Blogging about blogging. | Links to all

Jess meeting with one of our Chinese students | School of Biblical Studies Honolulu Hawaii 2012

Over the past couple of months I have been blogging about blogging.  Here are the links to my blog posts about blogging... 

What I learned in one month of consistent blogging.

Jess crossing the finish line of the 2011 Erie marathon.  

In the month of March I set out to blog consistently.  And I can very proudly say I did exactly that.  Here is what I learned along the way... 

How blogging helps REINFORCE your message.

Camp Mission Meadows | 20d | 2008 

I’ve heard it said that you have to hear an idea 7 times before comprehending it, much less accepting it.  I’m realizing how true this is...

Answering the questions: Why did you start a blog and what's your blog about?

Oahu | 2009 | 20d 

As promised, in last Friday’s post, I told you that I’d answer the questions that I posed to you about the WHY of blogging.  So here we go...

How to START your blog! part 2

National Cathedral | 2007 

So you’ve chosen a blogging platform, and chosen the layout of your blog.  You wrote your first blog post and published it and you told people about it!  Great job!  But now what?... 

How to START your blog! Part 1

Chicago | 2008 | 20d

So I’ve given you reasons WHY to start a blog... well here’s HOW to get started! 

3 writing tips guaranteed to help people read what you’re writing.

Bad menu spelling | Taken May 2008 | sd870 

I’ve been sending out a monthly e-mail update since 2003.  Here are 3 things I’ve learned along the way... 

5 important blogging strategies I implemented last week

Photo from the Brigade N-Counter weekend April 2011

Last week I got really gung ho about blogging.  Here are some of the strategies I’ve implemented this past week, and my thoughts on them...

3 Reasons why YOU should start blogging!

You, whoever you are, should start a blog and start blogging.  
If you have a blog that is collecting dust, then its time to resurrect that puppy.
I'm calling you out Mark Krebs (blog last updated October 2010)  

This baby gecko agrees, you NEED to start a blogging.

Its kind of the pot calling the kettle black here, since this blog has had a couple of starts and stops. In 2011 I only posted twice.  But Aaron Reinard has taken the hint, and we're dusting off our blogs and giving it a go.

Im learning that if you set a goal, even if you start and stop, you will have accomplished more than if you would have if you never set out on that goal.  And who knows, maybe this time will be the time it sticks.

3 reasons you should start blogging.

1. It's an easy to read, fun way to remember life and share with others
I really got blessed the other night by simply reading through some of my previous posts.  I was able to look back through this past few years, and see what was going in in my life.  It caused me to be thankful for the things that have happened.

2.  It will help you communicate more clearly 
The very practice of writing regularly will help you to communicate more clearly.  I'm sure that if you get in the habit of writing more often, that you will naturally be able to say what you want to say more clearly and concisely.

3.  Your life and your experiences matter.  Share them!   
Michael Hyatt says not to blog about yourself unless you are a celebrity.  While I totally understand what he is saying, his audience is professional bloggers.  I'm encouraging hobby blogging.  The very reason I started this blog was so that people could get to know us digitally.

Check out Life In A Day to see a 90 minute documentary of how captivating everyones normal every day life is!

Have you ever thought about starting a blog?  What is your biggest hesitation?  Why has your blog started collecting dust?  Let us know in the comments!

jim baker

Easy changes to upgrade your blog! | NEW BLOG LAYOUT!

We were in Ohio last weekend and on the drive back I listened to Michael Hyatt's podcast entitled "10 Ways to Generate More Blog Traffic."  And it INSPIRED ME!

Following some of his tips from his podcast I've redone the layout of the blog.  

RIGHT COLUMN

I've added a right column to the layout which I did not have before.  

In the right column I have added...

- a search bar

- two ways to subscribe

- I moved our twitter updates to the right column from the bottom 

- And added popular posts (does anyone know how i can make those thumbnails not distorted?) 

COMMENTS 

I've switched the comments to using DISQUS.  Which Michael Hyatt recommended.  

Commenting using bloggers native commenting was a pain in the butt.  I like DISQUS better already, and it easily imported all of my old comments from blogger.  

I added LINK WITHIN at the bottom of every post.  This along with the POPULAR POSTS widget on the right column should keep people exploring the blog more than usual.  

I added an ADD THIS widget which will allow people to share each post easier.  

I made the blog home page display 5 posts instead of just 1 like before.  And I added a new header image and made the background match the header image.  

I'm sure there will be some more changes coming as well.  But thats enough for today.  

Leave a COMMENT for me to test out DISQUS and let me know what you think of the changes!  Are you happy with your current blog layout?  What changes would you like to make to yours?  What blogs have you seen that have the best navigable layout?  

jim baker