SLOGGING THROUGH BLOGS

I was late to the blogging game. The first blogs I read seemed to be a waste of time. Personal info on what other people are doing doesn't interest me. I wondered why writers spent time with this format and who the heck has time to read it?

A tool is only as good as the person wielding it. A blog every day is not only tiresome, but it drains the writers. I decided that instead of hosting my own blog, I would guest blog at the site of other people.

A blog doesn't do much good if nobody reads it. The trick is to lure others to the site. When I blogged about being a contest junkie, I went to several online groups I subscribe to and simply planted a teaser, then the blog addy. How many people do I reach via groups and personal connections? Around 10,000, and that's a conservative estimate.

If a blog gets people talking and dropping your name in the right circles, it's all good. If they like your “voice,” chances are good they'll check back often.

Quid pro quo: I started checking out the blogs other people mentioned. Often, I dropped off a comment on their site, and my comments come with my photo attached. I also noted the addy and sent an email to friends who would benefit from discussions on marketing, outlining, character development and other aspects of writing.

I'm invited to be a guest blogger on other sites. This is one way for the host to take a breather, plus it adds a breath of fresh opinions to revive a blog. Again, I steer my network to this new blog. Everyone gets something out of the deal.

I'm also discovering blogging doesn't eat up my writing time. I kept my monthly columns I did for the local paper on writing, plus I contribute to several newsletters. With a few sentence changes, I can take a piece geared to a small town readership and expand it for a wider-based audience. This is recycling at its finest.