The year 2008 is almost here and it’s time to set some goals. Goals that are achievable and realistic. I have been blogging for a couple months and honestly, until now I haven’t had any goals besides increasing reader numbers ( it’s still one of the goals for 2008 ). I have come to realize that goal setting is a major part of any project, for being a 25 year old I guess I am realizing it a little too late. Anyways, I have some goals set as a blogger for 2008 and blogging in general.

Here are some of my goals that I would like to achieve as a blogger in 2008. These goals are in no order, each of them is a goal I want to attain sometimes during the year 2008 and each holds equal importance.

Read More Blogs

The best way to become a good blogger is by reading other blogs. I read quite a few blogs now but I would like to increase that number. The reason for this is simple - to learn and become better at what I am trying to do and that is blogging.

Also, the goal of reading more blogs doesn’t mean just the popular blogs. There are hundreds of new blogs that have such good content and we seem to ignore them for one reason - they are new. I am going to set aside some time each day to find new blogs and read what new bloggers have to write. One of the way to find new blogs is by simply visting the comment section on most blogs. A lot of commentators on popular blogs are new bloggers ( most of the time ) who are there in the hopes of getting traffic. So one of my goals is to read more blogs including new ones.

Comment On Other Blogs

I have to admit, although I like to see comments on my own blog it’s one thing I pass most of the time after I read a post on other blogs. I am in fault here. If I enjoy something I should make an effort to thank the blogger and share something that I might have to add. Afterall the blogger wrote it for us, the readers. So giving back a few words isn’t certainly going to take anything off of my time.

Network At Home

What I mean by “Network At Home” is, I want to network with my readers. I want to build a relationship between me and my readers as a person, as a social being. I network enough on social networking sites, don’t get me wrong, it still is important but sometimes you need to cater to your own family. In 2008 I want to build a relationship between us - me and you readers.

If you are a new blogger and need help with anything that you think I can help you with, feel free to contact me using the contact form on this blog. I will answer and do what I can to help you. [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging, Ramblings by Ritu - 18 Comments »

Different bloggers look at blogging differently. Money, passion, desire to share knowledge, all are valid reason to start blogging. But how exactly can you make blogging effective? This is one of those question that can be answered in many different ways - writing killer content, aggresive marketing, hosting contests, guest posting, commenting, social networking. All of these can be true but sometimes the most effective way to make your blogging fun and rewarding is to climb the steps necessary to reach the top.

All of us as bloggers have different techniques that we would like to apply to become successful. This post refers to my technique.

Here is what I call the The Blogging Ladder where the steps are the letters in the word “Blogging” itself. I hope these steps are something we can climb on our quest to reach the top. [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging by Ritu - 17 Comments »

Blogging can be quite stressful at times. If you just started your blog and can’t find a way to gain readers or visitors the feeling is nothing but frustrating. We have all been there at some point in time.

Blogging Stress is one of the main reason many bloggers stop blogging within couple months or couple weeks for that matter. Here are some tips to save yourself the stress that comes with blogging.

Don’t Worry About Writing Killer Content

Yes! Content is the king when it comes to the success of any ( most ) blog. But at the beginning of your blogging career you need to focus more on creating content rather than killer content. It takes time for everything. Some people are really good at expressing things verbally but are not that good when it comes to expressing it in writing.

Practice makes you perfect. Don’t worry about writing killer content. Just create content and go with the flow. As you keep writing and reading other blogs you will see, gradually the quality of your content rises. And without even noticing you will start creating content that will be the talk of the town ( blogosphere ). [Read more →]

Tags: Blogging by Ritu - 24 Comments »

It’s the weekend and I am pretty sure you guys are enjoying whatever it is you like to do. I don’t really look forward to weekends as I have to work ( I know it sucks ). I had a chance to read some interesting posts ( as usual ) from around the blogosphere and thought you might enjoy it too.

