Breathe - Just Breathe!

Pressure?

I know I don't need any more in my life! So how the heck did something I decided to do for fun start to add more pressure to my load?

When I sit back and think about it I honestly feel duped - not by all the people out their claiming this and that - but duped by myself - for falling into the trap of believing if I don't do everything in my power in every minute of my free time to promote my blog then I'm never going to get any readers at all!

Wow talk about a load to push onto someone!

And there's a lot of that going on right now. And it's not as explicit as all that.

Very subtly people are "persuading" bloggers that to get any results they have to dive in full force and put in more effort into blogging than they even put into other important areas of their lives - like family, career, and even personal free time.

The "ALL-IMPORTANT" getting your blog to the top of Google's search results is ever so daunting yet ever so ridiculous in the grander scheme of things.

How did I get so duped into believing that I should invest all my efforts into this one tiny aspect of blogging? Actually it's not even an actual aspect of blogging!

Geez! It's really amazing how subversive text can slip into our unconsciousness if we're not paying attention.

So keep alert! Don't let anyone dictate to you how you "should" invest your blogging time.

After all you began blogging for fun! So do it for that purpose and that's all that really matters!

But wait I have no reader base? So? Is that the end of the world? Does that mean you should stop writing? Well if you answered yes to that last question then maybe you should stop writing because that means blogging is not a fun hobby for you, it has become something far removed from its original purpose.

So evaluate what you want in your blogging life and then create it! Forget the rest!

Feeling quite sheepish,
CB Webmaster

Exclamations!

I'm sure when you learned English Grammar you were told to not use exclamation marks very often. That they are supposed to be used sparingly so as to emphasize true excitement only.

Okay I buy that rule of true excitement - no problem!

lol Yes as you know if you read my postings regularly I throw caution to the wind when it comes to exclamation marks and use them automatically whenever I'm excited about something! (And that happens to be often! hehe)

You can easily avoid your page drowning in exclamation marks by using them properly - to display that excitement.

Here's an example of improper and proper exclamation use:


I went to the party today! It was fun. I thought my banana pudding was too soft! I should've tried the chocolate cake instead! Next time I will!


I went to the party today. It was fun! I thought the banana pudding was too soft. I should've tried the chocolate cake instead. Next time I will!


I'll even go as far as to say that you could even throw in another exclamation mark after "chocolate cake instead" if that really was something you felt strongly about.

So the first example had 4 exclamation marks and the second version had only 2.

If you read the first example out loud to yourself intoning the exclamation marks you'll automatically see how it's overbearing and how "it's fun" should have been exclaimed.

So be yourself and have fun!


Ever yours,
CB Webmaster! lol

Lightning Fast User Critiques of Your Blog Posts!

Google's done it again Gilligan old buddy! Giving us another AWESOME feature for all us blogger.com bloggers! They call it "The Reaction." lol I like I like!!

So here's what it does -

It adds a quick poll to the bottom of each and every blog posting!

Any one who reads the posting can with one click check a box providing you with instant feedback on your post! How great is that? Okay you know I think it's great lol

Check out mine - I put it on this blog - just scroll down to the bottom of this blog posting and you'll see it for yourself!

See what I mean? Cool, huh?

And what's even greater is that it's fully customizable (what else could a user ask for? *Toyota* okay jingle in my head, phew it's gone - sorry!)

The default poll looks something like this:

Reaction: cool, weird, bad

But you can change any of these items to say whatever you want!

I even have one blog where I wrote it like this:

Free Money is:    possible    a myth    horse-pocky

Now I don't think anyone even remembers the phrase "horse-pocky" any more lol but I somehow churned this word out of the recesses of my mind. I think it's a funny comment to make about a person's blog though! lol

Not only is this fun to play with funky words - but it can actually provide you with useful feedback on your blogging.

Like if you change it to read:

I thought this was:    helpful     stunk     boring!!!

then you have some idea of what people are thinking immediately after they read your posting - which means it's their gut reaction! (Hence why Google called it Reaction!)

You can see how many people voted for each item and then based on that feedback you can "improve" your blog postings or "pat yourself on the back for a job well done!"

Or you can forget utilizing it for feedback and just have fun with it:

Your writing: smells worse than cockroaches

or how bout this one:

Review: My blind grandma could write better!

lol well you get my drift....

See ya in the polls,
CB Webmaster

How to Get Great Ideas for Your Blog Posts Every Day!

Since most people focus on just one blog - make it great! How does a blog become great? Content - or in other words many many posts! Be a blog posting machine! lol

But I don't know what to write about? No problem. It's easy all you have to do is brainstorm a little.

Open up a document on your computer or if you like doing things the old school way grab a pen and paper (actually you may want to try this method because there is something powerful about the physical act of writing down your ideas - I don't know how to describe it - I only know from DOING - that it can bring out a new level of creativity in you).

Now that you're armed with your writing media stare off into space! What??!? lol Seriously - you want to just sit there and IMAGINE. That's what you're going to do. Don't worry if you feel silly at first, trust me once it works once you'll never doubt this method again!

So what should I imagine? lol That is a funny question but an apt one no less!

Imagine yourself asking questions - to begin with all you need is one little idea or question.

Let's say your question is: How can I make money selling dog toys online?

Instead of going - I have no idea how to go about answering this question and just giving up - give yourself a chance first.

Let's try your question out for a stroll down a busy city street.

So here you are walking down store fronts and there's one that's selling dog toys! Wow! What a coincidence! lol

Now peer in the window - what do you see? A store owner behind the register smiling and counting big wads of cash...okay...let's keep looking around....a variety of dog collars on a rack some with different features and some even on sale.

BAM! This is what I call your first jump off point....are you ready to fly? Here we go!

Right away these questions pop into your mind:

How many collars should I sell?

What collars should I sell?

What collars are popular?

What color collars are popular?

Does my dog like his collar?

What features do I like in my dog's collar?

Can I make my own collars to sell?

How much do collars cost?

How much could I sell collars for and still be reasonable for my clients?

How many collars should I buy and keep in stock?

Can I purchase some dog collars wholesale and then be able to sell them for cheaper than my competitors?

What about people who have several dogs - what are the best collars for them to walk their dogs at the same time?

What about decorations? What are the current trends in dog bling?

Should I cater to girl's dogs because a lot of girls like to dress up their toy dogs?

Should I only sell toy dog collars?

Is their a better market out there right now for toy dog collars instead of just all collars in general?

If I specialize in toy dog collars what would be the benefits? The repercussions? etc.

How can I become the specialist everyone turns to to buy their toy dog collars?

Well....you get my point....zooom zooooom zooooooooooooom! It flies by really fast - if you're not a fast typist or writer I suggest you get a tape recorder and tape your ideas as they fly out of your mouth!

So now what? I've got all these great questions which can help me but what do I do with them????

It's so simple it's staring you right in the face - pick the question that is the highest priority to you in the moment and do a straightforward internet search on it - such as in google or yahoo.

Don't be surprised if you immediately come across some helpful tips, answers, or information which can aid you in your decision to specialize in toy dog collars or not.

Have fun! Just make sure you do this when you won't be interrupted - trust me - when you're on a roll and someone says "Hey it's time for dinner" You're going to dread that meal! lol

What if I don't have any free time? Nice try! We all have to go to the bathroom sometime during the day and most of us (I hope) take a shower or bath daily - just put your tape recorder and a towel nearby and you'll have at least 10-30 minutes a day of uninterrupted time to brainstorm!

Get going I want to read your great blog postings!

Your friendly,

CB Webmaster

P.S. Hey if you've got any left over free time you might wanna try this technique too!