The Pulse of the Blogosphere

One of the driving forces behind my own personal blogging efforts has been the desire to combat infomercial style and high pressure sales tactics that suck those with entrepreneurial dreams into an abyss of debt with little, if any return on investment.

Since being introduced to the varied ways of earning a comfortable income online, I’ve witnessed so many pitches that no more than a fancy styled chain letter in an electronic age.

Have you ever wondered where exactly the pulse of the blogoshpere is? What successful bloggers are writing and what attracts their traffic?

Perhaps through the generous participation of some highly visible and successful bloggers you can find inspiration to jumpstart your own efforts in attracting readers, increasing profits and uncovering a sense of purpose in your writing.

Recently I sent out a call to several bloggers I’ve come to know and respect for links – links to their blog posts that have generated the most traffic/comments/links of all time. The following links, broken down by category will reveal to you, a large piece of the puzzle that is otherwise known as the pulse of the blogosphere according to Moi.

Web Design, Blogging, Writing, Internet, Business:

Essential Keystrokes – 6 Easy Steps to Making a Web Hosting Switch

Performancing – 10 Articles All Bloggers Should Read (at least once) – Performancing Blog Awards 2007 Winners

College Startup – 15 Successful Entrepreneurs Who Didn’t Need College

LOGICal eMOTIONs – 5 Key Components of Blogging – You Want Feedback – Not “Constructive Criticism”

Writing Thoughts – Ten Reasons Why You Should Hire A Professional Writer – Blogging and Personality Type – What I Learned From Travel

Work From Home Momma – Do You Remember These? – When Your Heart is Broken… How to Deal with Business – Should You Set Your Initial Price Low to Get Clients?

Business and Blogging – Coffee Break – How One Non-Profit Organization Uses Blogging – Dell: A Blogging Success Story?

Middle Zone Musings – Taking a Leap of Faith – Just Close Your Eyes and Floor It! – Three Points to Ponder When Your Ship Comes In – Blogapalooza – What I Learned From 2007 – A Guaranteed, Sure-Fire, Never-Fail Formula for Successful Blogging – Why I Never Set Blogging Goals

Small Biz Mentor – Target Infers Bloggers Are Irrelevant – What Happens To Your Passwords When You Die? – Partner With Another Business – Use A Double Sided Business Card

Grow Your Writing Business – Do You Make Readers Run A Comment Obstacle Course? – Tips To Make Other Bloggers Hate You – Comment Crazy

Randa Clay Design – The I Follow “Movement”

Inspirational and Motivational:

Evolving Times – 10 personal growth lessons from children – 10 Tips For Staying Positive Around Negative People – 51 Ways to Expand Your Comfort Zone – How to Install Love – 16 Personal Development Lessons From Harry Potter

Casual and Personal Blogs:

Casual Keystrokes – Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

Ride Lust – The Top 7 Gas Guzzlers of 2007

Candy Addict – Top 10 Grossest Candies

An Island Life – Do You Flush? – Struck By Lightening – Some Things Are Not Meant To Be Seen – Some People Shouldn’t Drink and Fly

LOGICal eMOTIONs – Engineered Meanings – It’s all about context – What about FINITE capacity?

Opinion Mom – Frugal Fridays: Cut Your Own Hair!

Call Hart – Funny Durex Condom Commercial – A Little History Of TV Ads – 1930 to the Present

PetLvr – What is the sex of my kitten?

Sports, Holidays & Family Oriented:

SoccerLens – 2007-2008 Premier League Kits

Work From Home Momma – Twenty-Five Thanksgiving Activities and Puzzles for Kids

My Two Boys – Thirteen Things I Want to Teach My Two Boys – 25 Things to Do While You Wait – Lead Free Toys

Principled Discovery – Just how different is a homeschool education? – If you want your child socialized – Updates on the Busekros family

And last but certainly not least, right here on MomGadget, the 5 most popular posts of all time are: Are you a selfish blogger? – Related Search Ads – Affiliate Marketing Just Got Better – MomGadgets Favorite Halloween Gadgets, Gizmos and Props – The Face Behind The Blog Collection and The Green Pan Review

As you can see, there’s certainly no exact formula for success when it comes to blogging. The topics of these blogs are as different and diverse as their authors – however, the one thing these successful blogs and their writers have in common is passion and a belief in what they write.

You don’t have to be John Chow writing about making money online – and you don’t have to be Darren Rowse writing about blogging to be successful. Whether your topic is candy, pets or whether or not your readers flush, as long as you believe in what you’re writing, your readers will believe in you.

 

Tags: blogging, business, weblog, successful blogging, work at home, wahm, affiliate marketing, make money online

Can a blog be successful without a name or face

While combing through many of my favorite celebrity gossip blogs this morning, it occurred to me just how little I actually know about some of the writers on my favorite blogs.

As I began looking for an ‘about page’ I further realized that I’d grown to enjoy the gossipy goodness they’ve delivered for several months without giving any consideration to who is actually writing.

On the other hand, when it comes to sources of information that pertain to my primary source of income and MomGadget, I seem to have a bit of a double standard.

I’m actually beginning to feel like one of those ‘dads’ that has one set of rules for their teen daughter and one set for their teen son (yep, that’s ripped right from the pages of my existing reality).

Typically I’m one of those bloggers that heads straight for the about page — but I only do that when it comes to topics on monetizing or marketing. I suppose having that glimpse of a real person makes their tips and ideas a bit more believable.

Certainly it could be a fake picture, name and bio, but still, it’s providing me with a ‘person’ that I can relate to.

Does it depend on the topic as to whether the blog needs a name and a face?

Are you an about page vouyer like me? Do you always check to see if there’s some offering of reality behind the blog?

Or does it all really even matter?

 

Tags: successful blogging, blog, weblog

The Face Behind The Blog Collection

When I’m browsing through the blogosphere and happen on a blog that captures my attention — one of the first things I look for is an About page. I have this ‘need’ of sorts to be able to put a face with the words.

It becomes more real to me that way.

One of my favorite blogging buds has started a new meme called The Face Behind The Blog that I think is a wonderful opportunity for many of us to get to know each other.

So, for my personal contribution… I give you me, away from the keyboard…

This is the absolute most recent photo taken a couple of months ago.

I’m a recovering NASCAR addict.

This is my boys and I at our proudest political moment — meeting Senator Evan Bayh.

These are just a few pictures of my ‘farm house’ — It really is a house that blogging bought!

So there you have it! A little glimpse inside my life away from blogging

I’m sure that’s a little more then I was supposed to offer, but to know me, is to know where I live.

I know sharing a glimpse inside your life is difficult for some, so I’d like to leave my tags open.

If you would like to participate, leave a comment with your link and I’ll bump it up to the original post here.

Who will be next?

Thoughts Aside:

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