side of the pond we haven't yet woken up to the possibilities on offer and need to have our mind-sets changed or educated to. Sometimes it can be such an up-hill struggle - but once accomplished, this think of what could happen!

Re: How to succeed in business with a British blog

Alice Elliott — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 05:31:42 -0000

I'm so glad to hear your enthusiasm! As long as there's more bloggers like you determined to make something of their blogs, let's hope it influences others to do the same. It doesn't necessarily have to be about making money, but instead making a difference...

Come on all you bloggers out there!

Re: How to succeed in business with a British blog

Caro — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 09:57:57 -0000

Hi Alice,

it is the same here in Germany. Blogging and especially blogging for an income is still in its infancy. It´s not easy to get people to comment on a blog, share posts, retweet etc. In my niche I can´t even find partners and can´t get backlinks, that are important for SEO.

And for us it is even worse because our blogs are in german, so I can not find partners elsewhere. But I don´t give up.

Blog on!

Carolina

Re: The difference between static and interactive websites

Carolyne Wahlen — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 01:48:27 -0000

That makes so much sense Alice! It is like the slow trend in TV to have audience participation and "on demand" TV rather than us passively sitting and watching/reading what is on offer.

Re: Blogging shouldn’t be treated as a chore

Nicky Kriel — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 05:54:53 -0000

I really enjoyed this post, Alice. I am just at the point of moving to posting a few times a week and it is great getting some good-humoured inspiration at the right time.

Re: Why images enhance blog design

Alice Elliott — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:14:20 -0000

Thanks Victoria for your comment. I'm glad somebody agrees with me about the use of imagery, particularly the absence of a profile picture on social media doesn't induce a following, neither does the lack of author's profile or portrait on a blog to encourage a relationship with the blog's readers.

Re: Why images enhance blog design

Victoria Player — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 05:03:39 -0000

Hi Alice,

I am absolutely in agreement that images are an important part of one’s blog. I always recommend my clients use images to illustrate their writing. Anything in written format is also a prime opportunity to grab our customer and client’s attention and tell them more about the way in which you might help them. An image can help make that connection more quickly especially if you’re a visual person.

With the event of blogs and social media, and when they are used in conjunction with one another, images are so very important. Take facebook for example. The name itself signifies much of its success. In fact if someone asks to friend me and they don’t have a profile picture I simply decide not to follow them. Also the photos I post online always receive a greater response than writing alone. Have you experienced that too?

It is said that images of people pull more than those of inanimate objects. Have you found this to be so?

Re: How my altruistic tendencies took over…

Alice Elliott — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:32:58 -0000

Hi Carolina

Your blog certainly says what is on the tin! What I mean by that it is easy to understand what your subject is (once I had translated it!).

Your design is very clear, as are the sign up incentives for your newsletter. There is certainly no confusion where to look next, and the short video is an excellent method of explaining your blog to visitors. And I really like your category navigation links across the top of your blog.

You could bring the method of subscribing to your blog a bit more prominent through RSS links towards the top of your sidebar.

A pleasing blog, Carolina, may it have much success!

Re: How my altruistic tendencies took over…

Carolina Dlugosch — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 05:30:53 -0000

Hi Alice,

you are so right. If I compare before and after, the new version is much clearer and more compelling.

Btw: I would love to know what you think about my blog-design.

Warm regards
Carolina

Re: 10 ways to get your blog to catch on

Mukesh Mohan — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:18:20 -0000

I have become an avid follower of your blog Alice. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Re: 10 ways to get your blog to catch on

Alice Elliott — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:20:10 -0000

You're welcome Ann.

Re: 10 ways to get your blog to catch on

Ann Smarty — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:05:17 -0000

Thanks for mentioning MyBlogGuest, Alice!