Two months ago now I was lucky enough to receive an email from Joan who said she would love to be interviewed by LM-BLOG as now she has a number of blogs from which she revceives many visitors. The blogs which she runs are ; www.booksleavingfootprints.com, www.getoffthecouch.info, www.myqualityday.blogspot.com and www.sharkenterprises.biz. They have a number of different topics which in my opinion also made Joan Perfect. The interview is bello (me in bold and joan normal)
Hi Joan, thanks for giving LM-BLOG the chance to interview you especially with all of the web experiece you have.
Would you like to tell us a little of yourself ?
I am a self-employed free spirit who does web site design and maintenance, and
free-lance writing. I’m obsessed with quiet, muscle-powered outdoor recreation,
and particularly with the North Country National Scenic Trail. At the present
time I have hiked over 3700 miles of that trail, with about 700 miles to go.
I hope to be the first woman to hike its entirety.
Ah so the internet is a second home to you really. Well what was it that made you start blogging and tell us a little about
your blogs.
I am now maintaining 4 blogs regularly, with two more on the back burner. They
were begun for several different reasons. About 18 months ago I lost my largest
web client due to budget cuts. So I suddenly had a lot less income, but a lot
of internet knowledge. I had already been maintaining a personal pre-blog on
Xanga, and a daily news item associated with my Get Off The Couch (www.getoffthecouch.info)
website, which promotes quiet, muscle-powered outdoor recreation in west Michigan.
When blogging platforms became more standardized I naturally made the transition
for those two existing outlets. The first is a personal blog now, mostly for
close friends and family. The other is Get Off The Couch News ( getoffthecouchnews.blogspot.com)
.
Next I spun My Quality Day (myqualityday.blogspot.com) off of my personal blog.
There were a lot of things I wanted to share that I thought might interest
people, but I didn’t want to mix those with the really personal posts of the
first blog. My Quality Day is now my most popular and fun blog
Then I began a blog with news specific to the North Country Trail (northcountrytrailnews.blogspot.com).
There is a daily news item about something that has occurred– it might be someone’s
hike, legislation, safety, history, almost anything if it is tied to the trail.
This has a moderate readership, but I hope it will grow.
Finally, I wanted a blog where I could participate in contests, review products,
and do more money-making types of activities. So I began Just Throw Money (justthrowmoney.blogspot.com).
Oh yeah, and I have one more blog that I’m not doing much with… if you are
curious check out my profile.
What effect do you think reading your blog has on people ? Is this the effect you wanted or had hoped for ?
I know that the two news blogs have regular readers who find them informative
and interesting. I have the most fun with My Quality Day. It has evolved a
lot in its 10-month life. I’ve developed a core group of real blog friends
who also love the outdoors and nature. They tell me that they’ve learned things
and had fun at my blog. This is even more that I expected. I never realized
that the blog would end up being a social outlet for me as well as a way to
share interesting things. I had no idea that there would be a great deal of
interaction with readers.
So the blog had a much bigger effect than you had hoped for. Plus the effect was good, that is brilliant and something that has just made this interview so much better.
How did you find gaining traffic and visitors and overall just maintaining your blog?
It took a while to start building traffic. I have to say that my real break
came when I joined Entrecard, because suddenly a lot more people were seeing
my blog. Since it’s something of a niche (mostly nature lovers) it’s not likely
to grab the attention of 8 out of 10 people who pass by. Other good advertising
venues for me have been Adgitize and CMF Ads.
I find that it’s all I can do to maintain my four primary blogs with good content.
Ah I see, you couldnt advertise to specialist markets as that would be to expensive for a blogger. Have you got any plans for the future either for yourself or the blog ?
I have serious ideas for two more blogs, but I’d really have to then consider
blogging a full-time job, and it would need to pay a lot more than I can currently
squeeze out of their bones.
Every bloggers ambition, to become a full-time blogger and earn a full living from their blog. Have you got any advice to send to other bloggers (first time or regulars)?
Traffic is important, but content and interaction are the keys to building a
readership. You can use traffic exchanges and advertising to get eyes moving
across your site, but if there is nothing there to catch their attention you
won’t see them again.
Brilliant advice, I completely agree with that. Anything else to add?
I’m still very much a learner in the blogosphere, but the fact that one of my
blogs has a Google page rank 3, one a 2, and one blog is below 100,000 in Alexa
rank, indicates to me that I seem to have found a few things that work. So
far, I’m still having fun!
>From July 25-August 31 I’ll have a game running at My Quality Day while I’m
off hiking. Stop by and play.
Joan thanks alot fot this interview and I hope that you get a lot of extra visitors from it. Your insight into your world both blogging and normal have been brilliant and we extremelly appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to do so.
Good luck with your future blogging and hikes. We would love to hear from you when you have done your last 700 miles.
visit www.booksleavingfootprints.com to buy North Country Cache: Adventures on a National Scenic Trail
visit www.getoffthecouch.info to learn about quiet, muscle-powered recreation opportunities in West Michigan
www.myqualityday.blogspot.com for some fun
visit www.sharkenterprises.biz for web site design