Here are a couple links for you to read that might either make you work or play You will find some posts that I linked to are pretty old. I like to dig into the archives and read, so here it is for you to read as well,

Hope you enjoyed these links. [Read more →]

Tags: Links by Ritu - 2 Comments »

As promised it’s time for another interview. I am glad that most of the bloggers I have asked for an interview have been very helpful. Learning from them on what they did to make their blog successful is a great way to achieve success for new bloggers.

I had a chance to interview Skellie from Skelliewag.org. Skelliewag is a blog about blogging and if you haven’t checked it out you are missing out on a whole lot.

Without wasting any time, let’s get right to the interview, here is Skellie from Skelliewag

I am just curious as to why skelliewag.org and not .com or .net? As it seems everybody shoots for the .com and .net first?

Skellie: I decided to use the .org extension after visiting GetRichSlowly.org. I thought it was a strange choice for a personal finance site, but there was something nice about it — it made the blog seem a little warmer and more community oriented. I decided to use it on my own blog for that reason.

I also think it’s a little more unique than the other options.

How long have you been blogging?

Skellie: I’ve been blogging as an idle hobby for a few years — maybe four years, but I have a terrible memory for that sort of thing. Skelliewag.org is my first personal effort at creating a popular blog, but I’ve been analyzing other blogs and websites for years.

What was your main motivation that drove you to blogging?

Skellie: I’ve always loved creating content for blogs and websites. I’ve dabbled in quite a few niches. After a while, I realized that the act of creating a blog, working out how to grow it, working out how to find new readers, was what I enjoyed more than the particular niche I might be working in. That’s when I decided I needed to start a blog about blogging! [Read more →]

Tags: Interview by Ritu - 16 Comments »

All work and no play is never a good thing. Being that this is a guest post at “Work N Play” and not “Work N More Work”, I thought I’d offer some advice on how you can better do your work so that you still have time to play. I hear many complaints from friends, family, and colleagues that there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish what they want. One reason for this is because we are not very efficient with our time. Other times, we just don’t know how to go about solving problems or how to ask for help.

This post is aimed at helping you make the most out of your limited time. These tips alone are a major reason why I was able to get through college and graduate school. I’m sure that they will prove helpful to you throughout your daily life as they can be applied to almost everything we do, especially blogging! So without further ado, here are the four things to keep in mind to help you learn more efficiently and to increase productivity:

1. Don’t be Afraid to ask Questions!

There’s the classic saying that “There are no dumb questions . . . only questions that are not asked”. Most of the time, when you have what you might think is a “dumb question”, the odds are good that someone else probably has the same question on their mind. In one of my undergraduate classes, there was this fellow who had no shame when it came to asking questions. While some of his questions sounded pretty dumb indeed, the majority of them were questions that I also had lingering in my mind. Of course, I was too embarrassed to ask them myself, so I always gave him my silent gratitude. I could always count on this guy to ask the question that I was too afraid to ask. Unfortunately, not everyone will be as lucky as me. Sometimes, questions that need to be asked are never asked and everyone is worse off.

So don’t be embarrassed and ask whatever question comes to mind; chances are good that someone else will be silently thanking you for asking that question. In addition, you’ll find that your productivity will benefit by asking more questions because you’ll have a better idea on what needs to be done.

2. Collaborate with Others!

Collaboration is a powerful tool that only gets better when more people are involved. I always try to make a conscious effort to collaborate as much as possible on each one of my own projects. Back when I was still in college, I always tried to get my friends to sign up for courses with me. Being able to share ideas, work on homework sets together, and study for tests together made these classes much easier than if I were taking the class solo. By sharing knowledge amongst ourselves, my friends and I were much more efficient and productive as a collective whole. Everyone benefited. If I didn’t know how to do one of the problems in a particular problem set, the chances were good that one of my friends knew how to do it. By developing a network of people you can collaborate with, you can effectively tap into their strengths and potential and use them to your advantage.

If you’re used to working alone, you should really expand your horizons. This day and age, its extremely difficult to do anything by yourself. The sooner you start cooperating and working with others, the sooner your productivity will soar. Learning was meant to be interactive, so make friends and make connections so that everything will be easier in the long run. [Read more →]

Tags: Productivity by turtie - No Comments »